To master the art of running a successful service desk, imagine it as a game of chess. Each piece, whether it's your team, the tools you use, or the strategies you implement, plays a crucial role in winning the game.
There's no one-size-fits-all approach to how to improve IT support, but the tactics outlined in this article will undoubtedly boost your service desk's efficiency, enrich the user experience, and optimize the Return on Investment (ROI) of your tool.
If you are especially struggling with running your system, our experience with InvGate Service Management has helped us understand that it is a combination of having a powerful tool and strong leadership.
So, keep reading to learn what it takes to build an excelling service desk, including nine top ideas to implement in your tool to improve your performance and keep your customers satisfied.
Let 's get started!
What makes a successful service desk?
To make a service desk really tick, you need both a competent tool and an IT help desk team that knows how to make the most of it.
First off, make sure your team knows the solution inside out. Keep them trained on the latest updates and features. Regular workshops or even certification programs can help with this.
The foundation of any service desk is its people, and a skilled team that's well-versed in the technology and trained to handle customer queries effectively can make a huge difference.
Next, get your support agents to work together. A successful service desk fosters collaboration. Team members share knowledge, learn from each other, and work together to solve problems. Encourage them to use the help desk platform to share knowledge and solve problems as a group.
For this, it’s important to keep a robust and updated knowledge base and make it accessible to them — you can speed up this process with an AI-knowledge base. The good news is that achieving this is simple with our AI-powered InvGate Service Management Knowledge Article Generation feature!
Another useful resource is gamification, to keep your agents motivated, and encourage and foster learning.
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In this sense, a good help desk tool, like InvGate Service Management, is more than just a tool - it's the backbone of your IT service delivery. For instance, by automating routine support tasks, such as ticket routing and assignment, or automated first replies, your team can spend less time on admin and more time on fixing the tricky stuff.
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Also, instead of just reacting to issues, a successful service desk takes a proactive approach. A system that keeps an eye on key help desk metrics, keeping downtime to a minimum and improving response times.
Lastly, as the help desk manager, it's on you to keep pushing for better. Regularly check in on how your team is using the help desk tool, ask for feedback, and look for ways to improve. This keeps your IT support in tune with what your users need and makes sure you're getting the most out of your help desk tool.
How can we improve IT support? 9 service desk improvement ideas
Now that we’ve seen the key elements that make a successful service desk, it’s time to explore nine ideas to implement to boost your team's performance and the quality of the service you deliver.
1. Establish a tiered help desk
Now, you should consider the implementation of a tiered IT support system if you are aiming to build a solid service desk structure. Basically, this means customer inquiries are categorized and addressed by different levels of expertise, allowing for efficient handling of issues based on complexity and specialization.
It ensures that support requests are handled efficiently, with basic inquiries resolved quickly by frontline staff, while more complex issues are escalated to specialized technicians, resulting in faster problem resolution and improved customer satisfaction.
Additionally, tiered support structures enable better resource allocation, as they allow organizations to deploy expertise where it's most needed, optimizing the use of skilled personnel and reducing overall support costs.
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2. Empower users with self-service options
A self-service portal (or, in other words, tier 0 of your service desk) offers numerous benefits for everyone involved. For users, it provides easy access to solutions, reducing the need for direct interaction with the IT department. This not only saves time but also empowers users to resolve issues on their own.
For IT teams, a portal like this reduces the ticket volume, meaning the amount of inquiries logged into the system, and allows them to focus on more complex issues.
On that note, we recommend you include a comprehensive knowledge base, FAQs, and a service catalog. The first should include knowledge base articles and guides that answer common questions, while the FAQs section can address recurring queries quickly and efficiently. The service catalog, listing all the IT department's services, completes the portal by providing users with a clear overview of available services.
3. Embrace omnichannel support
Then, omnichannel support is key to guarantee a satisfactory experience and ensure user adoption. It offers customers different communication channels to choose from to reach out to the help desk, including phone, email, chat, or social media. It's all about ensuring a smooth, consistent experience for your customers, no matter where they choose to reach out.
The benefits of implementing this are:
- Boosted customer engagement.
- Enhanced customer experience.
- Increased loyalty.
- Faster service.
- Higher customer satisfaction.
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4. Implement standard operating procedures
Service desk Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) are a game changer when it comes to running an efficient service desk. These documents provide a set of step-by-step instructions that help in carrying out operations, ensuring consistency in handling every support request, reducing the chances of errors, and promoting efficiency.
Further, SOPs serve as an excellent training resource for new IT support staff, offering them a clear understanding of the established procedures. They also offer a framework for continuous improvement in IT support processes. The idea behind it is to regularly review and update these procedures, so IT support can continually enhance its operations.
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5. Foster engagement with gamification
As we mentioned before, gamification serves as a powerful catalyst for engaging and motivating an IT support team. Integrating elements of games into routine tasks can transform the work environment into a dynamic, achievement-oriented space.
This approach not only elevates team morale but also fuels productivity. A points system for resolving support tickets, achievement badges for acquiring new skills, or leaderboards that highlight top performers can make work both enjoyable and rewarding.
Infusing elements of play into work routines results in increased job satisfaction, improved performance, and a positive shift in work culture. This innovative strategy can redefine the IT support environment, making it more engaging and efficient.
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6. Measure success with relevant metrics
Achieving excellence involves tracking key metrics and KPIs. Some essential metrics include first response time, customer satisfaction score, and time to resolution.
It's also crucial to monitor first-level support escalations, agent utilization, and resolution within SLA. These metrics help identify gaps in Knowledge Management, systemic infrastructure issues, and bottlenecks in resource allocation.
7. Streamline processes with automation
Automation is a real game-changer for your service desk, and there is an array of IT support automation possibilities and ideas. For instance, automated ticket assignment rules make sure tickets go straight to the right person or team. This means problems get solved faster, and customers are happier.
Then there's workflow automation to handle routine tasks so your team can focus on the tricky problems. And let's not forget about ITSM reports. Automated reports give you all the info you need about how your service desk is doing, helping you make it even better. So, all in all, automation is like your service desk's best buddy, always there to give a helping hand.
8. Seek feedback for continuous improvement
Getting feedback from end-users is like having a secret weapon for constant improvement. It's all about checking in with your users on the regular. You can do this through surveys, feedback forms, or even just seeing how they rate their satisfaction.
The tools are out there for collecting and analyzing this feedback. Once you've got this info, you can see exactly where you need to focus your efforts to make things even better. So, in short, it's all about listening, learning, and always upping your service game.
9. Stay up to date with ITSM best practices
To ensure your service desk remains nimble and efficient, it's absolutely crucial to keep everyone on the team clued in with ITSM best practices. This isn't just about reading a manual and calling it a day - it's about creating a culture of continual learning and improvement. Regular training sessions, workshops, and even informal learning opportunities can help your team stay sharp.
ITSM isn't static - it's always evolving. Keeping up-to-date means staying ahead of the curve, ready to adapt to new methodologies or technologies that could boost your service desk's performance. In a nutshell, a service desk that's well-versed in ITSM is a service desk that's prepared for pretty much anything the tech world can throw at it.
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In short
Basically, a successful service desk is a combination of a skilled team, efficient tools, a proactive approach, and continuous improvement.
To achieve this, some key strategies to incorporate are the use of a tiered IT support system, SOPs, and automation, to significantly streamline processes and improve service efficiency.
Also, regular measurement of relevant metrics and KPIs, coupled with user feedback, is essential for continuous improvement.
And, of course, you need a robust tool. You can rest assured that InvGate Service Management ticks all the boxes. Register here for a free 30 day free trial to explore all the functionalities listed in this article and achieve service desk excellence!
