One of the foremost issues impacting Information Systems (IS) Management is resolving the Help Desk crisis. At the core of this crisis is IS Management's continued focus on repairing an old and failing Help Desk strategy. Originally developed as a tool to support an efficient, single-threaded environment of IBM 3270 terminals, critical elements of today's Help Desk strategies have not kept pace with changing desktop technologies. PCs and distributed computing have evolved and now present a new level of sophistication in which corporate employees perform their jobs.
Although today's corporate user still sits in front of a monitor stroking away at a keyboard, his or her desktop is now complicated by a hard drive, a diskette drive, a mouse, a network adapter card, a graphics accelerator, and a shelf full of applications software and documentation. With the increasing complexity of the technological environment, Help Desk personnel are taking much longer to provide solutions as end-users are routinely calling with increasingly sophisticated usage questions. In some cases, the customer knows more about their desktop applications than the Help Desk professional attempting to resolve the problem.
Another element of crisis confronting IS Management is staffing the Help Desk function. Because the Help Desk has been historically considered a thankless, glamourless back-office job, many technically competent people will not consider rotating through the Help Desk, or they can't wait until they leave the support role. With a lack of quality people resources to choose from, IS Managers are forced to staff the Help Desk with less-skilled personnel.
The crisis deepens when considering Help Desk economics. The Gartner Group shocked CIOs and IS Directors with the astronomical cost of supporting the IS enterprise. They reported that since 1987 the five-year total cost of PC ownership soared from $19,296 to $41,536-- an increase of 215 percent. Although hardware and software costs have stabilized, these efficiencies have been buried by massive increases in labor expenses. End-user operation costs have now doubled, and administrative costs have quadrupled!
As a CIO reviews these numbers, it is highly likely that his or her peers are complaining about how their people are always being put on hold, or not getting support when they finally reach the Help Desk. Consequently, the Help Desk now adopts the nickname-- the "Helpless Desk."
Turning danger into opportunity
With crises brewing for IS support organizations, the near future will determine if these troubles represent danger or opportunity. For support organizations that try to hang on and refine the "Helpless Desk," there is great danger. These organizations will ultimately fail to provide adequate support service to an increasingly complex technical environment. They will ask for additional staff and phone lines at the same time the CIO is attempting to reduce support costs.
On the other hand, opportunity abounds in re-engineering a strategic solution to customer support. With the PC mission-critical to the success of the employee and the company, IS Managers must re-think and develop a new customer support strategy to match the technical, staffing, and financial requirements of the next-generation Help Desk.
When constructing the new Help Desk strategy, IS Managers should consider several important factors, including:
- The interpersonal, technological and judgmental qualities of the Help Desk personnel
- The technical tools required to solve and prevent problems
- The relationship between the Help Desk and staff and management
- The location of the Help Desk
Retooling the Help Desk mindset is the first step to success
From the very start, IS Managers must embrace a new philosophy which proactively seeks to eliminate problems from occurring in the first place. In essence, a proactive versus reactive mind-set and culture should be the core competency of the Help Desk.
At the Helpless Desk, the staff fixes, and fixes, and fixes. At the strategic Help Desk, the staff constantly searches for new ways to solve and prevent.
Because technological worth is valued higher for problem prevention than for crisis problem management, Help Desk personnel should be taken off of the phones as much as possible and placed on technology projects and systems that will keep the customer from needing to call in the first place.
In addition, Help Desk personnel should utilize the Help Desk database not only to log and recall problems for fixes, but to also analyze which problems are recurring and indicate a "root" problem. At the end of the day, these people should then strive to review the database so that fixes can be put on a voice response system (VRUs and IVRs are discussed later) that the customer can listen to while they are in queue. The Help Desk should naturally use the database to communicate known "bugs" to application developers instead of waiting for an end-user revolt.
Next, if problems are anticipated across the network, then customers should be contacted before the problem is experienced. While Help Desk personnel may complain that customers never call to tell them they're doing a great job, how often does Help Desk staff proactively call customers with solutions?
Technology tools speed and ease problem resolution
Remote connectivity and proactive network management tools are the instruments of success for a strategic Help Desk. As desktop applications are mission-critical to company success, they are also a frequent source of problems. It is absolutely necessary for staff to have the ability to "take over" and manage the PC or file server from the Help Desk. In many cases, it reduces problem-solving time by more than 50%, and increases first-call problem resolution by more than 65%.
Next, application management software is necessary to proactively detect, correct, and prevent software application problems. Thereby, the Help Desk is aware of a problem before the end-user. This strategic software not only makes the LAN and PCs run smoothly, but it also increases user productivity and substantially reduces support costs.
Another strategic Help Desk tool is a CD-ROM tower. This enables instant access to problem resolution libraries, such as Novell and Microsoft. Do not assume that the staff will utilize these tools. IS Managers must teach staff on how to use these tools rather than relying on memory recall and field dispatch.
A strategic Help Desk also invests in "front-end" technologies known as VRUs and IVRs. These voice response systems generally consist of a PC, voice cards and application software. They are situated between the telephone system and host computer databases, automatically and continually answering and routing calls. They also access computer databases to provide callers with a voice response containing the information that they are seeking. Beneficial ways to implement VRU and IVR systems include password resets, terminal resets, surveys, call routing, system status, technical tips and fax-backs.
Routine problems are quickly solved by systems without consuming staff resources.
New mindset will improve the relationship between the Help Desk and customers
The Help Desk must focus on making life easier for the customer. IS Managers should empower staff to break rules if necessary to achieve customer satisfaction, as opposed to having to adhere to rigid operating procedures that are strictly enforced in the name of consistency. In a mainframe environment, this rigidity could be efficient. In a distributed environment where PCs are mission-critical, operating procedures should allow flexibility. Informal research supports this assertion: MATRIX has concluded that the employees frequently recognized for superior achievement are the employees allowed to bend or modify rules in order to bring about a creative solution for their customers.
Next, IS Managers should have an avenue in which customers can reach an advocate who champions their particular cause on IS technical issues. For instance, a technician could be appointed "Accounting Champion" and study the company's accounting system from the business as well as the technical side. This individual would attend department meetings and communicate one-on-one with accounting staff and management.
A real world example is if the payroll file server is down and the department will miss a deadline, the accounting champion would go to the controller to update on downtime. The controller and payroll staff will have increased respect for the Help Desk function, improving the working relationship between the Help Desk, management and other related departments.
A single point of contact is another strategic customer solution for the Help Desk. Two heads may be better than one, but when calling a Help Desk, customers want one central number versus two, three or twenty. It was for this very reason that Harvard
University recently reorganized and consolidated support departments. The University was surprised to discover that it had, in many cases, 20 or 30 technical support groups servicing the same people.
By cutting the sheer number of groups and consolidating the strategic Help Desk function, IS Management can efficiently set and promote a policy of preferred practices and standards right down to a basic list of productivity software. These standards also aid in examining which desktop software is reasonable and cost-effective in terms of compatibility, interoperability and support.
Location will improve morale
Placement of the strategic Help Desk function within the building makes a clear and visible statement. By moving from the back office to the front office, the location of the center will send a positive message to company clients, employees and vendors. They will view the Help Desk organization as an important centerpiece to the company-wide strategy for customer support. And, as a result of their perceived importance, the Help Desk personnel will be more content, more productive, and more willing to serve in a customer support capacity.
Crisis resolution
When implementing the strategic Help Desk solution, IS Management will encounter staffing issues, budget concerns, and numerous product, service and technology decisions. To ease the re-engineering process, IS Managers should consider these helpful insights:
- Resist the temptation to accomplish everything overnight and, instead, focus on doing a few things very well.
- Re-engineering the Help Desk should not be considered a project, but a work in progress. A strategic Help Desk is always evolving and adapting to technical changes in the desktop.
- Do not underestimate the importance of tailoring the Help Desk to the customer so that they understand and readily use its benefits.
- Make a concerted effort to teach and reward the new Help Desk mindset. Armed with this strategy, the Help Desk staff will campaign to eliminate problems at their root causes.
In addition to creating a more efficient Help Desk environment, the new strategy will heighten company respect for the Help Desk function, improve staff quality and retention, and ultimately renew the spirit of "Help" in the "Help Desk."
About the Author
Cliff Oxford is founder and president of Support Technologies, Inc., a full-service Atlanta technology consulting firm specializing in external and internal customer "Support Desk" solutions. He also serves as a support consultant to IBM and McKinsey & Co.
Formerly, Oxford's career spanned eleven years in Information Systems with United Parcel Service (UPS). In 1991, he spearheaded the introduction of the first distributed support desk at UPS, and subsequently implemented his Help Desk concept into all 73 UPS operating districts.
Oxford holds an MBA from Emory University and teaches graduate-level Information Systems courses at Keller University. As a guest speaker, he has traveled as far as Budapest, Hungary, to deliver lectures on technology investment in corporations.
Cliff Oxford and Support Technologies, Inc., can be reached at 770-280-2630. |