Let us create a 3D eBook for you!
Let us create a 3d Digital eBook for you! DigyCat.com

 

Automating Your Help Desk Workflow


Do you know you can open, answer, close and report help desk information without human intervention?

Automation is a powerful feature provided by most enterprise level help desk products; however, most organizations rarely take advantage of these features. Based on a survey conducted by RightStar Systems, only 5% of the help desk managers interviewed were using automation to its fullest capacity. Most use it to some degree while others do not use it at all. Tom Jud, Emerging Growth Manager for BMC Software, has observed "?that the Business Rules Engine provided by the Magic Help Desk product, is the key feature that organizations should leverage to drive support efficiency and cost savings." He explains that the two main reasons for organizations not deploying workflow automation are 1) the perceived level of difficulty in implementing these functions and 2) The lack of workflow planning used in developing the helpdesk program. Once organizations learn the importance of workflow automation and the benefit gained, they embrace the feature and drive added value from their help desk product.

After having conducted over 600 site visits and product demonstrations, I have identified 4-main focus areas where organizations can benefit from deploying workflow automation.

? Enforcing best practices through automation.

Companies looking to provided better and less expensive support services have adopted any number of help desk "best practices" guidelines. Automating workflow to enforce a help desk's best practices deployment can drive even more value and efficiency. By pairing certain best practice areas with automated workflow, a help desk can provide a consistent and predictable level of support.

? Improving incident response time through automation.

Incident response time is how most service support organizations are judged. According to Beverly Wells, Help Desk and Groupwise Manager for CarMax, "Of all the statistics gathered by the CarMax Help Desk, the one area reviewed with the most scrutiny, is how fast we responded to and resolve calls." Workflow automation can drastically improve incident response, problem resolution, and change requests, by incorporating predetermined "if, then" capabilities. For example, if a call for a printer problem is received at the help desk, workflow automation can determine the type of call and direct that call to the right person or provide an automated answer to the requestor. In other words, "if" you receive a request like this, "then" do this specific task.

? Increase Reporting Accuracy

Automating workflow provides the ability to capture accurate help desk statistics by removing the various inconsistencies injected through human error. I know help desk managers that spend hours each month collecting, editing and refining help desk statistical reports. They spend most of there time correcting errors and adjusting the numbers that tell the real story of the help desk. Automating workflow is one primary way to assist help desk managers prepare and create accurate reporting.

? Create Consistency while Reducing Call Volume

Have you ever called a help desk and received two or three different answers for the same problem, or worse, no answer at all? It's frustrating and it reflects poorly on the help desk. Several help desk tools provide the capability to deliver answers on various issues in a consistent automated manner. This provides the requestor with confidence that they received the right answer while taking the guesswork away from the help desk analyst when answering questions. In many cases, the answer can be provided without human intervention. There are various ways of deploying these capabilities; collectively they can provide a tremendous reduction in call volume and a higher degree of customer satisfaction.

Incorporating automation in your help desk workflow provides many benefits. As with any undertaking, it takes forethought and planning, but with the right help desk tool and the desire to provide timely, accurate answers with little or no human intervention, the effort will off-load pressure from the help desk staff and integrate an atmosphere of help desk brilliance.

Dan Wilson currently works for RightStar Systems, a leader in Help Desk Service and Supprot Consulting; including problem, asset, change and desktop management.

Dan has over 15 years of experience in support consulting.

You can reach Dan at dan.wilson@rightstarsystems


MORE RESOURCES:

Customer Service - Google News

JD Power praises customer service by Verizon Wireless and Virgin Mobile, but ... - Going Cellular


JD Power praises customer service by Verizon Wireless and Virgin Mobile, but ...
Going Cellular
JD Power and Associates released their annual customer care rankings this month and the dubbed winners were Verizon Wireless (for contract service) and Virgin Mobile (for non-contract providers). Even more interesting is that it would appear that ...

and more »

TD Waterhouse, Desjardins Bank and Steinbach Credit Union Named Top Customer ... - San Francisco Chronicle (press release)


TD Waterhouse, Desjardins Bank and Steinbach Credit Union Named Top Customer ...
San Francisco Chronicle (press release)
It remains clear that the banking and credit union industries, who consistently preach customer service, are clearly in disarray when servicing its general email inbox" added LaCoste. Surviscor has four response level standards, platinum, gold, ...

and more »

Healdsburg Customer Services Get Thumbs Up - Patch.com


Healdsburg Customer Services Get Thumbs Up
Patch.com
"The presentation was part of our Pride in Public Service campaign," Pettus said. "We want to inform the City Council and public of the high level of service provided by city employees." The Customer Service survey evaluates employees in all ...

Women like customer service at Scholfield Honda - Kansas.com


Women like customer service at Scholfield Honda
Kansas.com
His Scholfield Honda has been recognized a couple of times recently for offering great customer service to women. On Wednesday, Forbes wrote about a survey that WomenCertified conducted last fall for Dealer Magazine, which Scholfield calls one of the ...

and more »

Acura of Las Vegas earns marks for customer service - Las Vegas Review-Journal


Acura of Las Vegas earns marks for customer service
Las Vegas Review-Journal
Celebrating Acura of Las Vegas' strong numbers in the Customer Service Index are, from left, Brad Garrett, service director; Tim Donnelly, general manager; Chris Biehl, general sales manager; and Louie Doblado, sales consultant. In the car business, ...

Apple's Customer Service Still Very Good, but Slipping - Tom's Guide


Apple's Customer Service Still Very Good, but Slipping
Tom's Guide
Market research firm Vocalabs has found that Apple has considerably slipped in its customer satisfaction scores for tech support between 2010 and 2011. In 2010, 22 percent of Apple users said they experienced problems with the automated (IVR) portion ...

KeyBank Continues to Receive Industry Recognition for Exceptional Customer Service - MarketWatch (press release)


KeyBank Continues to Receive Industry Recognition for Exceptional Customer Service
MarketWatch (press release)
9, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- KeyBank continues to receive industry recognition for exceptional client service by achieving a high ranking in overall customer satisfaction in the JD Power and Associates 2011 Small Business Bank Satisfaction Study.

and more »

Customer service still dogs Telstra - CIO Magazine


Sydney Morning Herald

Customer service still dogs Telstra
CIO Magazine
Telstra chief executive, David Thodey, has conceded that progress remains slow on improving the telco's customer service record, despite making it a top priority in the last 18 months. Speaking at an analyst briefing on the telco's financial results ...
Mobiles prop up Telstra bottom lineSydney Morning Herald
Telstra delivers revenue, profit and customer growth; guidance confirmedAIM Group
Telstra details benefits of social media service strategyTechnology Spectator
The Australian
all 274 news articles »

American Airlines Employees Recognized for Excellence in Customer Service - MarketWatch (press release)


American Airlines Employees Recognized for Excellence in Customer Service
MarketWatch (press release)
8, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- American Airlines is recognizing its employees around the airline's network for excellence in customer service, specifically measured by improved customer experience and innovative problem solving for the fourth ...

and more »

In Customer Service Push, Microsoft Invests In 24/7, Which Acquires Voxify - Wall Street Journal (blog)


Rediff

In Customer Service Push, Microsoft Invests In 24/7, Which Acquires Voxify
Wall Street Journal (blog)
By Deborah Gage People who are forced to engage in online chats with virtual customer service agents–or who are passed from agent to agent without getting their problems solved–are likely to get highly frustrated and take their business elsewhere.
Microsoft Joins Forces with 24/7 for Customer Service SoftwareITProPortal
Microsoft strikes deal with 24/7, promises to 'redefine' customer serviceEngadget
Microsoft Teams up With 24/7 for Customer Service SoftwarePCWorld
Destination CRM -Fox Business -The Seattle Times
all 58 news articles »

Click here for Best Buy In-Store Pickup

StreetSideAuto.com

Looking For Royalty Free Photos for your Website, Business or Advertising?

My Life Through The Lens

AusTrade Domain Is For Sale - $15,000 For Enquiries eMail Us

© www.AusTrade.biz 2011

home | site map | links

eXTReMe Tracker