6 Things to Consider in Choosing an IT Help Desk Software
Choosing the right piece of software for your business can be tricky. Companies need to weigh the pros and cons of each system while also factoring in pricing, integration, and other things.
When it comes to IT desk software specifically, there are some extra considerations, like whether it has a central inbox, customization, and a self-service portal. Thankfully, there are a few Jira service desk alternatives, like Helpspot, that have these features and several others.
In the end, finding the desk software for you and your company starts with answering questions about your customers, service agents and IT teams, and your business’s needs.
1. What kind of experience and support will you offer customers?
Your customers have certain expectations of your help desk, and you need to know if you’re meeting them. Imagine the ideal customer support interaction from their perspective:
Are you able to answer emails quickly or contact them through multiple channels? Do you have a dedicated self-service section that empowers your customer base? If you answered no to any of these questions, start working on your response time to improve customer experience.
2. What type of experience and support will you offer employees?
While your IT help desk team won’t immediately fall in love with new software, they’ll rely on it heavily. If your employees are comfortable using a service, they’re more likely to be productive and efficient. As your help desk is the first line of customer retention, consider their own needs.
3. What do you want to change about your current service goals?
Many startups start by using a shared Gmail inbox or separate emails, but that won’t work once your business begins to scale. When choosing a help desk, start thinking about how to streamline your workflow, whether that’s automating email distribution or separating mailboxes.
It’s always ideal to look at your existing customer service goals when considering the following:
- What is the best way I can solve this issue?
- Is my approach essential to the customer experience?
- Is my team capable of reaching these new goals?
Now you should have an idea of the type of customer service you want to offer. With that knowledge, you can start searching for help desk software that suits your goals.
4. What help desk features are essential for your business?
Create a table that includes “essentials” and “non-essentials.” If you focus on core requirements, you’ll reduce the amount of time it takes to test each software.
Ask your IT help desk team questions to help determine what they need:
- What legal requirements must be met for optimal software, like privacy?
- What technical requirements do we need to meet?
- Can we integrate other software into this system, if necessary?
- Does this feature add value to the team? To our customers?
Make sure you review reporting options for each help desk software you test, as you need a compliant analytics component to view customer service data accurately.
5. How will you evaluate your chosen help desk software?
Small and large companies alike will need a software evaluation team to make sure your help desk is a good fit for your organization. The whole evaluation team must simultaneously look at the same tool to ensure that everyone has thoroughly tested each software component.
You’ll also have to roll out a testing phase for your customers. Set up a customer service review page on your website or after the call and offer a reward to entice others to test your software.
6. Is your help desk software scalable, reliable, and supportive?
All help desks should accomplish three things: scalability, reliability, and supportability. Before opting into any software, make sure your solution can work with you as your business grows.
Ask the help desk’s system support team what will happen during an outage, how they handle trouble calls, and what channels are available to customers when you have an issue.
