Effective help desk management requires strong communication skills, proper training for staff, regular performance evaluations, team support, and treating all users with respect.
Managing a help desk is an important function in many different types of organizations. Corporations, colleges and universities, and even municipalities make use of help desks to assist customers and others with a variety of questions and concerns. In order to engage in effective help desk management, managers need to lead by example when it comes to good communication, commanding respect for all involved and ensuring all help desk personnel are properly trained and updated in terms of information and procedures.
One of the first things to keep in mind with help desk management is the need to foster effective communication at all levels of the operation. This means that managers and support staff must be able to communicate succinctly and clearly, which helps minimize the risk of misunderstandings that could undermine desk function and negatively impact the desk’s ability to provide assistant to others. Here, the manager needs to lead in terms of using sound communication strategies that keep staff informed and equipped to help anyone seeking assistance.
Along with strong internal communications, help desk management also involves supporting help desk personnel in developing skills that facilitate communication with customers. This means actively training staff not only in terms of what kind of information to distribute, but also how to convey that information using verbiage that customers can understand. At the same time, it is very important to ensure that your staff are trained in how to effectively listen to customers, ask clear questions and generally work with customers to identify exactly what is needed before attempting to respond. The end result is a customer who feels listened to, something that can go a long way in defusing a negative situation and keeping the customer relationship positive.
Help desk management involves regularly taking the time to conduct performance evaluations with employees. When used to best effect, it is time for both the manager and employees to identify areas of strength and areas where improvements can be made which in turn help make the help desk more effective. The focus of the assessments is not only on the employee’s skill set, but also an opportunity for employees to make suggestions on how to improve the help desk function. While employees should always feel free to suggest new ideas to managers, incorporating this opportunity at the end of the assessment can often yield some effective ideas and also reinforce to the employee that he or she is an important part of the team.
Team support is also an important aspect of help desk management. Staff need to be confident that the manager will be there to offer assistance should something arise that is beyond the employee’s training or experience. When employees have faith and confidence in the manager’s ability to support them through anything, the sense of being a team is enhanced and ultimately serves everyone’s benefit.
Effective help desk management also means that all users connected to the desk are treated with respect. Managing your staff in a way that recognizes their contributions while also working with them to make the desk run more efficiently is paramount. By recognizing the value of all help desk personnel, ensuring that everyone is up to date on policies and procedures, and being prepared to assist employees in difficult situations, the help desk management process will run smoothly, for the benefit of all subjects involved.
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