Helpdesk collaboration: Work on tickets to deliver optimal customer support
Never underestimate the importance of collaboration
Collaboration is important in many activities. A group of people are a lot more likely to develop an effective solution to a problem than an individual. A group generally represents a greater breadth of experience, a greater number of perspectives, or ways of seeing an issue, and a greater number of ideas than an individual. And a collaborative effort usually results in more creative solutions than the efforts of an individual if the team is built and functions correctly. But how does helpdesk collaboration deliver optimal customer support?
Keep the team involved!
Who, or what do the helpdesk personnel work with? At a minimum, the technicians have a set of notebooks or computer screens, usually checklists and troubleshooting procedures to respond to the typical user’s problem. But is this the best use of company’s helpdesk resources? No. Checklists and procedures are often not able to provide the depth of information needed to address the customer’s needs. A collaborative approach is more likely to address those issues. Of course that begs the question: who should be available for collaborative efforts? Is there a standard set of personnel who should be on a helpdesk team?
Source expertise from across the team
An effective helpdesk team should consist of the technician helping the client, the people who designed and developed the software, configuration management, and, on occasion, the client being supported. Most of these people are not normally associated with helpdesk operations. Of course, being included on a helpdesk team means the helpdesk technician can expect ready access to these people.
How serious is the problem? Who better to ask than the client? Is the problem a matter of user error or software defects? Or is the system not designed to do what the client wants? System developers are best able to discuss this with the helpdesk technician.
If it is simply the way the system operates, are there plans to modify the software to meet the now clearly defined need? Or, in fact, what is the planned deployment date for the new release addressing that very issue? Project management might have the answer. In some cases, including configuration management might be particularly useful.
When the right team members are able to communicate quickly, and effectively, the client’s needs are met, quickly and effectively. The right team members provide outstanding service and collect information to improve the supported system.
Onedesk lets you collaborate with your teams, users, and customers
OneDesk provides what you need for effective helpdesk collaboration: flexible and accurate communications. It provides a seamless e-mail integration between all collaboration team members. And it presents a single point of contact to the user. The technician can get in-depth information. The client works with a single point of contact. The information going out is the result of the team members grappling with a problem. And though the client may not get the answer he or she wants, the client will know why she can’t have it…yet.
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Photo Credit : “Connected Technologies” / Blue Coat Photos / CC BY