Cardonet, finalists in the Best Small Enterprise Managed Service Provider category 2018, tell us their exciting plans for the future and share their top tips for a successful service desk.
What made you decide to enter the awards?
Awards have never been a big thing for us as an organisation and this is the only award we have ever gone for. We did so as our team has put in so much effort over the last couple of years, training and up-skilling to become ever more customer focused. This award from the well-recognised and respected Service Desk Institute would provide our team with external recognition and validation, demonstrating that all of the hard work they have put in has been worthwhile. They will be able to stand tall and proudly whilst comparing themselves with their service desk peers across the country.
What part of the awards process did you enjoy the most?
By going through the awards process, we have been given an additional excuse to review what we have achieved and what we have accomplished as a service desk team over the last couple of years. It has been great to revisit our activities, as well as uncover additional focus areas as we look to continuously improve.
In the last 12 months, what has been the most successful initiative your team has implemented to help your business improve its performance?
We have allowed for more time to be spent on proactive activity, helping to identify and prevent customer issues before they become business affecting. This has helped us significantly reduce ticket numbers at a time when our users numbers have been increasing.
What are your top 3 tips to make a service desk successful?
People
You can’t fake being friendly and nice, as well as genuinely wanting to help. We know that nobody wants to call a service desk, but our people make that a less daunting prospect, despite being challenged day in and day out. We recognise that our people set the bar for amazing service and we do all we can to both motivate them, as well as acknowledge their efforts.
Process
You need to have the right processes in place to be successful. Your team need the right information at their fingertips, they need to have clear expectations and they need your support in order to be successful.
Consistency
Providing good customer service once is easy. The challenge is to work with and train your team to consistently provide a level of service that exceeds your customer’s expectations.
What one thing do you think really makes you stand out as a service organisation?
Our genuine passion to do more and help wherever we can. This is supported by our determination to continually improve and never rest on our existing achievements.
How are you preparing to evolve your service desk over the next few years? Please share your most exciting plan with us!
In addition to integrating different communication channels within our service desk, such as social media, we also plan to roll out a fully manned 24×7 network operations centre at our London head office. We know that this will be a massive step with its own challenges, but it will further enhance the support that we give our customers. That will enhance our ability to support our customers and help them meet their business goals.
If you could choose any celebrity to work on your service desk, who would it be?
We would love to work with Wonder Woman, Gal Gadot. She has achieved a lot and seems an incredibly fun and out-going as a person. She also demonstrates superb characteristics such as fearlessness, perseverance, self-belief, strength, curiosity and compassion while playing Wonder Woman. These are all characteristics that our service desk team have to demonstrate daily. The only concern we have is that we fashion ourselves as reliable side-kicks for our own superheroes, our customers, and we worry that as Wonder Woman, Gal may wish to seek the limelight more than we do.
What does it mean to your team to be a finalist in the ‘Best Small Enterprise Managed Service Provider’ category?
As mentioned previously, we generally don’t seek out our awards or recognition as a business, instead spending that time focusing on our customers and their needs. This award is purely for our team, to show them that what they do matters, that they are making a difference and that we fully appreciate their work and continued commitment.
What advice would you give to anyone entering the awards next year?
Firstly, focus on your customers. Awards and recognition are great, but they are the icing on the cake. You can only win awards once you have done the hard work of ensuring that your customers are happy.
Secondly, involve as much of your team as you can. Involve them at every step, from the proposal and the presentations to the video. Different parts of our business have been able to bond by working together and that is a massive reward for us all.
The 2019 IT Service & Support Awards will take place on Tuesday 26 March at the Birmingham Hilton Metropole. Entries are now open – start working on your submission today for your chance to be recognised as one of the shining stars of the IT support industry.
