While there are many examples of the damage that this fragmented approach to IT has inflicted, the one that is probably most costly is keeping the end-user empowered. End-user technology efficacy assumes adequate and timely support of hardware, software, and access to appropriate corporate technology resources and data. The cost of this support far exceeds the capital outlay for hardware and software in all calculations of Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) models.

 

Small and mid-size organizations have been slow to formalize a response to this requirement of efficiency and productivity. That approach involves the development of a help desk function and staffing of that function is essential. And the cost of procrastinating is expensive.

According to a Meta Group Consulting study, the cost of an average call requiring a visit to the user's desk is $125, whereas the cost of resolution by a helpdesk is $25. Furthermore, the average cost per call of a centralized help desk is $24 versus the $30 per for a decentralized helpdesk. Finally, the average user calls the helpdesk 1.25 times per month.

 

What are the factors formalizing a help desk function in your organization?

 

Staffing. Who should be providing front line support? First, staffing should not be your best and brightest; those people should be allowed to focus on existing IT projects and new initiatives within your organization. Second, while understanding your business can be helpful to a helpdesk person, it usually not essential. This is about understanding a process and its likely problems.

 

Instead, less senior, but technically knowledgeable people should staff the helpdesk function. Though experience with hardware and software is important, business setting experience is not. Nonetheless, business competencies like communication skills, an ability to show empathy and compassion over the phone and through email, and patience are critical.

 

Software.  In organizing a helpdesk function, the methodology and discipline imposed by software can be useful. The major vendors have created their software by integrating the best practices of experienced helpdesk staffs that already work.

 

Functions to look for include:

Two popular products include Track-It! (www.BlueOcean.com) and Heat (www.FrontRange.com).

 

Metrics. Are your IT support staff accountable? While the obvious answer is yes, measuring productivity and usefulness is often difficult. With the exception of instances of gross incompetence (as even the laziest of these are quickly responsive to management) how do you know about the job these personnel are performing?

 

The reporting tools of helpdesk software combine with a methodical approach to support to form a framework to quantify the output of much of IT support. Still, before starting, you must have some idea what you want to measure. Things to measure include:

Empowering the end-user.  Support does not happen in a vacuum. As with anything else, there are some 80/20 rules (or if you insist, generalizations). 80% of support will be concentrated on 20% of the users. 80% of the problems will be repeats, with only 20% new problems. These facts enhance the value of creating a growing knowledgebase of problems experienced among your users and resolutions that worked. This do-it-yourself support leverages your support staff's reach to 24/7, regardless of their real hours. This can also retrain some of the demanding 20% to become more self-sufficient with a corporate resource for guidance.

Getting started. One of the most challenging components of a helpdesk is how to introduce it within your organization. Based on the approach of my project manager, Vongie, here are some suggestions:

By adopting a helpdesk initiative, you can save money and bring sanity back to the sometimes out of control IT support. You can also free resources from support to do the real IT -- progress. And you can do all this while increasing end-user satisfaction with IT and IT's accountability to management.

 

When are you going to take control of your IT support?