Terminology can often become a barrier to solutions, and in no field is this truer than IT. When an industry has grown as quickly and as broadly as this one, it’s understandable that confusion occurs amongst it all. The difference between a help desk and a service desk is a prime example of muddy waters that can detrimentally impact the application of your technology. So, in the spirit of clarity, let’s go through what each term actually means. Above and beyond this, though, we’ll help you work out how all of the elements that make these two terms fit together and work for a business.
Is there a Difference?
Yes; strictly speaking, a help desk and a service desk are two distinct things. Over the years, the terminology has evolved with both the nature of IT focus, and technological capability of the tools involved. To understand the difference between a help desk and a service desk, it’s important to understand why the terms appear interchangeable.
So, what do we mean when we talk about help and service desks? To concisely define the two is a great starting point.
Help Desk in Brief
At its core, the focus of a help desk is normally limited to incidents. It is immediate problem solving or firefighting if you will. In this way, reactivity and smooth management of incidents is paramount.
Service Desk in Brief
This exists to serve users, customers or clients. Its remit is broader, and its focus is more concerned with quality of response. Its requirement is to meet product, support and development targets set by the business.
Why do they get mixed up?
If these two areas have distinct roles, then, why is it that there is confusion in the first place? It’s really down to the shifting approach in IT support. As industries have become increasingly reliant and focussed on technology to deliver to their customers or communicate internally, the focus of the IT department has changed. The IT side of an organisation is operated in such a way as to serve the needs and growth of the business. This service led approach changed support terminology for good. So rather than simply responding to cries of “HELP” from users or customers, IT has become part of core business strategy.
How do you know what you need?
This is the bit that feels overwhelming! Whether you’re a start-up, or a mature organisation refreshing their systems, it’s important to get this bit right. Luckily for you, we offer our service desk software free trial so you can relax and dip your toes in our IT support system!
Over spec
What happens when you over spec for your support solutions? As well as spending more on outlay than you necessarily need to, implementing a support solution with too many bells and whistles can be detrimental to performance. Users can become bogged down in potential functionality and this can prevent the systems being used to their optimal capability. This is not ideal for a smooth-running operation. Yes, make sure that your toolset can grow with the organisation, but avoid clogging yourself down in unnecessary functionality.
Under spec
Under-anticipating what your business needs from its IT support can be catastrophic. It tends to result in constant fire-fighting and missed targets. The problem is that this is so easy to do when you’re implementing a support solution. It’s very hard to visualise a service operation until it’s in place, so this is why people like us are around. We’ve worked with every industry around and can accurately assess and communicate what our clients realistically need.
Choosing the right tools
What really matters, then, is not our terminology for a support function. It’s selecting and utilising the tools that are on offer. You should understand the capabilities of the toolset that your business has selected and implemented. It’s not just IT systems that have evolved beyond recognition over the last 30 years, it’s terminology and working practice too.
Strategy is more important than ever, and the support systems that you put in place should serve and support the business strategy. Of course, this can’t stand alone; things go wrong. In this way, a help desk function is a tool that is always required, whatever the nature of your business. But it’s the way that this sits in the wider scope of IT service that is important.
Choosing the right approach
The word ‘service’ is absolutely central in all of these conversations. It’s to do with human approach as much as a set of system tools. For successful IT service delivery, a team needs the right practices as well as the right tools. This is to do with management, organisation and focus of a team. Get this right, and your service desk can be instrumental in the growth of an organisation. In turn, your systems should both reflect and enable the organisation’s growth. The suite of tools that underpin your IT service or support must be able to grow and evolve. The solution here is in selecting the right products and a supportive supplier.
What should we call our desk?
Really – call it what you like! After all these years of change in the industry, you’ll find help desks, service desks, support desks, contact centres and a myriad other names to describe a business’ solution. One study found that over 40% of help desks and service desks are called something else entirely. And maybe that’s the right way. After all, each business is unique and uses solutions and software in a different way. This means that you may find that a completely different term is the best way to describe your support systems.
Conclusion
When it comes down to it, then, understanding service and help desks is a bit like a Russian Doll. Within your IT processes, you have service, within that service you have incidents that require help. In fact, within that service you have a load of other things too and they all interlink with each other in a web of productivity. It’s this productivity that your service desk solution must support and enable- whatever you decide to name it!