IT Management Reference Guide

Service desks are often one of the most critical elements in an IT organization's quest for superior customer service. The very fact that many shops refer to their previously called Help Desks as Service Desks reinforces their emphasis on service management. Regardless of whether you call your help desk a service desk, or a call center, or a trouble desk or technical support, they all tend to act as the first, and often only point of contact for users into an IT department.

As IT services grow in many companies, the number of service desks frequently does the same. When PCs first came onto the scene, they were usually managed by a support group that was totally separate from the mainframe data center, including a separate service desk for PC-related problems. This pattern of multiple service desks was often repeated as networks grew in size, number, and complexity, and later when the Internet became prevalent.

As IT organizations began recentralizing in the early and mid-1990s, infrastructure managers were faced with the decision of whether to segregate or integrate their service desks. By this time many IT shops had grown out of control with multiple call centers—companies with 10 or 15 IT service desks were not uncommon. If non-IT services were included in the mix, employees sometimes had up to 40 or 50 service numbers to choose from for an inquiry.

In one extreme example, a bank that had hired me to do an infrastructure assessment had over 60 separate service desks numbers within its IT department. The reason they had so many IT numbers was a result of their release process. Whenever the development group deployed a new application, or a major version change of an existing application, the project manager for that application set up a new, supposedly temporary phone number at the service desk for calls related only to that system. The intent was to streamline the resolution of problems associated with this application, which managers anticipated being at higher than normal call volumes. Not surprisingly, the temporary service desk numbers gradually became permanent as users grew used to having a dedicated number for their particular application issue.

Tip #1: Do not use dedicated call numbers for new applications. Refine your release process to minimize the likelihood of high initial call volumes.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Integrated Service Desks

Over time the benefits of integrating service desks gradually prevailed in most instances. This is not to say that segregated service desks are always worse than integrated ones. Highly diverse user populations, remote locations, and a wide range of services are some reasons why segregated service desks can sometimes be a better solution.

Table 1 lists a summary of the advantages and disadvantages of integrating services desks. Since the advantages and disadvantages of segregating service desks are almost the exact reverse of those for integrating, I have not repeated the table for segregated service desks.

Table 1 Advantages and Disadvantages of Integrated Service Desks

Besides being easier for customers to use, an integrated help desk lends itself to the cross-training of staff. Furthermore, there is a cost savings because companies can standardize the call-tracking tool by collecting all call records on a single, centralized database. Even more is saved by utilizing staff more efficiently. Also, because there are fewer and more standardized help desks, management of staff and schedules is easier and less complex. Finally, it is easier to integrate other system management disciplines into it, particularly change management.

The primary advantage of a segregated service desk is the ability to customize specialized support for diverse applications, customers, and services. For example, some consolidated service desks have attempted to offer fax, telephone, facilities, office moves, and other IT-related services only to find they were attempting to do too much with too few resources and providing too little to too many. In this case multiple service desks tend to work better, although communication among all of them is critical to their combined success.

Hybrid Solution of Integrated and Segregated Service Desks

A compromise hybrid solution is sometimes used that involves having all IT customers call a single service desk number that activates a menu system. The customer is then routed to the appropriate section of a centralized service desk depending on the specific service requested.

Tip #2: If utilizing a menu system, keep the overall menu configuration as short and as simple as possible. Use a hierarchical tree structure to gradually drill down, and notify users up front how many options they will have.

Another helpful feature that many service desk managers use to improve services is an automated call dispatcher (ACD). This is an option with many telephone switches that collect meaningful statistics on call volumes, wait time, abandon rates, concurrent calls and other types of metrics. When compiled into management reports these metrics can reveal valuable trends, patterns and relationships to pinpoint where improvements should best be made.

Tip #3: If collecting statistics from an ACD, ensure that comprehensive reports are complied and that meaningful analysis is conducted. Too often mangers will focus much of their attention on collecting the data rather than analyzing it to identify valuable improvements.

Knowing when to integrate or segregate your service desks can lead to improved delivery of IT services, and higher degrees of customer satisfaction; and following the tips described above can continually improve the management and operation of your service desks.