Nine Elements of a Great Help Desk

What makes an exceptional Help Desk?

Investment firms rely heavily on technology, but no technology is completely infallible. In the event of an unexpected issue, having a knowledgeable, experienced Help Desk at your fingertips is essential.

Let’s explore the 9 elements of a great Help Desk.

#1 Dedicated Expert TeamsThe best Help Desk teams are those on which analysts are 100% employed by the IT service provider.

– Analysts are focused solely on servicing the products provided by their company, so they are experts on those systems.

– They are more likely to be experienced in any issues your firm will encounter.

#2 Centralized Help Desk PersonnelCentralization ensures that clients in all regions have access to the highest quality service regardless of day or time.

– Speeds up response times

– Creates more escalation paths to help resolve issues rapidly

– Enables knowledge sharing and collaboration

#3 Knowledge SharingThe best Help Desk teams receive regular training to stay constantly abreast of all product updates and changes.

Knowledge sharing platforms, such as an internal Wiki, allow analysts to share troubleshooting tips with engineers across all regions.

The most effective teams deliver quality service with a personal touch.

– Analysts should recognize the importance of your technology issues and take care to see them through to resolution.

– They should also follow up to ensure that the problem has been resolved and no further problems have occurred.

#4 Personal Touch

#5 Feedback Mechanisms

Clients should have the ability to provide feedback on both the analyst and services provided.

The best Help Desks have an efficient internal system in place for monitoring client feedback.

– Great service can be rewarded and problems can be prevented from recurring in the future.

A call management system tracks such statistics as call volume, the length of time a call remains in queue, the length of a conversation with Help Desk personnel, and more.

Monitoring important details of all calls allows supervisors to review data and analyze it to identify areas of weakness and improve upon them.

#6 Call Management Systems

These tools record all calls that come into the Help Desk and archive them for future use.

– Great strategy for quality control

– Increases the accountability of analysts and engineers that are handling client calls

– Sample vendors include RedBox Recorders

#7 Call Recording Tools

This stores all historical ticket information in a single location, so analysts can easily access data on the type of work that has previously been done with a client.

– When you call the Help Desk for assistance, you will not have to waste valuable time explaining previous calls you had with other Help Desk representatives.

#8 Centralized Help Desk System

#9 Business Continuity PlanThe best Help Desks have business continuity procedures in place to ensure that client issues will continue to be handled seamlessly in the event of an unexpected outage on their end.

A Help Desk should be prepared to re-route all service calls should its primary Help Desk location become inaccessible– Clients should not experience a lapse in service during

a disaster/incident

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