Employee Helpdesk Software – Enabling a New Synergy Between Facility Management and The IT Help Desk

Facility Management has traditionally been a reactive process; Facility Managers often spring into action only when an issue is reported. But in today’s era, where user experience takes precedence over everything, taking a reactive approach like this can negatively impact employee morale and performance.

Not only do today’s users expect their tools, infrastructure, and equipment to work without issues, they also want to be able to raise complaints easily and know how issues will get addressed. This is especially true in today’s environment, where a majority of employees are working from home.

The repercussions of the new work-from-home model on Helpdesks

Since the beginning of the pandemic, employees across the globe have been asked to work from their homes to safeguard their health as well as to slow the spread of the virus. Although this current work-from-home revolution is allowing businesses to function, this newly introduced model has made things far more complex for the IT Helpdesk.

Here’s how:

· Back in the days when employees were working from offices, using enterprise systems, any issue they faced with equipment was easy to report (and resolve). All users had to do is make a call to raise a ticket via the IT helpdesk and have a qualified resource come and physically inspect the equipment to rectify the issue. They weren’t expected to know about system configurations, maintenance details, and usage history.
· In today’s remote work environment, employees no longer have the luxury of getting their systems physically inspected (and repaired) by qualified IT staff. Since any issue they face has to be resolved remotely, they expect a quick and easy way of raising a ticket. They want to be able to capture equipment details in a jiffy and share it instantly with Helpdesk staff for immediate resolution.

How a modern helpdesk software can ease this problem

In the WFH age, that IT helpdesks are having to support more employees and resolve a snowballing number of tickets is known to all. But using a traditional approach to ticket management where Facility Management Systems and IT Helpdesks do not integrate is no longer going to work.

Unless you have information on how many laptops are out there at the homes of your employees, what network devices they use for secure access, what ergonomic furniture they depend on, and what communications equipment they rely on for enterprise communication, you won’t be in a position to resolve the infrastructure-related issues that your employees face.

A mobile-app based Asset Tracking and Management solution can help users, facility managers, and helpdesk staff navigate the complexities of today’s hybrid environment and help remote teams perform efficiently. With modern ticketing capabilities, it can help address the concerns and queries of your remote workforce and ease out the process of raising complaints.

Benefits for employees

1. Easy-to-scan QR: Employees that face issues with their equipment while working from home can use their mobile devices to capture all details of the equipment. QR code scanning ability means they can easily scan codes affixed to the system in question, allowing them to log a complaint complete with all the relevant background.
2. User-friendly mobile app: A user-friendly mobile app ensures all details of their equipment can be accessed easily: right from equipment or part number, usage history, warranty information, and more. Such access can make it extremely easy for helpdesk staff to track the performance of the devices while setting the path for remote work success.
3. Seamless self-service: Self-service capabilities enable remote employees to track the status of their complaints, monitor the progress of repairs as well as view history. Users can raise tickets from anywhere and anytime and solve minor problems on their own by referring to a robust knowledge base, at their convenience.

Benefits for IT staff

1. Virtual command center: A modern ticketing solution can allow IT staff to manage all employee service requests via a centralized hub. A super-powered virtual command center means the staff always has insight into all service requests and can stay updated about the performance of their assets while ensuring timely and adequate support is provided to remote colleagues.
2. Intelligent dashboards: Intelligent dashboards designed for easy integration and accessibility means the IT helpdesk staff can easily create, track, and manage the reports they need – even with no prior coding knowledge. They can leverage interactive dashboards to pull deep insights and reports on ticket status, ticket volume, resolution time, etc. They can also personalize ticket views making it easy for support teams and admins to track the progress of tickets right from the moment it is generated.
3. Automation: Instant acknowledgment and responses are clear indications that IT staff genuinely cares for employee concerns. Automation can enable staff to receive instant notifications and status checks and provide quick responses to the support tickets they raise. Depending upon the nature of the support ticket, automated workflows can ensure the tickets are assigned to the right agents and resolved without any delay.

As employees moved out of the enterprise network into sub-optimal home environments, the number of support requests that are being received by Helpdesks across the world skyrocketed. Since remote users often find it difficult to share all the relevant information about the systems they are working on and the precise problem they are encountering, a modern employee helpdesk software can help make remote work easier for employees. Amidst the current uncertainty, such a solution can help employees sail through the day-to-day hassle of remote working and create a culture of certainty and confidence.