IT Help Desk Services; How to Get Started

Managing IT and technical issues should always be on your mind as a business. Not prioritizing IT support is one of the biggest mistakes companies make, as they believe that they can navigate this part at a later stage or on their own, which results in huge financial losses. If you’re planning on making your business succeed, you’re in the right place. We’ve gathered everything you need to know about IT help desk services, what to do if you want to outsource IT help desk, and how to get started in simple steps.

Step 1: Understand IT Help Desk Services and its Importance

For a smooth flow of operations, IT services are important. They offer technical support for a variety of IT-related issues. Companies use these services for troubleshooting and resolving problems, providing on-going support when needed, dealing with hardware failures, and managing software installations.

Benefits of IT Help Desk Services

There are a lot of benefits to these services, including the following:

• Troubleshooting Problems and Solving Them: Whether it’s a connectivity issue, a slow computer, or a software problem, the help desk works on solving them.

• Working on a Ticketing System: This system is to ensure all issues are tracked. IT help desks often use ticketing systems to log and prioritize requests according to their importance, allowing for efficient issue resolution and ensuring that nothing falls through the cracks.

• Incident Management: If a technical problem arises that requires immediate attention, it’s their job to resolve it as quickly as possible, whether you choose to outsource IT help desk or work in-house.

In fact, a report showed organizations that implemented IT help desk services saw up to 25% higher employee productivity due to quicker issue resolution and less downtime.

Step 2: Asses Your Needs

After you understand what IT helpdesk support is, why companies choose to outsource IT help desk, and how it can help you, it’s important to determine what you need by assessing your company’s existing IT system and identify the current challenges and pain points your business is facing. There are a few questions you have to keep in mind while thinking, and once you have answers to these questions, you’ll be ready for the next step.

1. What are the most common IT issues affecting my employees?

You can start by conducting research into the common problems your employees have, including network issues, slow response times, software glitches, or hardware malfunctions; these are usually the first concerns people notice while assessing their needs. Another important aspect is security breaches. Has your company ever faced a security breach concern? If so, it’s important to consider this a top priority to fix as breaches like this can result in great losses.

2. How many employees need IT support?

Another important thing is to consider the level of support IT help desk support you’ll need. This depends on the number of employees you have and how many times they state that they need IT help. Doing that, you’ll have an estimate of whether you need a help desk that can handle a few requests per day or one that is able to support global teams. This will also help you determine whether you need to outsource IT help desk or not.

3. Do you need 24/7 support or only during working hours?

This is crucial to consider because some companies need 24/7 IT help desk services, and some require a couple of hours a day. 24/7 support is often needed when a company has an international client base, or for companies in highly regulated fields that require continuous operations. For smaller companies, the standard 9-5 would be ideal.

4. What types of services do you need?

It’s also important to know what type of services your company needs. For instance, you might need basic IT support, such as password reset and software installations. Other companies might need advanced help, including network management and cybersecurity. In fact, studies have shown that 54% of businesses use IT support services to handle network management, while 40% rely on these services for cybersecurity, showing the diversity of needs across industries. Doing that, you’ll be able to determine if your company needs to outsource IT help desk for extra support or not.

Step 3: Define Clear Goals and Expectations for Your Company

Once you have a clear picture of what your company needs and the challenges it faces, it’s time to define specific goals you want to achieve. These goals could be anything, ranging from improving response time to reducing IT-related downtime.

In fact, many companies work on reducing downtime as a first step because of the problems that might happen. The Ponemon Institute revealed that the average cost of downtime is $9,000 per minute, which is why it’s important to always take care of downtime. Setting these goals will help you understand and have realistic expectations. Some of the goals we recommend all companies have include the following:

• Reducing average resolution time

• Improving user satisfaction

• Cost reduction

It’s also important for these goals to be realistic to be achieved within your timeframe and budget.

Step 4: Decide if You Can Work In-house or Outsource IT Help Desk

There are two main types of IT support that companies love; internal and outsourced. Some companies prefer to work on their own and not have another company support them, while other companies prefer to outsource IT support because of the volume of tickets and pressure to perfect their services.

In general, larger organizations with huge IT needs often tend to operate internal IT support. This is mainly because they have the capacity and funds to have a staff of employees dedicated to the IT team. On the other hand, companies that are smaller in size prefer to outsource IT help desk as it’s an easy way of getting the service they need without having to spend a lot of money.

Decide whether your company can manage on its own or if it’s better to outsource IT help desk services company. Doing that will help you have a plan and map out your finances accordingly. If you decide to work in-house, all you have to do is start hiring IT specialists and start working. If you decide to outsource, the next step will help you.

Step 5: Select the Right Outsourcing Company

Choosing the right company for IT help desk services outsourcing is important to ensure success for your company. Not all providers offer the same level of services, and it’s important to thoroughly test potential partners before making a decision.

According to a 2023 report by PwC, 65% of businesses that outsource IT help desk services indicated that choosing a provider with strong security measures was a top priority in their decision-making process. So, when evaluating potential IT help desk companies to work with, consider looking for the following:

• Experience and Reputation: Search for providers that work within the same industry or companies that are the same size as your company. Then, start checking their customer reviews. If they’re good, then they probably deliver high-quality service that will meet your needs.

• Expertise and Certifications: Relevant certifications such as ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library) for service management and CompTIA A+ for technical support are important things to consider. Ask to see if the company you’ll outsource IT help desk to has any of these certifications.

• Service Level Agreements (SLAs): Have clear specific SLAs that outline key metrics such as response time, resolution time, and uptime. This will help make sure that both parties are on the same page.

• Scalability and Flexibility: It’s important to see if the provider offering IT help desk services is flexible in case you need to scale up or down the service. If you’re, for example, expanding globally, it’s important that your provider be ready for such huge changes.

• Data Security and Compliance: Security is one, if not the most, important factor to consider. Make sure that the providers who outsource IT help desk services have strong cybersecurity protocols and are compliant with industry standards such as GDPR and HIPAA.

Step 6: Set Up a System for IT Support

As a company, you’ll need to establish a solid system to handle requests and track performance, even if you choose to outsource. Below is a list of what you should consider:

• Help Desk Software: Consider investing in a good help desk solution to track support tickets, assign tasks, and monitor the performance of your employees. This tool will also help you measure the response time and service quality.

• Knowledge Base: Creating a self-service portal where employees can easily find solutions to their problems is one way to reduce the volume of tickets and make your IT help desk services team focus on more pressing matters. If you choose to outsource IT help desk, make sure that the company you’re working with offers a knowledge base as well.

• Regular Audits: Performing regular audits of your IT help desk services is one of the easiest ways to measure performance, assess the efficiency of the team, and ensure alignment with business goals. According to a study by the Harvard Business Review, organizations that utilize KPIs effectively can boost their performance by as much as 30%.

Step 7: Establish Communication Protocols

It’s important to understand that you won’t just disconnect your company from the outsourcing company offering IT help desk services; you must create a connection and establish communication protocols for a smooth relationship. In fact, according to a 2023 study by the Harvard Business Review, companies that outsource IT help desk that establish effective communication and collaboration protocols with their partners experience 25% faster issue resolution times compared to those without structured communication.

Some of the ways you can establish communication include the following:

• Regular Reporting: Setting up regular performance reviews and report schedules can help you be always informed about what’s happening. These can be monthly, quarterly, or yearly. This helps you know if the IT help desk services provider is following the agreed-upon SLAs and also identify any areas for improvement.

• Issue Tracking System: You must have a shared platform or a ticketing system that makes your team and your provider that outsource IT help desk support connected to track incidents and monitor progress.

• Single Point of Contact (SPOC): Creating a channel or group that has your team and the provider’s team in it can make it easier to have a consistent point of contact for all issues and queries.

• Escalation Process: If something urgent arises, it’s important to have a clear escalation process to immediately resolve the issue.

Step 8: Continuously Train Your Employees

Whether you decide to outsource IT help desk services or not, your employees must know how to interact with the help desk, log incidents, and escalate problems if they need to. We suggest you offer training on the following:

• How to submit IT tickets: All employees should know how to submit an IT ticket if they face an issue while working. One important aspect that not all people care about is to show them how to communicate and describe their issues clearly to have them fixed as soon as possible.

• What to expect from the IT help desk services: It’s important to inform employees of the help desk’s working hours, response time expectations, and the resolution process.

• Self-service options: Because of how fast the world is moving, self-service options are becoming more and more popular. Make sure that your employees are aware of these resources for minor issues like password resets or software installations. In fact, a report from Microsoft found that 86% of customers expect a self-service option.

How Flairstech Can Help You

At Flairstech, our main goal is to offer the best IT help desk services for your company. With our 50+ multi-level IT experts, 280+ support agents, 80+ technologies used, and over 150 certified developers, we resolve your IT issues in no time and help you focus on your core business operations. From password resets to more complex IT issues, our team is here to help when you outsource IT help desk with us.

Our ITSM (IT Service Management) solutions provide the following:

• IT As a Service: This is where we offer a whole IT team that’s dedicated and available 24/7 to help you with any level of support.

• Service Desk As a Service: We have 24/7 support with all IT help desk services levels (L1, L2, and L3) for all user-based issues, including software or hardware.

• IT Admins As a Service: We provide IT systems administration to implement, maintain, and monitor all IT systems, especially escalations coming from SD agents.

• Cloud Computation Administration and Data Migration: We work with M365, Google, Azure, and AWS.

In addition, we help businesses overcome several challenges that they can usually face, including the following:

• User Satisfaction: Our goal is to drive higher satisfaction rates through our 24/7, dedicated, and user-focused outsourced IT help desk services.

• Scalability: We offer the kind of flexibility companies look for. Our services are tailored to grow with your business.

• Operational Costs: With our services, you’ll be saving costs and receiving effective support solutions.

• Talent: Because you outsource IT help desk with us, we will offer a wide range of talented IT specialists that work for your success.

• Multilingual Support: We offer support in six languages because we understand that your business might be global.

• Competitive Advantage: Our team excels by staying current with new trends and changes in the IT help desk services field.

• Tickets Volume: Our ITSM is an advantage as it helps us handle 100% of incoming requests within an appropriate timeframe.

With our 4+ service channels and 3+ support levels, your IT issues will be resolved in no time. We are also GDPR compliant and are ISO 27001 and 9001 certified. If outsourcing IT help desk interests you, schedule a call with us and one of our agents will reach out to you and help you achieve your IT help desk services goals!

Getting started with IT help desk services, whether you work in house or outsource IT help desk, is an important move for your business’ success. You’ll have smooth operations, minimized downtime, and maximum productivity by following the steps to either build an IT team or work with an outsourcing company. Now that you’re done with these steps, the next part of your journey will be to choose the right service provider.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is an IT help desk?

An IT help desk is a support service that assists employees or customers with troubleshooting and resolving technical issues related to hardware, software, networks, and other IT systems. It can be provided internally or outsourced to a third-party provider.

2. Why is an IT help desk important for businesses?

An IT help desk is crucial because it ensures fast issue resolution, minimizes downtime, enhances productivity, and supports overall business operations. A well-functioning help desk allows employees to focus on their tasks instead of dealing with technical issues.

3. Are there different types of IT help desk services?

Yes, there are three levels of IT help desk services, these are:

• Level 1: Basic support (password resets, common software issues).

• Level 2: Intermediate support (advanced software issues, system troubleshooting).

• Level 3: Expert support (complex technical problems, software development issues).

4. How do I choose the right outsource IT help desk solution for my company?

When selecting an IT help desk solution, consider factors like the size of your company, the complexity of your IT infrastructure, the volume of support requests, and your budget. It’s also essential to evaluate the software’s features, such as ticketing systems, reporting tools, and integration capabilities.

5. What are the benefits of using an IT help desk for my business?

Using an IT help desk, whether you outsource IT help desk or not, can increase productivity by reducing downtime, improve user satisfaction through timely support, and ensure your IT infrastructure is properly maintained. It also helps with troubleshooting common issues quickly and efficiently.

6. What is the difference between internal and outsource IT help desk services?

Internal IT help desk services are managed by your in-house IT team, while outsourced IT help desks are provided by external vendors. Outsourcing can offer cost savings, specialized expertise, and scalability, whereas in-house teams may offer more control and deeper familiarity with your company’s specific needs.

7. Can an IT help desk provide 24/7 support?

Yes, many IT help desk services offer 24/7 support, which is especially beneficial for businesses with employees in different time zones or those that require constant uptime. 24/7 support ensures that technical issues are resolved promptly, no matter the time of day.