The advantages of enterprise help desk are too many to be summed up in a write up. Yet an attempt can be made to summarize a few important points of the advantages of help desk support. First of all it must be said that the biggest advantage of a help desk support is that it creates a positive image of an enterprise in the minds of a customer. Help desk is the first point in an organization where a customer or potential customer comes in contact with the company. Any goof up here, therefore, can tarnish the image of the company in a big way.

It is, therefore, imperative for any help desk personnel to posses the quality of staying calm at all times and talking calls without being ruffled. This is important for people who give a ring at help desk are not always in the best of mood and as such talking to them is not always a pleasant experience. Here lies the advantages of enterprise help desk support for he is required to talk to the caller in such a way that he gets impressed and decides to buy the product of the company. And if the caller is dissatisfied with the product then the help desk executive has to calm him in such a way that he does not disconnect his association with the company.

Advantages of enterprise help desk support is not just limited to taking calls. Instead it should be kept in mind that they are instrumental in creating a positive image about the company which is no less important than bagging contracts. If proper attention is paid towards developing a sound help desk then there can be no denying the fact that the advantages of enterprise help desk would be reaped in a big way. All that is required is that right people are inducted for the service and then one can be rest assured that advantages of help desk would go a long way in strengthening the company in a big way.

It seems that every time businesses decide to cut down on expenses, they always seem to focus on the Help Desk/IT department. IT Managers are very often asked to work with outdated software, understaffing and an ever- increasing backlog of calls and angry customers.

What the people upstairs seem to forget is that without proper equipment, software and competent support staff, the back bone of the company could very well crumble.

It’s a vicious downward spiral; The IT/support budget is cut, we have to service our customers with outdated software, the support staff is unmotivated and leaves, there’s not enough money to hire competent people so novices will do, we therefore offer a shocking service, the word climbs up the ladder, our budget is cut some more because the service is poor anyway, and here we go again!

The reality is that while a company is spending thousands of dollars on computers and printers and everything else they need, they’re cutting back on the one department that takes care of assuring every system works and that every employee/customer gets his/her problem fixed quickly.

It costs money when a program stops working and an employee stares at that blank screen for half an hour. It’ll cost even more if no one knows how to fix it. It’s very frustrating for people to wait hours on end to get someone to look at their problem. What a waste of time, money and productivity!

No matter how good the warranty is, at some point, the equipment needs replacing or fixing and at one point – which lets face it happens more often then not – you need competent people to come and help. That alone should justify the cost of your help desk.

What it really costs

Take a moment to analyse what your company is already spending for the following items – the ones that you won’t see on any statement:

o Time spent figuring out where to go for help.

o Time lost waiting on-hold for a customer support officer.

o Time spent reading the product manual.

o Time wasted through poor practices & procedures.

o Lost productivity of those called away to assist.

o Duplication of support efforts, re-learning the same lessons over and over.

If you think that all these items only occur once in a while and that your staff are resourceful enough to find a solution on their own, think again. The same problem could reoccur time and time again and be fixed time and time again by different people not knowing that it’s happened before. If your staff member can’t fix his/her problem on his/her own, they call someone else to help him or her. That someone else stops what they’re doing and takes an hour trying to fix the problem but can’t. They call another one, and another one. See where I’m going?

Every office has a knowledgeable person that learnt a particular software application or is naturally inclined to technology. That person is often called to help out in the situation mentioned above. And every time this person stops what they’re doing to go and help, they stop being productive at their job. Even worse, if this employee happens to be a high-paid specialist, then the company is throwing away dollars out the window when they could employ a cheaper and trained resource to deliver support.

Worse still, in some instances, when your help desk department is so short staffed that your customers are by-passing the official support people and asking the specialist for help, the company is still losing money!

How to Calculate The Costs of Your Help Desk

Start with the obvious: The salaries, cost of training your support staff, computer hardware and software, phones, copiers, office space etc. The accountants should be able to provide all of this, and tell you how your company for such assets is booking depreciation. Include in the software category the cost for the help-desk automation tools (help desk system). If you don’t have a help desk software that keeps track of the length of your calls, the level of urgency of the calls, what type of problems are logged and how long it takes to resolve the problems, then you need to seriously consider such a purchase.

This is the most efficient way to track what your department is doing, how it spends its budget and what resources need to be considered when the next budget comes around. This software must have the ability to create analysis reports on, the level of urgency of the calls, what type of problems are logged and how long it takes to resolve the problems. If you present this important information to the accountants you’ll show them what your department does and why it needs a bigger chunk of the budget!

Final Note

Basically, when it comes time to determine if you need a support department, think of how you couldn’t afford not to. Computers will crash, people will need support on different software programs, and your employees/customers will need someone to help them with their problems. Having properly trained support staff makes a big difference when we think of a company’s productivity. Without them, so much time and money would be wasted.

Are you particular about organizing your desk? It is a fact that some people do not truly give importance to the essentiality of having their things organized at their desk. It is because they do not realize that the clutters at their desk can interrupt their concentration, hinder their productivity and success at work!

Whether your workplace is situated at the office or just at home, it still very important that you keep it organizes everyday of your life. Make it a habit to wipe your desk before you start working and do it daily. Having a paper towel inside your drawer isn’t a hard thing to practice, is it? Once you notice some dust particles at your desk have it wiped right away. This practice will keep your desk clean as well as increase your focus at work.

Several steps to get done when organizing your desk:

Pull out everything from your desk:
Pull out all the objects from your desk except the heavy stuff like computer monitor, printer etc. Do not forget to remove the things that you don’t make use of anymore like old and scratch papers, obsolete pictures…
Categorize:
Keep your desk look presentable and organize by categorizing the objects on top of it. Obtain a box or a cup for pens, pencils, markers, staplers and a lot more.
Make priorities:
Consider placing the things you frequently use in an area which can easily be reached. It will make things easier for you!
Prepare an area for Big items:
Always set aside a space for big items like telephone, books, and magazines, a special picture, daily calendar and tissue box.
Set a space for smaller items:
Put objects like small photos, folders, CD’s, and notebooks insider your drawer or in a box which your hand can easily get hold of.
Prepare an area for paper works:
Prepare a separate area for paper works that you have done and you still haven’t. This approach will help you to avoid getting confused and mixed up.
Have a space for writing purposes in your desk:
Set aside an area for writing purposes in your desk. As you work you couldn’t avoid writing down notes, schedules, memos, and even contacts.

Reminder: Since you have moved things around your desk, there is a tendency that you might forget where you place some important files or folders. Avoid this by making a notation on a pad. List down where you moved things to and keep the note or save it to your PC.

I hope this article might contribute some help in your task of organizing your desk. However you can also read some books, e-books, articles and magazines if you wanna learn some more about this subject. Asking some experts would be a great help too as well as doing online research.

Real estate signs are considered one of the oldest and best forms of advertising for homes available for sale. Real estate signs are mostly produced using vinyl, which is a long-lasting material available in specific colors. Vinyl graphics and lettering provide real estate signs that are affordable and of good quality. Unique colors can also be specially ordered to make real estate signs more attractive.

A large number of national signboard companies provide people with ‘coroplast’ or aluminum sign blanks that make the real estate signs stand out from the others. Many people opt to buy sign boards, which are made out of corrugated plastic. This plastic is lightweight and inexpensive as compared to aluminum. It is generally made out of 1/4 thick corrugated plastic that works like foam board. It is strong and long lasting. In addition, these signs can be easily attached to windows, doors, and walls. However, they are very often used with step stakes for temporary or seasonal real estate messages.

People use real estate signs for advertising their house for lease or any residential property for sale. Consumers who are interested in getting real estate signs made need to inform themselves about types and sizes, rather than become influenced by complex offers. It is important to know the available warranty, extended warranties and purchase outlets. This can easily be determined by indulging in comparison-shopping. It allows buyers to compare products, prices, and features. Buyers also need to be attentive to size and weight factors of the signboards as they are charged on this basis. Many of the real estate board deals can be acquired through wholesale purchases as they turn out to be more reasonable.

Many wholesalers offer neon real estate signboards as well. The neon signboards are a preferred medium of advertisement because they are bright, modern, and, above all, visible from a distance.

Is your system running strangely or performing at a snail pace? Probably your system has gotten infected with virus programs. Don’t panic, engineers are there who work real hard to develop effective cures and keeps your system alive beating the virus attacks. Besides, online computer support companies provide various essential tips which you can follow to keep your computer from viruses in the first place.

Let’s know about the virus first; what they are and how they work to ruin a system health. A virus is a small digital program that can replicate and spread itself from one computer to another, with or without the help of a host. In fact, a virus program can do lot more than just getting replicated and multiply to infect your system badly. As computer support vendors suggest you can even loss massive data in worst cases.

The viruses are programmed to do various annoying acts like displaying popup messages on every window, destroying files and data, making a system run real sluggish and many more. The most terrifying thing is all such hazards can just start happening with a click on an innocent looking file attachment with your mail even from a reliable source.

When you have come to know about virus and malicious program files, let’s discuss about the protective measures which you can take to avoid virus programs on daily usage. As you can not avoid viruses completely from getting in, it is important to at least have the knowledge about them and how to use anti virus protection to beat them instantly. You can take several precautionary measures to tackle the situation.

First thing is you should shield your system with popular antivirus software applications. Online network support or specialized computer support companies provide free antivirus software suites that work as good as their paid version do. Also it is important to upgrade your software periodically. If you ever had a serious virus problem or your system got attacked with some malicious spyware, tech support professionals suggest, you should mind to delete your Restore Points even if you have already cleaned your system. Windows operating system periodically store the snapshots of your system which is called the Restore Points. When overall system is just running fine you can look for the errors visiting the points. Now if Windows has created the snapshot when you had a virus or spyware in your system, then the Restore Point is contaminated with the virus and with reusing this Restore Point, it will re-infect your computer.

Another important thing is launching Windows in Safe Mode. Computer support professionals consider this as a bare essential step to run your PC without a hazard. Scan your system at a periodic interval, this help you stay aware of the system status. If your scanning process involves registry cleaning, mind to backup registry settings and run complete scanning process following given instructions. Online technical support companies provide essential guidance on system scanning that leads you to clean up your system completely.

You want to work from home, but you’re not sure exactly what you want to do? Here is a list of 7 service based businesses you can start and do working from home with little or no experience that are affordable to begin.

1. Virtual Assistant

The term virtual assistant actually covers a broad spectrum of work to be offered. You would basically assist the person in their day to day business tasks, much like an in office assistant would. This could be a combination of any of the other service based businesses and might include writing, email support, blog management, and more.

2. Transcription

If you can type you can transcribe. Transcriptionists can make a good living by taking audio files and creating text documents for their clients. You might choose to specialize in transcription of a certain type of file, video or podcast transcription for example.

3. Customer Service

Every business needs customer support of some kind. You can be the person answering all the emails that come into the help desk leading people to the answers and maintaining the frequently asked questions section. This is a huge time saver for the other business owner and allows the freedom to work on a flexible schedule.

4. Blog Manager

Many busy marketers don’t have time to blog, but they want to keep that flow of communication going with their visitors and readers. You could be their voice on their blog and keep things freshened up by providing two or three posts per week in exchange for a monthly retainer fee.

5. Ghost Writer

Do you like to write, but don’t want to manage your own websites or write about the same thing all the time? This is a great option for you! Websites need content and someone has to write all those words. Why not you? You could provide various packages of articles, reports, presentations, speeches, and more. There are lots of options when it comes to ghost writing.

6. Backlink Builder

This one requires a little know-how of search engine optimization, keywords, social media and the like. However, with just a little bit of knowledge and a few systems in place to make the process easier you could certainly get started with this business idea. Backlinks are the currency of the internet and website owners are always looking for more of them.

7. Social Media Manager

Are you familiar with how to leverage social media sites like Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn? Offer your services for a monthly retainer to manage the social profiles and marketers and website owners. You can create their profiles, run their promos and contests, and bring them fresh new clients on a regular basis. Trust me, they’ll love you for it.

Well, there you have it. All of the above ideas can be started with a small investment for a domain name and hosting, add a little time and elbow grease and you’ll be well on your way to building a full time income working from home.

The best help desk software can spell the difference between profit and loss. Many small businesses use this product to cut costs and improve efficiency. You need not worry about data indexing, logging, assigning calls anymore. The program does it for you. You can also customize the software according to your needs. The right product will help streamline operations. The most common queries can be answered through automated process, leaving the staff free for other tasks.

As is evident help desk software solution helps improve customer satisfaction. Firstly it provides quick resolutions to all customer queries. Secondly, it offers accurate responses and solutions to all the queries. Thirdly, the software identifies all the problem areas in products and services. So everyone knows what the situation is and works to resolve the problem.

A basic help desk software solution comprises of a user interface from a web browser. This means that your staff can easily navigate the whole software solution. When an inquiry is made by a customer, the software assigns it a unique ID. This helps the staff to track the query and resolve it.

Another feature that a typical help desk software solution has is the reporting system. It reports how much time was spent on an inquiry and who all were involved in resolving that specific inquiry. It also allows for communication between the staff and customers through email, live chat and automated phone follow-up.

Spam in your inbox can be a headache if you are running an organization. You cannot go through all the emails to select one when you have so much spam to deal with. If you choose the best help desk software, you will find that these have spam blockers. The program allows only genuine emails through. Then it sends off the appropriate response.

You need not spend a whole lot for the best help desk software. They are very economical, and easy to install. Most companies offer technical support during the installation process. If you do not want to spend a lot, and you have a small business, a free program found online can also help.

Getting the best help desk software is a start to efficient and better business operations.

You will not be able to see immediate profits when it comes to helpdesks, and the cost may be large as well. This normally costs all corporate companies a great deal. Some people will be surely performing better than the others. It is also good to keep track, as there would be a lot of cost that is going into training facilities for staff.

While looking at designing some metrics for helpdesks, it may look very easy. However there will be great difficult y in doing so, if you really want the metric to be very effective. Some people often forget that the metric represents the actual performance of the companies. Most of them just look at the figures, but nothing being done about it.

A lot of agents look at the time that is being spent on a call. A lot of them are also under the impression, that if this time is reduced, there will be better performance and also more people can be helped. You might find it difficult to get statistics for a helpdesk, but later with time, if the system is well designed, you will be able to look at the performance of the agents as well as the entire helpdesk.

While some problems are simple, others will take time to solve. You should not think about minimizing the call time, as this might lead to serving the customer in a very poor way. The number of calls which are taken should also not be measured, as it is really does not mean that one with more calls is performing better.

Depending on the time spent at working at the desk, the number of calls taken can be measured. With a fixed amount of time in place, this system is looking at the number of calls being taken by the helpdesk. Most of the time, there will be pressure to keep the calls short. Agents will not be affected, but there will be the need for these managers to pass on the right requirements.

It must be understood that mechanical data alone cannot be helpful when it comes to analyzing the helpdesk performance. This information we can say, is not reliable at all. It is important however to look at all areas of the helpdesk, as it is valuable to help with the growth of the organization. If there are any drawbacks, this will surely help a great deal.

But all the information must be done correctly, and then there should be statistics which should be reliable. Else there is no point, as in the end you will get all the wrong results. What the agents say must be taken into account, and they must be given the feedback instantly. Though this job is not a pleasant one, the agents take effort to put in all that they can.

Their reviews must be respected, and this would help improve all the areas where there is any shortcoming. This will help the growth of the company.

What is the greatest customer service trait? Without question – Empathy!

Customer service is far too often thought of as being nice and friendly. Although both these traits are important they do not necessarily set one part from competitors. The secret to great customer service is empathy. That’s the ability to get into the customer’s head and think like your customer thanks, to know their challenges and frustrations, to understand what makes them happy, to see their turn-offs, and understand what gives them pleasure.

Leadership Examples

Nordstrom, Walton, and Penney all understood this important principle. It is why Nordstrom gave a refund to a customer returning automobile tires even though the store didn’t sell tires. It is why Sam Walton continued to drive an old pickup truck and live in a simple home despite having enormous riches. It is also why Penney is one of the most quoted leaders of all historical retailers.

How my financial planner learned about empathy

Almost all professional salespeople I have met believe they give outstanding customer service. Yet in many cases they know little about their customer other than what they had to ask to fill out insurance applications or financial plans.

Russ, a financial planner, and I were talking one day about sales calls. He told me he was struggling with listening. I shared a story my attorney had told me about a client that was head strong and demanding. He was making an eloquent argument for his client before the judge. In the middle of his monologue he felt his client tap him on the side. He looked down to see that she was giving him a note that said, “Sit down and shut up”.

I told Russ that whenever I am having a discussion with a client or prospective client and feel the need to interrupt them I recall that sign. I actually visualize what it might have looked like in my mind. Then, I keep quiet.

A few weeks later I found myself sitting across the table from Russ once more. He told me that a couple days after our last get-together he was on a sales call with a client who had a huge problem with stuttering. As the man struggled to complete his sentences Russ felt an overwhelming urge to finish his sentences for him. Yet he told me that each time he started to say something he visualized that sign and was able to refrain.

When Russ finished giving the gentleman his value statement he asked what the man wanted to do. The gentleman told him he was going to invest his money with Russ.

As Russ got up to leave meeting the man asked him to wait a moment. He got up from the table and gave Russ a firm handshake. More importantly the man told him how great it was not to have been interrupted.

Russ’ secret, every time he thought about interrupting he could see the sign and thought to himself what it must be like to try and tell somebody something without ever being afforded the opportunity to complete his thought.

Summary

Russ showed empathy in action. When you master empathy you will constantly provide world-class customer service. Unfortunately empathy is a lot like humility. Someone who is truly humble is only humble until they realize they are humble. As soon as that happens humility is gone. Empathy is only yours as you work toward being more empathetic. When you stop your ability to empathize begins to fade away.

Everyone has different preference and priority over the types of features provided by their web hosting provider. Some people emphasize on the bandwidth amount, disk space size, file size constraint, security features, 30 days money back guarantee, great up-time, domain name etc. However, most people tend to overlook this key critical feature – customer support. Mainly due to it’s not of immediate need, people tend to neglect its importance, but they will soon regret over this negligence especially when their website end up in trouble.

A great web host will support their clients with 24/7 support and multiple ways and channels where they can be reached for in time of need. These can be in the form of online chat, toll free helpdesk lines, email support, FAQ posted on their sites for reference. They understand the importance and how critical it is to provide real time assistance when their clients are in need of technical assistance. Not only that these supports should be available on real time, but the support personnel should be technically inclined and professionally expert in the support area. Providing the right kind of support on real time is a necessity especially for customers who operate their business online with e-commerce transactions with their websites.

It is necessary to find out how much emphasize does the web host focus on their technical support aspect and how often their support team is sent for re-training and attending workshops. If the web host place high priority on their technical support and customer service, he will consistently equip his people with the latest technological advanced method in configuring, maintaining and repairing their websites as well as possessing of sound knowledge and expertise in trouble-shooting of issues and problems highlighted by their customers.

Although there are thousands and even millions of web hosting providers in the Internet today, sad to find that very few web hosting providers actually offer professional technical support and assistance to their customers. Most of these web hosts do not really prioritize on their customer support although they claimed that they do. As precaution, you may pay a visit to the web host and check out their support team personally. You may try to test out their technical knowledge and competency by seeking for their advice on some of the technical problems which you already have the answers with you. You can decide whether to go ahead with this particular web host or otherwise after this.

The quality of customer support is getting a lot of attention and emphasize from this industry recently. Hopefully the quality of support offered by the web hosting providers will get elevated in the near future. With most of the web hosting services offered by different web hosting companies being very similar between one another in terms of the features offered, the costs charged on these web hosting plans tend to be close. It is the level and quality of support offered by the web hosting provider which makes him an excellent choice of web host, which put him above the rest of his competitors.