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How to Run an Effective Helpdesk

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Course Description

A Help Desk is usually not a profit-generating department within a company.  It is, for many organizations, a necessary expense, but it can add a significant amount of value to a company in a variety of ways.  In order for your Help Desk to add this value, it must be established with the proper mission, it must offer the right set of services, and it must achieve its objectives. 

In order to run an effective Help Desk, you must know, in advance, what services you are going to perform, you must know how to prioritize issues, and you must create realistic expectations.  All successful companies start off with a business plan, and the same rule applies to Help Desks. If your Help Desk is focused and has a clear understanding of your business, it will add a significant amount of value to the company in the form of increased productivity and customer retention.

In this course, we will cover all the topics necessary to run your Help Desk, including drafting a plan, determining which services to offer, when to outsource, how to measure performance, how to effectively deal with senior management, which tools will aid you, and how to ensure that your customers are receiving value.

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  • Self-Paced
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  • 6 Months to Complete
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  • PC & Mac Compatible
  • Android & iOS Friendly
  • Accredited CEUs
Universal Class is an IACET Accredited Provider
 
 
 

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Course Lessons

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Lesson 1: Establishing a Help Desk

In order for your Help Desk to add value, it must be established with the proper mission, it must offer the right services, and it must achieve its objectives. We will start with these fundamentals. 16 Total Points
  • Complete Assignment: An Introduction
  • Complete: Lesson 1 Assignment: Why is a Help Desk Good for Your Company?
  • Complete Exam: Lesson 1: Establishing a Help Desk

Lesson 2: Building Your Customer Profile

In this lesson, we will focus exclusively on one ingredient in all business plans: a customer profile. 20 Total Points
  • Review 2 Articles: What is a customer profile; Tips to create a customer profile
  • Complete: Lesson 2 Assignment: Create a Customer Profile
  • Complete Exam: Lesson 2: Building Your Customer Profile

Lesson 3: Help Desk Organization

The organization of your Help Desk is another aspect of the planning process. Your organization, or structure, will depend on your mission, objectives, and types of services. 10 Total Points
  • Review Article: How to Set Up a Customer Service Division in a Company
  • Complete Exam: Lesson 3: Help Desk Organization

Lesson 4: Staffing Needs

In this lesson, we will discuss staffing in more detail, including the different types of employees you will need, the skills they need to possess, how to plan for employee departures, and the proper training required for your staff. 10 Total Points
  • Review Article: Establishing support staff
  • Complete Exam: Lesson 4: Staffing Needs

Lesson 5: Issue Management: Establishing Priority and Severity of Issues

When a customer calls the Help Desk, it usually means they are not able to perform their job to the fullest extent or, in some cases, not at all. There are varying degrees of importance for each call. You cannot use "first come, first served." 20 Total Points
  • Review Article: Opinion Article: Issue Priority and Severity
  • Complete: Lesson 5 Assignment
  • Complete Exam: Lesson 5: Issue Management: Establishing Priority and Severity of Issues

Lesson 6: Issue Management: Procedures

In this lesson, we will focus on procedures, their importance, and how to create them. 20 Total Points
  • Review Article: How to Resolve Customer Service Problems
  • Complete: Lesson 6 Assignment
  • Complete Exam: Lesson 6: Issue Management: Procedures

Lesson 7: Logging Support Calls

Every time a support calls comes into a Help Desk, that call must be logged and tracked. The call, itself, must be logged, but the issue's status and progress must also be tracked throughout the entire life cycle of the issue. 9 Total Points
  • Review 2 Articles: Call Logger Devices; Keep a log of telephone support calls to pinpoint how your time is spent
  • Complete Exam: Lesson 7: Logging Support Calls

Lesson 8: Help Desk Tools: Forums, Collaboration, and Communication

In the daily operations of your Help Desk, you will use many tools. In the next two lessons, we will devote time to discussing which tools to use, why they are used, and how to use them effectively. 10 Total Points
  • Review Article: The Help Desk Frequently Asked Questions Site
  • Complete Exam: Lesson 8: Help Desk Tools: Forums, Collaboration, and Communication

Lesson 9: Help Desk Tools: Problem Resolution and Help Desk Management

Many of the tools used by a Help Desk involve problem resolution and Help Desk Management. Examples for problem solving include knowledge bases, expert systems, and diagnostic software. 35 Total Points
  • Review 2 Articles: Open Source Help Desk List; A Comprehensive Guide to Help Desk Software Solutions
  • Complete: Lesson 9 Assignment
  • Complete Exam: Lesson 9: Help Desk Tools: Problem Resolution and Help Desk Management

Lesson 10: Your Help Desk and the Internet

There are varying degrees of opinion on both the Internet's usefulness in business and its impact on our daily lives. But, one thing is a fact: It is an incredible, vast array of information, available to Help Desks worldwide. 10 Total Points
  • Review Article: How to Create Your Own HelpDesk
  • Complete Exam: Lesson 10: Your Help Desk and the Internet

Lesson 11: Establishing Your Help Desk's Online Presence

Your Help Desk has a choice about its online presence: You can have an Intranet site, which is typically only accessible by people within your own company, or you can have an Internet site, which is accessible to anyone with an Internet connection. 35 Total Points
  • Review Article: Build a Website for Your Small Business: 5 DIY Services
  • Complete: Lesson 11 Assignment
  • Complete Exam: Lesson 11: Establishing Your Help Desk’s Online Presence

Lesson 12: Help Desk Metrics

If you are a member of a Help Desk, and especially if you are managing one, you must keep a close watch on performance. This course gives you the details on how to run an effective Help Desk, but how will you know if you are effective? 35 Total Points
  • Complete: Lesson 12 Assignment
  • Complete Exam: Lesson 12: Help Desk Metrics

Lesson 13: Marketing Your Help Desk

Although many Help Desks operate as part of a much larger company, or within a company, your Help Desk should be considered a business: You have products and services, and you have customers who need them. Management is not going to automatically fund you. 35 Total Points
  • Complete: Lesson 13 Assignment
  • Complete Exam: Lesson 13: Marketing Your Help Desk

Lesson 14: Return on Investment and Value

As we have learned in previous lessons, senior management will be involved in many aspects of your Help Desk, and the budget is the one area where you are likely to see the most input. 35 Total Points
  • Complete: Lesson 14 Assignment
  • Complete Exam: Lesson 14: Return on Investment and Value

Lesson 15: When to Outsource Work

Most Help Desks have two distinct perspectives about outsourcing work: It is either a great idea that will ultimately save money for the company, or it is a ridiculous idea that will only add expense and overhead to a company. 83 Total Points
  • Take Poll: Let us know what you think of this course
  • Take Survey: Program Evaluation Follow-up Survey (End of Course)
  • Complete Exam: Lesson 15: When to Outsource Work
  • Complete: The Final Exam
383
Total Course Points

Additional Course Information

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Course Title: How to Run an Effective Helpdesk
Course Number: 8900088
Languages: English - United States, Canada and other English speaking countries
Category:
UniversalClass.com > Business > Business Applications
Course Type: How To
CEU Value: 0.8 IACET CEUs (Continuing Education Units)
CE Accreditation: Universal Class, Inc. has been accredited as an Authorized Provider by the International Association for Continuing Education and Training (IACET).
Grading Policy: Earn a final grade of 70% or higher to receive an online/downloadable CEU Certification documenting CEUs earned.
Assessment Method: Lesson assignments and review exams
Instructor: UniversalClass Staff Instructor
Syllabus: View Syllabus
Duration: Continuous: Enroll anytime!
Course Fee: $50.00 (no CEU Certification) || with CEU Certification: $75.00

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Learning Outcomes

By successfully completing this course, students will be able to:
  • Describe the processes establishing a help desk.
  • Demonstrate building your customer profile.
  • Describe help desk organization and staffing needs
  • Establish priority and determine the severity of issues.
  • Demonstrate management issue procedures.
  • Demonstrate the process of logging support calls.
  • Know available help desk tools and how to put them to work.
  • Describe your help desk and the internet.
  • Recognize, implement, and review help desk metrics.
  • Describe marketing your help desk and calculating the return on investment and value.
  • Determine when to outsource work, and
  • Demonstrate mastery of lesson content at levels of 70% or higher.
 
 

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