4.5 Service Desk staffing skill set

Because there are different types of Service Desk, each having its own requirements, particular attention should be paid to selecting the right type and calibre of staff.

Front-line Service Desk staff are generally the ones who are under the most Customer pressure and often take the brunt of Customer's sometimes unreasonable demands. It can be a seemingly thankless role, but it is also perhaps the most important and challenging role in IT. For many Customers, it is the relationship forged with the Service Desk that defines the perceived level of service and Customer satisfaction for the IT function as a whole. Having the right Service Desk staff skill set is therefore critical to the success, of not just the Service Desk, but the IT function as a whole.

The profile of staff working on the Service Desk should primarily be based on the considerations specified in para 4.6.1, Service Desk environment considerations . Regardless of whether technical staff work on the desk or not, a primary component for a successful implementation is interpersonal skills. These are skills, that cannot be acquired by just reading from a book; they require high levels of training and commitment. Interpersonal skills are essential for Service Desk personnel, as every contact with the Customer, is an opportunity to improve the Customers' perception of the IT function.

Consider how many of your technical staff are currently skilled and trained to manage the Customer interface for your department or organisation.

Support departments often mistake 'quick fixes' as good service. In some cases this is, of course, true. The Customer, wants a fix or response, but knows this is not always practical. It is important to engender in Customers and Users the confidence that once an Incident has been reported it will be professionally managed. If that confidence is not present, they may revert to calling their favourite support specialist and bypass the Service Desk. In some cases, they may stop calling on IT altogether.

4.5.1 Major Customer requirements

The major requirements that a Customer will have of a Service Desk are:

• to provide a single point of contact
• to communicate the level of service that will be provided, and when
• to inform the Customer of the assigned priority of requests
• to appraise the Customer of the progress of requests
• to engender confidence that requests will not be lost or ignored.

4.5.2 Fix rates

As previously stated, the number of requests that the Service Desk should directly handle is dependent on a number of considerations. Defining expected fix rates is only practical in a stable environment and for specific areas. For example, it is not practical to state that a Service Desk will attempt to fix 85% of all requests, but it is practical to state that the Service Desk will attempt to fix 85% of all standard word- processing queries.

These statements demonstrate the importance of clearly understanding the Service Desk workload, and those areas that IT can effectively support. To state an 85% fix rate requires staff being trained to deliver at that level. If the primary role of the Service Desk is to support a major business application, then it is more practical to have staff trained in more detail for that application, and have additional material such as checklists and Known Errors available to them.