Helpdesks are some of the most challenging departments to manage in any company. Whoever works the helpdesk has to relay accurate information at all times to avoid productivity slowdowns. Because of that, it may be difficult to see the pros of using a helpdesk, rather than the cons.
Human beings are not infallible when working helpdesks. When it comes to internal requests for help in those companies, it might mean being placed on a back burner compared to more important customer requests.
How do you fix the problem of getting faster internal requests answered? An internal helpdesk makes all the difference, especially when you employ new technology that allows automation to handle many complex questions. Take a look at these 7 pros of using a helpdesk.
1. Self-service.
The use of an internal self-service allows your employees to find solutions on their own time without disrupting a co-worker’s day for information. For internal support, tools like chatbots or advanced RPA help immensely with reducing helpdesk ticket volume.
Nowadays, AI and machine learning are a big part of helpdesk support systems, which allows employees to converse with the helpdesk as they would a coworker. Thanks to working smarter using the process of Natural Language Understanding, more complex problems can be sorted out through a chatbot before they distract another team member.
Going this route means your employees can solve problems on their own and not have to bother anyone—one of the major pros of using a helpdesk. This is especially important if they need a question answered on a weekend or a holiday when other team members are perhaps not readily available.
2. Speed.
Many of your support staff likely know the stress of dealing with various helpdesk requests. Backlogged or delayed help tickets can start to pile up when solving challenging problems for individual customers or employees.
The additional stress this creates for your employees often leads to project delays, increased risk of errors, customer frustration, and employee burnout. It could even lead to fast turnover in that department, making it impossible to keep anyone employed in this area.
Rather than adding stress to your support team, many companies are now using machine learning and AI-powered helpdesks to speed up backlogs. AI is so much quicker and smarter now, and it can solve a majority of problems at a faster pace than any human could.
Using helpdesk software takes your support team out of the tedium of answering FAQs on most days rather than using their own expertise for tasks that require higher-level thinking. This is a huge win for employee satisfaction and one of the most valuable pros of using a helpdesk.
3. Organizational knowledge.
A major benefit to using automated helpdesks is they’re now capable of integrating with multiple applications. This means a chatbot helps employees find information directly from the applications they use on a daily basis—without needing to log in to each system individually.
Helpdesks can also mine documents. A chatbot taps into key systems like a CRM, e-commerce platform, and project management software. In the realm of CRMs, this means being able to call up granular information about customers in mere seconds. Since many internal helpdesk inquiries are from employees asking for information about customers, imagine how much this streamlines their work and increases productivity, adding to the long list of pros of using a helpdesk.
4. Human support.
Another major benefit to an internal helpdesk is it doesn’t shut out humans completely.
This is known as using “CoPilots,” and this concept is similar to real copilots in an airline jet. Humans are basically on standby to take on a more challenging question the AI program couldn’t answer or address.
These scenarios do happen in helpdesks from time to time. Some problems develop that are unique and need a human to fully understand the circumstance.
Keeping humans in the mix, though, is an important component of helpdesks. While AI can be beneficial in many ways, it is critical that humans and bots work together for the best overall user experience.
5. Technical support.
Since many internal helpdesks have IT professionals working the lines, it means working to help solve technical issues in the company. The majority of helpdesk tickets are perhaps technical in companies like yours.
Once again, automation is one of the best pros of using a helpdesk, especially when hoping to accelerate ticket response and resolution times. Many IT issues are complicated problems and can take an entire day or more for your team to solve. When those start to stack up, it can slow your company’s productivity down to a crawl. All that does is give a chance for your competitors to move ahead of you.
AI solves many common technical problems in the office and takes the burden off your IT professionals.
6. Interconnectedness.
Having your company stay connected through an automated helpdesk also brings a better sense of communication throughout the company. You may know all too well that with so many departments, getting everyone to communicate appropriately is a major hurdle.
Omnichannel support eliminates departmental confusion and has your company running like a well-oiled machine.
7. Maintaining a focus on everyone’s jobs and responsibilities.
Internal helpdesks are going to streamline everything related to company knowledge. As a result, it helps everyone in every department better focus on their jobs.
No matter what company you run, you’ll benefit in a time when faster productivity means having a better chance to move ahead of competitors.
A centralized knowledge base in a conversational AI chatbot is crucial for businesses to progress to the next level. When every employee can get an instant answer to problems, it allows for more efficiency and more productive employees. At Capacity, we’ve created an automated helpdesk like no other using the latest in machine learning, including generative AI and NLU.
The Guide to Support Automation
Discover:
- The different types of AI
- A framework for applying support automation
- Tips for choosing solutions