Top 6 Most Common Help Desk Problems (and How to Solve Them)

A smooth-running and integrated service desk is essential for providing excellent customer service. When your help desk runs smoothly, your support teams can do their best work. 91% of customer service teams claim that their help desk system increases productivity. But that’s if the system works well. Your help desk problems can get out of hand without proper implementation and process.

That’s why you must approach your help desk with a clear strategy. Today, we’re breaking down the 6 most common help desk problems teams can face and the solutions you need to improve your help desk. But first things first. Let me convince you that systems and departments that work in silos just don’t work. 

Why integrated systems & processes matter

Think of system integration like this. Picture an orchestra. Every orchestra has different musicians playing various instruments. Each musician can play their instrument skillfully. But the true beauty emerges when they synchronize under the guidance of a conductor. 

The conductor is like an integrated system that harmonizes the different parts. Conductors ensure each musician works in tandem to produce a symphony. In your org, integrated systems function the same way. They orchestrate the activities of different departments. They enable smooth collaboration, streamlined processes, and optimized outcomes. 

When your help desk systems and processes work together, led by a manager, your support team can provide stellar customer service 100% of the time. So let’s dig into how your team can prevent these common help desk problems and do their best work.

Help desk problem #1: Lack of communication between support teams and other departments

🤔 Problem: 

Working in a silo is dangerous. Your help desk systems won’t work well together when departments aren’t communicating. One common help desk problem arises from the lack of communication across teams. Miscommunication can cause a lot of confusion and lead to customer frustration. It’s common for companies to store a lot of data and knowledge. But if it’s scattered all over the place or siloed by department, your team and your customers suffer.

✅ Solution: 

Communication is key. When employees can’t find the information they need when they need it, everyone loses. From the initial implementation of your help desk, you need to collaborate with every department. Get everyone on the same page to ensure that the service team has access to accurate information. Document cross-departmental processes to be sure the help desk fits into what already exists. Loop in managers and create a robust internal knowledge base for easy information sharing.

A quick shameless plug here: support automation platforms like Capacity can help. Capacity’s knowledge base stores your data across the org. Then, using conversational AI, access accurate information from any team within moments. Save time and resources when you start with good cross-department communication. 

Help desk problem #2: A slow troubleshooting process

🤔 Problem:

Customers today care a lot about fast and efficient service. Help desks and service teams face a problem if they can’t work fast. The reality is that troubleshooting for a customer can be time-consuming. That’s why you need processes in place to find accurate help quickly. And you need a help desk platform that supports your team in doing so.

✅ Solution: 

To combat these help desk problems, you need a trained team and quality resources. And you need a platform that makes finding those resources simple. With better access to training and coaching, you’ll reach faster resolutions for your customers. Use an AI-powered help desk to make this simple. Automate training messages to onboard and train employees without human intervention. Or connect your team with troubleshooting steps through an AI-powered knowledge base. Chatting with a bot lets your team find answers to customer queries and help your CSAT soar. 

Help desk problem #3: Mishandling or loss of customer data

🤔 Problem: 

Help desk problems get sticky when customer data is on the line. You’ll likely mishandle or lose customer data if a help desk isn’t set up well. Data insecurity can lead to legal problems and a loss of trust from customers. And when your team can’t find up-to-date customer data, support will get more challenging. 

✅ Solution: 

This help desk problem requires a twofold solution. First, choose your help desk vendor wisely. Finding a SOC2-compliant platform is more important than ever. Second, ensure that support agents have proper security measures in place. Ensure that, no matter what device your employees use, you’re protecting customer data. Only grant knowledge base access to confidential documents and customer information to employees who need it. With extra security, you can know that customer data is always safe and secure.

Help desk problem #4: Procedures that are too rigid or inflexible

🤔 Problem: 

Good customer service requires some flexibility. Your service team should have the freedom and knowledge to help customers. If they’re bogged down by so many tickets, they can’t support complex problems. When your platform is too rigid or inflexible, your team doesn’t have the power to effectively solve customer problems. It’s crucial to find the balance between security and giving your team what they need to succeed. 

✅ Solution: 

Build some flexibility into your help desk platform. Empower agents to solve customer problems. They shouldn’t have to spend their whole day working through strict systems. They shouldn’t be constantly distracted by low-level support tickets. With an automated help desk like Capacity, help your agents eliminate 90% or more of Tier 0 and Tier 1 support questions. Create room for them to handle the more complex stuff. Workflow capabilities guide help desk employees to help from managers and other team members. 

Help desk problem #5: Inconsistent or slow response times

🤔 Problem:

Another common help desk problem is inconsistent or slow response times. We understand. Keeping staff engaged and productive with a constant high volume of customer inquiries is hard. This constant flow of requests is one reason call centers struggle so much with high turnover rates and absenteeism. But slow or inconsistent support leads to customer frustration and churn.

✅ Solution: 

Solve your slow and inconsistent service with an AI chatbot in your help desk. Chatbots help you help customers faster. By answering over 90% of customer queries for you, chatbots can reduce the number of repetitive questions your agents have to answer. Chatbots then free your team members to work on more complex tasks, resulting in faster, consistent help desk responses.

Help desk problem #6: Disjointed knowledge and systems spread across different platforms

🤔 Problem: 

The root cause of many help desk problems is having disjointed systems spread across different platforms. This is where integration comes in. Poorly integrated systems lead to inefficiencies and a lack of productivity — hurting everyone.

✅ Solution: 

To avoid this, make your help desk a centralized system for storing and sharing information. That’s where the true beauty emerges. Add all customer and organizational information to your help desk knowledge base. And then integrate your help desk with all of your other platforms for better work. With your company’s data in one place, you can easily identify trends and problems. And you’ll smooth over communication. With a well-integrated platform, you can offer faster, streamlined support. 

Knowing these common help desk problems makes it possible to take proactive steps to prevent them. With the right help desk platform, solve problems quickly, efficiently, and confidently.

Look no further than Capacity for a help desk platform that helps your team do their best work. Want to give it a try? Try Capacity for free today!

This post was originally published on February 24, 2023 and was updated on May 24, 2023.