Help desk
A help desk , help desk or user help desk (UHD) is an issue tracking system that is primarily responsible for supporting users of hardware and software , but also for inquiries from customers in other service areas .
Help can be provided via the classic telephone service, but also with the help of technical devices and software ( remote maintenance , live support system ).
The inquiries are managed in special issue tracking systems. On the one hand, this means that all customer advisors can access the service and error history and, on the other hand, the further development of the products or the service can be supported by error analyzes.
The knowledge database plays a central role in the help desk in error analysis and ultimately in solving and restoring operational readiness (products and services).
The quality of the help desk is becoming increasingly important when assessing companies and products. Customer loyalty and image are often closely related to the support offered.
For help desks to IT management that applies ITIL service desk framework as a de facto standard .
Structure of the help desk
A help desk is divided into various so-called levels. A level is a group of experts who are specifically responsible for the activity on that level. A total of 3 levels are planned at the helpdesk.
The first level is the first contact with the customer. This usually consists of employees who have basic IT training but have not specialized in any area. At some help desks, this task is also performed by call center agents. The inquiries are received by an employee at the first level via email, telephone, LiveChat or fax and are documented by him in a ticket tool (e.g. OTRS ) and, if possible, resolved. If the problem cannot be solved in the first level, the ticket is forwarded to the second level.
The second level usually consists of better trained and more experienced staff. They usually have more time to deal with individual problems and are the interface to the third level. In addition, the second level has the task of training the first level.
The third level deals with the problems that could not be solved in either the first or second level. The third level is not just a team like the first two levels, but consists of several teams of experts who have specialized in one topic. This could be server specialists, network specialists or programmers, for example.
