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Czegel, Barbara (1998). Running an
effective help desk (2nd Ed.). New York: Wiley.
NOTE:
I'm not abstracting the entire book, just the parts on Tracking,
Help Desk Tools, and The Internet.
TRACKING
Build and maintain a problem/solution knowledge
base
If you keep track of how you solve problems,
you will be able to use that information if other people experience
similar problems. ideally this will be stored in a database
so when a customer calls you can scan the database for information
on similar past problems. Such databases range from
simple relational databases to complex expert systems.
Identify recurring problems
US debt that communication between help desk
staff. otherwise, each person might be getting similar
calls but be unaware that others are receiving the same types
of calls. it wastes time if each person invests time
to fix the problem independently.
Identify major problems before they occur
Early detection and correction of problems
tends to lessen their severity. Monitoring the network
can help you notice degradations in performance, enabling
you to fix the systems before they generate additional help
calls.
Identify candidate processes for automation
You'll get the most "bang for the buck"
by automating the problems that generate the largest numbers
of help calls. automating routine calls frees up your
staff to focus on more complex calls and to make improvements
to help desk service.
Measure help desk performance
Tracking held you measure the performance
of your help desk. How many calls you answer, the number
of users you are supporting, your rate of successful resolution,
etc. remember that an important part help desk service is
customer satisfaction. sometimes it appears as though
you're successful because you are getting fewer calls, but
this may because customers are going to places other than
your help desk for support!
Provide information necessary for chargeback
Tracking your data can give you leverage---
knowing which persons and/or departments are benefiting from
your service helps you in dealing with the administration
of those departments.
Identify opportunities for training
Help desk workers commonly complain that customers
don't know the technology they are using. Such customers ask
the same questions over and over again, ask very simple questions
or ask questions that make it clear that they do not understand
the basics of the software. Tracking these kinds of
calls will help you identify groups of customers that need
training. For every one of these callers that you successfully
get into training, you are decreasing your help desk load.
Keep customers informed
Notify your customers into the impending problems,
maintenance, or shutdowns---in advance. This prevents
help calls.
Integrate tracking data
"The information you track is most valuable
when you can integrate it." That is, the
more systems know about each other and can talk to each other,
the more powerful they become---the less you have to type,
the less chance there is of error, and the faster your house
can be resolved.
TOOLS
Components of a basic help desk management
system
- Call logging
- Call database
- Call routing
- Call escalation
- Basic reporting
- Queries
Plug-ins
- Voice integration
- Knowledge bases
- Expert systems
- Remote diagnostics
- Asset management
- Change management
- Internet access
- Work order management
- Forecasting/scheduling
- Performance analysis
- Network management
- Software distribution
- Customized reporting
- Customer training
You are not alone: forums for learning
and idea exchange
- The Help Desk Institute (HDI)
- Software Support Professionals Association
(SSPA)
- Association of Support Professionals (ASP)
- Helpdesk User Group (HUG)
- The help desk FAQ site (http://www.duke.edu/~pverghis/hdeskfaw.htm)
- Online discussion groups
- Vendor web sites
- Magazines on the Internet
- Service News
- Support Management
- LTI Technomedia
- Network computing
- PC Week
Tools for communication
- White boards
- Voice mail
- Email
- Electronic displays of system status for
customers
A basic help desk management system
- Capturing and logging call information
- Routing and escalated calls
- Generating queries
- Generating reports
Telephone related technologies
- Computer telephony integration (CTI): e.g.,
caller ID lookup, fax-on-demand, intelligent call routing
- Automatic call distributor (ACD): i.e.,
call queue
- Automated attendant: i.e., voice mail options.
- Interactive voice response (IVR): e.g.,
fax-back, specific pre-recorded information
Problem resolution tools
- Knowledge bases and expert systems
- Definitions
- Remote diagnostic software
- Internet access
Asset management tools
Management aids
- Change management
- Work order management
- Forecasting/scheduling
- Performance analysis
Network management tools
Tools for customer training and self-help
THE INTERNET: CHALLENGE AND OPPORTUNITY
The Internet allows easy, quick, and (virtually)
free access to a huge knowledge base of product and support
information. Vendor sites offer help for specific products,
FAQs, etc. It allows us to transmit new software, updates,
and fixes electronically. It allows us to gather information
from customers. It gives us the ability to access help desk
software from anywhere. Customers can use FAQs and knowledge
bases to solve their own problems, or check on call status
via the Internet.
All this transfers into reduced calls to the
Help Desk, improved service for the calls that go through,
and more room for improvements (plus it's cheap!).
Challenges of Using the Internet for Help
Desk Functions
- Rampant growth
- Skyrocketing expectations
- Concerns about security and confidentiality
- Unreliability of information
- High volume of information
- Legal issues (e.g., copyrights)
- Exposure to viruses
- The Internet adds a layer of increased
complexity for the environment being supported
The Internet Can Be:
Things to Include on Your Web Site
1) Information: services, hours, etc.
2) Documents
- Policies
- Terms & conditions for product use
- Standards
- Procedures
- Service agreements
3) Training
- Interactive training
- Links to other sites with tutorials
- Schedules for classroom training
4) Ways to Help Customers Resolve Problems
- FAQs
- Hints & Tips
- Knowledge Bases
- Links to other sites
5) Problem submission Forms
6) Customer Feedback
7) Registration
8) Free newsletter
Statistics to Track
- Number of calls
- Personnel
- Number/percentage of calls resolved at
point of call
- Number/percentage of a specific type of
call
- Resolution times for calls not resolved
at point of call
- Number of calls left unresolved
- Delivery time for services
- Promised vs. active resolution times
Others that might be interesting
Break down the above statistics by origin,
personnel who resolved, various time periods.
Czegel, Barbara (1998). Running an
effective help desk (2nd Ed.). New York: Wiley.
NOTE:
I'm not abstracting the entire book, just the parts on Tracking,
Help Desk Tools, and The Internet.
TRACKING
Build and maintain a problem/solution knowledge
base
If you keep track of how you solve problems,
you will be able to use that information if other people experience
similar problems. ideally this will be stored in a database
so when a customer calls you can scan the database for information
on similar past problems. Such databases range from
simple relational databases to complex expert systems.
Identify recurring problems
US debt that communication between help desk
staff. otherwise, each person might be getting similar
calls but be unaware that others are receiving the same types
of calls. it wastes time if each person invests time
to fix the problem independently.
Identify major problems before they occur
Early detection and correction of problems
tends to lessen their severity. Monitoring the network
can help you notice degradations in performance, enabling
you to fix the systems before they generate additional help
calls.
Identify candidate processes for automation
You'll get the most "bang for the buck"
by automating the problems that generate the largest numbers
of help calls. automating routine calls frees up your
staff to focus on more complex calls and to make improvements
to help desk service.
Measure help desk performance
Tracking held you measure the performance
of your help desk. How many calls you answer, the number
of users you are supporting, your rate of successful resolution,
etc. remember that an important part help desk service is
customer satisfaction. sometimes it appears as though
you're successful because you are getting fewer calls, but
this may because customers are going to places other than
your help desk for support!
Provide information necessary for chargeback
Tracking your data can give you leverage---
knowing which persons and/or departments are benefiting from
your service helps you in dealing with the administration
of those departments.
Identify opportunities for training
Help desk workers commonly complain that customers
don't know the technology they are using. Such customers ask
the same questions over and over again, ask very simple questions
or ask questions that make it clear that they do not understand
the basics of the software. Tracking these kinds of
calls will help you identify groups of customers that need
training. For every one of these callers that you successfully
get into training, you are decreasing your help desk load.
Keep customers informed
Notify your customers into the impending problems,
maintenance, or shutdowns---in advance. This prevents
help calls.
Integrate tracking data
"The information you track is most valuable
when you can integrate it." That is, the
more systems know about each other and can talk to each other,
the more powerful they become---the less you have to type,
the less chance there is of error, and the faster your house
can be resolved.
TOOLS
Components of a basic help desk management
system
- Call logging
- Call database
- Call routing
- Call escalation
- Basic reporting
- Queries
Plug-ins
- Voice integration
- Knowledge bases
- Expert systems
- Remote diagnostics
- Asset management
- Change management
- Internet access
- Work order management
- Forecasting/scheduling
- Performance analysis
- Network management
- Software distribution
- Customized reporting
- Customer training
You are not alone: forums for learning
and idea exchange
- The Help Desk Institute (HDI)
- Software Support Professionals Association
(SSPA)
- Association of Support Professionals (ASP)
- Helpdesk User Group (HUG)
- The help desk FAQ site (http://www.duke.edu/~pverghis/hdeskfaw.htm)
- Online discussion groups
- Vendor web sites
- Magazines on the Internet
- Service News
- Support Management
- LTI Technomedia
- Network computing
- PC Week
Tools for communication
- White boards
- Voice mail
- Email
- Electronic displays of system status for
customers
A basic help desk management system
- Capturing and logging call information
- Routing and escalated calls
- Generating queries
- Generating reports
Telephone related technologies
- Computer telephony integration (CTI): e.g.,
caller ID lookup, fax-on-demand, intelligent call routing
- Automatic call distributor (ACD): i.e.,
call queue
- Automated attendant: i.e., voice mail options.
- Interactive voice response (IVR): e.g.,
fax-back, specific pre-recorded information
Problem resolution tools
- Knowledge bases and expert systems
- Definitions
- Remote diagnostic software
- Internet access
Asset management tools
Management aids
- Change management
- Work order management
- Forecasting/scheduling
- Performance analysis
Network management tools
Tools for customer training and self-help
THE INTERNET: CHALLENGE AND OPPORTUNITY
The Internet allows easy, quick, and (virtually)
free access to a huge knowledge base of product and support
information. Vendor sites offer help for specific products,
FAQs, etc. It allows us to transmit new software, updates,
and fixes electronically. It allows us to gather information
from customers. It gives us the ability to access help desk
software from anywhere. Customers can use FAQs and knowledge
bases to solve their own problems, or check on call status
via the Internet.
All this transfers into reduced calls to the
Help Desk, improved service for the calls that go through,
and more room for improvements (plus it's cheap!).
Challenges of Using the Internet for Help
Desk Functions
- Rampant growth
- Skyrocketing expectations
- Concerns about security and confidentiality
- Unreliability of information
- High volume of information
- Legal issues (e.g., copyrights)
- Exposure to viruses
- The Internet adds a layer of increased
complexity for the environment being supported
The Internet Can Be:
Things to Include on Your Web Site
1) Information: services, hours, etc.
2) Documents
- Policies
- Terms & conditions for product use
- Standards
- Procedures
- Service agreements
3) Training
- Interactive training
- Links to other sites with tutorials
- Schedules for classroom training
4) Ways to Help Customers Resolve Problems
- FAQs
- Hints & Tips
- Knowledge Bases
- Links to other sites
5) Problem submission Forms
6) Customer Feedback
7) Registration
8) Free newsletter
Statistics to Track
- Number of calls
- Personnel
- Number/percentage of calls resolved at
point of call
- Number/percentage of a specific type of
call
- Resolution times for calls not resolved
at point of call
- Number of calls left unresolved
- Delivery time for services
- Promised vs. active resolution times
Others that might be interesting
Break down the above statistics by origin,
personnel who resolved, various time periods.
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