ICMI's Customer Management Insight - September 2007 - (Page 17) INDUSTRY RESEARCH Widespread Dissatisfaction with IT Help Desk Support; Users Admit Supplying Inaccurate Information Netviewer, a European provider of real-time collaboration software, has announced the findings of a new survey into IT help desk usage patterns. The survey, from independent research firm Vanson Bourne, shows that 31 percent of internal IT help desk users are dissatisfied with the quality of the support they receive. The figure rises to 48 percent for users of external (third-party) IT help desks. Rather than contacting a help desk, 40 percent of respondents prefer to stop working and will try to fix the problem themselves. It also appears that many people rely upon non-professional help from colleagues, friends or relations, with 92 percent of respondents saying that they have, at some stage, tried to assist someone at work with IT issues. This is a worrying finding given that 30 percent describe themselves as less than moderately IT literate. The survey indicates that end users might, in part, be responsible for perceived IT help desk failure. One in five callers admit that they don’t always provide accurate information about the nature of a computer problem — the main reasons being a lack of insight (45 percent), a lack of time (30 percent), or a lack of appropriate vocabulary (25 percent). Fifteen percent said they felt too embarrassed. “This is a self-perpetuating problem, according to ” Rachel Lane, managing director for the U.K. at Netviewer. “End users are frustrated because they can’t successfully communicate the nature of the problems they face to the help desk. Help desk resolution times rise as a result. Users then try to speed up the process by sourcing amateur assistance, but often end up exacerbating the problem instead. The whole cycle costs precious working hours. ” Lane continues, “Help desk operatives need to be able to remotely access user desktops at the click of a button regardless of whether or not access software has been pre-installed on their devices. Only then can they gain expert insight into the problem and quickly ” resolve it to the satisfaction of all parties. Without such a solution, companies could find it hard to take advantage of new software. Forty-eight percent of respondents said that they had delayed the introduction of new software because they were worried about the time it would take to resolve consequent PC problems. Source: Netviewer, www.netviewer.com High Agent Attrition Plagues Contact Centers A new study sponsored by Intelemedia, Syntellect and VoiceVault attributes call centers’ agent retention rates to decreased customer satisfaction. Says Steve Morrell, author of The U.S. Contact Center Operational Review: “Excessive agent attrition rates are preventing many U.S. contact centers from taking strategic and valuable action, such as focusing upon increasing customer satisfaction and improving first-call resolution rates. Many contact centers want to be able to increase their headcount and take the next step in providing high-quality customer contact, but are frustrated by the rate at which they are losing staff and skills. This is made worse by the way in which the wider business usually measures the success of the contact center. In many cases, the contact center is the main icmi’s insight place at which the customer meets the business — however, the purpose of the contact center is too often seen by senior management as simply being to cut costs and increase call throughput. Although the contact center is a strategic asset to many businesses, this lack of understanding, support, and investment from the highest levels of an organization means that the full potential of many contact center operations are a long way from being met. ” The study found that of the 200 contact centers surveyed, two-thirds reported having problems retaining their staff, with the average agent attrition rate at 33 percent. Compensation was reported by the highest proportion of contact centers as being a principal issue, with www.icmi.com | SEPTEMBER 2007 17 http://www.netviewer.com http://www.icmi.com
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