The introduction of the Working Conditions Act - some 10 years ago - shifted the main focus towards absenteeism and integration. The paternalistic and bureaucratic policy of the early days has since made way for vitality. Not only the sick, weak and infirm, but all employees take centre stage. We want to hold the reins of our own life, in the personal and professional sphere. So who would want to be dependent on an inaccessible helpdesk or sit locked up in a closed-off workplace?
Control over your digital life is not only about chatting, gaming and other fun activities. It is also about effective teamwork, the sharing of information and working where you please. The workspace influences our employee satisfaction levels to an increasing extent. A recent employee survey at Essent showed that this workplace carries the most weight when it comes to the level of satisfaction. Vitality at your work without properly working IT is unimaginable.
Helpdesks where the calls usually end up in an endless queue and that can scarcely even solve any problems have a nickname: ‘Helpless’. An employee who cannot continue with his tasks is costing the company a lot of money. So why are helpdesks still judged on the lowest possible rate per call? Those who believe in such ratios are pursuing an invalidating management style. Why not process everything correctly in one go? Nowadays almost 90% of operations are interlocked with IT. And IT has become the lifeblood of the business. Seen from that light, we can take a leaf from the health sector’s book. Eurocross arranges, remotely and in an impressively effective manner, the help and repatriation of stranded holidaymakers. Its GP hotline is able to ask callers the right questions and give them the right advice on healthcare issues.
The main difference between these medical helpdesks and those of the IT sector is the instant availability of knowledge. Half of the incidents are due to inadequate training and supervision of users. Wholesaling in incidents is reactive; true service provision is proactive. The GP hotline tries to keep the number of questions forwarded as tickets to GPs to the minimum. The second line walks around as much as possible. Only when the first line holds up a red card, does a GP rush forward to listen in. This saves valuable time. The motto is: ‘A good solution the first time round’. After all, those who are helped immediately are far more satisfied than those who have to wait two hours or longer. And it’s often cheaper too. Forwarding or ‘managing away’ is expensive and slow, because the activities are not orchestrated from head to toe.
A vital knowledge worker wants good support. The sometimes absurd savings urge among large businesses has resulted in service that is admittedly inexpensive, but also poor. Many helpdesks operate as a bargain bin rather than a service provider. Service desk employees are regarded as the lowest rung of the career ladder. Wrongfully so! Instead of an intermediary, the helpdesk is far more the chain coordinator and therefore the showpiece of the IT organisation.
It’s easy to work it out: participant satisfaction is increasingly linked to IT, and labour shortages are set to increase. A good helpdesk is money for jam.
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