Establishing the Right Support Infrastructure

Overview

Your help desk is on the front line for providing end-user support. The support experience an end-user receives may directly impact how satisfied a user is and how deeply adopted they become. If a user is unable to resolve issues or get their questions answered in a timely manner, they may determine that the technology is too difficult to use.

It’s critical that your support channels (both automated and physical resources) are set up to drive a positive user experience, while resolving questions and issues quickly and efficiently. By establishing a detailed automated system, you can reduce calls that get through to the help desk agents, allowing end-users get the answers they need, and enabling your support agents to focus on troubleshooting tasks. In addition, ensure your help desk has the tools they need to effectively support end-users; FAQs they can refer and add to, feature and troubleshooting training, and resources such as top call drivers. In addition, include your help desk agents in your pilot testing enabling them to become early adopters as well as hear what questions others are having.

Establishing the Right Support Infrastructure

Step One: Identify Core Assistance Areas

A combination of self-service support tools along with help desk agents can provide an optimal support infrastructure for your users. Consider the following assistance areas and how you will assimilate into your current support plan.

Resource / Accountable for…
Self-help (eg intranet site) / How-to questions
HyperCare agents* / General questions during launch week
Tier One help desk agents / Basic troubleshooting, how-to questions
Tier Two/Three help desk agents / Deep troubleshooting

Step Two: Identify Resources Needed

Once you know who will be accountable for which areas of support, you can identify what tools and resources will be required. Arming your help desk agents with the appropriate tools and resources will help ensure they have everything they need to resolve issues quickly, while providing a positive user experience. Here are some recommendations:

For… / Recommended Tools and Resources
How-to/feature-function questions
Basic troubleshooting / Videos and FAQs for SharePoint site
Optimized devices
Call scripts
Deep troubleshooting / Troubleshooting guides
Network and monitoring reports (where feasible)

*see Appendixfor HyperCare details and recommendations

In addition, here are some best practices to consider to implement an efficient and effective support plan. Be sure to add any tasks to your project plan as needed.

Set up automated prompts on your phone support system, to get users to the most appropriate support team quickly
Include announcements on your phone support system to educate users on product availability, downtime and status changes as well as where to go for more information
Establish an alert system to notify your help desk when issues arise or for planned downtime, so that they can effectively assist callers
Post any downtime or other planned interruptions on your intranet site, so users can easily understand when the system will not be available, reducing calls to the help desk
Detail your SLA plan to hold support reps accountable for following up with end-users and to set the right expectations

Step Three: Confirm Your Support Plan

Now it’s time to pull it all together. As you map your training strategy, be sure to consider the following and add associated tasks to your overall project plan:

Who is accountable for creating and publishing all support materials?
How will you confirm your help desk is ready to assist end-users?
How will you track support tickets to monitor time to close?
Where will you host your self-help support resources (eg SharePoint or intranet site)?
Who is accountable for communicating the deployment plans to the help desk?
What is your plan to ensure your help desk and associated resources are updated and new features are released?

Appendix: HyperCare

HyperCare Guidance and Best Practices

HyperCare is proactive, high-level, in-person end-user support provided during the first 48 hours of a pilot and/or broad rollout. HyperCare builds user enthusiasm, mitigates help desk calls, identifies potential issues early, and increases user satisfaction. Use these best practices to guide the recruiting, preparation, and support of your HyperCare agents and program.

Recruiting

Along with a comprehensive knowledge of the product and associated devices, HyperCare team members should have good people skills and be comfortable helping novices learn new technology. Pilot team power users are good candidates, as well as Champions, Help Desk agents and Rollout project team members.

Planning

Visible and responsive HyperCare agents reassure end-users. People will appreciate the consistent, high-quality support they receive from a trained and resourced HyperCare team.

Communicate HyperCare availability to users via email communications and kick-off events.
Define a standard and organizationally appropriate policy for your HyperCare agents to use when approaching end-users. Verify all agents are familiar with the policy.
Prepare HyperCare agents with a list of common first day issues and questions and a brief checklist to proactively check users’ knowledge.
Have HyperCare agents wear matching shirts to make them easily identifiable and to build team unity.
Acknowledge the effort and contribution of HyperCare agents as appropriate.

Responsibilities

HyperCare agents perform three vital tasks: evangelize, support and promote.

1. Evangelize

•Be a positive role model, proactively demonstrating use cases and scenarios to end-users.

•Encourage users to try out new features and tools available.

2. Support

•Be available early and proactively visit users on day one (rather than have users track down agents)

•Reiterate on-going support resources and training opportunities.

3. Promote

•Communicate findings, issues, and user feedback to your project stakeholder(s).

•Use IM and online meetingsto support remote users.

•Proactively remind and encourage users to transition off of 3rd party tools.

Engagement

HyperCare visibility, accessibility, and responsiveness increases effectiveness. Deploy agents and announce multiple contact methods to support a variety of user preferences including:

A whiteboard, table, and HyperCare Center banner staffed in a centrally located hallway. Stock quick reference cards and getting started checklist. Ensure network connectivity so agents can quickly resolve issues and share solutions.
Create a dedicated HyperCare email alias, support phone number, and IM alias monitored by one or more agent dispatchers.