Help Desk Software Solutions

Building a Star Help Desk

A traditional Help Desk software solution - an incident tracking system to resolve technical issues of corporate customers – has evolved out of existence. It is being replaced by a new breed of Help Desk application – a centralized internal organization with value propositions that cover customer support, procurement, service level management, and, most importantly, a higher ROI on IT investments.

Building and managing a high performing Help Desk is not as easy as it might seem. Although the market boasts a great variety of Help Desk software solutions to help companies operate their internal support centers, there is a lot more that just technology that you will need to make your Help Desk shine. Let’s take a look at several considerations.

10 Key Considerations

1.    Begin with business needs in mind. Avoid jumping into technology evaluation and selection before outlining the business need(s) for your Help Desk. Even if your industry is abuzz with news on a particular Help Desk software doing wonders for companies, first ask yourself: What are my goals? How will this project fit into the overall corporate strategy?  In other words, start with the needs assessment of your organization and the evaluation of your current internal support processes.

2.    Choose the right technology to address business needs. Based on needs assessment your performed, begin evaluating the technology solution that can address the pain points and make the most business sense. Remember that technology is a means to an end – a more effective support organization and complete customer/client interaction management.

3.    Standardize user interactions. Develop procedures for submitting requests to the Help Desk and communicate them to the users. The Help Desk technology you chose should help you set up user-Help Desk communication channels and interaction processes: email, web self-service, telephony queues with IVR and ACD functionalities. Tools like Knowledgebase, Case Management, remote assistance and others will be used by your Help Desk staff to help streamline user communications.

4.    Build a milestone-driven project plan. Define clear objectives and deliverables for the project and estimate which resources will be needed to implement and manage the Help Desk. As a result of this effort you should have a deliverable-driven proposal based on real business needs and ready to be executed.

5.    Ensure executive sponsorship. This is a critical success factor! Ensure support of an executive who can champion your Help Desk project across an entire organization.

6.    Communicate the benefits. You will find many people excited about your initiative, and just as many skeptical. Be prepared to effectively communicate the benefits of the centralized Help Desk software solution to all stakeholders – that is, to the whole organization. This is where your attention to business goals and a results-driven plan will pay off – you will be able to clearly show the stakeholders the benefits of your project while relying on measurable objectives. Such approach will help minimize adoption resistance.

7.    Solicit feedback. When appropriate, it might be beneficial to solicit user involvement and feedback.  While a very useful approach, user involvement might become a frustrating experience as many people who volunteer for feedback sessions are typically more critical of the way things are run right now and are eager to share their views. To avoid frustration and collect standardized data, prepare structured questionnaires and consider soliciting feedback via email or online.

8.    Communicate the progress. As milestones are reached, communicate the progress to the stakeholders. Open communication will ensure that no one is left unawares when you start deploying your Help Desk solution.

9.    Adopt a phased rollout approach. Although a Big Bang-like deployment might be a fit for small businesses, larger organizations might consider a phased implementation. If your users are accustomed to a certain way of doing things, it will be hard to flip a switch on your new Help Desk and expect them to adapt immediately. Implementation is a stressful time for your and your team – the last thing you need is a queue of complainers outside of your office.

10.    Train the Help Desk staff. One of the reasons that Help Desks are often perceived as not so helpful is the lack of staff training. To ensure Help Desk success the employees should be trained to empathize with customers, learn how to listen, stay customer-focused, and be professional. Don’t forget to reward your Help Desk staff for excellent performance!

Finally, measure, evaluate and repeat successes! Set up measurable goals for your Help Desk and enforce reasonable Service Levels that can be tracked (your technology should allow you to do this easily). Identify successes and problem areas, fixing the latter and capitalizing on successful practices.