Posted on Thursday 30 May 2019.
The latest Global Best Practice Standard for Service Desk (version 8) was launched in March this year. At #SDI19 some of the lead contributors took part in a live Q&A panel about the latest changes to the Best Practice Standard. One of the key topics that came up was Managing the Customer Experience, which is concept 7 in the Best Practice Standard.
This short, insightful recording reveals some of the key discussions on the customer experience and where this concept is headed in terms of future proofing service desk strategy:
“…getting away from an activity based approach and really having a strategy to actually define what we want our customer experience to be, how we are going to deliver that, how we measure whether we’re delivering what we promised and making sure it’s consistent …”
Recent SDI Research on the Customer Experience
The customer experience is shaping the way the service desk is evolving. SDI research has found that of the 64% of service desks feeling pressure to provide excellent customer service, 33% feel this pressure derives from the customer.
Customers can provide an excellent insight into your service; for example, if customer feedback specifies that it takes too long for calls to be answered, this may signify that the service desk need to review staffing, or consider offering an alternative support channel, or raise awareness of existing alternatives. The customer experience should play a significant role in service desk or IT strategy.
Of course, different service desks will have different key factors or considerations which have an influence on strategy. So we asked service desk professionals to rank what factors influence their strategy the most.
As we can see, customer experience/needs was specified as the main influence on service desk strategy, with 79% of respondents highlighting it as one of the top 3 influences. It was specified as the most influential factor by 40%. This is a positive sign, as it shows that service desks are placing the customer at the center of their service and are aiming to provide a service which meets their customer’s needs. This matches the trend we have been seeing across other SDI research reports, where the customer experience recurs as the main influence or motivation for improving the service.
Secure your space on the next CX Workshop! Drive continual service improvement and embed a truly customer-centric approach to delivering support within your organisation.
