The cost of manually handling a helpdesk ticket is $22.
Say you field 100 tickets a day. That’s 500 a week and roughly 2000 a month. If you’re manually handling your tickets, you’re throwing about $44,000 a month at resolutions. That’s just over a half million dollars ($528k) a year. What might you do with more than half a million in savings next year?
Automating your helpdesk management isn’t just a nice to have, it’s your competitive strategy forward. Automating the helpdesk process can resolve between 22% and 90% of your inquiries at practically no cost.
But what does this mean for helpdesk management in the age of AI? Will customer service become more efficient or less personal? Will bots completely replace human agents? (Hint: The answer is no). And in this post, we’ll talk about why and give you the steps to take to get started.
But first –
What is Helpdesk Management?
Let’s start by level-setting on what we’re talking about. In this guide, we’re looking primarily at helpdesk management for customer support. In that context, helpdesk management refers to the process of handling and resolving customer issues. Teams manage and track customer requests, and then respond to them while keeping record of the interactions.
When your customers contact you with a question or problem, that’s logged into the helpdesk and assigned. Then, an agent or automation works to resolve the issue. Once it’s resolved, the agent (or, again, automation) updates the system to reflect the status.
Top Benefits of Helpdesk Management
Managing a helpdesk is important for companies that want consistently incredible service.
Here are some of the top benefits of helpdesk management:
Improved Customer Satisfaction
Helpdesk management leads to improved customer satisfaction. When customers can get the support they need fast, they’re more likely to remain happy.
Increased Efficiency
A well-managed helpdesk system lets your team work smarter, not harder. You can streamline workflows with AI and machine learning. And, you can add automated ticket routing and natural language processing for faster, easier resolutions. Plus, they can also reduce manual labor and focus on the more complex issues.
With helpdesk management platforms (*cough* like Capacity *cough*), you can update tickets and summarize issues in seconds. And, thanks to an integration with OpenAI, our helpdesk now lets you use generative AI.
Better Issue Tracking and Management
Helpdesk management systems offer a centralized location for support tickets, allowing teams to track, manage, and prioritize customer issues. This tool can assist teams in recognizing common problems and patterns, empowering them to make well-informed choices about enhancing their products or services.
Improved Communication
Helpdesk management systems offer multiple communication channels, such as email, phone, chatbots, and social media, allowing customers to choose the best method. Tracking and monitoring each ticket helps to reduce the possibility of missing or ignoring a customer’s issue until it is resolved.
Cost-Effective
By implementing a helpdesk management system, businesses can reduce the costs associated with traditional customer support channels, such as call centers or in-person support. By choosing a helpdesk solution, you can cut costs significantly and still give your customers superior support.
6 Common Roles of Helpdesk Management
The role of helpdesk management is critical to ensuring a business can provide excellent customer support. Here are some typical roles within helpdesk management:
Helpdesk Manager
The helpdesk manager oversees the entire department, including managing support staff, maintaining service level agreements (SLAs), and ensuring customer issues are resolved promptly and efficiently.
Technical Support Specialist
Technical support specialists are the front-line staff who handle customer issues and inquiries. They are responsible for troubleshooting and resolving technical problems, assisting with product or service usage, and providing training to customers as needed.
Helpdesk Analyst
Helpdesk analysts analyze customer support data to identify patterns or trends. They may use this data to create reports or provide recommendations to help improve the quality of customer support.
Customer Support Coordinator
Customer support coordinators manage customer support tickets and ensure issues are completed promptly and efficiently. They also communicate with customers throughout the resolution process to inform them of progress.
Automate Your Work
Capacity’s enterprise AI chatbot can help:
- Answer FAQs anytime, anywhere
- Find relevant documents within seconds
- Give surveys and collect feedback
Helpdesk Trainer
Helpdesk trainers train technical support specialists to ensure they have the skills to resolve customer issues effectively. They may also be responsible for creating and updating training materials to ensure that support staff are up to date with new products or services.
Helpdesk Administrator
Helpdesk administrators are responsible for maintaining the helpdesk system, including managing user accounts, setting up new support processes, and troubleshooting technical issues with the system.
Each role within helpdesk management is critical in ensuring that customers receive the best possible support. By working together, these roles help to ensure that customer issues are resolved promptly and efficiently, leading to improved customer satisfaction and loyalty.
8 Helpdesk Management System Best Practices
A helpdesk management system is essential for providing efficient and effective customer support.
Here are some best practices for implementing and using a helpdesk management system:
Set Clear Objectives
Define clear objectives for the helpdesk management system, such as reducing response times, improving customer satisfaction, or increasing the number of tickets resolved daily. These objectives will help to guide the implementation and use of the system.
Choose the Right System
When choosing a helpdesk management system, consider scalability, ease of use, and customization options. Choose a system that aligns with your business’s needs and goals. We recommend Capacity (shameless plug). Learn more about Capacity’s system at the end of this article!
Implement Effective Ticket Management
Implement an effective ticket management system that allows you to prioritize and manage tickets based on urgency, severity, and complexity. This will help to ensure that high-priority tickets are resolved promptly while lower-priority tickets are handled efficiently.
Automate Where Possible
Automate repetitive and routine tasks such as ticket assignments, follow-up emails, and customer feedback requests. This will allow support staff to focus on more complex issues that require human intervention, improving efficiency and productivity.
Use AI and Chatbots
Use artificial intelligence (AI) and chatbots to improve response times and provide 24/7 support. AI and chatbots can handle routine inquiries and quickly answer common questions, freeing support staff to focus on more complex issues.
Provide Training and Support
Provide training and support to support staff to ensure they have the necessary skills to use the system effectively. This can include training on ticket management, customer communication, and troubleshooting techniques.
Measure Performance
Monitor performance metrics such as ticket volume, response times, and customer satisfaction scores. Use this data to identify areas for improvement and make data-driven decisions to improve the quality of customer support.
Continuously Improve
Always look for ways to improve your helpdesk management system by incorporating customer feedback, analyzing performance metrics, and implementing new technologies and processes as needed.
Implementing these best practices can help businesses to optimize their helpdesk management system, improving the quality of customer support and driving business success.
Top Helpdesk Management Metrics to Track
Here are some of the most important metrics to track:
- Ticket Volume: This counts the number of tickets the helpdesk receives over a period. It is a good indicator of the overall workload of the helpdesk team.
- Response Time: This metric measures the time it takes for a support agent to respond to a customer’s request. A shorter response time generally correlates with higher customer satisfaction.
- First Contact Resolution (FCR) Rate: This metric measures the percentage of tickets resolved on the first contact with a customer. A higher FCR rate indicates that support agents can resolve issues quickly and efficiently.
- Average Handle Time (AHT): This metric measures the average time it takes for a support agent to resolve a ticket. A lower AHT generally indicates higher productivity and efficiency.
- Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) Score: This metric measures customers’ satisfaction level with the support they receive. CSAT surveys can be sent after a ticket is resolved to gather feedback on the customer’s experience.
- Escalation Rate: This metric measures the percentage of escalated tickets to a higher level of support, such as a supervisor or manager. A high escalation rate may indicate that support agents need additional training or that the helpdesk is understaffed.
- Abandoned Call Rate: A call abandonment rate is how often someone calls the helpdesk but hangs up before they get an answer. The higher the call abandonment rate, the fewer people are being helped by the helpdesk and support team.
- Ticket Backlog: Ticket backlog measures the number of helpdesk tickets that have not been answered yet. If there is a high backlog, it means you have a pipeline of people waiting for answers. And worse, it shows that it’ll take a long time for them to get the help they need. Even if they have a simple inquiry.
Capacity – The Best AI Platform for Helpdesk Management
Managing a helpdesk can become a nightmare if you don’t have the right tools. From answering repetitive questions to troubleshooting complex issues, it seems like there’s always something holding you back from reaching a well-deserved coffee break.
That’s where Capacity comes into play!
With their innovative automation capabilities, Capacity can take care of over 90% of the tedious tasks that consume your time, freeing you up to focus on more important things. Say goodbye to mind-numbing data entry and hello to increased productivity. Trust us, choosing Capacity for your helpdesk needs will make your work life a whole lot easier.
