INTRODUCTION Ahmed Ali JALEEL SERVICES DEVELOPMENT MANAGER at DHIRAAGU Member of Customer Experience Board (Cable & Wireless) Educational Background: Masters in Business Administration (Accreditations: Association of MBA, Chartered Management Institute, Chartered Institute of Marketing) 2007/8. Post-graduate in Management Studies. University of Leicester, UK. 2006/7. Certified Call Centre Operations. Stonebridge Associated College, Cornwall, UK. 2004/5 Engineering, specialised in Operational Telecommunications. C&W Technical College, Coventry, UK Work Experience: Asst Manager Customer Services Asst Manager Fault Management (Including Customer Call Centre & Technical Helpdesk) Asst Engineer Workshop & Repairs Asst Engineer Faults Asst Engineer Installations Telecommunication Technician. Specializations: Telecommunication Engineering, Customer Services, Business Management, Human Resource Management & Organizational Behavior. [ Info at Professional Network: ]

WEEK ONE HELPDESK INTRODUCTION & BASICS

DEFINITION OF HELPDESK

A single point of contact within an organisation (company) for managing customer problems and requests and for providing solution-oriented support services NOTE: IBM coined the term “HELPDESK” in 1970

WHY DO CUSTOMERS CALL?

NEW USERS REQUIREUPGRADING OF OLD SYSTEMS NEED TO INSTALL FIREWALL AND/OR ANTI- VIRUS SOFTWARES NEED TO TROUBLESHOOT UNKNOWN PROBLEMS WHICH CANNOT BE RESOLVED BT THEMSELVES

WHEN DO TECHNICAL SUPPORT END COMPLETELY?

TECHNICAL SUPPORT FOR A PARTICULAR PIECE OF HARDWARE OR SOFTWARE ENDS WHEN THE RESPECTIVE TECHNOLOGY BECOME UNUSABLE

WHAT ARE THE COMPONENTS OF A SUCCESSFUL HELPDESK?

WHAT ARE THE COMPONETS OF A SUCCESSFUL HELPDESK? 1.PEOPLE 2.PROCESS 3.TECHNOLOGY 4.INFORMATON

WHAT ARE THE COMPONETS OF A SUCCESSFUL HELPDESK? – 1. PEOPLE “PEOPLE” SUPPORT CUSTOMERS HELPDESK LEVEL ONE KNOWN AS TIER ONE. THIS IS THE INITIAL CONTACT POINT FOR ALL CUSTOMERS. DEPENDING ON THE TYPE OF SUPPORT REQUIRED THE CUSTOMER’S ISSUE IS SOMETIMES ESCALATED TO LEVEL 2 OR LEVEL 3. DIFFERENT TYPE OF CUSTOMER TRANSACTIONS – PROBLEMS, REQUESTS AND QUESTIONS ARE OFTEN CALLED INCIDENTS OR ISSUES.

WHAT ARE THE COMPONETS OF A SUCCESSFUL HELPDESK? – 2. PROCESS A PROCESS DETERMINES THE PROCEDUREPOPLE FOLLOW RELATIVE TO AREA OF BUSINESS. A PROCESS IS A COLLECTION OF INTER-RELATED WORK ACTIVITIES THAT TAKE ASET OF SPECIFIC INPUT AND PRODUCE A SET OF SPECIFIC OUTPUT THAT ARE OF VALUE TO A CUSTOMER. A PROCEDURE IS A STEP-BY-STEP DETAIL SET O INSTRUCTIONS THAT DESCRIBES HOW TO PERFORM THE TASKS IN A PROCESS.

WHAT ARE THE COMPONETS OF A SUCCESSFUL HELPDESK? – PROCESS FOR EXAMPLE, service level management is an example of the processes in a Helpdesk environment: It includes NEGOTIATING & MAINTAINING CUSTOMER EXPECTATIONS. e.g. how & when can customers can contact helpdesk.

WHAT ARE THE COMPONETS OF A SUCCESSFUL HELPDESK? – 3. TECHNOLOGY TECHNOLOGY IS THE TOOL AND SYSTEM PEOPLE USED TO DO THEIR WORK. HELPDESK TECHNOLOGY INCLUDE: 1.DATA COLLECTION SYSTEM 2.MONITORING SYSTEM 3.REPORTING MECHANISM

WHAT ARE THE COMPONETS OF A SUCCESSFUL HELPDESK? – TECHNOLOGY EXAMPLES: INCIDENT TRACKING & PROBLEM MANAGEMENT SYSTEM: THIS TECHNOLOGY IS USED TO LOG & TRACK CUSTOMER PROBLEMS AND REQUESTS KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT (KM) SYSTEM: THIS TECHNOLOGY CAPTURES AND DISTRIBUTE KNOWN SOLUTIONS TO PROBLEMS AND ANSWER TO FREQUESTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQs). TELEPHONE SYSTEMS: THIS IS THE TECHNOLOGY USED TO MANAGE INCOMING AND OUTGOING TELEPHONE CALLS WEB-BASED SYSTEMS: ALLOWS CUSTOMERS TO SUBMIT PROBLEMS AND REQUESTS OR SOLVE INCIDENCES ON THEIR OWN WITHOUT CALLING HELPDESK.

WHAT ARE THE COMPONETS OF A SUCCESSFUL HELPDESK? – 4. INFORMATION INFORMATION IS DATA THAT ARE ORGANISED IN A MEANINGFUL WAY. DATA COLLECTED ON A DAILY BASIS BECOMES INFORMATION. ORGANISATIONS & BUSINESSES NEED INFORMATION TO SPOT BUSINESS TRENDS AND DISCOVER ROOT CAUSES OF PROBLEMS

WHICH OF THE 4 COMPONENTS OF A SUCCESFUL COMPONENTS OF THE HELPDESK FUNCTION IS MOST IMPORTANT & WHY?

PEOPLE ARE THEMOST IMPORTANT AND MOST EXPENSIVE COMPONENT BECAUSE CUSTOMERS EXPECTATION IS THAT THEY ARE ASSISTED BY FRIENDLY, EFFICIENT AND COMPETENT PEOPLE. FINDING QUALIFIED PEOPLE TO DELIVER EXCELLENT CUSTOMER SERVICE IS DIFFICULT, COSTLY AND TIME CONSUMING

CUSTOMER SERVICE EXCELLENT CUSTOMER SERVICE IS THE GOAL OF ANY ORGANISATIONOR BUSINESS. THIS MEANS THAT CUSTOMERS SHOULD RECEIVE VALUE FOR MONEY. THUS MAXIMUM VALUE FOR THE PRODUCT OR SERVICE WHICH IS PURCHASED. THE DEFINITION OF “VALUE” IS INFLUENCED BY EVERY CUSTOMER SERVICE ENCOUNTER (EXPERIENCE). THIS LEADS TO WHAT IS KNOWN AS THE “MOMENT OF TRUTH”.

CUSTOMER SERVICE IN LOCAL OR GLOBAL BUSINESSES, RESOLVING CUSTOMER PROBLEMS OVER THE PHONE IS COST- EFFICIENT. THIS IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT BEFORE CUSTOMER IS ATTENDED FACE-TO-FACE OR WHEN AT A DISTANCE.

CUSTOMER SERVICE FOR EXAMPLE, FOR AN ORGANISATION TO SEND THEIR ENGINEERS AND TECHNICIANS TO EACH CUSTOMER’S PREMISES (PLACE) IS COSTLY, AND IT QUICKLY TAKE UP AVAILABLE LIMITED RESOURCE. YET CUSTOMER SERVICE DOES NOT MEAN GIVING CUSTOMER EVERYTHING HE/SHE WANTS!

CUSTOMER SERVICE CUSTOMER SERVICE DOES NOT MEAN GIVING CUSTOMER EVERYTHING HE/SHE WANTS! IT IS IMPORTANT TO LEARN HOW TO SAY NO WHEN THE SITUATION REQUIRES TO DO SO. THIS MEANS THAT HELPDESK MUST MANAGE CUSTOMER EXPECTATIONS. HENCE, CUSTOMERS SHOULD BE CLEARLY COMMUNICATED WHAT HELPDESK CAN DO AND CANNOT DO

CUSTOMER SERVICE FOR EXAMPLE, FOR AN ORGANISATION TO SEND THEIR ENGINEERS AND TECHNICIANS TO EACH CUSTOMER’S PREMISES (PLACE) IS COSTLY, AND IT QUICKLY TAKE UP AVAILABLE LIMITED RESOURCE. YET CUSTOMER SERVICE DOES NOT MEAN GIVING CUSTOMER EVERYTHING HE/SHE WANTS!

TRAPS TO AVOID?

TRAPS TO AVOID PROMISE MORE TO CUSTOMER THAN WHAT THE ORGANISATION CAN DELIVER. DELIVER MORE THAN THE ORGANISATION PROMISE WHICH RAISES THE CUSTOMER EXPECTATION BAR. PROMISE ONE THING BUT DELIVER SOMETHING ELSE. NOT PROMISING ANYTHING SPECIFIC LEAVING THE CUSTOMER TO SET EXPECTATION LEVEL