How to Improve Service Desk Performance

Improve Performance of Your IT Service Desk by Analyzing Feedback and Metrics

Editorial Team

Expand Your Service Desk to 24/7 Read Time Clock

4 Min Read

Today’s companies rely on computer networks and digital resources more than ever. As a result, effective information technology (IT) support is vital for business processes to function productively and efficiently. An organization’s IT service desk plays a critical role in serving the needs of internal users and external customers. As workforces evolve and remote teams become mainstream, the importance of a high-performance service desk increases. Efficient service desk support is crucial for delivering a good employee experience and enabling an organization to meet its objectives. Accomplishing these goals begins with developing an effective strategy for improving and maintaining a high-performance service desk.

4 Ways to Improve Service Desk Support

Although a service desk often comprises tailor-made solutions developed for a specific company, several valuable methods can help an organization improve performance.
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Collecting Metrics

Generalized complaints are of little value if a company wants to take a constructive approach to improving help desk performance. Suppose a manager notices a drop in service levels, a reduction in response times, or a decrease in customer satisfaction. In those cases, it’s vital to have concrete data before implementing an improvement strategy.

Help desk metrics allow companies to track the performance of their customer support efforts and measure customer satisfaction. With this information, an organization can adjust its strategies when delivering customer support. These metrics are critical for gauging whether existing customer support solutions meet the needs of external customers and internal employees.

Some examples of the metrics to consider when measuring service desk performance include:

  • Ticket volume: Monitoring the total number of tickets a service desk addresses over a specific period can generate insights that identify peak operating times while ensuring a support team maximizes output.
  • Resolution time: This metric identifies the average time it takes a service desk to resolve an issue, helping optimize process efficiency and determining whether employees have the proper resources to perform their duties effectively.
  • Conversations per agent: By establishing the optimal number of interactions a help desk agent can handle, an organization ensures each customer conversation remains friendly and efficient while protecting team members from burnout.
  • Response time: In today’s highly competitive marketplace, customers demand fast responses to their inquiries. Response time is a critical metric that measures whether an organization meets these expectations. Identifying the cases involving the fastest and slowest response times can help determine a company’s most vital help desk issues.
  • Customer satisfaction: A customer satisfaction score is one of the most critical metrics for success. Consistently exceeding expectations enables a company to maximize customer retention while increasing brand loyalty.

Evaluating Performance Feedback

While tracking metrics is one of the most critical steps in identifying areas for improvement, collecting internal employee feedback can also be beneficial. This feedback helps companies address employee-specific issues such as the types of challenges they face in the workplace, additional tools they need to execute their daily tasks, and how they can improve individual performance. Organizations can create quick, concise surveys to identify the most critical factors on employees’ minds. Encouraging employees to elaborate on their positive and negative feedback can also help develop more effective solutions.

Analyzing How and Why Issues Occur

Beyond solving problems, organizations must be able to track and analyze their root causes to understand how and why they occur. Businesses can grow by uncovering the areas and processes requiring the most attention, including team members that could benefit from additional coaching or training. Once organizations recognize the areas needing the most improvement, they can begin developing a strategy to fix the issues at hand, enabling team members and service desks to operate at optimal performance levels.

Quantifying Customer Satisfaction

Measuring external customer satisfaction over a specific period is critical. Understanding internal employee satisfaction and help desk support team performance can be equally important. By using several key indicators to quantify these variables, an organization can develop goals and build effective strategies to accomplish them. Quantifying how satisfied internal and external customers are through metrics is critical, particularly if a company is going and its help desk is becoming more integrated throughout the organization. Because a service desk’s success can significantly impact a company’s performance, taking the proper steps to optimize its operations will ensure a business meets or exceeds its goals later.

Choosing GDC to Help Create a Service Desk Improvement Strategy

If your organization needs help identifying areas of improvement for your service desk and establishing strategies for optimization, the experts at GDC can help. Our outsourced service desk solutions provide the tools you need to improve response times, increase production, and maximize overall customer satisfaction. Learn why businesses of all sizes have trusted GDC’s industry-best services for nearly 30 decades. Connect with us online today to schedule a demo or request additional information.

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