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No matter how you structure your help desk, one thing is certain: the service desk is a vital interface for your company because it’s where your customers interact daily with your representatives. Whether you’re building your help desk structure from the ground up or reorganizing an existing one, there are several factors to keep in mind, including team and location, contact channels, production tools and training, issue tracking, and a feedback system.

Team & Location Structuring

The location of your help desk isn’t something to be taken lightly because you want easy (in person or remote) access to your staff when issues may arise. Whether it’s centralized in one place, located across multiple offices logging into a single call system, or scattered across the country – or the world – with remote agents (typically cheaper), think about what location works best for your company.

Establish the “Contact Us” Channels

If you’re building a help desk from scratch, you will need to set up specific contact channels for your customers to reach out to team for help desk ticketing issues. Primarily, phone and email are the standard modes of contact, but don’t overlook additional means like web pages, chat messaging, social media and more. It’s always a safe bet to start with the primary methods of contact, but also consider offering a wider range of channels to make your company more accessible and give customers an overall better user experience.

Production Tools & Training

You’ve heard the saying, “The right tool for the job.” Well, when it comes to service desk structure and your IT staff, you need to have well-trained employees with the necessary tools to get the job done. As the interface between the customer and the IT process, your help desk staff should have a well-integrated set of software tools and production processes, including call center capability with easy-to-use telephone menus and automated self-service when the staff isn’t present.

When it comes to training, you should consider a minimum of an 8-hour training program per agent per month to guide new hires through frequent problem solving methodology, appropriate tool usage, and a better overall understanding of your business and how they can positively impact the bottom line. With continuous monthly training, your IT staff can keep up to date on the ins and outs of current help desk trends and more.

Recording & Tracking Issues

When various issues come up, it’s critical to record them and their solutions within a company database. Doing so will help your service desk stay organized, effective and on top of the IT game when addressing similar issues in the future. Investing in a help desk ticketing system may be a big initial investment; however, it will prove invaluable in terms of time and money saved. Don’t even think about spreadsheets.

Develop a Feedback System

How do you know how effective your help desk structure is if you have nothing to compare it to? Customer feedback and help desk metrics are pivotal to the success or failure of your service desk. If the customers are unhappy with your service desk, then they’re unhappy with your company, which makes them unhappy with your brand. Keep them satisfied and happy by following up on reported/fixed issues and take their feedback into consideration to help you get the most success out of your help desk. Find out how IssueTrak software can help in organizing the structure of your help desk by checking out the IssueTrak’s software demo.