Keeping employees connected and productive are the basic keys to success for any organization, and a strong team of organized and super smart IT support ninjas is the fuel which keeps that engine running. Whether you employ an in-house Help Desk, or outsource support to a Managed Services Provider, there are several important factors that make up a responsive, fast-acting, and successful IT support mechanism. Below are three major characteristics of a top-notch IT Support team that leads toward happy and industrious employees.
A Culture That Invests in People
With a rise in chat bots and customer service departments that focus on driving customers to an online knowledgebase, a lot of customer service and support engagements are becoming less personal. However, in the IT space, personal and intelligent support will always reign supreme. When someone calls or emails the IT support line, they are usually looking for the following three things:
- A quick fix for their problem (hopefully fixed on the first call without having to escalate)
- Clear, concise instructions and next steps
- A strong communicator who is technically trained and not just a call logger
IT Weapons Shows Commitment to Education by placing on CRN’s Tech Elite 250 for 2019
In order to deliver on the above client needs, you need a conscious investment in your people. Companies that invest in employee education such as conferences, seminars, certifications, courses, and communication skills classes are better situated to provide amazing IT support because they are putting forth a well manicured product. By investing in people, your IT support company or department will likely have retained skilled employees that are properly suited to quickly resolve your problem. In addition, investing in people also means creating an avenue for your employees to grow and continue benefiting your company. The IT Weapons Service Desk has several different career options that allows employees to grow their skills while continuing to benefit our clients, such as advanced escalation support, Team Leads, or as an IT Consultant.
Fast Resolution, not Just Fast Response
When contacting IT Support, people are mainly looking to have their issue fixed, not just acknowledged. Many IT organizations suffer from quickly acknowledging that they have received a support request, only to put the request at the bottom of a very long list. When dealing with an IT support company or department, you should ask yourself a few questions:
- How Big is the Team? The IT Support department doesn’t need to be enormous, but if there is only 1 or 2 Support Analysts, you may be waiting a while to get your issue resolved. A well-structured team is important as well. If the IT Support Team has a clearly defined escalation mechanism or even better, a dedicated team of escalation technicians, you are looking at a much faster resolution time for complicated issues.
- What is there first-call close rate? If you can, find out what their First call close rate is. This is the percentage of open tickets that are resolved on the first point of contact. Typically, this indicates that the support team is well trained and technically savvy.
Automation, Alerting, and Self-Service Options
While good people represent a major component to any well-run team, the tools they use are also critical to their overall success. For an IT organization, a good alerting and monitoring systems is essential. Proper alerting and monitoring allows the IT team to identify and correct any issues before they can cause extended downtime, such as account lockouts, storage issues, security alerts, or downed devices.
Also, when an employee has the ability to fix a problem themselves, it’s win-win for both sides. Many IT Support teams accomplish this by establishing self-service password reset options and an easily accessed knowledge-base with solutions to common problems.
Conclusion
Since technology is a critical component for basically everyone these days, having a strong IT Support component should really be a high priority for every business. When employees stay connected, they stay happy…and productive.
