Imagine me, I am the new team lead of a small, internal Help
Desk. Unfortunately, process & procedures have not been
developed so some aspects of Call handling need to be formalized -
specifically, the call re-assignment process.
At the moment, if a technician can't resolve the call, he/she
contacts the primary Help Desk Analyst and asks her to re-assign the
call to a different person, using our Help Desk software applicaton.
The quantity of calls is low so it's an informal "can you do me a
favour?" type of atmosphere.
I would like the technicians to do the Call Re-Assignment
themselves but they are reluctant. Am I off-base? No...here's how to
handle the call re-assignment process....
If you can get everyone to agree to pass them on themselves, that
is a good thing - provided that it does not become a way to put
awkward problems to the bottom of the pile by giving them to someone
else. What I've done in the past is make it a "pull" operation
rather than a "push" one - calls are taken by the new assignee
rather then given to them by the current assignee. This means there
has to be a discussion before the re-assignment, which immediately
takes out the risk of unnecessary or delaying call
reassignments.
In efficiency terms, not re-routing via the desk is a good thing,
since it speeds up call transfer. After all, the call is always
owned by the desk (it is, isn't it?!) since they do the progress
chasing and the technicians are temporary custodians.
In measurement terms, this is the "bounce count"- the average
number of times a call is reassigned in its life. This is one of the
main KPIs for a Helpdesk operation. A good desk should aim to keep
it as low as possible.
This situation arises all the time at many small-ish internal
help desk.
Staff alternate phone days with deskside days, so it is very
common for the person on the phone to take a call that requires a
site visit (though those are held down a lot with remote
control). In that case, they get on the radio, ask who is
available for a "hit and run" (sorry) and once the request has been
accepted, the phone person makes the reassignment in Support
Magic.
It also happens when it's an escalation situation. In
that case, they must ask the person they want to reassign the call
to if they will accept the call. If they will, then the person
taking the call does the reassignment, same as the case above.
Under no circumstances are folks to reassign a call unless
they have discussed it in advance. This works really well
for many groups. The process is facilitated by the fact that
the team works extremely well with each other to begin with.
If staff have trouble getting anyone to take the call,
it's their responsibility to let you know and you'll get it
reassigned. This usually happens only in cases where everyone
is fully booked and they aren't raising their hand because of a
workload issue. Checking with the caller on what their
timeline is and how it fits in our prioritization scheme also helps
so that the person being asked to take it on knows the
timeframe.
Ready to buy? Order the
Help Desk Toolkit today
THE HELP DESK TOOLKIT - Fourteen extensive
documents Sample Pages
Here
One thing is for sure: The Help Desk Toolkit makes Help Desk
Procurement and Management far more straight forward. No doubt about
it: it de-mystifies Help Desk Management, and enables you to produce
a Help Desk function with the minimum of fuss. There is absolutely
no need to re-invent the wheel! It is supplied primarily in MS-Word
format and comprises the following components:
HELP DESK all you need now
Ready to use documents: Help Desk Implementation
Plan, Help Desk procedures, Proactive Stress Management,
Problem management procedure
- Help desk implementation plan covering
all the aspects of help desk implementations
- Help Desk Phone Communication
Standards - Example Standards Monitoring Sheet
- Help Desk Stress Management - 30
slides Proactive Strategies for Managing Stress and
Change
- Help Desk Procedures - This
procedure defines the steps involved in responding to customer
calls through the Help Desk facility.
HELP DESK SLA GUIDE
Let's face it: a
comprehensive SLA is a daunting task. Now you'll have an extensive
blueprint at your fingertips. This document explains every part of
the service level agreement for a HELP DESK, clause by clause. You
can populate and change directly, as required.
- Service Level Guidelines on Help
Desk procedures
- Extensive Service Level Agreement for
Help desks
HELP DESK
INTRODUCTION
Let's be honest: getting buy-in
is the hardest part of any Help Desk, are you ready for straight
talk? This is a full PowerPoint presentation. It explains the HELP
DESK, what is needed, why and where.
AUDIT & REVIEW
How many times have you said to yourself: how well are our
Help Desk needs taken care of? If you already have a HELP DESK, or
just want to be doubly sure, this component will certainly help. It
comprises a series of questions designed to take you through your
HELP DESK and check it for quality and completeness. A first rate
audit tool (MS-Word).
HELP DESK BEST PRACTICE
We've got the solution to your needs: HELP DESK best practice
is designed around a set of activities to deliver upon
excellent customer value. This explains the key concepts of a
HELP DESK.
HELP DESK DESIGN TEMPLATE
In today's uncertain economy you need clarity, fast. This is
a complete template for establishing service descriptions. This is a
complete template for a HELP DESK design.
Fourteen documents
- Hundreds of pages with
easy-to-follow sections
- An extensive must-do
checklist based on our experience implementing Help Desk in over
40 industries
- New practical advice on
awareness, planning, implementation, and review
- New commentary on
delivering upon business value
- All-new "tuneup"
section tailored to improve the performance of
existing initiatives
- Fully updated throughout to
take account of current Best Practices and policies, and the
state of their
use
