Who doesn’t want their customers to be satisfied? Whether your customer is internal or external to your organisation, their satisfaction is a direct reflection on how well business is operating. And, after all, it is the business that generates income. So, customer satisfaction is a completely sensible thing to prioritise. Within a service desk context, then, what constitutes customer satisfaction, and how can it be provided and measured? We’ve put together a complete guide to customer satisfaction to help to navigate the waters.
What does a customer want?
For a customer to be satisfied, and for your service to meet their needs, it’s vital to understand what that customer wants. When you get down to the minutiae, industries vary, but there are broad targets which are universally true.
Successful resolution
Any challenges or issues must be successfully resolved. And we don’t mean with temporary success. If a problem recurs multiple times, any customer will become dissatisfied. This is why it’s vital for service staff to possess the correct tools and expertise to actively resolve incidents and problems successfully.
Prompt resolution
In the modern business environment, resolution must not only be successful but also speedy. However, one must not compromise the other. It’s a tough balance to pull off. Businesses cannot afford any more downtime than is absolutely necessary. That is why it is so vital that service operations are conscientious to this priority.
Ongoing support
Customer satisfaction within an IT service perspective is an ongoing state. It is not something that is finally achieved, but can increase and decrease with time. The ongoing support of the business and its users must not lapse. This means that teams must keep abreast of the relevant systems and networks required to maintain customer satisfaction.
Open communication
In order to achieve a proactive support of the business, communication is a vital part of customer satisfaction. Regular updates and reporting go a long way in achieving this. Remember that service extends much further than simply problem solving. Change management capability must facilitate and support growth and expansion within the business. It cannot be responsive, but must be central to strategic changes. This can only be achieved through constant communication.
What are the tools you need?
With these main areas of customer satisfaction to consider, which service desk tools are key? While the management and direction of teams is vital, service staff can be optimised with the correct tools for achieving customer satisfaction.
Self-Service
Users and customers are empowered when given the opportunity to self-serve. This is where portals, document libraries and catalogues are so valuable. In this way, customers can track the management of their service requests and find information and solutions on demand. Dynamic portals will use this information to update the priority of certain incidents and requests based on other activity.
Specialised Teams
By specialising your teams within a service desk, pieces of work can be allocated and undertaken far more efficiently than if everything is directed to the same destination. For example, strategic development, change management and incident resolution are three areas of IT service which differ greatly. By allowing your teams to focus on one area, they can achieve far more successful results.
Documenting
Marking an incident or change as completed isn’t sufficient for ongoing customer satisfaction. Your systems should archive and document the data so that it can be used for future resolutions. In this way, your service is able to evolve with the business to the benefit of all.
SLAs
Managing and monitoring SLAs is a vital tool for the success of a service desk, therefore ensuring that customer satisfaction is achieved. A constructive SLA should agree the scope of work that your service desk is expected to achieve for the business or customer. The idea is to balance accountability for the work and expectation for the service. Beware of setting unrealistic targets and keep it constructive to get the best out of everyone.
Tracking Satisfaction
So as the daily rumble of business continues, what is the best way to track customer satisfaction? It’s easy to get distracted with short term challenges and projects, so it’s important to have a framework to return to.
Statistics
Data is everyone’s friend when it comes to tracking performance. Do statistics lie, though? Well, it’s all in the representation of them. For this reason, it’s vital to have a good reporting system that presents and interprets data in a constructive and representative way. This allows your personnel to use the reporting data to further improve service where required.
Survey
Want to understand your user experience? Just ask. Use a customer satisfaction survey tool to directly assess how the service is perceived by your customer. When integrated within your service desk system, this data can be used in collaboration with other indicators to fully assess the success of the service.
KPIs
This is where the framework comes in. By setting KPIs, or key performance indicators, you have concrete and comparable data which you can return to. Understanding exactly where your service may be falling down can help you to isolate and resolve any core challenges. This may be in resourcing, training or systems. Beware of setting arbitrary KPIs, though, as they can serve as a distraction rather than a solution.
Responding to Feedback
There is no point in assessing customer satisfaction unless you act upon the information that you receive. So, what is the best way to respond to this feedback?
Processes
Once your service desk processes are in place, don’t assume that this should be set in stone forevermore. A good service desk system will facilitate change within the service desk itself. After all, performance should always be to the benefit of the business, and if that means process change, then so be it!
Training
Don’t underestimate the value of training. It’s always worth the investment of time and resource. Be proactive, too – there’s no need to wait until your customer is dissatisfied in a certain area before you offer training for your service desk staff. Your service desk systems work best when their users fully understand them, so beware of letting this slip!
Conclusion
Remember that the satisfaction of staff, users, customers and clients is always temporary. A customer is always only as satisfied as their last service experience. The business relationship is always ongoing, so it’s key to always be assessing, evolving and changing. On account of this, you will need to ensure that your tools and systems facilitate this. Want to know more? Get in touch with our team today!