How to Run an Effective Helpdesk

$50.00
no certificate

- OR -

$75.00
with CEU Certificate*

Start Right Now!

Taking multiple courses? Save with our platinum program.

15

Lessons
25

Exams &
Assignments
8

Hours
average time
0.8

CEUs
269

Students
have taken this course

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.

Completely Online
Self-Paced
6 Months to Complete
24/7 Availability
Start Anytime
PC & Mac Compatible
Android & iOS Friendly
Accredited CEUs

Universal Class is an IACET Accredited Provider

Course Lessons

Average Lesson Rating:

"Extraordinarily Helpful"

(332 votes)

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

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. 10 Total Points

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

358

Total Course Points

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.

Additional Course Information

Document Your Lifelong Learning Achievements
Earn an Official Certificate Documenting Course Hours and CEUs
Verify Your Certificate with a Unique Serial Number Online

View and Share Your Certificate Online or Download/Print as PDF
Display Your Certificate on Your Resume and Promote Your Achievements Using Social Media

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 > Customer Service Courses

Course Type: How To (Self-Paced, Online Class)

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 Online CEU Certification: $75.00

Choose Your Subscription Plan

Course Only

One Course
No Certificate / No CEUs

$50

for 6 months

Add to Cart

Billed once
This course only

Includes certificate	X
Includes CEUs	X
Self-paced
Instructor support
Time to complete	6 months
No. of courses	1 course

Certificate Course

One Course
Certificate & CEUs

$75

for 6 months

Add to Cart

Billed once
This course only

Includes certificate
Includes CEUs
Self-paced
Instructor support
Time to complete	6 months
No. of courses	1 course

Platinum Yearly

ALL COURSES
Certificates & CEUs

$189

per year

You save 50%!

Start Now

Billed once
Includes all 500+ courses

Includes certificate
Includes CEUs
Self-paced
Instructor support
Time to complete	12 Months
No. of courses	500+

Platinum Monthly

ALL COURSES
Certificates & CEUs

$59 first month

$29.00 / each consecutive month thereafter

Start Now

Billed monthly
Includes all 500+ courses

Includes certificate
Includes CEUs
Self-paced
Instructor support
Time to complete	Monthly
No. of courses	500+

Related Courses

Creating an Effective Sales Team

Every small business owner or new entrepreneur knows that the success of their company will depend largely on the effectiveness of their sales team. After all, if you are not selling something, then you can hardly call yourself in business since bus...

$75.00
0.7 CEUs 7h
Customer Service 101

Good customer service is not about satisfying the cu stomer, it is about wowing the customer! It's about making the customer walk in, do business, and walk out again absolutely stunned that their transaction was so enjoyable. Customer service is a...

$75.00
1.5 CEUs 15h
Customer Relationship Management

Quality in a service or product is not what you put into it. It is what the client or customer gets out of it. (Peter Drucker) We are exposed to customer service (of one kind or another) at least once a day, every day of the week, fifty-two weeks...

$75.00
0.9 CEUs 9h
Anatomy and Physiology 101

This self-paced, online anatomy and physiology course covers all the bodily systems playing a major role in human anatomy. The material is presented in a practical and comprehensive manner. The focus of the course is on the need-to-know facts that m...

$90.00
2.1 CEUs 21h
Ultimate Excel Bundle

Learn Excel 2016 Microsoft Excel is a spreadsheet program that comes packaged with the Microsoft Office family of software products. Just like the other programs by Microsoft, Excel can be used for a wide variety of purposes such as creating an addr...

$125.00
4.6 CEUs 46h
Office 2016: Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook

Microsoft Word 2016: Microsoft Word 2016 is the latest version of the popular word processing software offered as part of the Microsoft Office suite. This course will teach you all the skills you'll need to successfully use Word 2016. You'll learn ...

$110.00
3.2 CEUs 32h
Ultimate Secretary Bundle

General Secretary 101: If you've been thinking about becoming a secretary, you should know that times have changed. While the computer has replaced the typewriter, the secretary is still an important part of the office setting. In this General Secr...

$150.00
3.8 CEUs 38h
PowerPoint 2016

PowerPoint 2016 is a presentation creator that can be used to create stunning slideshows and basic videos. It can also be used to create slide presentations, handouts, transparencies, and much more. While creating presentations using some programs c...

$75.00
0.7 CEUs 7h
Microsoft Access 2016

Microsoft Access 2016 is an information management tool that allows you to store, report, and analyze information within a relational database. If you're trying to use Excel to manage large amounts of information, then chances are Microsoft Access w...

$95.00
1.2 CEUs 12h
Marketing 101

Have you ever wondered how a product makes it to market? How a business decides what type of advertising to use, and who the ideal customer is? Are you interested in direct and online marketing, or the global marketplace? Are you looking to obtain a...

$90.00
0.9 CEUs 9h
QuickBooks 101

QuickBooks® Course Introduction QuickBooks® is an accounting software program created by Intuit® for small businesses and self-employed professionals. It can be used for almost all financial business processes. You can use it for ent...

$80.00
1.4 CEUs 14h
Advanced Excel 2016

Excel 2016 Advanced Skills Course With most software programs on the market today, you can thrive with just a basic knowledge of the tools and options built into the individual program. However, that is not necessarily true when it comes to Excel 20...

$85.00
1.7 CEUs 17h
Mastering Conversation Skills

This course reviews the fundamental skills that make up each person's ability to communicate effectively in both social and business settings. We begin with an overview of the building blocks of communication, providing a foundation for understandin...

$75.00
0.5 CEUs 5h
OneNote 2016

OneNote 2016 is a note-taking program that comes bundled with the Microsoft Office 2016 suite. Whereas MS Word is a word processing program that you can use to create documents, OneNote is simply a note taking program that you can use to take notes ...

$75.00
0.5 CEUs 5h
Microsoft Publisher 2016

Publisher 2016 is Microsoft's entry-level desktop publishing program, allowing you to quickly create publications for the web or print. You can easily create professional-looking publications by either creating them yourself from scratch or using o...

$75.00
0.7 CEUs 7h
Outlook 2016

Microsoft Outlook 2016 is the email client and personal information organizer that comes with the Microsoft Office Suite. In this course, we're going to teach you how to effectively use nearly every aspect of Outlook, from sending, receiving, and or...

$75.00
0.5 CEUs 5h
Windows 10

Windows 10 is the latest version of the Windows operating system released by Microsoft on June 29, 2015. It follows Windows 8 and Windows 8.1, which introduced some of the biggest changes to the operating system since the first release in 1985. Wind...

$75.00
0.5 CEUs 5h
Social Media 101: How to Use Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn

The manner in which we all communicate has been revolutionized by the Internet with the advent of social networking and social media platforms. Millions of people communicate with each other in today's environment via text, email, instant messaging,...

$75.00
0.3 CEUs 3h
Creating WordPress Websites

WordPress is a free open source blogging tool and content management system. WordPress can be used to create a traditional blogging site; however, it can also be used to create a standard website for business or personal use. This course focuses o...

$75.00
0.5 CEUs 5h
Excel 2016

Microsoft Excel is a spreadsheet program that comes packaged with the Microsoft Office family of software products. Just like the other programs by Microsoft, Excel can be used for a wide variety of purposes such as creating an address book, grocery...

$75.00
1.2 CEUs 12h
Computer Basics 101

Computer Basics is a course that's designed specifically for those who are completely new to computers or who feel they need to have more instruction before they can feel confident buying a new computer for their personal use. Filled with screensho...

$75.00
0.6 CEUs 6h
Virtual Assistant 101

Today's businesses, both new and established, are desperately in need of administrative type assistance at an affordable rate. They need versatility in the services performed and flexibility in the way the services are performed. If you have a caree...

$75.00
1.1 CEUs 11h
Internet Fundamentals 101

Are you in the dark about how the Internet works? Do you wonder how in the world it is possible to communicate with someone on another continent in the blink of an eye? This straightforward course clearly and plainly lays out the basics of the Inter...

$75.00
0.4 CEUs 4h
OS X Yosemite

OS X Yosemite is the latest version of the OS X operating system released by Apple on June 2, 2014. It can be installed on any Mac device that meets the general specification requirements and can be installed for free by going to the Apple App Store...

$75.00
0.7 CEUs 7h
Google+ for Business

If you've been wondering about how to use Google+ for your business, this comprehensive course is the best way to get started. With simple instructions and ideas regarding social media marketing, businesses of every size soon understand why they nee...

$75.00
0.4 CEUs 4h
Pinterest

Want to learn more about the Pinterest world? You are not alone! Millions of people have sent Pinterest membership numbers sky high. The site is growing in leaps and bounds and people far and wide want to learn how to get in on all the fun. That's w...

$75.00
0.3 CEUs 3h
Google Analytics 101

Tracking tools are an important part of a website toolkit. Google Analytics is one of the most popular tools for tracking website user patterns, so webmasters can identify landing page strengths and weaknesses. Google offers the tool for free. All y...

$75.00
1.0 CEUs 10h
Microsoft Word 2016

Microsoft Word 2016 is the latest version of the popular word processing software offered as part of the Microsoft Office suite. This course will teach you all the skills you'll need to successfully use Word 2016. You'll learn everything you need t...

$75.00
0.8 CEUs 8h
Intro to PC Troubleshooting and Repair

There is no question that computers offer many benefits to their users. Whether they are used for pleasure or business, computers enable us to connect to the world in ways never thought possible. And to get the most out of them, computers need to be...

$95.00
1.0 CEUs 10h