When a system user has a question, the IT help desk technicians are one of the first to respond. Help desks have evolved in the recent years allowing remote technicians to provide services equal to those provided by an on-site technician. Help desks assist users with system difficulties and are usually managed through a ticketing system. Here are four critical functions that every IT help desk should offer.
1. Optimizing Downtime
General system updates can be a hassle when employees put up a fuss about downtime. Being online is sometimes a necessity for employees to work which is why the IT staff may get resistance for causing unwanted downtime. Although a nuisance, downtime can be an opportunity for the IT staff to install updates and conduct routine maintenance if administered at the right time. When a user reports a problem to the help desk, they are already expecting downtime or have experienced a technical problem thus far. This is a great time to sneak in any administrative updates that need to be taken care of.
2. Employee Education
Regardless of the training programs, mass emails, and workshops employees receive to teach them about technology and the dangers of malware, nothing is as effective as one-on-one or face-to-face education. When helping a user, either remotely or in person, that user is giving the technician their full attention. This time should be used to teach them additional information about phishing scams and other common practices. After all, no firewall can prevent human error. It is important for employees to understand the risks of a cyber-attack as well as best practices for preventing them.
3. Troubleshooting Process
An organized ticketing system can streamline troubleshooting to minimize downtime for an organization. There are software systems that make it easy for non-tech employees to communicate with the IT staff. Tickets are created when problems or questions arise and IT technician closes out the ticket upon completion. A system like this simplifies the troubleshooting process.
4. Trending Problem Identification
Your IT help desk should be categorizing problems in order to identify common trends. Noticing trends identifies reoccurring problems which can be addressed further. Often times, companies that have segregated departments overlook these trends because they are not clearly noticeable due to lack of proper categorizing and documentation. A ticketing system can greatly help with this issue.
Your IT help desks should be handling these four critical aspects. If not, maybe it’s time to look for a are comprehensive IT solutions provider in order to get the best quality and service. Make sure your business has its data protected through a trusted managed service provider. For more information about IT help desks, visit our website or contact our sales team at 240.499.2546.
