What strategies can you use to improve service desk customer satisfaction?

Having been involved with service desks since the late 90s, I’ve observed firsthand the evolution of customer expectations and service methodologies. One key strategy that has consistently proven effective is operating with genuine empathy. Taking the time to truly understand a user’s perspective not only fosters trust but also helps in tailoring solutions that resonate with them. Another critical component is communication. Over the years, I’ve found that managing expectations through clear, timely, and proactive communication greatly enhances satisfaction levels. After all, it’s not just about resolving issues, but also ensuring our customers feel heard, valued, and informed throughout the process.

The role of service desk is extremely important in coordinating and implementing a successful IT strategy roadmap. Yet, in my experience, many organizations tend to overlook the importance of developing the service desk with appropriate support systems. However, investing in the service desk and maintaining it properly can significantly enhance operational efficiency. IT Service Management tools can simplify processes, automate workflows, and offer valuable metrics. These tools aid in aligning service desk activities with the wider IT strategy by ensuring compliance with ITIL best practices and standards. Essentially a service desk can effectively align its operations with the IT strategy, to enable overall success of the organization.

Establishing clear SLA's is important but a race to close out tickets will make the user experience poor. Service Desk technicians should not only be trained technically but also in soft skills such as communication, empathy, and problem-solving. If an issue will take time to resolve, it needs to be communicated clearly to the customer and kept updated on the progress. Continuously gather feedback from customers and make improvements based on this feedback. Finally, reward employees who go above and beyond in serving customers. The last few minutes of our weekly standups are for our technicians to give a shout out to their peers for their help or going above and beyond. This boosts morale and encourages a customer-centric attitude.

I think your service strategy needs to along with service processes. Service desk staff should be knowledgeable or have access to appropriate knowledge that can enable them to respond to service requests in an effective manner. Service desk accessibility from minimum wait times and satisfactory response will go long way to succeed.

Service Desk is the heart of customer feedback and satisfaction. Aligning it with all the IT Functions is crucial. Usually IT Service Management looks at service desk as the front line to solve incidents and issues, however from my personal experiences Service Desk should be the last defense. Means good planning, change and Problem management should be the first lines. Equipping your service desk with the right attitude and knowledge is a must because if it passed them means it’s beyond fixation for the customer.

Communication, prioritisation of the issue reported and priority in communication of the progress made. Clients wants assurance that their issue is being heard and is duly prioritised It’s just not about solving the problem only but also to inform what was done, how it was done and what’s done to prevent it is reassuring to them

Operations could reach out and ask what is needed to enhance the customer experience by giving staff additional information in a more user friendly experience.

Encourage them to make decisions, solve problems, and escalate issues when necessary, as this empowers them to be proactive in addressing customer concerns. By prioritizing staff development and empowerment, you'll not only boost their confidence and motivation but also elevate the overall quality of service, leading to improved customer relations. Open-door policies ensure that employees feel heard and supported, which can result in a more positive and motivated workforce. Two-way communication facilitates a dynamic exchange of ideas and feedback, which, in turn, can drive continuous improvement and innovation in your service desk operations.

The truth is, your service desk team acts as the frontline of your brand, representing your values, mission, and commitment to the customer. Their interactions directly shape customer perceptions. To elevate customer satisfaction, it's paramount to invest in continuous training programs that focus not only on the technical side of things but also on soft skills like active listening, conflict resolution, and empathy. Equipped with the right skills and knowledge, they can troubleshoot issues more effectively, and with a deeper understanding of the customer's needs.

Teaching Service Desk staff to be : 1) Empathetic 2) technical skills 3) Decision making Is a must. Most of the service desk staff are just messengers and the users/customers don’t feel that they are efficient or helpful.

Many years ago I attended a presentation on performance measurement in the Service Desk. One phrase stuck with me for years "Most Service desks hit the target but miss the point" The presenter went on to explain that the only purpose of a service desk is to increase customer satisfaction (the point), but most are measured for efficiency (the target). The presenter went on to say that they still measured KPIs but in the main kept them secret, and rewarded agents for only one measure, satisfaction. KPIs were still used but only as the basis for coaching interventions IF customer satisfaction was falling. Having managed a number of large IT service desks I have always found it best to focus on "the point"

With technology available today, leverage voice recordings to translate in to textual data to perform sentiment analysis and generate other insights and review its impact on satisfaction. Once the foundation is laid leverage AI for solving most common asked question with quick answers infact if possible leverage other tools to tackle the most common questions thereby reducing repeat calls for same questions by multiple user base.

Some companies have an automated phone survey delivered right after the agent completes the call. Or an email could be sent out to the customer to provide more thorough feedback.

Metrics are important to successfully monitor quality of support. Basic metrics like median time to resolution, average resolution time, critical ticket resolution and performance against service level objectives and agreements.

The best solution to the incident is prevention of the incident from happening. As much as SLAs, KPIs and other metrics are valuable, they are reflecting the efforts taken after the incident happened; so the damage was done, now we need to repair it. It is much easier (and wiser) to play "prevention" game and avoid the damage from happening. Although setting up the monitoring could be laborious, it dramatically increases chances of incident prevention and displays care for customer business.

This is where I believe voice of the customer is important as well as customer surveys. Doing a voice of the customer study helps you determine the customers really wants from support and helps IT understand what the business values in support. Once understood this can be monitored with surveys either time bound or on ticket closure.

Evidently, IT strategy operates in the background, but its primary aim is consistently enhancing the customer's transactional and product experiences. When discussing customer-centricity, our goal is to create services structured around the customer, ensuring they are always at the core. Here go the factors to consider when shaping our IT strategy with a focus on customer-centricity. 1. Personalization is the most important aspect 2. Omni-channel integration that can provide a seamless and consistent experience 3. Customer Journey improvement, a continuous drive in an agile way to move towards more tangible value creation 4. Customer data security is of utmost importance 5. Creating intuitive, user-friendly interfaces for digital platforms

Adopting a customer-centric culture in a service desk is about ingraining empathy and active listening into every interaction. It's the commitment to see beyond the immediate technical issue and understand the customer’s context, pressures, and needs. This culture should permeate every level of the service desk operation, influencing not just how issues are resolved, but also how services are designed and improved. A customer-centric approach involves regular, open dialogues with customers to gain insights into their experiences, leading to services that are not just reactive to problems but proactive in enhancing user satisfaction.

Following up with customers until satisfaction is achieved is a crucial aspect of this cultural shift. It shows dedication to resolving issues comprehensively and ensures that customers feel supported throughout their interactions with the service desk. By adopting a customer-centric culture, you can build trust and rapport with your customers. This, in turn, leads to increased satisfaction and advocacy. Customers are more likely to engage positively with a service desk that prioritizes their needs and consistently delivers a personalized and attentive experience.

Le client au centre de tous les échanges parrait assez logique. Par contre ne serait ce pas le point primordial à mettre en priorité 1...

If the technology isn't fully ready, I would advise against using extensive AI chatbots as it would only annoy customers more. An unhappy customer trying to deal with an AI chatbot (text or voice) which does not respond 100% accurately is not helpful at all and might result in a lost customer. If you are using AI, you need to let the customer know (instead of pretending) and always give the option to speak to a real human if they want.

If possible consolidate various channels of help desk so customer don’t have to go to different places for different problems.

I completely concur that it's essential to inform individuals upfront when they are interacting with AI, as this helps in setting their expectations. In my opinion, AI does indeed have a valuable role to play in the realm of customer support. It can potentially provide quicker solutions, as long as it avoids an excessive barrage of questions that can delay issue resolution. Traditional Boolean searches have become less efficient in finding answers, and AI's ability to swiftly locate information can be a game-changer.

Unlocking peak customer satisfaction at the Service Desk isn't just about fixing issues – it's a strategic game. Using Generative IT, we can Strategize, and innovate that will raise the satisfaction level. Elevate responsiveness with AI-driven ticket triage, ensuring lightning-fast resolutions. Implement a sleek, user-friendly interface for an intuitive customer journey. Craft personalized service paths using data insights, delivering tailored solutions. Infuse proactive communication – update users before they ask. Foster a culture of continuous improvement through regular feedback loops. Optimize workflows, trimming response times. Future-proof your service desk with tech evolution, keeping ahead in the customer satisfaction race.

Actually I totally disagree with rushing to use new technologies before they are matured enough specifically for some industries. I have seen chatbots used for insurance companies and airlines for customers need emergency health conditions or travel needs. Which is absolutely disastrous. On the other side some companies utilized these technologies to reduce the repetitive requests so the agents can focus on adding more value to the customers.

By giving information and insights on the behaviour, interests, and interactions of users regarding a website, Google Analytics is an effective tool that can help to improve e-services preemptively.

Beyond conventional strategies, there's a need to consider the human aspect of service desk (SD) operations. It involves understanding the psychological and emotional dimensions of customer interactions. For instance, SD professionals should be trained in emotional intelligence to better handle frustrated or stressed customers. Additionally, incorporating elements of gamification and staff wellness programs can significantly enhance staff morale and productivity, indirectly boosting customer satisfaction. Lastly, fostering a culture of innovation, where staff are encouraged to propose new ideas and improvements, can lead to more creative solutions for complex customer issues, reinforcing a proactive, rather than reactive, service approach.

"What if you were the Customer - would you be satisfied with the service provided?" Answering this question will give the customer service staff a whole new perspective

Service Desk Culture needs to be revamped from both sides the staff and the customers. Nowadays most of the staff are not willing to apply for these roles but they do it when there is no choice. Same goes for the customers, most of the customers faced so many issues with service desks across many companies so they don’t respect the staff and they don’t trust that an agent can really help. Specially in some part of the world. The companies which will invest in this area will gain future trust and market share because many are ignoring it.

Make sure to utilize and integrate new emerging technologies. However, enterprise solutions should consider adding and integrating new features and d technologies such as ChatGPT to the help desk/customer service toolkit but not using LMS and NLP for complete replacement. Still providing ease of contact and human to human interaction will still be a must for success. It is worthwhile to remember that human involvement, interaction and touch are important for upselling, support and increased product engagement with customers. New and emerging technologies should be used to make service work more efficient and enjoyable for customers and businesses alike.