\nThe more calls you have, the greater the need to keep track of them. Call tracking is one the most\ntedious aspects of the help desk and one that is most likely to be ignored or not done properly.\nThis is unavoidable, since call tracking often provides some of the greatest benefits to the user.\nOne thing I would like to point out here is that call tracking is the primary function of all help\ndesk software. Many are so efficient at recording the necessary information that there is\nessentially no time loss. <\/p>
In an environment where support is being paid for by the\ncustomer, call tracking is arequirement to ensure the customer or user is getting the support that\nthey paid for. However, in both paid and unpaid environments, one of the key benefits that call\ntracking provides is the ability to identify trends.<\/p>
Trends can be identified at several\nlevels. From a management perspective, keeping track ofcalls can be used to identify specific\nperiods in which increased number of calls are reported to help desk. Knowing which periods result\nin increasing calls can enable the help desk manager to provide extra staff during the busy periods\nto reduce call times.<\/p>
Call tracking can also be used to identify trends in the type of calls\nthat are generated. Forexample, repeated calls on what the help desk may perceive as very basic\nissues may be theresult of insufficient training on that product. Taking this one step further,\nrepeated calls in one area may indicate an underlying problem that is not directly related to the\ncall.<\/p>
In one company where I worked, we had repeated calls from some of our branch offices\nindicating that the network performance to the headquarters was painfully slow. The response time in\nour primary business application (which ran across the network) was also significantly degraded. In\nmost cases, by the time the office called and we began our investigations, the problem had\ndisappeared. Tracking when the problems occurred led us to the times when our monthly newsletter was\ntransferred to the branch office for translation. This was a huge file generated by our desktop\npublishing application, and transferring it basically meant nothing else could or cross the\nline.<\/p>
The cause of this problem was not insufficient bandwidth on our network but rather the\npress office generating the report, which was unaware of the impact transferring that follow would\nhave on the network as a whole. This indicated the need for training on some of the basic issues\ninvolving the network. <\/p>
Among the trends that call tracking can help you identify is\nproblems with hardwareand software. For example, one company noticed recurring problems with a\nspecific video card at higher resolutions. Calling the vendor, we discovered that this was a known\nproblem and that an updated version of the driver was available. We were then able to distribute\nthis driver throughout the company to prevent calls before they happened.<\/p>
Other examples\ninclude repeated crashes of the specific machine (more so than is normal forWindows). Since the\nmachine was under warranty, we could get it repaired and prevent anyfuture crashes due to hardware\nproblems. <\/p>
Another thing that call tracking is useful for is in identifying problems you may\nhave with specific vendors. This could indicate specific products from that vendor that are less\nthan adequate for your needs as well as indicating products that are defective. In addition,\ntracking calls to vendors can also indicate problems with the vendors\u2019 support structure. For\nexample, in one company, tracking such calls helped us to demonstrate that support from this vendor\nwas completely inadequate.<\/p>
Finally, call tracking is extremely useful when it comes time to\nask for more funds to improve your help desk. Tracking calls can help demonstrate the benefits of\nthe help desk in general as well as help you demonstrate which areas need improvement.<\/p>
\nCommercial help desk products help you track in a number of different aspects of your helpdesk.\nThese range from simply keeping track of both calls and their solutions to very complexproducts that\ncan keep track of everything including hardware maintenance, software licenses, training, and even\nthe vacation of your help desk staff. What is possible with help desk products and is necessary is\nsomething we will cover in the section on help desk software.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The more calls you have, the greater the need to keep track of them. Call tracking is one the most tedious aspects of the help desk and one that is most likely to be ignored or not done properly. This … Continue reading