“Get a help desk”, they said. “Your customers will be more satisfied”. And that’s where it’s often left! One of the most commonly quoted reasons for implementing or outsourcing an IT help desk is the improvement in customer satisfaction. But why is that so? What features of a help desk actually improve customer satisfaction? In this article, we will delve into more detail about how the tools included within a good help desk contribute to improved customer satisfaction.
Why will customers be more satisfied when you implement a help desk?
1. Speed of contact
This is a big one – getting heard quickly. Your customer doesn’t want to have to call around a hundred numbers to find the right place to address their issue. The IT help desk is a single point of contact for customers and users. The whole point of speed within a help desk is that both the IT team and the customer can work more productively. So, help desk systems should enable a range of communication methods, from messaging and calls to self-service portals. In this way, the customer is satisfied that their message is received and actioned quickly.
2. Customers get expert access
Your helpdesk database should hold all the information to direct a customer or user’s query or service request to the correct place. Your IT provision is likely to consist of different teams with different specialisms. With this in mind, the help desk system should be able to immediately stream a request to the individual or team with specialist knowledge and experience. In this way, the customer remains satisfied that their query has gone to the right place.
3. It’s customised for your organisation
Every industry has different standard requirements. Within this, each organisation has their own unique ways of operating which means that a help desk must be customisable. Your customised help desk tools will ensure constructive communication between the IT service and the business. Reporting functions are extremely important in monitoring performance, both for service and the business, so with customised reporting, you can ensure that these needs are met.
4. Tasks are well prioritised
For a busy helpdesk team, and a busy service team in a wider perspective, prioritisation is key. There may be tasks that dovetail into other pieces of work and longer-term projects or change processes. This is where help desk tools become so crucial in overall customer satisfaction. The system can manage service requests within the context of all of the ongoing activity. This ensures that immediate issues can be dealt with without compromising long-term projects.
5. Your feedback is heard
Ultimately, customer satisfaction relies on feedback. Without this, any monitoring of KPIs or wider SLAs loses integrity. Good helpdesk systems will enable both easy feedback from customers or users, and proactive reporting analysis for helpdesk teams. This feature plays a key role in ensuring that a helpdesk evolves in tune with the business. From incidents to change, feedback is vital for forward planning.
6. Ongoing change is well managed
Helpdesks, and wider service desks, are not just there for immediate crises. These incidents need to be balanced with ongoing support for wider change within an organisation. The management of change requests and overall strategic change needs to be integrated within helpdesk tools. By ensuring that all aspects of the change process are covered within the system, the helpdesk facilitates successful change. And what customer wouldn’t be satisfied with that?
7. A good standard of support is met
Speed of support is not the only requirement for a satisfied customer. The quality of that support must also be high. This is where comprehensive tools within your helpdesk come into play. Your helpdesk software should integrate KPIs and SLAs in order to ensure that targets are met. These shouldn’t be generic, which takes us back to customisation. Good helpdesk systems should help to manage constructive KPIs that make workloads manageable for helpdesk teams while prioritising the needs of the business.
8. Self-service is empowering
Interactivity is where it’s at. A helpdesk that integrates portals and knowledge management is more satisfying service. This is because proactively understanding or tracking a service request is empowering and practical. When a customer can track their own requests without requiring updates from personnel, those teams can get on with the tasks at hand. Ultimately, everyone is more productive and the customer more satisfied. Portal tools help the helpdesk too. By monitoring interaction, incidents can be escalated or prioritised where relevant.
9. Recurring problems are identified
Recurring incidents are important for a few reasons. If a problem occurs with multiple users, there’s a signal that it should be escalated. Similarly, if a problem occurs on multiple occasions, this is normally a sign that something more integral should be assessed. And lastly, detailed notes should be held which enable knowledge transfer for any individual dealing with a similar incident in the future. Your helpdesk holds and manages data that enables all of this joined-up thinking to happen. Ultimately, customer satisfaction relies on this data being utilised to its full potential.
10. Communication is improved
From customised alerts to portal tracking, the helpdesk is a vital communication tool between IT service and the customer. Whether this is a user or business, communication is often what lets down customer satisfaction. In this way, processes that are managed through good helpdesk software are far less likely to suffer. Let’s not forget communication within IT service teams, too. Full reporting tools enable information to pass easily between teams. The power of this reporting means that all teams are working at their most productive, which is to the benefit of the customer.
Conclusion
All of these ways that a help desk can enable your customers to be more satisfied are great. But it’s up to you to implement the right help desk, help desk processes, and tools to make these real satisfaction points. A help desk alone is not where it ends. Interested in affordable help desk software? To find out more about the range of comprehensive systems and tools under the Richdesk umbrella, just get in touch!