Interscale Content Hub – It’s pretty obvious that measuring the improvement of your IT help desk is important. But how to measure IT help desk improvement?
By using a set of clear metrics, companies can spot their strengths, find out where they’re struggling, and make changes that will keep on improving their support services.
That’s why we’re going to talk about measurement below.
Why Measure IT Help Desk Improvement?
We need to measure how the IT help desk is improving because it gives us a good understanding of how effective and efficient the help desk is.
KPIs and other metrics help your organisation to see how users are feeling, find out what’s going wrong again and again, and make sure that support processes are as good as they can be.
If you don’t measure things, it’s hard to know what needs improving or whether changes are working.
Ultimately, these insights help us to make better use of our resources, keep our customers happy, and cut our operational costs.
Keeping an eye on these metrics on a regular basis can lead to some big improvements in the quality and efficiency of the service, making sure that the help desk can keep up with what users expect.
For a broader overview, kindly check “A Guide to IT Helpdesk Management (for You Who Want to Get Stuff Done).”
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for IT Help Desk Improvement
First Response Time (FRT)
First Response Time (FRT) is how long it takes to get back to someone who’s sent you a support ticket.
A faster first response time can really boost user satisfaction, as it shows users that their issues are being taken care of quickly.
Shorter first response times often mean happier customers because users feel like their concerns are being given priority.
Resolution Time
The resolution time is how long it takes to get a ticket sorted from the moment it’s opened.
If you see shorter resolution times, it usually means the help desk is pretty efficient.
This metric is useful because if tickets take too long to resolve, users get frustrated and less satisfied.
Keeping an eye on and making improvements to resolution times can lead to more efficient processes and faster issue resolution.
First Contact Resolution (FCR)
First Contact Resolution (FCR) is a measure of how many tickets get resolved at the first point of contact.
If the FCR rate is high, it means the help desk can sort out problems without the user having to contact them more than once.
A higher FCR means the support team can handle common issues quickly and effectively.
Ticket Volume
Ticket volume is basically just a way of keeping track of how many tickets you’ve received over a specific period of time.
Knowing how many tickets you get helps you plan your resources effectively and predict your workload.
If you look at how many tickets you’re getting, you can spot the busiest times and make sure you’ve got enough people on hand to keep up the quality of service.
Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT)
The Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT) is a way of measuring how happy customers are with the support they received.
This score is usually collected through surveys after the problems have been fixed, so it gives the help desk a direct look at how they’re doing.
If customers are happy with the support they get, it means they’re more likely to trust you and stay loyal to your brand.
Net Promoter Score (NPS)
The Net Promoter Score (NPS) is a way of measuring customer loyalty. It asks how likely users are to recommend the service to others.
A higher NPS means users are happier with the service and more likely to trust the support team.
This metric helps organisations understand how satisfied their users are in the long term and how likely they are to recommend the service to others.
Backlog and Predicted Backlog
The number of unresolved tickets is what the backlog and predicted backlog reflect.
If there are a lot of unresolved tickets, it could mean that the support team is struggling to keep up, which might result in slower responses and lower satisfaction.
On the other hand, a low backlog shows that the team is doing a good job of handling issues.
Keeping an eye on these numbers helps you plan your resources and spot when you might need to bring in extra support to avoid any delays in service.
Methods for Measuring IT Help Desk Performance
The main thing is to use data analytics tools to collect and analyse information from help desk operations.
These tools give you insights into various KPIs, so you can monitor things in real time and analyse historical trends.
Platforms like Yellow.ai give you all the analytics you need to track key metrics like first response time, resolution time, and customer satisfaction.
Real-time monitoring helps you spot issues as they happen, so you can take action fast and make sure the help desk runs smoothly.
It’d also be a good idea to regularly ask users for their feedback on the support experience.
These surveys give you a direct insight into how users see things and help you make informed decisions to improve the quality of your service.
For instance, you can do surveys after each support interaction to see how users are feeling and get some useful feedback.
Also, think about how automated reporting is a great way to make sure that help desk metrics are tracked and reported consistently.
This means fewer mistakes and less time spent on admin, so the support team can focus on fixing problems instead of putting together reports.
Tools like Intercom have automated reporting features that make it easier to track key performance indicators.
Then, think about how you can measure your help desk performance against other companies in your industry.
Benchmarking helps you spot the best ways of doing things and copy the strategies that have worked well in other places.
If you need to know why you need an IT helpdesk, kindly check “Why You Need an IT Helpdesk Ticketing Tool (And How to Choose in 2024).”
Best Practices for Continuous Improvement
We should highlight how ongoing training can help support staff provide better service and solve problems more quickly.
So it’s a good idea to do regular and continuous training to help improve overall performance.
It’s also a good idea to keep staff updated on the latest tools, technologies, and techniques.
Also, think about how you can make processes more efficient to improve performance.
To keep things running smoothly, we need to keep an eye on things and make sure we’re always improving our support processes, like ticket routing and escalation procedures.
By making these processes more efficient, organisations can get things done quicker and more effectively.
Also, consider using technology, like AI-driven chatbots and automated workflows, to improve your support capabilities.
These technologies take some of the load off human agents by dealing with everyday queries and tasks, so they can focus on more complex issues.
Then, it’s worth thinking about proactive problem management as a way of keeping your service standards high and your users happy.
Proactive problem management is about spotting and fixing issues before they become major problems.
This approach makes sure everyone is happy with the service you’re providing by preventing issues from getting out of hand and making sure common problems are fixed quickly.
How Interscale Can Improve Your IT Helpdesk Supporting System
We can help you with your IT needs, from help desk support to managed IT services and cloud solutions.
That’s why our help desk platform has all the reporting and analytics tools you need to track your KPIs and identify areas for improvement.
Our results show just how committed we are to excellence.
Over the past year, we’ve successfully closed 8,553 tickets, delivered 85 projects in the last 18 months, kept the average helpdesk wait time to just 1 minute, and resolved 90% of tickets within an hour.
These numbers show how efficient we are and how dedicated we are to providing the best service.
What do all those mean for you?
Our reporting and analytics tools let you measure IT help desk performance, track your KPIs, and identify areas for continuous improvement.
Our expert consulting services are all about helping you develop and implement a strategy for ongoing improvement, so that your IT help desk is always running at its best.
If you’d like to know more about how we can help your IT helpdesk, we’d love for you to check out our Helpdesk Support page and schedule a personal consultation.
Let us show you how we can become your go-to partner for optimising IT support and driving your business forward.
In Closing
Just a reminder, measuring IT help desk improvement is about more than just data. It’s about understanding what your customers need, empowering your staff, and consistently aiming for better results.
By putting the strategies in this guide into practice, you can transform your IT help desk into a strategic asset that boosts productivity and employee satisfaction, driving overall success.
Don’t forget, this guide is just the beginning when it comes to understanding how to measure IT help desk improvement.
