Nothing is more frustrating to your company’s workers than to have unresolved computer-related issues that are preventing them from doing their jobs. The same is true of customers who run into problems using your company’s products.

When things go wrong, both groups want to be able to pick up the phone or send an email and get immediate help. If that help is not forthcoming, or is perceived as inadequate, attitudes toward your company can quickly erode.

That’s why in today’s business environment, a first class helpdesk operation is a must for any company that wants to keep both its customers and its workers happy. And to provide that level of assistance, you’ll need to pay special attention to the first point of contact users or customers have with your technical support system, your Tier 1 helpdesk function.

What is Remote Helpdesk Support Services?

Basic or Tier 1 support encompasses the most basic level of technical support. A Tier 1 technician gathers information from users to identify the specific problems they are experiencing. The tech then analyzes the symptoms reported by the user to identify underlying issues, and consults a knowledge base of some kind to determine the best way to resolve the problem.

Tier 1 techs will normally have a broad understanding of the systems they support, although they may not have in-depth, nuts and bolts knowledge of the inner workings of those technologies. About three out of every four help requests are successfully resolved at the Tier 1 level. More complex issues are escalated to the next support level to be handled by techs with more specialized expertise.

The Challenge of Doing Tier 1 In-House

Although most businesses recognize the importance of having good help desk services, they are also aware of how expensive helpdesks are to maintain. The costs associated with hiring, training, benefits, and overhead for technical support staffers can be substantial. In many cases, smaller companies simply don’t have the budget to set up and maintain an adequate helpdesk system.

The result is that rather than maintaining a professional helpdesk operation, businesses often end up with those functions being handled on a part-time basis by employees whose major job responsibilities lie elsewhere. In such situations both the helpdesk operation and the functions of the employees who are diverted to that duty suffer.

How Outsourcing Tier 1 Helpdesk Support Services Benefit Your Business

Here are some of the specific benefits outsourcing your helpdesk support can bring to your business:

• Improvedresponse times.A good support service provider will be able to diagnose and fix most problems remotely. Because they have a team of support specialists, there won’t be delays because an in-house support tech is away from their desk helping George or Mary get logged into that new application they’ve just started using.
• Better incident tracking.As specialists in the business of providing users with a high level of ongoing technical support, a good helpdesk support company will have a comprehensive set of procedures in place for tracking and managing issues using a ticketing system.
• Lower costs:The costs of partnering with a first-rate helpdesk support company will usually be substantially lower than the expense of maintaining such a system in house. For example, the cost of Netsafe’s Tier 1 support services is just 40 percent of what it costs to keep a full time help desk employee on the job.
• Higher level of expertise:A good helpdesk support company will not only get to know your systems or products in detail, but will also bring a breadth of industry knowledge to the table. That means their technicians will have a greater breadth of experience to bring to bear in understanding and resolving users’ issues.
• Reduced requirements for management attention:When Tier 1 help desk services are outsourced, in-house managers don’t have to be concerned about staffing coverage when employees are on vacation or out sick. And they don’t have to worry about hiring and training new staffers when someone quits or additional workers are required.
• In-house staff freed up for more critical activities:Perhaps the most important contribution to your business a good helpdesk support company can make is to relieve your in-house staff of the time-consuming responsibility of handling repeated low-level support issues, and free them to concentrate on activities that have a more direct bearing on the core functions of your business.

Key Takeaway

If you’d like your company to be able to provide a high level of technical support to both internal users and customers, you may well benefit from partnering with a first class Tier-1 helpdesk support provider. We here at Netsafe Solutions would be happy to help you explore how that kind of partnership can work for you. Contact us today!