Every IT and ITSM (IT Service Management) leader must closely monitor Service Level Agreement (SLA) performance metrics.
SLA metrics are a measurable way of demonstrating that your team or department is hitting or missing key performance indicators (KPIs) within an SLA.
Never in human history have we been so reliant on technology. Businesses, organizations, and governments everywhere rely on software and IT services to function. The tireless IT help desk, service desk, and IT service management teams (ITSM) are keeping all of this technology working.
Organizational leaders often need to decide the best approach for providing IT support for their entire organization. Forcing themselves to ask the question: "Which is better, an IT help desk, service desk, or IT service management?"
Self-service in IT Service Management (ITSM) refers to a model in which users can access and manage IT services without needing to involve IT staff or other intermediaries. This is accomplished through customer self-service portals or other tools that provide the information and resources needed to resolve common issues or grant access to services.
In the ITSM landscape, self-service can present itself in several ways. For example, it can:
Customer service is at the heart of most organizations — beyond retail, it can play a critical role in healthcare and government settings. Having a customer service team in place and planning to take and answer emails and phone calls is a good start, but without solid execution, it can be all for nothing.
Average Handle Time (AHT) is one of the most important metrics in call centers, help desks, and contact centers.
Alongside first call resolution, churn rates, and customer satisfaction metrics (e.g. Net Promoter Scores, Customer Satisfaction Scores, and Customer Effort Scores), AHT is closely monitored by team managers, operations managers, and senior customer service leaders.
Customer support automation — using digital services and tools, including chatbots and self-serve solutions — is a powerful way to reduce operational costs as much as 40% and provide 24/7 service to customers.
Businesses everywhere are using chatbots within customer service operations. In most cases, customers are happy to engage with chatbots when they have simple questions or problems that need resolving.
Apologies are a necessary part of recovering from your mistakes. In the customer service industry, knowing how to deliver a meaningful apology is a crucial skill everyone should be willing to improve in themselves.
However, it takes more than saying "sorry" to make a change. Customers want fast, simple solutions to their problems. And when they can't solve it themselves, customer reps need the ability to tell them what to do instead of apologizing and asking them what they need.
From fuel at the pumps to food at the grocery store, everything costs more these days. The reason? Inflation. According to data from the U.S. Labor Department and shared via the U.S. Inflation calculator, the country is experiencing an annual inflation rate of 8.3% for the 12 months leading up to April 2022. That is an astoundingly high number in comparison to previous years. In fact, it is the highest rate of inflation since 1982. The result? A trickle-down effect, meaning companies are incurring greater costs to bring in products, with these additional costs passed down to the consumer.
When customer service or success teams are managing hundreds or thousands of customer queries every day, a collaborative inbox can be an advantage.
Instead of emails going to individual customer service agents and managers, everyone shares the same inbox. Working together collaborating to solve customer problems is a big advantage.
In a competitive business environment, it's more important than ever to keep customers happy. You need a proactive, customer-centric help desk and an in-depth and helpful knowledge base sitting alongside that.
Not only does this help customers when things go wrong, but it also makes it easier for them to use a product. Customers are happier when they can access everything they need without requiring assistance from a help desk.
