Your helpdesk software is complete but the customer care department still runs repairs every day? Tickets are still sold out, customers are still waiting, staff are still tired, but no one can see where the problem lies. In fact, the 12 most common errors when operating a helpdesk fall into three groups: unclear processes, unsupported people, and not measured. So what can we do to fix them systematically instead of blaming individuals?
Don't rush to blame individual employees. According to Zenify data, businesses that fix helpdesk operating errors reduce operating costs by up to 35%, enough to see that the problem lies in the system, not the people. Below are each error and how to fix it, ranked by level of impact.
TL;DR
- 12 errors divided into 3 groups: process, people, measurement.
- 4 most serious errors: no SLA, no classification, ticket with no owner, no notes.
- Most errors come from not having a process, not from lazy employees.
- Edit by group: process → people → measurement.
- Start from 2-3 most affecting errors, do not fix 12 errors at the same time.
Nhóm 1: Lỗi về quy trình
These errors come from not having a standard process, causing everything to be "done by whoever is free":
1. No SLA
Not committing to response and processing time makes "anyone who is free can do it" turns into "no one can do it". All requests look "normal" so none of them get priority. (See What is SLA?)
2. Do not classify requirements
All tickets are treated the same, causing major complaints to wait as long as a simple question. You need Ticket priority matrix to properly prioritize important things.
3. There is no one owner per ticket
Many people "touch" the same ticket but no one is ultimately responsible, eventually the ticket falls into the middle slot and no one handles it.
4. There is no escalation process
Tickets are difficult to get stuck because the handler doesn't know who to send them to when needed, when there should be an escalation process in place (see What is Escalation?).
5. Ticket closed incorrectly
Automatically moving the ticket to Closed status when the customer has not confirmed makes the customer still frustrated, but on the system, the job is "done".
Nhóm 2: Lỗi về con người
This group comes from people not being supported enough, causing knowledge to stay in each person's head:
6. Do not take notes when processing
Everything is in the employee's head. When they quit their job, they lose their knowledge and have to start over again next time.
7. No knowledge base
Having to answer the same questions over and over again causes team fatigue and inconsistent answers (see Knowledge base for helpdesk).
8. Not training new employees
New employees fumble through the process by themselves, leading to many mistakes, slow processing, and angry customers. You need 30-day onboarding Checklist.
9. Do not give rights to handlers
Every decision has to be submitted to management, causing slow processing, customers having to wait, and the team not daring to resolve it themselves.
Group 3: Measurement errors
The last group comes from not looking at the data to know where the problem is:
10. Not viewing periodic reports
I don't look at periodic reports so I don't know how much FRT, how many tickets are left, and I don't know where the problem is (see Helpdesk reports should be viewed weekly).
11. Đo sai chỉ số
Only measuring "number of tickets processed" without measuring quality and customer satisfaction makes the team only chase quantity.
12. No meeting to learn from experience
Wrong repetition because we don't stop to look: what's bad this week, what's going to be fixed next week?
How to fix these 12 errors
Edit in order of impact, starting with the process group:
First month: set SLA, classify, assign owner of each ticket (error 1-3).
Month 2: escalate, close tickets properly, start taking notes (4-6).
March: Build knowledge base for repeat questions, training, empowerment (7-9).
Continuously: weekly reporting, measuring correct indicators, meeting to learn from experience (December 10).
You don't need to fix it at the same time. After each error is fixed, you have to re-measure to see if it really reduces waiting/missing time or not.
Which error is the most dangerous?
Among the 12 errors above, no SLA + no owner + no notes is considered a "dangerous triangle": no time commitment so customers wait indefinitely, no one is responsible so tickets fall into the slot, and nothing is saved so knowledge keeps being lost. By fixing these 3 errors, you have solved most of the headaches in operating the helpdesk.