Reading: Help desk operations
Contents
Overview 2
The role of the help desk 2
How many help desk staff are required? 2
Initial diagnosis by the help desk operator 3
Diagnosing a problem 3
Categorising a problem 4
Product-oriented classification 4
Skill group categorisation 4
What to record 5
Action to be taken 5
Investigate the options of referral or action and follow the appropriate process 6
Providing an Immediate Solution 6
No immediate solution, but can solve problem given time 6
Using a problem solving checklist 6
How long should be spent on a call? 7
Refer problem to supervisor, management or technical area as required 7
IT skill groups 8
Call Escalation Guidelines 8
Recording Escalation Details 9
Closing a call 9
Document and track referrals according to organisational guidelines 9
Call Logging 10
Remote access software 10
Logging requests on-line 11
Reporting 11
Overview
Please note that this reading is of benefit to those who work in helpdesk roles or manage help desk staff.
In larger organisations or organisations that support a large number of external clients fault reporting and change requests are typically handled by a help desk team.
Help desk operators are the foot soldiers of the IT world - first line of contact for clients -they will solve as many problems as possible immediately and pass on other requests to the appropriate technical support staff.
This reading addresses elements of handling, documenting and passing on requests to appropriate staff in an IT support environment. It includes referring problems to a variety of personnel/areas, monitoring maintenance issues and ensuring client satisfaction in troubleshooting and problem resolution.
The role of the help desk
The purpose of the help desk is to ensure that user support is handled effectively. This means:
§ dealing directly with the users to determine their IT problems
§ logging and prioritising enquiry calls
§ classifying problems, according to organisational guidelines, eg hardware
§ providing immediate assistance where possible
§ referring calls to the appropriate staff, ie escalating calls
§ monitoring progress of problems, after they have been escalated
§ closing calls after solutions have been provided to the problem.
How many help desk staff are required?
The number of help desk staff required to cope with the volume of work depends on:
§ the size of the network
§ the number of clients
§ the complexity of services available to the users.
Generally, for a client base of 500-600 users, one help desk person is required to process fifty calls per six-hour shift.
In a medium to large sized organisation, the help desk has two or three Help desk operators and a help desk Supervisor. A help desk Supervisor manages the day-to-day activities of the help desk and reports to the Manager of User Services. The User Services Manager reports directly to the IT Director.
All the enquiries, fault reporting and requests for service which are directed to the IT department are channelled through the help desk. While only one help desk is shown in the typical organisation drawn in the figure above, in many cases an organisation may have several help desks, each designed to service a separate category of customer or to service a distinct range of products and services. Or, they may be designed to service a particular geographic area.
Initial diagnosis by the Help desk operator
Diagnosing a problem
The first step in resolving a problem is to use questioning techniques and diagnostic tests which will often be specified in help desk procedures. This should be done, even when the clients have provided their own description of the problem. It is a way of clearly validating the nature of the problem and standardising information. When the help desk operator conducts their own investigation, it allows them to recreate the problem and perhaps identify areas that may not be apparent to the client. It gives them a better understanding of the severity of the problem and perhaps the cause.
Categorising a problem
Problem categorisation is used to generate reports on the types of problems being received at the help desk. Categories or classifications are determined by the organisation according to their needs. The problems reported to the help desk can generally be grouped into the following categories:
§ in-house software
§ commercial software
§ network
§ hardware
§ database
§ operating system
§ communications, eg cabling
§ administration, eg security access
§ spare parts, eg printer ribbons
§ procedures, eg notification of changes to procedures.
Product-oriented classification
A different organisation may be product-oriented and choose the following classifications:
§ operating system
§ email system
§ database system
§ user applications.
Skill group categorisation
Another use of classifications is to choose a skill group to whom problems are referred. For example, if it is a networking problem, they may send it to skill group A, if it is an operating system problem, they may send it to skill group B and if it is an e-mail problem, they may send it to skill group C. Some help desk systems automatically route problems to skill groups based on the classification assigned by the help desk operator.
These categories are generally broken down into more specific problems. This is done to try and determine, as closely as possible, the problem and who might best be able to resolve it.
What to record
During this diagnostic process, all information and findings should be recorded, as it contributes to the maintenance report that is prepared at a later stage. In the event that the call needs to be escalated, someone else can also use the information.
Action to be taken
Once the problem has been identified, the help desk operator needs to provide maintenance in line with organisational guidelines, as well as any Service Level Agreements between the help desk and the client. For example, a person requiring access to a database with highly confidential information may need to provide written authorisation from the manager before this can be granted.
The help desk operator needs to either solve the problem themselves or escalate the problem to higher level support workers.
The help desk operator also needs to identify the status of the logged problem. The classifications are:
§ Open - the problem has been reported but it is not yet resolved.
§ Completed - the problem has been resolved or fixed and the customer has been informed.
§ Closed - several days after the customer was informed of the solution or fix, the customer is called again to check that the solution is satisfactory.
§ Pending - the solution to the problem is known but IT is waiting on an external supplier for spare parts.
The actual names used as codes vary from site to site. For instance, they may use codes '1', '2' and '3', or 'new', 'solved' and 'finished'. Whatever the names of the status codes, they all have similar meanings to 'open', 'completed' and 'closed'.
Investigate the options of referral or action and follow the appropriate process
Providing an Immediate Solution
Let's see what happens if the help desk operator can solve the problem. The help desk operator:
§ gives the solution to the customer
§ records the solution
§ sets the call status to 'Completed'
§ signs off.
The help desk operator is now ready to accept the next call.
No immediate solution, but can solve problem given time
Sometimes the help desk operator does not have the solution but believes that given further time, they can solve the problem. The operator proceeds with probing questions, such as: 'Try doing X and tell me what happens then'. The question for the help desk operator to ask themselves is: How long should I spend trying to solve the problem before deciding I cannot do it? Usually, the help desk operator needs to assess this within a few minutes.
Using a problem solving checklist
Remember, before you can attempt to solve a problem, you need to be aware of the following:
§ the hardware and software environment in which the problem has occurred
§ whether the problem is categorised as a software, hardware, network or training problem
§ the client's requirements and their situation
§ the Service Level Agreement that exists between the client and the help desk's organisation
§ any existing contracts for product support, that exist in the help desk organisation
§ organisational policies regarding logging and solving calls
§ the organisation's acquisition policies regarding the purchase of new components
§ the organisation's auditing policies regarding the storage and disposal of old components
§ the point at which escalation to a specialist IT person is necessary
§ the organisation's guidelines regarding documentation and the preparation of maintenance reports
§ the organisation's policies on providing instruction to clients
§ whether the help desk operator is able or authorised to fix the problem or provide the advice needed
§ the appropriate diagnostic tests and documentation that are available to operators.
How long should be spent on a call?
Consider what is happening while the help desk operator is on the phone helping one client to solve their problem. Unless there are a large number of help desk operators, which is rare, there are probably other clients waiting to get through. Time spent on calls is likely to affect service levels to which management needs to be sensitive. Hence, the maximum amount of time to spend on each call is more likely to be set by management as a policy. It is generally not left to the discretion of the help desk operator.
When the maximum time allowed for a call is approaching, the help desk operator will have either solved the problem or acknowledged that it must be passed onto someone who can further assist them. If the problem has been solved, the operator records the details and closes the call. If the problem has not been resolved, then the help desk operator needs to escalate the call.
Refer problem to supervisor, management or technical area as required
'Call escalation' occurs where a query is passed to other specialist staff or to a supervisor. In terms of call escalation, it is necessary to have a brief discussion of the role of some of the IT specialists.
In a large IT organisation, the help desk is tightly integrated with other sections and staff. The larger the organisation, the more likely that technical services will be subdivided into specialist areas of knowledge, such as Networking, Applications, Hardware etc. These subdivisions are referred to as 'skill groups'.
These skill groups provide the second line of support to the IT section. They are the people to whom calls are escalated and they must also directly solve the major problems encountered by clients. Many people within the IT department work together to solve the IT queries and problems put forward by the users. Their goal is to oversee the restoration of normal services. They are also most often responsible for regular scheduled maintenance.
IT skill groups
Skill groups support the help desk when the help desk operator cannot resolve the problem. Many problems pass to a skill group simply because a visit to the client's workplace is needed. Typically, skill groups are:
§ service centre staff, who install and maintain equipment
§ external service and repair centres
§ desktop support who install and diagnose hardware and software problems
§ vendors for technical support and warranty work
§ systems support staff, who support the backend systems
§ communications support, who install, maintain and support the network
§ Management Information Systems (MIS) staff who develop and support in-house software
§ database administrators.
Call Escalation Guidelines
Call escalation guidelines need to be defined by each organisation. For call escalation to be effective, four criteria need to be met:
§ having well-trained and adequate support staff to respond quickly to calls
§ knowing when to escalate a call to an IT specialist
§ knowing which IT specialist to escalate the call to
§ coordinating follow-up with the user
Recording Escalation Details
To complete the referral, the help desk operator records:
§ the initial priority
§ the date and time of the referral
§ the name of the skill group to which the job is being referred.
The skill group is notified by phone or email that there is a new job for them on the help desk system. The job status is left 'Open' until the client is satisfied that the problem has been resolved.
When a job has been escalated, the next steps are:
§ give the client a reference number for the job
§ give them an idea of when the job will be solved or fixed, based on the initial priority.
This lets the client know that their problem is receiving attention and that someone is looking after them.
Closing a call
Calls that have been resolved by the help desk operator can be signed-off with normal telephone farewells. Remember, call sign-off can only occur once the client is completely satisfied that the problem has been solved. When a job has been escalated, the help desk operator gives the client a reference number for the job and gives them an idea of when the problem will be solved or fixed based on initial priority. This lets the client know what to expect next. It also gives the client confidence that their problem is receiving attention and that someone is looking after them.
All final information must be recorded in the help desk database and the client should be given an opportunity to provide feedback on their experience with the help desk system.
Document and track referrals according to organisational guidelines
The experience that a help desk gains as it deals with many user problems needs to be captured and shared by building up a knowledge base - most often in the form of a database. The maintenance of this database is an essential routine task for help desk operators. This central record allows not only knowledge gathering but also provides a means for tracking the progress of calls and keeping a record of common problems and solutions.
The solution provided may not solve the problem. If the customer calls again and the help desk operator who took the original call is no longer available, it is vital that the on-duty help desk operator is able to see what the first help desk operator thought the problem was and what solution was recommended. With this information the second help desk operator has more evidence to help solve the problem.