DWS Service Desk Rescue Series: The Importance of Communication and Updating Your End-Users

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It's the last thing you want to do as a service desk agent - leave your end-users in the dark. No one likes to be kept in the dark, especially when it comes to something as important as the status of their ticket. Yet, all too often, updates and communication surrounding ticket resolutions fall by the wayside. This can lead to escalations, unhappy customers, and even lost business. In this blog post, we will discuss the importance of updates and communication in regard to ticket resolution and we will also offer tips on how to keep your end-users informed at every stage of the process.

It's important to remember that communication is key when it comes to updates surrounding ticket resolution. Whether a ticket is still in queue or has been escalated, the customer should always be aware of its status. Additionally, they should be given regular updates on progress and expected resolution time. By keeping them in the loop, you can avoid escalations and customer dissatisfaction.

So, how can you make sure that your end-users are kept up-to-date? Here are a few tips:
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- Set up automatic updates: Many ticketing systems offer the ability to set up automatic updates. This way, customers can be notified as soon as their ticket has been updated.

- Send regular updates: Even if your ticketing system doesn't offer automatic updates, you can still send regular updates to customers. This can be done via email, phone, or even text message.

- Use a customer portal: A customer portal is a great way to keep customers informed of updates. With a customer portal, they can log in and view the status of their ticket at any time.

By following these tips, you can ensure that your end-users are always kept up-to-date on the status of their ticket. By keeping them informed, you can avoid escalations and customer dissatisfaction. What's more, you'll be providing them with the excellent customer service they deserve.

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In order to provide the best service possible, it’s important for the Service Desk to be proactive in their communication with end-users. This includes timely updates on ticket status, as well as proactively chasing tickets that have been escalated. By doing so, you can minimize the chances of your customers feeling left in the dark or uninformed about the progress of their ticket. Contact us today so that we can understand how you can improve your Service Desk and better serve your customers.

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The Objective of The Process:

The goal of the communication and ticket updates process for end-users is to provide updates on tickets in a timely and efficient manner. Updates should be clear, concise, and accurate. Communication should be proactive, professional and courteous.

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Sample List of Benefits:

• Improved Client Experience/Customer Satisfaction due to customers being regularly updated
• Reduced escalations and customer dissatisfaction due to not being updated on ticket progress and status
• Increased usage of self-help portal as clients can be redirected there for updates
• Increased usage of chatbots to obtain updates versus calling the service desk for updates
• Reduced calls to the service desk by increased usage of self-service portal and chatbots
• Automatic updates via ITSM tool to avoid human interaction

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Sample List of Observations:

• Due to increasing or erratic workloads, proactive communication to the end-users and ticket updates are lacking
• Due to resource/staffing challenges leading to schedule adherence issues, attrition, and misalignment of schedules to call arrival patterns, proactive communication to the end-users and ticket updates are lacking
• Ineffective Self-Help portal does not provide end-users with a positive experience. As a result, they contact the service desk regarding ticket status updates, driving up call volumes and end-user frustration
• Ineffective chatbot forces end-users to contact the service desk for ticket updates, driving call volumes and end-user frustration.
• Lack of queue management process leading to stale and ageing tickets
• Lack of reporting and measurements leading to management being unaware of issues

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Sample List of Recommendations:

• Review and manage workload dynamics and adjust staffing levels accordingly
• Review and update staffing levels to minimize schedule adherence issues, attrition, management of holidays and vacations and improved alignment of schedules to workload arrival patterns
• Review and improve reporting and measurements to gain line of sight into aging tickets that have no been updated regularly
• Review and improve escalation management process to identify root cause of escalations due to lack of proactive end-user communications and timely ticket updates
• Review and improve queue management processes to ensure operational teams are keeping an eye on aging tickets and last update dates
• Review and improve Self-Help portal to ensure increased usage, thus avoiding calls to the service desk
• Review and improve chatbot efficiency and effectiveness.

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Do you have any tips for keeping end-users informed of updates? Share them with us in the comments below!