Service desks typically evolve through three stages as they become more strategic.
The first stage — reactivity — is characterized by high abandonment rates, low customer satisfaction and rampant employee turnover because of agent burnout. In the second stage — transition — typically the service desk practices various call prevention techniques, providing users with self-help tools such as automated password resets and effective user training, and working with development groups to ensure better design and testing of new applications. In the third and final stage — strategic — the service desk realizes its full potential as part of the IT value chain.
To gauge how well your service desk is operating and where it stands in the three stages of development, answer these questions:
If you answered yes to eight or more questions, congratulations! You have a strategically mature service desk. Less than 20% of all desks fall into this category. To stay in this category, it’s important to benchmark at least annually. Learn about MetricNet’s benchmarking solutions.
If you answered yes to at least five but fewer than eight questions, you likely have a transitional service desk. Most fall into this category, which helps explain the recent increase in service desk budgets. We can help you improve performance at a revolutionary pace! Learn about our One Year Path to World Class Performance!
If you answered yes to fewer than five questions, you are probably operating under the reactive model. Some service desks operate in this mode because of sheer resource constraints. We can help you improve performance at a revolutionary pace! Learn about our One Year Path to World Class Performance!
Finally, download our whitepaper The Zen of Support to learn three character traits that any organization can adopt and cultivate to become more strategic, and three sources of value that any organization can leverage to their advantage.
