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Even if you’ve been in the IT helpdesk game a while, it’s always a good idea to check how things are going.
Read on to find out if you’re making any of these common IT help desk mistakes.
1) Not measuring case-closed times
Without case-closed times, your helpdesk can’t get a handle on your expenses and profit margins which can be a costly error. In fact, detailed stats are a must-have for any IT helpdesk. We use 3CX and Plecto to give us a complete picture of our calls and cases. You can also integrate these with your ERP and CRM to see exactly how call times affect your bottom line.
Start measuring your case-closed times as soon as possible. This will give you a benchmark for your team so you can see how long types of calls are taking and adjust your offering accordingly.
2) Allowing tickets to be passed around unsolved
Make sure you have full visibility of unsolved tickets. Set up alerts for different types of tickets when they remain unsolved for a few days, or weeks. Get an account manager on any ticket that’s unsolved for too long. They’ll be able to connect the dots across the customer’s business and see if there’s anything else that’s causing the issue. Passing the buck back and forth is not a strategy for running an IT helpdesk.
3) Not having a support helpdesk schedule
You don't want your whole team answering calls all the time. Organise your call roster, so that your helpdesk engineers aren’t always on call. If you’re using your expertise wisely, you’ll need them on projects too, so don’t make their job impossible by not giving them the uninterrupted time they need to focus on project work.
4) Not segregating skillsets
It’s good to upskill your team, but if you want everyone to be a specialist, you’ll end up with an average team. Play to people’s strengths and give everyone areas of responsibility so you can escalate problems to the right specialist brain. Build a skills matrix and make sure your team members know who to turn to.
5) Not having stakeholders
Assign account managers for certain clients and tag them into relevant cases as they come in. By having visibility of their clients’ cases they’ll help your support team connect up the dots. You’ll definitely need account managers for your high-user and high-risk accounts.
6) Focusing on perfection not scalability
IT Support needs to be thorough, but it’s still IT. Some bugs aren’t cost-effective to fix, and some issues are out of your control. Make sure you clearly lay out your service charter, so users know what level of priority and urgency their case is assigned. Customer service doesn’t mean costing your clients time and money trying to fix a low ROI issue instead of working on a high ROI solution. Choosing the correct help desk software can play an important role in your helpdesks efficacy. And of course, for your own business to grow you need to stay on top of growth areas and stumbling blocks.
7) You’re not empowering your customers
Know when to refer your callers to online resources – ideally your own. If you notice an easy issue that keeps coming up, send out a customer support email with an easy one-pager to prevent future tickets. A good IT helpdesk should aim to reduce tickets through long-term fixes and user training. If you can, create a self-service section on your website so users can find the problem without calling the helpdesk, saving everyone time and money.
8) Finally, the last of the help desk mistakes: Avoiding permanent corrective action
If you’re motivated by tickets, you’ll have no incentive to take permanent corrective action when you spot a trend or recurring problem. In the long run, this will cost your customers money – and cost you customers. Your clients want to trust that if you can fix a long-term problem, you will. Even if you’re not responsible for their managed services, you should still have clear points of escalation and lines of communication. A good IT helpdesk should communicate any improvements they think their client should make.