Consulting and Training for Computer Professionals
Help Desk Management and Implementation
The Help Desk is a tool, and like any other tool requires specific knowledge on how to make the best use of the tool. Are you planning to be more proactive than reactive? Has the support staff identified objectives and designed processes to implement the Help Desk? Are you going to have defined and repeatable processes, or fly by the seat of your pants? Will the Help Desk improve profitability or become a liability? Will information be shared or lost? Will users benefit from the Help Desk or curse it? How will you ensure that each department receives appropriate feedback on how to prevent future problems? Additionally, technical skills alone will not ensure success. People skills are also necessary. The Help Desk interfaces with many organizations both internal and external (customer). Help Desk personnel must understand both customer and company languages. Products change, customers change their minds, platforms are in a constant state of flux, outside vendor's products are becoming more complex and difficult to integrate, yet, everyone wants the answer NOW. Managing problem resolution is difficult at best, and worse if pertinent information is not easily accessible. A properly implemented Help Desk system can identify and maintain data for marketing, sales, development, and support. Additional data can be maintained on customer's configurations i.e., hardware, software, applications; call tracking and status; customer follow-up; product quality and reliability; problem customers; training requirements; available resources; generate management reports; help justify expansion; and provide the means to improve the overall quality of the products and profitability of the company.
The Help Desk Management System workshop helps the participants design a system that is customized to their specific needs. Needs such as - -
* Needs analysis * Help Desk screen design * On-line training * Call taking process * Call closing procedures * Account status * Problem types/priorities * Response times * Involving others * Calls by categories
* Problem tracking * Maintaining account history * Product reliability * Problem management * Decreasing costs * Escalation * Central dispatch * Causes versus symptoms * Report Generation * Ensuring user compliance
* Customer status * Improving product quality * Increased profit * Identifying trends * Reducing costs * Ensuring customer independence * Customer follow-up * On line assistance * Sharing resolutions * Improved resolution times
Who should attend? Service/Support personnel, supervisors, managers, sales, software and hardware R&D, marketing, accounting, manufacturing, purchasing, and all additional people who will benefit from the information that is contained in the database.
