A technical service desk can be a huge asset to any organization, but not all service desk providers are created equal. Two important factors must be considered when choosing a provider to ensure incidents are solved as quickly and efficiently as possible.
MSP Logicalis US recommends that organizations look at providers’ employee retention rates as well as first-level resolution rates before making the important decision to hire a company. Resolution rates indicate the number of calls that are resolved by first-level agents as a percentage of the total number of service desk calls.
That number is often overlooked, and can be an indicator of whether a service desk provider will prove costly down the road. If first-level service desk teams are able to solve a majority of problems without escalating calls to higher-level specialists, costs can be contained more easily.
"First-level resolution is important both to the service desk organization itself as well as to the end customer,” said Bob Chapp, service desk director for Logicalis US. “Being able to resolve callers' questions with a lower level technician means higher productivity for the provider, but it also means faster resolutions at any time of the day or night for the caller, and lower overall costs for the customer."
The company has compiled some important questions that should be considered before hiring a service desk provider. Providers should be able to tell their customers how quickly they can expect incidents to be resolved on average. Level-one resolutions yield the most productivity for service desks, callers and customers and should be sought a majority of the time.
Customers should also ask prospective providers which tools they rely on. Remote desktop tools are invaluable for diagnosing and solving problems instead of relying on callers’ descriptions of issues. Understanding which tools are employed will better determine the skill level of the all-important first-level responders. Service providers should also let customers know if their agents are scripted and indicate to what degree employees are critical thinkers. Heavy reliance on scripts doesn’t bode well for first-level responders being able to understand and resolve issues efficiently.
And finally, service providers should be able to tell customers if their best agents are only available at certain times. Having reliable, round-the-clock support is crucial, and customers and callers need to know if they will receive the same level of service at various times throughout the day.
Edited by
Ryan Sartor
