Internal IT and customer-facing help desks
An internal IT help desk handles requests from people working in the business. Its scope may include workplace devices, access requests and business applications. Specify the systems included and any specialist supplier routes that remain separate.
A customer-facing help desk deals with people using a business’s products or services. That may involve account queries, product questions or reported faults. Decide which questions belong with customer service and which need technical assessment.
Those audiences have different expectations. A staff request for application access and a customer question about a purchase should not be treated as interchangeable examples of IT support.
Organisation and software are separate choices
Internal, outsourced and shared arrangements describe who does the work. A hosted ticketing tool describes part of how that work is recorded. Keep the staffing decision separate from the software decision.
When considering an external arrangement, establish the audience, request types and support hours first. Then ask how the ticketing process supports that scope.
For staff IT requirements, our managed IT support page covers the business details to prepare.
Define ownership from arrival to closure
Useful help desk arrangements answer these questions:
- Where does a user raise a request?
- Who assigns its priority and owns the next action?
- When is it escalated to another person or supplier?
- How does the user receive progress information?
- What confirms that the request can be closed?
Priorities should reflect the effect on work or customers. Ask how that effect is recorded and how competing requests are handled.
If a ticket passes to another supplier, retain a clear owner for communication. Otherwise, the user may know where the problem sits without knowing who will provide the next update.
Review what the ticket record can tell you
Compare repeated requests, unresolved tickets and the user’s account of the outcome. Don’t judge a help desk solely by how quickly it sends an initial reply or closes a record.
Define when an answer can be reused and when a request needs individual attention. A useful support process leaves room for exceptions, especially where a specialist system or an approval decision is involved.