subject: Allowing Your Helpdesk To Be More Efficient And Productive [print this page] Helpdesk support includes a wide variety of support to resolve and troubleshoot hardware or software issues. Ideally support should be easily accessible and available, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to all users regardless of geographical boundaries. As the usage of technology increases in these progressive times, the need for technical support is also increasing.
Such support can cover a plethora of technology products such as computers, mobile phones, software products, televisions, or other electronic or mechanical goods. Usually, helpdesk services guide and support the user to the solution of specific problems with a product they do not offer additional customised services or training. Organisations provide support for the products they sell. This support may be free or paid and it can be done either over a phone call or online via chat, e-mail, web site or maybe even a specific support tool where users can log their queries.
The basic or simple queries can be solved quite easily over the telephone or, increasingly, by using remote access repair services; whilst the more complex queries may have to be solved by a support professional having to go and repair the equipment wherever it is located. In order to provide the best possible service to the organisation and the user base, in the most efficient manner, technical support is divided into levels, or tiers. Commonly, there are three levels / tiers of support.
The first level called level one support assists users with basic queries. It is also called line 1, first line, tier 1 or front-end support. This support is typically done either over the telephone or through online means. Level one support personnel collect information from the user. They analyze all the available information to ascertain the issue. Then, they decide on a solution and take the customer through the steps required to implement the same and hence resolve the customer's query. If they come across a problem that they are unable to resolve, they will need to pass it to the next level.
The next level called level two support is handled by support personnel with better knowledge, skills and experience than the level one support professionals. They review the information provided by the level 1 personnel and then analyze the same to find a suitable solution to the user's more complex problem. The solutions may be dealt with remotely or may involve onsite troubleshooting. If the problem is too complex for them, they pass it on to the next higher level.
Level three support is generally the highest level and they deal with all escalations where the issues are too complicated for the lower level personnel to resolve. The level 3 support professionals are experts in their respective areas; they help the level one and two technicians and also come up with solutions to new or unknown problems. A few businesses have a level four support which corresponds with escalations that have to be handled by a hardware or software vendor outside the business.
So, how can an organisation set up a helpdesk that is ideal in terms of efficiency and cost-effective too?
Normally, bigger companies have an internal team to assist their staff with their IT queries and support them with the same. Quite a few businesses opt to off-shore their technical support operations to countries with lower costs for the obvious benefit of cost-savings. However, IT heads need to also find methods to manage complex environments to meet ever-changing business requirements whilst making sure that SLAs are being maintained and improved. In addition, the CIO must ensure that it is scalable and has enough flexibility to support not only the current business needs but also expected future needs.
An organisation's IT department with a service desk can provide end-users with a number of services depending on the requirements of each department. The service could range from the automated deployment of software applications or even the management of the process to ensure that a new employee has everything required to deliver results and add value to the business from their first day. It may even be the best bet to hand over the operation of your helpdesk to an able and flexible partner. Helpdesk support is no longer only a reactive service that only responds to users. It is more of a service that allows IT to be proactive in anticipating and providing for the needs of the user base and in turn, that of the entire business enabling the alignment of IT with the business.
