Customer Support Software Featured Articles

The life of the help desk agent is not an easy one. He or she is often tasked with trying to fix a problem, one that may be presented with only partial information. Many are measured on the amount of time it takes them to provide resolution to a caller, but without the right customer support software, that can be difficult to achieve.

At the same time, it’s important to drive customer loyalty. This goal is often the responsibility of the help desk simply because its agents have the most contact with the customer base. They must demonstrate that they are reliable, responsive and can deliver resolution through simple solutions. Unless the help desk agent is empowered with the right tools, all three of these goals are difficult to achieve.

A recent TeamSupport blog highlighted the importance of providing the help desk agent with the right tools. The customer support software solution provider stressed that one differentiator sets teams who deliver mediocre experiences and those who set quality as their benchmark: the collaborative culture. In other words, quality customer support is the responsibility of the entire company, not just the help desk agent. With cross-team collaboration, everyone on the team has the ability and the tools to be a high performer.

While customers have the opportunity to interact with the right person at the right time, help desk agents also have the opportunity to more significantly impact the customer experience. He or she must have the authority to make decisions, provide the necessary answers and even override certain policies when the potential for customer churn exists. This is especially essential in the business to business (B2B) space as clients need immediate solutions as any delay could negatively impact their bottom line.

It’s not uncommon for customers to associate poor customer service with apathy or laziness on the part of the help desk agent. While it is possible for these characteristics to play a part – and the person responsible is hopefully identified and weeded out quickly – the reality is that agents are often restricted in their access to the right resources. In order to solve problems, they need access to the right customer support software to deliver quick solutions.

With cloud-based help desk software, agents gain access to the information, tools and authority they need to immediately handle a customer request and provide first call resolution. Access to past ticket information allows the agent to be more informed on the client and can quickly move to a solution that best meets the need. After all, this is exactly why the help desk exists – to help meet the need. Failing to provide agents the right tools to do so renders the help desk ineffective and a waste of resources.