The help desk, also called service desk, is a first-level support service intended for users to solve issues or provide important information. The final results are: better productivity, an increase in turnover, an evident reduction in costs and greater customer loyalty.
The IT help desk can be confused with customer care, but they are two different things. The former, in fact, provides targeted support to the customer on specific and more complex matters, while the latter offers generic support without the necessary specialisations.
Meaning of help desk: first and second level
The help desk is divided into first and second level depending on the complexity of the problems to be solved. First-level assistance involves the opening of a ticket associated with a unique code, through which the resolution to the problem is sought. In a positive case the ticket is closed; in a negative case, instead, the matter passes to more competent staff: this is the second-level help desk.
We at We Are Fiber are specialised in the provision of first- and second-level help desk services and we use multichannel forms of assistance such as chat, web chat, video chat, social chat and chatbot. To understand how it works, how to apply it and what the IT help desk is you can turn to us at We Are Fiber. In particular we deal with help desk outsourcing, an increasingly widespread practice among the main companies in various sectors.
What are the advantages of help desk outsourcing?
With the help desk the work of every employee is considerably facilitated and the company itself can make use of tangible benefits that impact positively on productivity and on the reduction of costs.
Companies can optimise investments, better manage staff and acquire greater flexibility in the relationship with customers. Outsourcing help desk work allows the company to invest in other areas, thus focusing on its own core business. The staff themselves are relieved of an excessive workload and can devote themselves to their main tasks.
Another advantage not to be underestimated is customer loyalty: customers appreciate both the speed and the advanced technologies of the tools used to solve a certain issue. Loyalty today is a determining factor that makes the difference, so it is appropriate to establish a relationship of deep esteem and trust with the customer.
Which companies need the help desk?
Help desk outsourcing is a service recommended to all companies, but there are some in particular that cannot do without it. Businesses that have a large number of customers have to manage a series of particularly high requests, which they do not always manage to cope with promptly. If the resolution times of a problem lengthen, the customer tends to lose trust in that company. The danger is seeing productivity reduced, offering poorer performance and consequently losing customers.
The companies that have to manage a large number of customers are those that work in complex businesses such as IT, ICT, telephony, electronics, training centres and banking institutions. In the public sector too, various entities need help desk outsourcing, such as universities, hospital companies, public bodies, and so on.
How to manage the help desk service?
The help desk service is divided into three phases: collection of the call, handling of the call and archiving of the call.
In the first phase listening is important, without jumping to hasty conclusions, in order to understand exactly the user’s problem.
The second phase must conclude, if possible, with a complete and satisfying resolution of the problem for the user. If instead it was not possible to solve the problem immediately, you have to communicate to the user that the matter passes to the second level and also provide information on the timing of the resolution of the problem.
Finally, in the third phase the problem is solved and, if it proves rather frequent, it can be inserted into the “Questions and Answers” section of the site or of the social pages. In this way users can find on the web the answers to their most frequent questions, without excessively clogging the help desk channels.
The improvement analysis
At the end of this process you move on to the improvement analysis. Through the help desk service, information about the company is collected, getting to know the most widespread and frequent issues, the weak points and the strong points. A sort of check-up of the company is carried out, so it is possible to solve the critical issues, eliminate the problems and reinforce the weak points.
Based on customers’ requests it is possible to understand which departments are less productive and efficient or which procedures are too slow and need to be sped up. The improvement analysis should be done at least once a month in the presence of the whole help desk team, so as to analyse together strengths and weaknesses. A series of cases are inserted into the “Questions and answers”, after which all the necessary countermeasures are adopted to reduce calls and therefore increase productivity.
The help desk is a specialised solution to increase turnover and if you want to design specific solutions for your business, you just have to contact us at We Are Fiber.
info@wearefiber.com
Phone (IT) + 39 02 42 10 11 22
Phone (UK) + 44 20 38 70 44 08
