How to Run an Effective Help Desk

no certificate
with CEU Certificate*
-
15Lessons
-
25Exams &
Assignments -
548Students
have taken this course -
6Hours
average time -
0.6CEUs
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.
As
any project manager knows, the first rule of any successful project is
to earn the support of a sponsor. In this case, the senior management of
an organization would be the sponsors of starting any major endeavor,
including the establishment of a Help Desk. Since Help Desks are usually
an expense of the company, getting senior management's support is
crucial. More importantly, though, you must also clearly understand what
senior management expects of you. You never want to be in a situation
where you are, for example, offering unnecessary services - especially
if the budget in your company is closely watched.
Senior
management sets the agenda and objectives of a company. They know the
needs of the business – including the need for support. A Help Desk's
fundamental objective is to support the organization. When you are
creating your plan for your Help Desk, managers' input will be vital to
understanding what services you should include.
If
budgets are tight, for example, senior management might ask you to
include as much automation as possible in your procedures.
The types of feedback you might receive from management will vary, depending on a variety of factors. You might, for example, be told that you can outsource any service that might be better performed by an outside company. In some organizations, outsourcing might be strictly prohibited. Similarly, some automation might be called for by some companies, whereas others might want to emphasize more human intervention. You will take direction from management for all of these types of decisions.
In
addition to management, you will also be working closely with other
Information Technology (IT) departments within your company.They can be a
source of help in many instances, and in others they can be
challenging.
Your
Help Desk will share many things in common with other IT groups. For
one thing, you are both responsible for keeping technology products
functioning correctly. But, the most prevalent causes of conflict with
other IT groups usually deal with levels of responsibility. The IT
department might, for example, claim that certain duties or services are
their responsibility, and they will request that you stop offering
certain services. Alternatively, they might also try to push undesirable
duties off on the Help Desk, when they do not want to be bothered with
them. An effective Help Desk's plan will clearly outline its level of
services to avoid such conflicts.
Your Mission
A mission statement outlines your purpose, whether it is a mission statement for the entire company, a department, or your Help Desk. For Help Desks, a mission statement helps develop a strategy for dealing with customers. Some characteristics of a mission statement are: It must be believable, achievable, and recognizable.
Your Services
If you offer too many services, you risk breaking your budget and, more to the point, you risk failure in delivering quality service. Do not offer an overly broad range of services; work with management to determine the right level of service. The services you offer must be: manageable, supportive of the business, and well understood.
- Completely Online
- Self-Paced
- Printable Lessons
- Full HD Video
- 6 Months to Complete
- 24/7 Availability
- Start Anytime
- PC & Mac Compatible
- Android & iOS Friendly
- Accredited CEUs

Course Lessons
Lesson 1: Establishing a Help Desk
Lesson 1 Video
Take Survey: Reasons for Taking this Course
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
Lesson 2 Video
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
Lesson 3 Video
Review Article: How to Set Up a Customer Service Division in a Company
Complete Exam: Lesson 3: Help Desk Organization
Lesson 4: Staffing Needs
Lesson 4 Video
Review Article: Establishing support staff
Complete Exam: Lesson 4: Staffing Needs
Lesson 5: Issue Management: Establishing Priority and Severity of Issues
Lesson 5 Video
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
Lesson 6 Video
Review Article: How to Resolve Customer Service Problems
Complete: Lesson 6 Assignment
Complete Exam: Lesson 6: Issue Management: Procedures
Lesson 7: Logging Support Calls
Lesson 7 Video
Review Article: 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
Lesson 8 Video
Complete Exam: Lesson 8: Help Desk Tools: Forums, Collaboration, and Communication
Lesson 9: Help Desk Tools - Problem Resolution and Help Desk Management
Lesson 9 Video
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
Lesson 10 Video
Complete Exam: Lesson 10: Your Help Desk and the Internet
Lesson 11: Establishing Your Help Desk's Online Presence
Lesson 11 Video
Complete: Lesson 11 Assignment
Complete Exam: Lesson 11: Establishing Your Help Desk’s Online Presence
Lesson 12: Help Desk Metrics
Lesson 12 Video
Complete: Lesson 12 Assignment
Complete Exam: Lesson 12: Help Desk Metrics
Lesson 13: Marketing Your Help Desk
Lesson 13 Video
Complete Exam: Lesson 13: Marketing Your Help Desk
Lesson 14: Return on Investment and Value
Lesson 14 Video
Complete: Lesson 14 Assignment
Complete Exam: Lesson 14: Return on Investment and Value
Lesson 15: When to Outsource Work
Lesson 15 Video
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
Learning Outcomes
- 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.
- Summarize 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

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