Support-Desk - creating a support center for your business. Description of the subject area Creation of technical support
Diploma project “AUTOMATED SYSTEM FOR ACCOUNTING AND DISTRIBUTION OF ELECTRONIC CORRESPONDENCE”
DESCRIPTION OF THE SUBJECT AREA
1.1 TECHNICAL SUPPORT SERVICE
Technical support service or technical support (Technical support, Helpdesk, Service Desk) is a service structure that resolves user problems with computers, hardware and software. An important functional component of ITIL (information technology infrastructure library), which allows you to identify problem areas of the IT infrastructure and evaluate the efficiency of the IT department.
Methodology for organizing a technical support service
The technical support service at each enterprise can be built in a variety of ways (meaning the implementation of support processes). There are several support service models, for example: centralized, local, virtual - with a single call center, etc. A technical support service can be organized both to serve external clients (outsourcing, computer maintenance, etc.) and internal ones (an IT department in large enterprises).
In the description of the ITIL concept, built on a process approach, the Service Desk is the only functional unit described. This exception was made due to the great importance of the technical support department in the implementation of the practical use of modern IT approaches and techniques.
Properly organized technical support (Service Desk) always begins with the registration of all end user requests and serves as a single point for user requests to the IT service. The most popular solutions for the practical organization of technical support are often built on the basis of “Call-center” (sometimes even users identify them). It is the initial point of contact between end users and technical support and serves as a source of information about their actual satisfaction with the level of service, which complements information about the technical parameters of the quality of service of the client company (external or internal). In large enterprises or large outsourcing companies, the technical support service is often organized according to the following multi-level principle:
User– contacts the support service with a question by phone or using an electronic request;
Operator(1st line of support, “Call-center”) – registers the request,, if possible, helps the user independently, or escalates (transfers and monitors the implementation) the request to the second line of support;
Second line of support– receives requests from the first line, works on them, if necessary, involving specialists from related departments in solving the problem (system administrators, support for POS terminals, support for special software, support for special equipment, etc.).
Fundamental principles of service organization
In accordance with the life cycle of information systems, including periods of design, implementation, operation and development, the only period when the system brings real benefits to the organization is the period of its production operation. With very rare exceptions, the operation of an information system involves its use by employees of the organization who are not part of the IT service (support service) - the end users of the information system. Moreover, in most cases, it is by increasing the efficiency and quality of work of these end users that the effectiveness and quality of the information system and the quality of the information service are judged. In essence, end users are customers and consumers of information technology services (IT services).
It is proposed to consider the relationship between end users and the IT service as traditional market relations. That is, there is a certain service, there is a supplier of the corresponding service, and there is a buyer of the corresponding service. The supplier and buyer enter into some agreement that determines the conditions for the provision of the service, its quality, etc. Of course, this approach is not so obvious in the traditional situation where the IT function is part of the “buyer” organization. But world practice shows that only by organizing interaction precisely on the basis of such principles is it possible to achieve complete control over the IT infrastructure and significantly reduce the cost of its maintenance.
The subject of the agreement in the proposed model is a certain service provided to company employees by the information technology department (“IT service”). The term "IT service" is commonly used in several different senses. On the one hand, this is a service that the IT service provides to the end user. For example, Internet access. Or the use of an automated warehouse management system to perform accounting operations. On the other hand, the provision of a service involves the use of a number of technologies and solutions, and possibly other services. In this sense, any IT service is a structured set of equipment, software, technologies, and other services (sometimes of a lower level, but not necessarily). For example, providing access to the Internet requires access to an external provider, communication channels, a corporate data network, an access server to the corporate network, a personal computer with system software and a browser installed on it. This side of the IT service is not and should not be of great interest to the end user. But it is very important for organizing the activities of the operation service.
Within the framework of the “service provider – service consumer” relationship model, achieving success depends significantly on the actions of both parties. This is due to the high complexity of modern information systems, including client equipment and software (that part of the IT service components that is located directly at the end user). One of the pressing problems remains training users to work with the information system. And since the system is constantly evolving, training must occur regularly. This will allow for better training of employees. But training will in no way reduce the actual complexity of the system. And while working with the system, the user will still have various questions and problems related to IT services. That is, situations will arise when he needs help.
In this case, the user can choose different behavior options:
engage in “self-medication” - that is, try to solve the problem yourself;
ask colleagues for help;
contact your service provider.
Each option has its own advantages and disadvantages.
Solving the problem yourself– the fastest way, since there is no need to look for someone, wait, explain, etc. But unfortunately, not all users have the necessary qualifications. And not all problems can be solved independently: for example, no user can fix a server failure. In general, we can recommend this option only for the simplest situations and only when there is an acute shortage of time.
To help colleagues They resort, as a rule, when nothing works out on their own. The plus is the opportunity to contact quickly and directly. The disadvantages are the same as in the previous case, an additional waste of time explaining the problem, and there is no guarantee of receiving qualified help. This type of behavior is generally difficult to recommend.
The most correct is contacting your IT service provider for help. The main problem with such treatment is usually the lack of a quality mechanism for these purposes. In other words, it is extremely inconvenient for the user to seek help from the provider. Otherwise there are only advantages: there are qualified specialists; the problem will be analyzed from all sides and solved in an optimal way; there are all the rights necessary to solve the problem; finally, there is a knowledge base that can help solve problems. And one more undeniable advantage over other methods: the fact is that by concluding an agreement with a service provider, the user thereby has the right to demand normal operation of the service from the provider, while it is impossible to demand this from himself or colleagues.
Conclusion
: For all questions related to the use of IT services, end users should contact the IT service only.
As the company develops and the number of users and services increases, seeking help from the information technology department becomes the norm, since the user can only receive a high-quality and guaranteed level of service from the IT department.
When deciding to seek help, new questions arise.
Having decided to contact the IT service for support, the user usually finds himself in a somewhat uncertain situation:
who exactly can you contact.
Here, too, various situations are possible:
Contact a friend. The easiest way is to contact a person you know. And he will definitely help, if of course it is in his power. This option is not always suitable for solving the problem. A friend may not be there, he will be busy, or perhaps he himself will not know where to turn.
Ask any IT employee. He will most likely advise who exactly should be contacted on this issue. Next, ask the recommended one. Further continuation of the chain is possible. It is inconvenient for the user to act in this way. This organization of work is not convenient for users and the IT department employees themselves.
A very important problem arises: the lack of employees responsible for working with users leads to chaos in the activities of the IT service. Once an application is received, it is impossible to track who completed it and when. Often, when applications are completed after 1-2 months, it is impossible to establish who gave the application and who fulfilled it.
Therefore, the only option when any user knows exactly who to contact with questions, and at the same time the corresponding representative of the IT service is always ready to listen to the user’s request and take the necessary steps to resolve the issue, is the creation of a user support service within the Information Technology Department.
Conclusion:
There should be a dedicated group of employees within the IT service who will respond to user requests.
But we cannot limit ourselves to just creating such a group. To ensure that the user’s request does not end up “hanging in the air”, but gets to the right specialist and is considered within the acceptable time frame, both the created group and the end users must work in accordance with certain rules. The fact is that from the moment the user contacts the information service for help, he generally abdicates responsibility and can do absolutely nothing, since when analyzing the situation, the IT service will still be to blame. Thus, the service itself becomes interested in formalizing user support, delineating powers and streamlining the activities of employees when providing assistance to users. The sequence of processing user requests should help to focus the efforts of IT staff on the most important and critical events occurring in the IT infrastructure, but at the same time not leave all other user requests without due attention.
A kind of division of labor occurs. Users also participate in this division of labor, since they only turn to dispatchers for help and do not distract other employees of the information technology department with their questions, giving them the opportunity to work more productively.
Conclusion: the procedure for providing support to end users must be clearly formalized for all participants in the process: users, dispatchers, information service specialists and external service providers.
From a formal organizational point of view, all of the listed opportunities and ways of improvement make it possible to build a truly useful end-user support system for the organization. They contain recommendations for changing fundamental assessments of the role of the information technology department in the organization’s activities and, accordingly, increasing its responsibility to the organization and end users as the main consumers of IT services.
For further understanding, it will be useful to define more precisely the subject of the support service’s activities, to determine what type of help end users may need.
Without this definition, in a large Company with a large number of users, building a technical support service is simply not possible. Separation into separate services is already mandatory.
User requests
The following option for classifying user requests to the support service is proposed:
Service request. A request related to the need to service equipment or another component of an IT service by the IT service. For example, this could be replacing a cartridge in a laser printer or reconfiguring software on a user's personal computer.
Information request(consultations). The user needs additional information on IT services, operating procedures, etc.
Incident. The user cannot work normally: the IT service is unavailable or the quality of the service does not satisfy the user.
Request documentation. The user needs documentation on the equipment and software used.
Change request. The user would like to change the parameters of an IT service or change the list of services received. Often such requests are associated with low (not satisfying the user) quality of service due to the fault of equipment or software.
This classification allows for more efficient further processing of requests. Depending on the type of request, the operator of the dispatch service makes a decision about who will be the executor of this request. For obvious reasons, the most critical type of interaction for a business is an incident.
Incident handling– the main process performed by the customer support service. It includes the implementation of measures to restore the functionality of the IT service as soon as possible. In some organizations, the priority of this task is so much higher than the rest that the activities of the customer service team are almost completely reduced to resolving incidents.
Formation of rules of interaction
Based on the above, the following conclusions can be drawn:
Conclusion one: the need to provide support to users clearly follows from the complexity and complexity of modern information systems.
Conclusion two: end users are interested in IT services—services provided by the IT department using various hardware and software.
Conclusion three: providing support is the responsibility of the IT service; users have the right to seek support only from her.
Conclusion four: The IT staff responsible for providing support should be clearly identified.
Conclusion fifth: support must be provided in accordance with clearly defined rules for all participants in the process.
The listed fundamental conclusions underlie the successful activities of the information service and are the basis for building a support service. Indeed, creating a user support service is, first of all, a clear definition of: the rules for the interaction of end users with the IT service, the rules for the work of user support employees, and the rules for the interaction of IT service employees with each other.
These rules must contain answers to the questions listed below.
Issues regarding interaction between end users and IT service:
How the end user can access support;
Which user requests should be processed by the IT service;
How the end user can clarify the current status of processing of their request;
How the user confirms the closure of his request;
Questions related to the work of customer support staff:
How are user requests recorded?
How are priorities for processing user requests determined?
How are the executors responsible for processing user requests determined?
How does the specialist responsible for processing the user’s request carry out this processing;
How do support staff account for completed actions and report on the work done?
Questions related to the interaction of IT employees with each other:
How is a specialist appointed responsible for processing a user request;
How is the processing process controlled?
How can the person responsible for processing the user request be changed?
Of course, the list of questions can be continued. But well-thought-out answers to even just the questions listed will already allow you to organize a well-functioning support service.
You can answer each of the questions posed separately, but it would be more correct to group the answers into certain sequences of actions - in procedures And processes.
In fact, these rules are formal procedures that implement individual business processes of the information technology department. To describe them, any methods used to describe any business processes and procedures can be used: textual presentation, presentation in the form of diagrams in standardized notations, other graphical representation.
Since processes are usually quite complex, it is recommended to use decomposition into modules and their sequential detailing when describing them. The main criterion when choosing a presentation option is the ease of perception of the rules by their performers. From these positions, graphical representation has a significant advantage over simple textual presentation. Choosing a strict standardized notation will allow you to effectively analyze processes in the future and, if necessary, reorganize them.
But at the same time, standard notations still require certain preliminary preparation of both the “writer” and the “readers”. Therefore, most organizations settle on some simplified and intuitive display method, adding the necessary text explanations to the graphical data.
Customer Service Roles.
The next important element when creating a help desk is people. As a rule, it is necessary to slightly change the organizational structure of the information service. This is due to the need to allocate a group of employees who will perform the duties of dispatchers - that is, exactly those to whom users will directly contact with their requests. In the case of a small organization, this may result in one or more IT staff being assigned such responsibilities in addition to existing responsibilities.
In large organizations, as well as in organizations where technical support is very important, a special unit should be created - a user support dispatch service.
In general, the necessary changes in the organization of an IT service are associated with the emergence of new roles as a result of a formal description of interaction processes.
Role is a set of duties, rights and responsibilities. This concept is close to the concept of “position”, differs from the latter in that it does not imply staffing: the performer of the role can change in accordance with the schedule or according to other rules. In some cases, a special staff unit may be created to perform the role. But mostly the roles are distributed among existing IT staff.
During the course of a user support organization, different types of roles may arise.
Dispatchers.
Dispatchers organize the “first line of support.” Dispatchers are the “face” of the support service and are responsible for organizing interaction with users, timely informing users about the progress in considering their requests, and closing requests. In addition, dispatchers initiate consideration of the user's request by registering it and assigning someone responsible for its processing, and also control the processing process. They may also be assigned other responsibilities. A dispatcher with the necessary experience resolves more than half of incoming requests the first time they contact him.
Head of User Support.
The main tasks of this role are: organizing user support; coordinating the actions of employees in the process of processing them; monitoring the effectiveness of the support service; organizing training for IT service personnel involved in user support; end user training and others. It is also recommended to allocate a separate staff unit to perform this role.
Specialists in various areas of IT service activities open a “second line of support.”
Second-line specialists are the main executors of user requests. To increase the level of interaction, they can be combined into working groups (for example, a comprehensive group for supporting a specific IT service, including specialists in all technologies that make up this service). As a rule, these are employees specializing in certain individual services (account maintenance, programming, mail, administration, database maintenance). If a situation arises where the existing employees are not enough to quickly solve this problem, the issue of expanding the service staff should be considered. On the other hand, a clear distribution of responsibilities, as a rule, sharply reduces the unproductive activities of IT service personnel, so that in fact it is very rarely necessary to increase the number of staff, more often it is a matter of reduction.
It is possible to build a support service with a large number of levels. It is assumed that the roles of subsequent levels are performed by more qualified and experienced employees than the previous ones. Appeals to them are rare and occur only in truly important, critical cases for the organization.
Another group of roles - external service providers V.
The procedure for interaction with them is determined in accordance with service contracts.
The last role is end user of IT service.
This role need not be specifically identified, since this role is initially implied. However, it is best to re-emphasize that the end user is actually an active participant in the support process and has not only certain rights, but also responsibilities.
1.2 PRINCIPLES OF CLIENT-SERVER ARCHITECTURE
Since the entire structure of the block is built on client-server connections, and the creation of a backup system presupposes its constant connection with the main block through such communication, it would be reasonable to consider some aspects of organizing this kind of relationship.
Client-server is a computing model in which the request processing load is distributed between a client computer and a server computer that shares information via a network.
The client-server architecture is relevant today, primarily because it provides a simple and relatively cheap connection of personal computers (PCs) to servers, thereby providing an optimal price-performance ratio. The essence of the “client-server” idea is to increase the power of a distributed information system (RIS) by summing up the computing resources of many computers, rather than by increasing the performance of one computer. The client-server architecture became widespread thanks to the introduction of the open systems concept into practice. This concept is based on the idea of simplifying the integration of computing systems in local networks through international and national standardization of hardware and software interfaces.
The most important properties of open systems are the properties of mobility and interoperability.
Mobility– the possibility of a relatively simple and quick transfer of a software system from one platform to another.
Interoperability– the ability to simplify the integration of systems based on the use of ready-made components with standard interfaces.
Users can gradually replace system components with more advanced ones without losing its functionality. An interoperable form of client-server architecture is the division of the computing load between two separate processes:
client and server.
The system is divided into two parts, which can be executed in different network nodes, client and server parts. The application program or end user interacts with the client part of the system, which in the simplest case simply provides an over-the-network interface. The client part of the system, if necessary, accesses the server part over the network.
1.3 REVIEW OF ANALOGUES
It provides a brief overview of systems for automating the work of help desks, and also provides some questions that should be screened before choosing a system from ready-made commercial solutions. A large list of Help Desk type systems is given in.
In any case, the most convenient system for an existing company will be a system created within the company that satisfies its needs and most closely matches the company structure. This will be one of the advantages of the system being developed.
Let's look at the capabilities of some commercial systems.
ANDesk Service Desk (formerly Touchpaper IT Business Management Suite) is a closed-source commercial software package designed to automate the work of the technical support service in accordance with ITIL/ITSM recommendations.
LANDesk Service Desk is based on Microsoft .NET technology
Framework and is built on a client/server architecture. Server modules operate under the Windows 2008 Server, Windows 2003 Server or Windows 2000 Server operating system. Microsoft SQL Server or Oracle are supported as DBMS. LANDesk Service Desk supports four types of user consoles. The full-featured console runs under the Windows 2000, Windows XP or Windows Vista or Windows 7 operating system. This console is designed to perform all system configuration and administration operations and for technical support staff. The web console operates under Microsoft Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Netscape Navigator and Safari. This type of console is designed both for technical support staff and for end users over slow communication channels. The mobile Web-console operates on pocket personal computers running browsers that support HTML 4. The WebDesk console is designed for the work of technical support staff and is implemented on the basis of Ruby.
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People exchange sharp words
- said Loki, - but these words weigh nothing.
A person has a lot of them in his mouth.
"Empire V", V. Pelevin.
The first line of defense on the business battlefield is technical support service. The support is the first to meet adverts, the first to absorb the flow of indignation when failures occur, weeds out people who are not good for the business and, solving 90% of the problems of partners and clients, conveys to management only a concentrate of the most important things that require their direct participation.
Who works in support services? What should support be like? How to be a good “supporter”? You will learn about this in this article.
The first half of the article is intended for those who want to organize a support service for their Internet business. The second is for those who want to find a job in support.
This article will not create your technical support service for you. And it won’t provide you with work in support. But there is more than enough food for thought in it.
So make yourself comfortable and let’s get started.
How to select technical support employees
It doesn’t matter what kind of project you are managing, be it a design studio or - your users (advertisers, clients) will most often communicate with the support service and, most likely, only with it. It is the support that determines what first impression your project will make and how it will be treated in the future. Therefore, this part of your business should be no weaker than all the others.
Many project managers don't bother creating a help desk and don't want to hire a dedicated person to do the job. Perhaps they are right. If the project does not involve a large number of participants and is well automated, then it probably does not need a separate support service.
But this happens extremely rarely and, more often than not, the owner himself has to perform the functions of support. Do you have enough time and patience to do this job? Will this approach pay off in the future?
Most likely, attentive attitude towards partners, prompt resolution of their problems, competent communication with experienced advertisers, advice to beginners and time savings for the project manager will more than pay for the supporter’s modest rate. Do not underestimate the face of your project, even if these are just words in the ICQ client window.
- Do not hire so-called “schoolchildren” for technical support(young men and women with unformed psyches, communication skills and a sense of responsibility. There are also others. It’s better not to deal with these at all.).
Poorly paid “school kids” in the support service are the most common mistake. The person on the team must have sufficient qualifications, because nothing spoils the impression of a company more than illiterate technical support. Or inadequate. The support has access to confidential information and constantly communicates with your partners and clients, on whom the fate of the project depends. Therefore, by skimping on professionalism, you risk not only your reputation, but also the fate of the entire project. - An adequate person.
Pleasant to communicate with, sympathetic, with competent language, clearly expressing his thoughts - these are the necessary characteristics for a good user support worker. - The technical support employee must be an experienced professional.
Being able to speak politely, smile and tick boxes in the admin panel is not all that is needed from a support employee. He must be a professional who is familiar with the entire business of the company and is familiar with at least the basics of all the nuances of the industry. If you have an affiliate program, then the support employee must be an experienced webmaster. If you sell a software product, the support service must be technically competent. - Do not hire unknown people for technical support.
The support service has access to confidential information, sometimes even to accounts in . Therefore, check how well-known your candidate for the position of “supporter” is in the community. Does he communicate in and what reviews does he have? Recommendations from famous people will also not be superfluous. - A bad reputation of a technical support employee is the key to the failure of the entire company..
If you find an excellent professional in technical support, but he has somehow tarnished his reputation in the past, then it is better not to cooperate with him. Such a support service can discredit the entire project, even if its owners are famous and respected people. - A customer service representative must be available.
If the help desk is staffed by one person, he or she must be able to be available at least 12 hours a day. Or better yet, 14-18 hours (with a not too heavy load). If the workload is heavy, it is necessary to organize shift shifts. But the main thing is that the support service should be available most of the day. Users should not “catch” it. Well, for example, for technical support 24/7 (24 hours 7 days a week) has long been an accepted standard. - Some self-employment is no problem.
Don't stop your tech support employee from working a little for himself. If he in free time develops a couple or writes, then this will not interfere with working in the support service. But it will keep him in good professional shape and help him financially. - Don't impersonate support staff.
As surveys have shown, it is more convenient to communicate with a support employee if he has a normal name (nickname). That is, the ICQ nickname “John Smith” is much better than Support Unit 1.” - An interview never hurts.
Talk carefully with the candidate for the technical support position. Give a test task. For example, if he needs to support advertisers, you can show him any sales page and ask him to give some recommendations for improving productivity and increasing sales. Based on his reaction and results, you will immediately understand the level of his knowledge.
Now let's talk about what qualities are needed in order to get a job as a user technical support employee.
What do you need to work in technical support?
With a stable salary, working in a strong team with famous people - these are the bonuses of working in the support service. True, you will also need a lot: attentiveness, pedantry, good knowledge of the professional field, patience and much more. I present the main points below:
- Professionalism.
The idea that any beginner can handle the responsibilities of a support worker is a deep misconception. You must be confident that you can answer almost any question in the required area. And if not, then why are you here? It is impossible to know everything, but you must be fluent in the issues of our industry and have practical skills. This is why technical support is needed to help in word and deed with the problems that arise for people working with your project. And this requires knowledge and experience. - 12 hours a day - minimum.
Customer support should be available most of the day. She is truly valuable when you can turn to her for help at any convenient time. Therefore, you must be able to be online for at least 12 hours. Or better yet, 16. Of course, sitting still all the time is unrealistic, so figure out a way to do other things and be online at the same time. You can carry a smartphone with you. You can simply turn up the volume when doing household chores, and run to your workplace when you hear the familiar “knock-knock”. Be prepared to get up in the middle of the night too. Who has it easy now? - 90% of problems are your task.
Technical support should and can solve 90% of the problems that arise for advertisers. This is so because 90% of calls to the support service are related to simple problems that are resolved immediately on the spot. Be prepared for the fact that you will not only chat on ICQ, but also actually help people in a variety of situations, difficult and not so difficult. Transfer an unresolved issue to other authorities (administrator, management) only when you are sure that there is no way to solve this problem on your own. - Never be rude.
You will be rude, rude and even insulted. A wide variety of people live here, and not all of them are distinguished by intelligence. No matter in what tone or content the question is asked, you must always remain extremely polite. You were sent - answer: “Thank you for paying attention to me.” - Never ignore.
Never, never ignore messages! The support worker is required to answer all requests, be it ICQ, e-mail, tickets or telephone. It doesn’t matter whether the problem in this message seems important to you or not, because for an advert, any problem he has is extremely important. It definitely needs to be resolved and, if possible, quickly. Moreover, more often than not, the lower the price of the issue, the greater the likelihood of a scandal. So, for example, when payments are delayed, partners who have barely made the minimum wage worry many times more than large advertisers. For newbies, their first $50 makes a huge difference. Don't let them start a fight somewhere on the forum. - Be careful and flexible.
Technical support is the face of the company. Therefore, communication with her should leave a pleasant impression. Be polite, attentive and always try to adapt to the person who contacts you. If they address you as “you”, say “you”, if they “pok”, carry on the conversation in a friendly manner. - Take the initiative.
It's good when people feel your presence. If the issue has been resolved, knock and let us know. If the problem cannot be resolved yet, say that there is a delay, but they are working hard on a solution. But don’t overdo it, don’t knock on everyone and tell them “about the weather.” Nobody likes a bore. - Customer service worker shown public life
Chat on forums. An additional signature will have a positive impact on the development of the project and the mood of the employer, just like your virtual presence next to the people with whom you work. - Continuous learning.
The support team must always be aware of all changes in the industry. Otherwise, very soon your knowledge will lose relevance and you will not be able to do your job efficiently. Has there been any new script? Read about him, look at his work, etc. Has a new competitor emerged? Browse its websites, analyze its advantages, identify its disadvantages, etc. - Keep your mouth shut.
Technical support is trusted with confidential information. So don't talk too much! Even in confidence to friends. Turnover, number of advertisers, hidden statistics parameters - anything can play into the hands of competitors, and ruin your business reputation forever. Professionalism also means correct behavior. - Don't allow negativity on forums.
The absence of negative reviews on the forums is a good job of technical support. Never bring it to public proceedings, even if you are 200% right in the dispute. As one of the classics of marketing said, “no one has ever won an argument with a client.” I would add that in a dispute with an advocate, too. - Instructions are not everything.
There is no such thing as perfect advice or instructions. And these are no exception either. Always be adequate and soberly assess the current situation. Remember that the technical support service works with real people. Try to understand them and put yourself in their position. - You are a team member.
Never forget that you work in a team and must protect its interests. There is no need to publicly complain about your management and admire your competitors, even if they are objectively better. The opinion of a technical support employee is always visible. And they listen to him. - Work on two fronts.
The two fronts are the project participants (advertisers, clients) and its organizers (owners). The support service should not only help advertisers resolve their issues, but also, among other things, defend them before the project management: for example, reduce the minimum payment, if asked, raise the percentage, seek the allocation of additional promotional packages, etc. Remember, your task is to make the work of your partners as convenient as possible.
At the same time, the support person is an important team member who works to indirectly increase the overall profitability of the project. This means that we need to ensure an increase in turnover and try to reduce costs. Learn to maintain a balance - do not indulge too greedy and capricious advertisers, so that the project does not go into the red because of this. But don’t forget to provide comfortable working conditions for sane partners.
Contrary to what many people think, working in a support service is not empty chatter on ICQ for those who don’t know anything else. The community’s opinion of the project depends on the quality of the work of this service, which ultimately affects whether advertisers will remain and continue to work with it. The number of clients and much more also greatly depends on technical support. Good customer support will not solve all the problems that arise along the thorny path of business. But it can reduce their number many times!
A high-quality technical support service consists of high-class specialists who are subject to serious demands. Their work is responsible and not at all easy. The demand for this specialty is not falling, and salaries are only growing. Become good professionals in your field, and many famous teams will be glad to see you among their ranks.
Tech support employees probably have the highest turnover rate in the entire IT industry. Finding a good technical support specialist is difficult, and a beginner, after working for several months, strives to move to a less hectic position. Technical support often takes on the negative emotions of users. It is difficult to withstand the flow of negativity day after day, but it is not necessary. Much in communication with users depends on the behavior of the employee himself. What should a technical support employee do to make his job less difficult?
Give the user hope that you will help him.
For you, a user's call is a new request. The user has already spent enough time on his problem - trying to figure it out on his own, waiting on the phone line, and perhaps he has already been kicked off a couple of times by calling various IT services. Should we be surprised at the initially negative attitude? Finally, listen to what his problem is, and only then proceed to formally filling out the application - finding out the user’s identity, department/company/contract number, etc. Interestingly, tech support scripts often suggest the opposite.
Before solving a problem, make sure you are solving the right problem.
You can spend half an hour trying to figure out a problem that doesn't exist. The first step is to make sure that the situation that the user sees is not part of a larger incident that he has not yet noticed.
For example, a user calls with an appeal “My mouse is stuck.”
One scenario is to find out: optical or mechanical, wired or wireless, whether the diode lights up and whether it glowed before, etc. Conversations for 20 minutes, and you may never get to the problem.
Let's try to come from the other end: “So your mouse isn't working but everything else on your computer is working fine? For example, try switching to another program using the "Alt» + « Tab"or run the program from the start menu using "Ctrl»+« Esc"and shooter".
If everything works, then you can try to find out what happened to the mouse. If not, then the mouse has nothing to do with it and you need to deal with the computer.
There is no need to find out what the user has already done.
A typical stereotype that technical support employees are subject to is that 80% of user problems are corrected with the phrase “Have you tried turning it off and on?” Well, yes, this often works. At the same time, most users are familiar enough with the computer to perform such steps on their own.
They answer “Yes” without even thinking about your every “Have you tried...”
Have you tried turning it off and on?
- Yes
Did you keep it pressed and when you pressed it?”
- Yes
Did you hold the computer above your head while performing the ritual dance?
- Yes
Instead of asking what the user has already done, it is much more effective to give the user a task to do right now and talk to him about what he saw. An effective method is to follow the user’s entire path to his mistakes step by step, for example, by running the same programs on his own. If the error appears on your computer, then this is a good reason to escalate the incident to other specialists.
Tech support should use the same work environment as the majority of users.
You cannot provide technical support on Linux if users work on Windows. There is no point in migrating your IT department to Windows 8 if your company is still actively using Windows XP. It is very important for a technical support employee to have an environment close to the one on the user’s computer. In this way, it can predict the normal behavior of the computer and guide the user to the right steps. The computer's operating environment is the best clue in any situation if you at least know roughly what to do.
Don't pretend to know more than you really do.
Many users believe that technical support should know absolutely everything about computers and software. You and I know that among those who work on the first line there are no such people, but many are trying to pretend to be them. Often technical support tries to guess the right solution. As a result, a couple of unsuccessful guesses and you completely lose the trust of users. What to do? Evenness is the best policy. If you don't know the solution and can't pass the user on to someone who does, then try to figure out the situation with the user. Search the Internet, ask if the user has found a solution there, try to go through this solution together with the user. Many people feel stupid and insecure when communicating with technical support. Involving the user in finding a solution can give them confidence and increase their satisfaction with technical support.
Empathy
Empathy is a very intangible concept. However, for example, the advice to smile when answering the phone really works. Users feel your attitude. Unfortunately, empathy for user problems is not a quality that most tech support teams have. Indeed, what kind of sympathy can arouse for a person who cannot even turn on the computer without outside help? On the other hand, it is enough for most users to clearly explain the correct procedure once in order to avoid their requests in the future. Technical support employees should often remember that they also don’t know and can’t do much, and that this is generally a completely normal situation.
Your goal is to make the user happy.
IT professionals in most cases do not consider themselves kindergarten teachers for users. Even jokes when communicating with users are most often specific and little understood by “mere mortals.” There is such a good word that is gradually going out of use - Help Desk - help service, however, the option with a support service is also not bad. The task of technical support is to help and support users. If users end the conversation satisfied, then you will most likely feel satisfied with the good work, which means your work will be much easier.
Aug 14, 2014 oleg Organization of high-quality technical support. Theory and practice.
Let's be honest - you are unlikely to wait to call technical support, regardless of whether you are a home or corporate user. Endless music on the phone, employees trying to forward your call to someone else, and that someone else to someone else, incompetence when no one understands how it works or how to fix it - I think many of you have encountered similar horrors, although just once.
As an experienced manager who has managed several technical support departments, I am well aware of these problems, in fact, they irritate me more than others simply because I know what it takes to organize technical support with a customer satisfaction rate of 97.5% .
Based on my experience, I can identify two key factors when building a technical support department - people and process management.
Personnel decides everything.
1.Look for motivated people.
The technical support team should be filled with people who are interested in the technology they will be working with (in the case of our company, storage and virtualization technologies) and who like to help people. Identifying such people is not easy, especially if you only have 30 minutes during the interview to get to know each other better. But even during this time you can learn something, for example, from answers to questions not related to the technical part. Knowing what a candidate's hobbies outside of work are can provide clues about how motivated they are. If he is engaged in volunteer work or other activities aimed at helping someone, this is a good sign. A diploma with high grades may indicate that the candidate is able to remember the material, but it does not give us any hints about how motivated he is, what his actual knowledge is, or whether he is able to work in a team.
Don’t be surprised if you are given a logic problem during an interview - solving it in a limited period of time can help you find out how capable the candidate is of working under time pressure - a very important quality for a technical support employee. And don't be afraid - I am primarily interested in assessing the candidate's approach to solving it, and not in the correct answer. What matters to me is not how smart a person is in general, but how smart he is able to act in performing his job duties.
2. Communication.
Technical support engineers must be able to convey information concisely, clearly and in a form understandable to the client. Observing the people we hired, I realized that our education system does not teach business-style communication at all - the skills of correspondence, presentation and communication with users, as well as logical thinking, and this is very important.
3. Team cohesion.
It is important for a technical support team that its members share common values and want to do the best job possible. In addition, I believe that not only teamwork is important for unity, but also team games and other entertainment. Karting, paintball, hiking, singing songs together and much more are what I use to build team spirit outside of work.
You can compare effective teamwork to a school of fish. Scientists believe that many species of fish stick together to reduce friction with the water and conserve more energy when moving. In a group, it is easier for a fish to get food, since in addition to it, dozens of eyes and noses are involved in the search. Like a school of fish, it is easier for a team with common values to overcome various problems, because working together allows you to maximize the team’s resources and find new ways to solve problems.
Teamwork is not limited only to the technical support department, since to solve problems it is often necessary to interact with the engineering department, sales department, etc. The ability of different teams to organize joint work is very important. But, nevertheless, what is most important is the interaction of support workers with each other, their ability to act as a single organism, the ability to provide and receive help.
Process management.
1. Documentation.
The work of technical support must be documented so that you can always return to what has been done. Processes should be simple and allow for flexibility in case standard solutions are ineffective, and the main criterion here is to increase customer satisfaction.
For example, by giving service engineers the opportunity to spend up to $500 (with a report, of course) to quickly and effectively solve a problem, for example, sending new hardware or software by expedited delivery rather than regular delivery, we were able to significantly improve the level of satisfaction with our services. Proper development and documentation of processes will allow an organization to track its results to see if its customers have achieved a satisfaction level of 97.5% or more.
2.Training.
The training program for technical support personnel should include as much practical material and simulations of life situations as possible. Simply studying methodological materials leads to the fact that most of them are forgotten, so I prefer a practical approach.
In our company, we have created a team guided by these factors and we will continue to work in the same spirit. We love communicating with our clients and consider every application an opportunity to show our company at its best.
I write the text in real time, i.e. behind this word, I don’t even know what the next word will be. :)
In this case, you need to start with the foundation and with an understanding of the problem... and also identify the target audience: these are internal IT services and organizations providing professional services in the IT field... giants like Megafon or Iota most likely need solutions of full-fledged contact centers, which goes beyond the boundaries of my picture of the world and therefore is absent from this article...
C1.1. Problems and deviations in typical situations
- There is no understanding between the IT service and the organization's management. Which leads to conflicts, which are then expressed in the form of jokes ala “I am Dartagnan, and the management is...”. Although in most situations the reality is the opposite.
- Users are shocked
- forced to spend their time making sure everything works for them
- It’s not uncommon to receive rudeness instead of help
- There is no trust in the IT service, because the same basic questions need to be repeated and reminded, because... they are forgotten or forgotten;
- you can completely forget about wishes for development... only what IT specialists want is done, and not what users or the organization need;
- The service is a mess
- Few or virtually none of the specialists understand what is the result of their work;
- The concept of leading specialists and managers is confused, or rather, leading specialists are appointed managers
- The workload of specialists is a big question, and its fairness even more so.
- People's energy is scattered in different directions, as a result there is fatigue, but no noticeable results.
- High organizational costs
- The same process failures are repeated many times, but few people care
- Downtime in processes also occurs, but this is also quickly forgotten and repeated with enviable regularity.
- And last but most important... Without process management, specialists think that IT is somehow tied to computers, and instead of developing IT, they deal with computer technology.
C1.2. Desired situation
- The customer is always right. The organization, the organization's management and its employees are clients of the IT service.
- The key to the client's heart is facts and figures that show dynamics and allow you to make forecasts to make decisions.
- All people, white and black, make decisions the same way (with the exception of clinical deviations in the development of the mind and being locked in a madhouse). The only difference is in the initial information. The ability to select the right information is the basis of success and understanding.
- Gathering the necessary information is one of the results of properly organizing support.
- Need to gain user trust
- They must be sure that having communicated their thought once, it will be written down, considered, and there will be an answer or decision. And not ignoring or “I forgot.”
- The first phrase of a person who has achieved Buddhahood: I am you. If you see a stupid person in front of you... think about it. I'm not kidding.
- It all starts with recording requests, but then the lists (databases, registries, directories) expand with the development of the entire system.
- Order is a delicate matter
- The result of the IT service is the availability of the necessary information to employees and the absence of downtime in their activities. But these are just words. This is difficult to understand and understanding only comes after using an IT management system for some time.
- Justice is a complicated thing. There is a separate article for its understanding and it
- Who's at the helm of IT? Manager or specialist? There is a very simple test: do you register user requests? If yes, then there is either a leader or a promising person at the helm, if not, this leader needs to be kicked out, or demoted to a specialist, even a leading one.
- Any action must have priority... and those actions that have the greatest impact in terms of the organization's goals must be performed first. Achieving this is not easy, but it is possible.
- We cut costs
- We minimize downtime at any cost, bloody nose, because... any downtime is not just “we’ll fix it now,” it’s consequences that cannot always be tracked, a decrease in reputation, loss of customers, etc.
- Failures need to be recorded, the causes traced, the causes eliminated - a repeated failure is a disgrace to the jungle.
- Well, having completed these 4 points, you come to the understanding that IT is IT, and they are already hundreds of thousands of years old... and computers are computers, they are only about 50 years old and now they are used more often than the walls of caves only because a little - a little more efficient and nothing more :)
C2. Peculiarities
- The key factor to success is the registration of all user requests. Key word in this sentence: everyone. If you start slacking and skipping requests, get out, you are not a leader.
- When you achieve registration of all requests, the system will begin to develop... bottlenecks immediately become noticeable:
- no process instructions or instructions are crooked - a lot of questions
- no employee training - many questions
- equipment or programs are poorly configured or poorly selected - many failures
- specialists do just about anything, but not what is needed for the organization, and therefore for management.
- if you do a project poorly, then the dynamics of circulation jumps... projects need to be planned better...
- well, in general the picture becomes clear and many ideas immediately appear in my head on how to improve the situation...
- A very important element of the system is the CMDB or CBD - configuration database or service objects:
- All objects that fall under the sphere of influence of IT are indicated here in order to track the actions that are performed on them.
- Frequency of failures by program... what causes failures more often in 1C BP 8 or 1C BP 7.7? As a consequence, which one causes more costs?
- What changes and who made them in the programs? In what? Is it time to upgrade to a new version? Which changes are worth repeating and which are not? How much is this in terms of finance? Here the answers are in years.
- Someone is trying to shove mice and network cards here... this is a personal matter for everyone and everyone goes crazy in their own way... but my experience shows that such detailing brings a lot of expense and little use, and in fact it is monkey work.
- Basically, if you are responsible for IT, then it is enough to keep records in the context of programs, databases, system modules, and computers can finally be written down as Computers, even without detailing by office, not to mention detailing by components)
- And if you are also responsible for quality (this is ISO 9000), then here you can add a list of all the instructions and regulations governing and normalizing the actions of employees. In this case, the leadership will begin to pray for you and light candles in churches for your health. This is not counting other bonuses and social packages))
C3. Solutions options
- Let's first consider the characteristics that ensure IT quality
- Basic, mandatory ones that need to be completed first
- Recording requests, reception dates, completion dates, you can also record the result
- Regular (daily, weekly, monthly) monitoring of indicators, load, performance, dynamics...
- Additional, convenient, improving, can be performed secondarily
- Recording changes, projects, service objects for additional analysis sections
- Maintaining a history of communication based on requests, automatically sending notifications by email to those who applied.
- Basic, mandatory ones that need to be completed first
- Tools
- 1C ITILium
- pros
- The basic requirements are met here
- Software can be changed
- You can find a pirate
- There is a setting for automatic notifications about creation
- Strong reporting
- Minuses
- It’s difficult to keep a correspondence history; there are no notifications about comments by email or the ability to respond by letter
- Web muzzle is heavy
- Recommendations
- For cash-strapped pirates
- For those whose policy is tied to 1C
- For those who like to tinker with programs and love 1C
- The price is about 50 thousand rubles. for software, services are added according to taste.
- Notes
- I like it because this was my first system on which I built IT management
- pros
- eStreamDesk is one of the most effective solutions
- pros
- web-oriented and SaS model, i.e. access from anywhere and no need to worry about it with proper installation and technical support
- integrated with Google Apps
- there is Russian language
- there is a constructor for auto-messages both when adding and closing requests, and about correspondence during decisions;
- it’s realistic to use even the free option
- Minuses
- crooked code, glitches and plush interface
- missing CMDB
- weak reporting
- Recommendations
- for small projects, where there are financial problems
- and if there is no legal relationship, because applicants cannot specify their organization
- Price from 0 to see website. Services here, if needed, are at a minimum because... basic functionality.
- Notes
- If they could polish up the code, make reporting more flexible and be able to maintain a user base across organizations - that would be cool.
- pros
- Mojo HD
- pros
- the same as point 2, but a more pleasant, streamlined interface and Russification is a little more complicated
- reporting is good
- flexible designer of notifications about changes, comments...
- ability to respond to email
- maintaining a user database by organization
- Minuses
- There is no Russian language, but the entire interface can be rewritten even in crude language
- the prices are relatively steep, it’s not realistic to use the free option
- Recommendations
- for sustainable projects, with stable finances
- for those who need to manage clientele by organization
- Notes
- prices are a little lower and can be considered an ideal system for internal services and professional businesses
- pros
- DIRECTUM
- pros
- There is a dedicated IT.Now module but with an underarm design. Violation of principle C1.1. clause 5. Something like 1C ITILium, but less flexible and worse.
- Minuses
- Same as 1C ITILium
- There is no dedicated and well-thought-out module for ISO 20000. 1C ITILIUM covers the possibilities in years.
- Recommendations
- You can write your own module... which is justified in difficult situations... for example, in government administration and government services, where practice has not yet been developed, but integration with large paper document flow is needed.
- Notes
- DIRECTUM is a good EDI system, and building ITSM on its basis is justified only if everything else is built on this system. as has already been said, for example, in government administration.
- pros
- 1C ITIL something from Rarus
- pros
- this is 1C
- Minuses
- the program itself was written by those who are completely subservient to the stereotype from C1.1. clause 5. is focused on accounting for mice and microcircuits, instead of monitoring characteristics by process.
- Recommendations
- For those who do not have the strength to break their stereotypes and, instead of IT, want to continue working with computers and programs.
- Notes
- Rarus themselves need to straighten out their technical support. then offer solutions to others.
- subjectively, I almost vomited while studying this program.
- pros
- HP, IBM and others like them
- large and complex, most likely aimed at large volumes of requests.
- may be of interest to such monsters as Megafon or Beeline, where there are crowds of users.
- I heard that Gazprom people are buying such solutions. Probably the kickbacks there are delicious.
- Naumen ServiceDesk box
- I haven’t seen it, but I feel it’s interesting.
- Naumen ServiceDesk SaS
- They promise to release it soon.
- Considering Naumen’s experience, the solution should be interesting.
- If they choose a pricing policy like Megaplan’s, then I’ll probably even try to love them.
- I really hope that this will turn out to be an analogue of Mojo HD (item 3), but with a pricing policy like Megaplan.
- 1C ITILium
C4. Summary
- Whoever owns the information owns the world. I'm not kidding. Netocracy is already here.
- But to own information, you need to manage IT. And not just twist computers with a screwdriver and program solitaire games in 1C.
- You can ask questions in the comments... I’ll even try to answer them.
- Everything that is written here is an empirical reflection of subjective thoughts... whoever finds it useful is welcome, whoever thinks otherwise is your right.
C5. Request
- Who knows what other IT management tools? I'm especially interested in the SaS category and the ability to automatically send notifications to users by email...
- Well, in general, I will be grateful for additions, comments, criticism... maybe I’m wrong somewhere or my information is already outdated?
C6. Copyrights
- Our groups on Infostart (abandoned, though, because I’ve moved away from 1C a little now, I’m working on a few other projects)
- Instructions and regulations for 1C Enterprise
- 1C Enterprise implementation technology
- Promised link to project management