A Help Desk is one example of assisting individuals with computer-related problems. The help desk staff members are specialists in either particular computer software or hardware or in widespread problems relating to several computer-related domains.

A service desk differs from a help desk services in that it is linked to the ITIL (IT Infrastructure Library) or ITSM (IT Service Management) standard, which is a set of procedures based on best practices gathered from various enterprises over a long period of time. Unrelated to any particular procedure, a help desk tries its best to assist individuals in its areas of expertise. In the next installment of the "what is" series, the Service Desk will be described.

There are two main ways to implement a support desk.

Internal assistance desk

The employees of a corporation are assisted with computer-related issues via a help desk provided for the internal organization. The issues might range from hardware-related issues to requiring assistance with software functioning. To provide the greatest user support, the help desk often employs some sort of help desk software. All concerns are tracked by the help desk software to ensure that they are resolved as quickly as possible. The length of time it takes to resolve problems is often determined by some sort of agreement between the IT department and the rest of the business.

The help desk frequently assists with both the removal of outdated equipment and the installation of new machines. Since not every issue can be resolved remotely, a help desk also employs staff members who may go to users' locations to provide assistance. Often referred to as "runners," these folks exist.

External help desk 

Customers from outside the company can occasionally get assistance from an external help desk with problems relating to certain software or function-related difficulties. Providing support services for a software company, for instance, can constitute a help desk in this scenario. Customers' issues would be gathered by the support desk, which would then work quickly to resolve them. The help desk will be able to handle feature requests from various clients as well as resolve issues.

Motives for Purchasing a Help Desk

A help desk solution is purchased by an organization for a variety of reasons. Some or all of the following will be at the top of the list:

1. Not responding to user queries in accordance with the SLA.

It's time to think about hiring a professional help desk when your in-house help desk staff cannot handle the amount of calls you receive and your service level agreement is not being reached.

1. Poor client satisfaction

All customers of the IT department's support services frequently express dissatisfaction with the level of service they have gotten. All too frequently, a poor call tracking system makes it difficult for the help desk representative to finish the conversation quickly. Customer service and user happiness will undoubtedly increase when users have access to a web-based self-service module that allows them to log and view their calls.

1. Repetitive inquiries.

Using help desk software, you can quickly develop a knowledge base. You may address the frequent queries put to your help desk agents by offering resources like video lessons or a FAQ section. Additionally, the knowledge base may be divided into a user and a technician area, with each component having items pertinent to the specific individuals accessing it.

1. You employ an excessive number of software tools.
   You have invested in solutions that help your agents streamline their job and have moved past the email-only support desk solution. However, not all of the tools you use are interconnected, which leads to work duplication and increases the possibility of numerous system failures.

1. It's impossible to do management reporting.
   Without the proper reporting technology, creating monthly management reports on the support desk's performance is difficult or perhaps impossible. Another justification for using an expert help desk solution that generates management reports that fulfill all important control requirements is the difficulty in preparing them.

Characteristics to look for in a help desk

A decent help desk should have a certain set of essential characteristics. The following is an example of these:

• Make that concerns are properly recorded, allocated, and dealt with within a tracking process system.
• Continually update a central database with customer information and help desk history.
• Issues should be automatically assigned to the correct department or individual.
• Inform the user when the appropriate support team is assigned to the problem.
• Enabling workers to use a Self-Service to log calls and check the progress of ongoing calls

Modules that are frequently required

Core components of the majority of help desk solutions include the following modules. But there are solutions that are more or less compliant with ITIL. It's crucial to choose a support desk solution that satisfies the operational needs of your company. A support desk should not be chosen based on the "one size fits all" principle. We provide many Help Desk solutions since not all businesses may need the same feature set, and each one is tailored to a particular set of demands.

Conclusion

Your IT help desk's capability and sophistication have the potential to build or destroy the morale of your IT workforce. Similar to how user approval of an organized help desk would boost productivity and morale among your end users. Similar to how ignoring the need for a help desk can result in lost productivity and lower morale in both your IT and user departments.