The Standards, People and Expertise Behind Effective IT Support
Most businesses depend heavily on their IT, so when something goes wrong, the quality of the support they receive becomes very apparent. What matters is being able to get hold of someone, knowing that the problem is being dealt with and getting it resolved without unnecessary disruption.
That sounds straightforward, but how do you know whether your IT support is actually delivering a good service?
At nTrust, one of the ways we answer that question is by measuring what happens on our Support Desk. It gives us something more useful than a general impression of how we’re doing and helps us make sure we’re delivering the level of service our clients expect.
Being able to get hold of someone
When an employee has an IT problem that is stopping them from working, the last thing they need is a lengthy wait before they can speak to someone.
We monitor how quickly support calls are answered and our current average ring time is four seconds. It doesn’t tell us how quickly the problem itself will be fixed, of course, but it does tell us that clients are able to reach the Support Desk quickly when they need help.
Response time and resolution time are different
It’s worth making the distinction because a quick response doesn’t necessarily mean a quick fix.
Our Support Desk works to a one-hour response SLA, which we currently achieve in 94% of cases. That means we can measure our performance against an agreed standard rather than relying on a fairly subjective view of whether we’re responding quickly enough.
We also look at how long it takes to resolve issues. Our two-day resolution SLA is currently achieved in 98% of cases.
Not every IT problem can be dealt with in the same timeframe. Some are relatively simple, while others involve more investigation or depend on a third party, replacement hardware or another factor outside the Support Desk’s immediate control. In those situations, keeping the client informed and making sure the issue continues to be actively managed is just as important.
There is more to good support than the figures
We measure our performance because the figures are useful, but we wouldn’t suggest that they tell you everything about the quality of an IT support service.
The people providing the support need to understand the client’s business and recognise the difference between an inconvenience and something that is preventing people from working. They also need to communicate clearly, escalate problems when necessary and avoid hiding behind technical terminology when a straightforward explanation will do.
There is another advantage that develops over time. When the same IT company supports a business on an ongoing basis, the team gets to know its systems, its people and how it operates. That knowledge can be particularly valuable when something goes wrong because the person dealing with the issue isn’t starting from scratch. Having that familiarity with a client’s business, combined with the technical knowledge to identify and resolve problems, can make a real difference to the support they receive.
The expertise behind the Support Desk
Our Support Desk is managed by Sam, who joined nTrust in 2022 and holds who holds a Level 3 Cloud Support Analyst qualification.
That technical expertise extends across the team. Will, one of our IT Support Analysts, holds Microsoft 365 and Azure Fundamentals certifications and is our Copilot Champion, delivering training and engagement sessions to clients. Fellow analyst Ned holds AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner and 3CX Advanced certifications and is working towards his AWS Solutions Architect Associate qualification.
Mik, our Senior IT Helpdesk Analyst and deputy manager, holds a Level 4 qualification in Cyber Security Risk Analysis and has recently achieved AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner.
Together, the team‘s qualifications and practical experience cover a broad range of technologies, giving clients access to people who can help with everyday IT issues as well as more complex technical challenges.
What should you expect from your IT support?
A business should know how to get help, what happens when an issue is reported and what standards its IT provider is working to. Those standards should also be monitored, rather than simply appearing in a service agreement.
For us, Support Desk statistics such as call answering, response and resolution times are part of understanding the service our clients are receiving. They help us see whether we’re meeting the standards we’ve set and where we need to pay attention.
Ultimately, though, good IT support is much more practical than a set of statistics. When someone has a problem, they want to be able to reach the Support Desk, know that somebody is dealing with it and get back to work as quickly as possible. That’s the standard we’re trying to deliver every day.
If you’d like to find out more about nTrust’s IT support and how we work with our clients, get in touch with our team.
