HELP…desk: I Need Somebody

Look, we all need a little help sometime. This can come in the form of a loan from the bank, calling AAA if your car breaks down on the side of the road, or a help desk to reach out to in case of emergency with your network. The question we have though, “Are all help desks created equal? What should we look for in a help desk?” There are many factors involved in having a help desk that helps you with what you need, when you need it. Today we are going to look at a few things that let you know if your help desk is helpful, or just

another thing that needs to be fixed.

PERSONNEL

It may seem obvious, but this one is a big part of having a successful help desk. Who is manning it? The purpose of a help desk is for your in-house team to have someone to go to in case something goes awry. Having an unqualified person behind the desk is akin to asking a waiter what type of stove the cook is using. Yes, you may get an answer, but it’s probably not going to be the correct one, or something that is a general piece of information, like “a gas one” instead of the relevant information needed to answer your question. A proper help desk doesn’t just rely on one person. There is the customer service advisor who is manning the helm, they know a little bit of everything and can help with basic to moderate level issues. From there, a great help desk, such as the team at Delval Technology Solutions, will have a team of experts ranging in coding to security, ready and able to handle any

situation that may escalate.

RESPONSE

The stereotypical IT guy that we have seen in TV and movies for decades is usually some brash nerd who is going to make you feel downright infantile for asking a question. This is 100% not what you want in a helpdesk. A proper help desk usually not only can answer your question in a courteous manner, but should also be able to inform you on how to take matters in your own hands if the problem is a basic enough one or a commonly occurring one.

Another thing you want to keep track of is response time. When you reach out to your help desk you want to make sure that your wait time is as little as possible. Some problems can be fixed quickly, and few things are more frustrating that waiting hours to fix something that can take a couple of minutes. Also, not all problems are small ones. Some IT issues can go from bad to worse relatively quickly if you don’t get the help or advisement that’s needed. Having an avoidable issue become a catastrophe is the last thing anyone wants, and having a help desk that responds in a timely manner can make all the difference in how your business handles a potentially dangerous issue.

The other component in a great help desk response is how many channels you have to get in touch with them. Some only offer support via email, which we all have but at times can cause things to get lost in the shuffle. The other problem with email only is that while you may receive an answer in a prompt manner, it does become harder to step by step troubleshoot a problem. For that step-by-step troubleshooting, oftentimes having a live chat component can be incredibly useful. Find out if the live chat is automated, which may cut down on response time, but also may only work for basic issues. Some problems are not so simple as one answer, many are multi-faceted and having a real time answer to your question can make all the difference.

What if you aren’t by a computer, or the problem has completely shut your terminal down? Well , that’s why many providers, such as the good folks at Delval Technology Solutions, offer SMS help desk support. This way if you have a critical error on a machine, you can still get an answer to help you and your team get back to work with minimal headaches and anxiety.

SCALABILTY

For the most part, the goal for business owners is to grow their enterprises. It’s the American success story as old as time, a company goes from a small operation to a worldwide giant. For that to take place, you need to keep scalability in your mind when making your choices and a help desk is no different. As your volume grows, be it number of computers, to your hours, to even your locations, can you help desk handle it? If so, at what point does it cost you more money? These are all relevant questions to keep in mind when making your help desk choice. An ideal help desk is one that minimizes bottlenecking. As we spoke about before, some problems can go from small to large in a short amount of time. When your company grows, you want to ensure that your help desk of choice can give you the same response time and functionality that you had received when you signed on.

A helping hand can make the difference between climbing back up a mountain or falling of a cliff. Your help desk is no different. When making this decision, ask questions. See if the company is willing to let you test out their help desk. Ask them about their average response time. If you are looking to grow, see if they have pricing that is consistent, or if you

have to allocate additional funds if you need to scale up. Some companies that focus on customer service may even introduce you personally to their help desk staff so you can put a face to a name as to who you are going to be dealing with. Make sure you check how many lines of communication they have, to ensure that no matter what happens, you get the help your business needs.