Create Clear Channels

How easy is it for your help desk or service desk customers to understand how to communicate with you? Many times, it is assumed that the end users know how to follow your predefined processes and that they will follow them naturally. The exact opposite is generally true.

Contacting You By Phone
Let’s start with your phone prompts - when end users call your help desk. Your prompts must meaningful and relevant in two directions.

First, your voice prompts must have value for the customer. The customer must understand how the prompts relate to them. If you say, “Press 1 for business applications,” you’re likely to find that just about everything can be called a “business application.” Instead, try to be specific and use terms your customers will understand.

Second, your voice prompts must have value for service. If you have five options, and all get routed to the same queue, and everyone has the same skill set, you’ve just spent your customer’s time and not added any value. Instead, you should use your voice prompts to improve first call resolution, by grouping skill sets on your team around the voice prompts. Since most companies have a large number of applications and technologies to support, this routing will help your customer satisfaction significantly, since there is more likelihood of getting fast resolution.

One way to improve service is to use two levels of voice prompts. At the first level, find out why the customer is calling:

1. Report a problem you are experiencing or get status on an existing problem.
2. Order new PCs, peripherals, or software or get status on an existing order.
3. Request logins for new or existing employees.
4. All other requests.

Your second level can then point your customer to the queue that has the best skills to meet your needs. For example, if the user selects number one, above, the options may become:

1. For problems connecting from outside of our office.
2. For problems with Microsoft Windows, Office or other software installed on your PC.
3. For problems with web-based applications.
4. All other requests.

Once you are satisfied with your voice prompts, consider what answers you can give directly in the phone prompts. For example, if you have a standard answer for all questions regarding wireless support, record the answer directly into one of your phone prompts. The user gets an immediate answer and you don’t need an analyst to take the call.

Contacting You On the Web
After you have settled on the options users will have when they contact you by phone, be consistent for Intranet or web access. If you’re phone prompts work well, users will appreciate a consistent structure when contacting you through your web site. The only difference should be that your web channel should promise faster service through automation. This reduces the number of analysts needed to take calls and elevates your team to higher levels of service.

Think about the linkages between your phone prompts and web portal. If you carefully plan both, you will find that your phone prompts can direct customers to your web site for faster, automated self-service. You will also find that you can point customers from your web portal to the phone system for special requests.

Conclusion
There is much to be gained by using clear consistent channels of communication with your help desk or service desk customers. With some up-front planning, effective skill set grouping, and simple implementation, you can help guide your customers through your processes and provide outstanding service.

-Steve McElwee