3 Essential Tips for a Remote IT Service Desk Strategy

Over the last 18 months, it has become clear that businesses need to be agile in order to quickly adjust when the market changes unexpectedly. The pandemic illustrated how critical it is for organizations to have the right IT service desk strategy in place to enable transitioning to a different operating model with relative ease. Solutions that companies such as Pomeroy have in place are great examples of how this can be achieved, but it requires certain strategies be followed especially for delivery of service desk support.

The State of the Industry

Prior to the pandemic, many organizations typically delivered service desk support from a call center.  In the months that followed, it became necessary to send their agents home giving them a taste for an alternative working model, one that, to a large degree, had not previously been an option. Recent surveys reveal that the workforce including service desk employees prefer the new work-from-home alternative.

It’s easy to see that a remote work model is possible to sustain given the number of organizations that have successfully transitioned to that work-from-home approach in the last 18 months.  In addition, industry data supports that these workers remain productive outside of the call center.

This suggests that the remote service desk model is effective and IT leaders should have confidence making this a permanent solution.  In fact, Pomeroy has implemented a work-from-home model for our service desk employees with equal or better customer service and productivity.

Strategies to Transition to a Work-from-Home Service Desk

When the pandemic forced Pomeroy to transition our service desk agents to a fully remote (i.e., work-from-home) model, we were able to move swiftly without any service disruption or quality issues because our operations were already in the cloud. So, for any organization considering a similar move, there are several strategies that are critical to transitioning your service desk as well.

1.  A “Service Desk in the Cloud” Model

A cloud-based service desk utilizing a SaaS tools platform offers several advantages when an organization has to send its service desk agents home to work remotely. These tools include an ITSM system like ServiceNow for example, contact center technologies, and remote support and diagnostic tools.  The primary advantages of this cloud-based model are the ability to extend the tools seamlessly to the agents and to eliminate the need for data centers, servers, VPNs and even the call center facilities themselves.

Essentially, as long as agents have internet connectivity, they are able to perform their jobs with the same efficiency and productivity as if they were in a call center.  Not only does this guarantee excellent customer service, but also improves recruitment of talent and employee retention because today’s workforce prefers a remote work-from-home opportunity.

2.  Take Advantage of Latest Cloud Technologies by Integrating with Partners

Another challenge facing many organizations is that they have invested heavily in their own service desk tools that were implemented specifically for an on-premise operating model that they can’t easily abandon. However, relocating their service desk agents home requires the use of cloud-based technologies to enable them.

A popular strategy is to integrate with a third-party partner’s cloud-based tools to get the benefits without the heavy investment.  For example, Pomeroy’s Enterprise Services Platform provides the best of both worlds. We enable our customers to take advantage of our cloud-based infrastructure that includes significant innovation while they can continue to leverage the value-added technologies that they have already invested in.

3.  Leveraging Automation

A service desk that leverages automated resolution and self-healing options offers many advantages to an IT organization looking to move its agents to a remote working model.  IT leadership can now be more creative with how its agents are utilized.  With basic issues being resolved via automation, service desk staff are freed up to resolve more complex incidents. This creates the capacity for these issues to be dealt with more efficiently and at lower cost regardless of where the agent is located.

The New Working Model

The remote service desk model comes with several challenges. Many organizations are not prepared for this change in the way people want to work, because they have not invested in cloud-based technologies that would support this type of operation in the long term.

A IT service desk strategy with a strong foundation grounded in best practices anchored by a cloud-based infrastructure is the ideal solution, which Pomeroy illustrated in our successful pivot to a remote work-from-home model for our agents. The good news is businesses don’t have to reinvent the wheel. These technologies are readily available with a proven support model to deliver the desired outcomes.

Learn more by clicking here to get a copy of Pomeroy’s “Practical Guide to Service Desk in the Cloud” eBook.