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CREATING A CUSTOMER-FOCUSED HELP DESK:
HOW TO WIN AND KEEP YOUR CUSTOMERS
2001 DREDITION

By Andrew Hiles & Yvonne Gunn
Published by Rothstein Associates Inc.

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“Concise, clear...just what I needed" -- IT Service Manager, Utility, UK

"An important contribution to an increasingly significant aspect of I.T." -- IT Manager, UK

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This volume came about as a result of the authors’ own practical experience in Help Desk
operation and management and of hundreds of workshops the authors have conducted
world-wide over the last fifteen years. It is intended to be a practical reference guide, but the
suggestions, checklists and templates all need to be interpreted and amended in the light of
the culture, technology, service maturity and constraints of each individual organization.

Delegates frequently ask us: “What is the best Help Desk software package?” or “What is
the
best way to set up a Help Desk?” Our only response has to be “Best for whom? It all
depends.” A key objective of this book is to show how and why “It all depends” and to
provide readers with the best possible information on which to understand and evaluate
options and to select the best - for them. If there is one thing we have learned over the last
years, it is this: Good service has no history. Bad service has infinite history.

Based on extensive feedback from delegates from most of the Fortune 1,000 companies
who have attended courses presented through Frost & Sullivan (Europe), AIC (South Africa),
Monadnock (UK), The Infomatics Resource Centre (UK), IIR (UK), Digital Equipment (UK),
Logtel (South America), CEL (Asia Pacific), UPMOCL (Middle East), Finborough Seminars,
as well as delegates of in-company training for organizations like Dow Europe (Switzerland),
The Intervention Board, BP, Shell International Petroleum, Logica (UK), Arthur Andersen
(UK), Rolls Royce (UK), Global One (Germany and USA), Caterpillar (Switzerland), GAK
(Netherlands), European Commission (Belgium), Transnet (South Africa), Sun Valley (UK),
Nikon Precision (UK).

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EXCERPT:

“Is a widget product Help Desk necessary because the inappropriate quality of raw materials
and poor supervision result in excessive re-work? Is it because bad design, poor packaging
and careless handling causes damaged product to reach the customer?
“In short, is it simply reacting to problems?

“The proactive Help Desk can be a strategic tool for building good reputation, for marketing,
sales and competitive edge. The Help Desk that identifies problems can spur business
process improvement - better, more reliable processes. It is seen as an asset to any
business. It has its stethoscope on the heart of the organization, preempting problems,
creating value and goodwill. It is likely to be held in high regard by senior management, who
appreciate its contribution to business results. Because of this, investment can be justified:
in advanced Help Desk tools; in resource; and in training. Staff morale is likely to be high.

“The reactive Help Desk, however, gets associated with the poor service or product that it is
there to protect. It is seen as an overhead, typically starved of investment, resource and
training. Typically, in the reactive Help Desk, staff are over-worked, under-appreciated and
not supported by appropriate equipment and tools. Staff morale tends to be low and
turnover
high.

“The solution to the reactive Help Desk is simply to get things right so that the Help Desk
becomes less necessary. A high problem level is trying to tell the organization something.
That something is usually that management action needs to be taken to fix the problems at
source - permanently.

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EXCERPT

“Customer Satisfaction Analysis

“Many IT organizations carry out Customer Satisfaction Surveys. A Customer Satisfaction
Analysis then assesses the customers' perception of how well the IT Service products and
services meet customer needs. It measures the procedures, processes, systems and
services of the IT Service and their interaction with the customers.

“A Customer Satisfaction Analysis of survey results can provide focus to:
- align the IT service to business needs
- improve utilization of IT assets
- place emphasis on value rather than mechanics and processes
- improve IT effectiveness
- increase IT customer orientation
- increase customer satisfaction
- if regularly done, monitor customer satisfaction.

“Present practice varies from no surveys (17%) through to daily sampling (8%). Almost 15%
of organizations undertake surveys as needed (which may imply it is too late), some 13%
take annual surveys, 9% six monthly surveys and ~8% quarterly.

“The trend for daily sampling is increasing and is often outsourced to retain impartiality.
These daily evaluations typically sample customers who have used the Help Desk within,
say,
the last two weeks. If too long a timescale is used objectivity may be lost.”

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CONTENTS

Other Publications by the Authors
Acknowledgments
Foreword
1 WHY HAVE ONE? WHAT IS IT?
Why A Help Desk?
What About the Customers?
Benefits of a Help Desk
Figure 1: IT Equipment Cost, Book & Real Depreciation
Scope Of The Help Desk

2 HELP DESK TRENDS
Recent Trends
Organizational
Cultural
Figure 2: Help Desk Activities Being Considered for Outsourcing
Technical
Figure 3: Ratio of Support Staff to End Users
Commercial

3 THE HELP DESK SERVICE PORTFOLIO
General
Supporting New Customers
Passwords
Calls
Call Answer
Call Making
Call Transfer
Call Closing
Requests, Issues and Problem Management
Logging = Trouble Tickets
Figure 4: Help Desk Log Information
Problem Analysis and Definition
Issue and Request Management
Prioritization and Feedback
Figure 5: Who Prioritizes Service Requests?
Escalation
Sign Off and Closure
Equipment and Software Acquisition
Equipment and Software Installation
Asset Management
Equipment Moves
Virus Cleanup
Manuals, Guides and Newsletters
Intranet / Internet Maintenance
Hardware and Software Demonstrations and Evaluations
Customer Education & Training
Customer Review Meetings
Business Satisfaction Analysis
Customer Satisfaction Analysis
Information Analysis
Service Level Analysis

4 HELP DESK TOOLS
General
Tools For Help Desk Staff
Telephone Tools
Computing Facilities
Documentation
Figure 6: Example Notice to Customers
Software Tools
Figure 7: Help Desk Using CTI, Expert Systems and CIM

5 WHO OWNS PROBLEMS?
Problem Ownership
Figure 8: Problem Ownership Options

6 HELP DESK ORGANIZATION
Introduction
Global
Central
Distributed
Local
Real or Virtual?
First, Second and Third Level Support
Reporting Lines
Figure 9: Related Support Functions
IT Operations
IT Customer Support
The IT Director / Manager
Marketing and / or Sales
Audit
Figure 10: Help Desk reporting Lines
Responsibility Without Power
Figure 11: Typical Help Desk Reporting Lines

7 HELP DESK RESOURCING
The New Help Desk
Figure 13: Shift Time Spent on Phone
The Existing Help Desk
Figure 14: Resourcing Model for an Established Help Desk
Figure 16: Average Length of First Level Support Call
Catering for Growth
Full or Part Time Staff?
Dedicated Help Desk Staff
Staff with other Responsibilities
Skilled, Unskilled or Semi-Skilled Help Desk?
Outsourced Help Desks
Staff Turnover

8 HELP DESK SKILLS, STAFFING & PEOPLE ISSUES
What Skills?
Figure 17: Help Desk Skills
Key Qualities in Help Desk Staff
Service Focus
Interpersonal and Problem-Solving Skills
Technical Knowledge and Skills
How to Recruit Effective Help Desk Agents
Validity of the Interview
Types of Interview
Guidelines of a Structured Interview
Preparation
Interview Structure
Interview Conduct
Post Interview
Staff Retention
Figure 18: Years at Organization
Career Paths
Cultural Issues
Staff Productivity and Retention Through Leadership
Trait Theories
Situational Theory
Figure 19: Level of Congruence Resulting from Match Between GNS and Job Scope
Figure 20: Model for Leadership Styles Matching GNS and MPS
Cell 1
Cell 2
Cell 3
Cell 4
Managing People
Managing Stress
Managing Change
Managing the Complaining Customer

9 HELP DESK SERVICE ISSUES
Standards
Figure 21: A Tiered Approach to Support Quality
Service Level Agreements
Objectives
Methodology
Management Reporting, Measurements and Statistics
Figure 22A: Example of Management Report on Call Handling
Figure 22B: Example of a simple Management Report on Hold Time
Figure 23: Who Sees Performance Statistics?
Figure 24: Frequency of Help Desk Reports
SLA Content
Implementation
Benefits of Service Level Agreements

10 CHARGING FOR HELP DESK SERVICES
Who Pays for the Help Desk?
Charging Options

11 MOVING FORWARD
Setting up the Help Desk
Phasing and Pilots
Political and Organizational Issues
People Issues
Communications
Initial Tasks
Moving Forward - Checklist
Figure 25: Checklist for Help Desk Progress
Possible Future Tasks for the Help Desk

APPENDIX A: CONTACTS

APPENDIX B: EXAMPLE DESKTOP SUPPORT SERVICES AND METRICS

APPENDIX C: EXAMPLE OF DESKTOP SUPPORT SLA
Transaction Type

APPENDIX D: EXAMPLE JOB DESCRIPTIONS
Example Terms of Reference for Customer Account Managers
Example Job Description: Help Desk Analyst

APPENDIX E: HELP DESK CHECKLIST

APPENDIX F: FEATURES, FUNCTIONS AND CHARACTERISTICS OF HELP DESK
SOFTWARE

APPENDIX G: EXAMPLE CUSTOMER SATISFACTION SURVEY

APPENDIX H: STAFF SKILLS ASSESSMENT MATRIX

INDEX

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

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ABOUT THE AUTHORS

ANDREW HILES is a Fellow of the Business Continuity Institute and a Member of the British
Computer Society. Andrew was founder Chairman of the influential European Information
Market (EURIM) group which supports the UK Parliament's All-Party EURIM Group in
handling European legislation. His first book on Service Level Management was published in
1991; his second book in 1993. He contributed to Croner's Guide to IT Purchasing. His
software package, SLA FRAMEWORK™ [also published by Rothstein Associates Inc.], has
been purchased by leading international companies.

Starting his I.T. career with the Royal Air Force in programming and systems, Andrew moved
to London Transport in an operational role. Later, in their Central Productivity Unit and
subsequently as I.T. Projects Manager and as Manager of the Business Process
Re-engineering function, he led several major technical and organizational reviews involving
the reorganisation of key functions of London Transport. From there he moved to the Post
Office as their first Business Systems Consultant with responsibilities for major projects.
Subsequently as Computer Services Manager at Harwell Laboratory he provided
supercomputing, mainframe, midrange and client / server bureau services and operational
support of mainframe and midrange installations that Harwell facility managed. He also had
Customer Support and Quality Assurance responsibilities for the Datacenter.

Andrew is a Director of the Kingswell Partnership of I.T. Consultants - an international
consultancy specializing in delivering service and managing business risk. He has helped
hi-tech, financial, transport and government bodies to develop and enhance Customer
Support and Service Desk functions and has supported both customers and suppliers in
Service Level Agreements, Market Testing, Outsourcing and Facilities Management.

Andrew is a published writer and international speaker on service management. He has
presented at Cranfield, Henley, Ashridge and GEC Management Colleges and at numerous
conferences in Europe, USA, Southern Africa, the Middle East, Hong Kong, the Philippines
and New Zealand and Australia. He has broadcast on IT topics on radio and television.

- - - - - - - -

DR. YVONNE GUNN, BSc, MSc, PhD, is a Fellow of the Institute of Statisticians, a Member
of the British Computer Society and a Chartered Physicist.

Yvonne is a Director of the Kingswell Partnership, with more than ten years experience of
supplying consultancy on service management, Help Desks and customer support to a
variety of blue-chip clients. She delivers in-company and public training presentations on
Service Level Agreements and on Help Desk management in the UK, Europe, South Africa
and South America.

Her clients include Cyta (Cyprus), BATELCO (Bahrain), Cyprus Popular Bank (Cyprus),
Columbus Stainless (South Africa), Dell, EDS (South Africa), Caterpillar (Switzerland) and
Unipalm-Pipex.

Yvonne has broad experience as a Computer Services Manager; in providing marketing and
technical support for software sales; and in developing software.

For some 6 years Yvonne was Customer Support Manager for a major Computing Center
which provided services on a wide range of platforms and workstations. Her responsibilities
included Service Level Agreements. Yvonne supported high quality clients including
demanding multi-national oil companies. Subsequently she was responsible for technical
support and marketing of software packages with an international user base.

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ALSO AVAILABLE:

The HELP DESK FRAMEWORK CD-ROM - containing
- Help Desk Handbook
- Power Help Desk
- A sample Desktop Support SLA that was a work product of a $25,000 consulting
engagement
- A unique Customer Satisfaction Survey
- AND A BONUS -
- Help Desk PowerPoint Courseware - from a $1,500 seminar!

Purchase Help Desk Framework CD-ROM and CREATING A CUSTOMER-FOCUSED
HELP DESK together and save! Order #DR451PROM.

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2000, 259 Pages. Order #DR451.
ISBN #0-9641648-6-8
Published by Rothstein Associates Inc.
IN STOCK FOR IMMEDIATE SHIPMENT!
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