Running a service desk is no joke. You’re the face of your IT department, whether you’re answering the phones or providing second or third level support, or even the CIO/CTO/CSIO. And at the end of the day, your customer you serve sees only you. How do they see you? Do they feel the way you fulfill requests or resolve issues are efficient? Ask them if you don’t know!
First thing Dataseti would do is request a baseline. Baselines provide you with a starting point. You can do that by using Survey Monkey or something similar to query your customers. If you are one of our customers, chances are you have Ivanti Service Manager, a platform that includes a built-in survey module. Whatever you have, ask questions like below, and it’ll help you with establishing how they see you.
- Would you recommend our department to a friend?
- Do you feel we get the job done beyond your expectations?
- How can we improve?
Now you’ve got answers, is your baseline reflective of a mature or immature service desk? Like skating on your favorite plastic roller skates from decades past, you’re not able to navigate rough terrain efficiently, glide smoothly or gain speed on certain straight aways. Even though you ultimately want your service desk to have these qualities, your best bet in becoming a more mature desk is to assess where you are now.
So what next? Look at the tools you have. You may have applications, platforms, programmers, analysts, etc. at hand to piece a system together, and that’s sometimes great. However instead of jumping the gun, build a process around your customer’s needs. What do they ask for the most? What problems plague them, keeping them from working efficiently? It’s like building goals, mini-goals, maybe. Don’t eat the whole elephant in one bite but instead, one bite at a time. Make no mistake though – you must have a clear picture of everything, so that you don’t paint yourself into a corner. Either way, it’s all about customer service.
Once you have a clear picture/objective(s) (and trust me, that last step can take months), lay out your needs that can meet those objectives. Look for a product that can help you reach those objectives and while you’re at it, remember that cheap products out there may be indicative of simply nourishing an immature process. Cheaper products purchased online and be up and running in a day or so isn’t the answer. All they do is help you maintain an immature process or service desk. But on the other extreme, the most expensive or popular product out there may be too much. Imagine spending a million dollars then needing 5 FTE’s to simply manage a service desk product. Yeah…No.
Instead, find a product that fits now and lets you mature, a product that doesn’t break the bank and doesn’t require a team to maintain. Ivanti Service Manager is that perfect fit. Not only because we master in it, believe in it, set our careers around it, but because the TCO is exceptionally low when factoring the immense returns it provides. I’ve seen and worked with all products, and I choose to help organizations of all sizes and types improve and mature because it truly is a product to help you mature your service desk. Whatever you choose, stay focused on the main objective, and that is ensuring your customers love you. Are you there yet?
Call us today and get started. We’re a full service consulting firm with experts ready to help you think critically, form amazing processes, and implement a solid product, ultimately helping you raise the bar and making yourself more marketable as an IT Service Desk winner!
-Randall Reed, President & CEO
Contact the consulting team at consultants@dataseti.com
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