Let’s face it: there are certain things that can cost you your job as an IT leader, and one of them is not having a firm grasp on the way your service desk affects your bottom line. Whether through the quantity of tickets you resolve, or end-user satisfaction, your service desk wields a lot of power when it comes to maintaining your job security.
Mechdyne’s very own Matt Szymanski (Service Desk Outsourcing Strategist) and moderator Brian Studway covered exactly how you can get ahead of 7 common mistakes that can hold you back at work— or even get you fired— in our Virtual Masterclass Series.
In this Masterclass, we covered:
- Relying (incorrectly) on close rate as your primary metric.
- How your objectives are misaligned with how your provider generates revenue.
- Neglecting the cost-reducing recommendations your partner provides.
- Not determining the root causes of calls.
- Setting the bar too low for your partner’s performance.
This masterclass is a great resource if you are a:
- Service Desk Manager
- Directors of IT
- End-user Support Manager
- VPs of IT
- Customer Experience Manager
- Procurement/purchasing
- CIO
- CTO
Keep reading to get a quick breakdown of the top seven service desk outsourcing mistakes that you should avoid if you want to keep your job, especially if you’re looking to implement a new service desk.
Mistake 1: Not considering a partner-provided solution could perform better than an in-house solution.
If you’re rolling all your service desk duties and responsibilities into a single in-house team, you run the risk of a de-siloed environment that bogs down all your technicians with mismatched or lengthy tasks that disrupt them from their other day-to-day duties. In this case, siloing between Level 1 technicians and the rest of your IT team is a good thing. Additionally, your organization should know the best practices for staffing, training, and documentation; the right outsourced service desk provider will provide strategic guidance to bridge any gaps prior to the go-live date.
Mistake 2: Not knowing your key metrics of success.
If you’re stumped as to where to start analyzing what metrics matter most to your bottom line, we highly recommend completing a SWOT analysis. In our full white paper, you can get a visual rundown of how to properly approach this kind of analysis and use its results to inform further service desk strategy.
Mistake 3: Not understanding your provider’s objectives.
Simply put, a provider will always try to win your business. The key is to secure a mutually beneficial partnership. One key aspect we suggest looking for is the retention rate of existing clients to see what kinds of relationships your potential service desk provider can cultivate and maintain.
Mistake 4: Not scrutinizing the provider’s implementation process well enough.
Communication is key when it comes to implementing a service desk. Success in an implementation process hinges on a crystal-clear approach to how and when each step will occur. From outlining specific responsibilities to establishing a cadence of weekly meetings, there should be no guesswork when it comes to how the entire process will go. We recommend running frequent evaluations, based on the determinations of any SWOT analysis you do, to ensure that your service desk provider is doing the job right.
Mistake 5: Not collaborating with your provider as a partner.
Speaking of communication, make sure you’re leveraging it to use your provider as a partner, not just a vague outside resource. The relationship should be symbiotic in nature and help create understanding of what kinds of resources and strategies will be most useful to your specific IT environment and end-user base.
Mistake 6: Not knowing where the lines are drawn between yours and your provider’s responsibilities.
This may not seem as obvious but having a clear line of delineation between your responsibilities as an organization, and the service desk’s duties and responsibilities, isn’t just to make an implementation process run smoothly or deciding how to allocate tickets. It’s also to make sure that your service desk provider is providing meaningful value to your bottom line. Look for a service desk provider that isn’t just doing the bare minimum and leaving you, still, with the bulk of the responsibility.
Mistake 7: Not achieving the returns on your objectives.
Notice we didn’t say “return on investment”! It’s difficult to calculate a concrete service desk ROI, because it’s a necessity to keep the business running as opposed to an aspect of the business that nets new wins. By focusing on your service desk objectives instead, you’ll create value in places like end-user satisfaction and job satisfaction for your technicians.
Job Security Through Service Desk Outsourcing
Are any of these nagging mistakes or pain points that you could be more proactively addressing in your role as an IT manager or leader? It shouldn’t come as a surprise that if you aren’t paying close attention to the finer strategic details of service desk responsibilities, that you won’t have the results you need to demonstrate you’re worthy of the title you hold. You know your worth though… so, prove it!
Ready to make the switch to a partner-provided service desk solution? Contact us now to get started.