An effective service desk will engage with end users, acting as a single point of contact for resolving colleague faults, handling requests, gathering feedback and answering questions. A service desk is only as good as the people in it because first-line support is all about human interaction. They will also be the interface or gateway between the customer and other tiers of IT support, fixing what they can at the first point of contact and escalating everything else to the remaining tiers in the support model. Support technicians are key players within your IT team, so let\u2019s look at the seven habits of highly effective service desk analysts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tip 1: Be consistent<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n As a service desk analyst, you will speak to everyone in your organisation at some point or other \u2013 from the intern on their first day to the CEO. Everyone should have the same experience, so get to know your ticketing system or ITSM tool and your service desk processes and procedures. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The service desk is a practice that lends itself very well to checklists. No one wants to be that person who mindlessly reads from a script, but that\u2019s not what we\u2019re going for here. Used effectively, checklists are awesome! Astronauts, pilots and doctors all use them to make sure they get things right the first time \u2013 and every time \u2013 so let\u2019s start applying that same level of focus to IT support. Things to capture include:\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2022 Title: short description of the fault\u00a0 Tip 2: Understand your organisation<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n To be a successful service desk technician, you must have business awareness. This means understanding the departments within your organisation and asking what specific tasks are being disrupted. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Knowing this gives you a gauge for how critical the end user\u2019s problem is \u2013 for example, the payroll system being unavailable in the middle of the night is probably only going to be noticed by a handful of people. The payroll system being down on payday? You\u2019re probably two minutes away from absolute chaos. Also, get to know the executive assistants and reception staff \u2013 they know everything! <\/p>\n\n\n\n Tip 3: Know the basics<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n Understand the basics of your organisation. Every organisation is different, but the fundamentals remain the same. Most organisations will have some of the following: <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2022 Email Make sure you have a good understanding of the basics, and this will give you a solid baseline to build on. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Complete the form below to download our eBook and discover the full list of habits of a highly effective service desk analyst!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n
\u2022 Description: a description of the fault and technical details to support the resolution process\u00a0\u00a0
\u2022 The service affected\u00a0
\u2022 Priority based on impact and urgency\u00a0
\u2022 Category: based on a service matrix that is searchable
\u2022 Location and contact details of the user(s) affected
\u2022 Details of any related incidents if appropriate
\u2022 Details of any related changes if appropriate\u00a0
\u2022 Details of all diagnostic or attempted recovery actions taken; what has been tried so far? Has anything worked at least partially? Has anything made the situation worse?\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2022 Printers\u00a0\u00a0
\u2022 File services\u00a0
\u2022 Corporate applications
\u2022 Network and voice services
\u2022 Microsoft Office\/Google suite\u00a0
\u2022 Active directory (other directory services are available)\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n