SaaS Insights, Software, Customer Service and Help Desk Best Practices | Giva - Help Desk Best Practices

Considering replacing your IT Help Desk or Customer Service Software?

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 04:28:32 -0700

What new features and functions will you need?

Sign-up for this Webinar and receive a valuable IT Help Desk or Customer Service Needs Assessment Excel tool.

At this Webinar, you will learn:

Lessons on how to build software requirements based upon "Help Desk & Customer Service Best Practices"
How to take charge of the requirements process and quickly focus your evaluation team on vendors that meet your needs
Learn how to listen for "pain points" at the executive level to help gain support for your software purchase
Learn how to calculate the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) to find the most economic alternative

This complimentary and informative Webinar is hosted by Giva, Inc. and CDC Global Services.

Wed, Feb 10, 2010 11:00 AM - 11:45 AM EST / 11:00 AM - 11:45 AM PST

Wed, Feb 17, 2010 11:00 AM - 11:45 AM EST / 11:00 AM - 11:45 AM PST

Wed, Feb 24, 2010 11:00 AM - 11:45 AM EST / 11:00 AM - 11:45 AM PST

Wed, Mar 03, 2010 11:00 AM - 11:45 AM EST / 11:00 AM - 11:45 AM PST

Wed, Mar 10, 2010 11:00 AM - 11:45 AM EST / 11:00 AM - 11:45 AM PST

Wed, Mar 17, 2010 11:00 AM - 11:45 AM EDT / 11:00 AM - 11:45 AM PDT

Wed, Mar 24, 2010 11:00 AM - 11:45 AM EDT / 11:00 AM - 11:45 AM PDT

Wed, Mar 31, 2010 11:00 AM - 11:45 AM EDT / 11:00 AM - 11:45 AM PDT

See more information: IT Help Desk SaaS and Customer Service SaaS

Considering replacing your Healthcare or Hospital Help Desk Software?

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 16:17:19 -0700

Sign-up for this Webinar and receive a valuable Healthcare Help Desk Needs Assessment Excel tool.

At this Webinar, you will learn:

Lessons on how to build software requirements based upon "Hospital Help Desk Best Practices"
How to take charge of the requirements process and quickly focus your evaluation team on vendors that meet your needs
Learn how to listen for "pain points" at the executive level to help gain support for your software purchase
Learn how to calculate the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) to find the most economic alternative

This complimentary and informative Webinar is hosted by Giva, Inc. and CDC Global Services.

Wed, Feb 10, 2010 11:00 AM - 11:45 AM EST / 11:00 AM - 11:45 AM PST

Wed, Feb 17, 2010 11:00 AM - 11:45 AM EST / 11:00 AM - 11:45 AM PST

Wed, Feb 24, 2010 11:00 AM - 11:45 AM EST / 11:00 AM - 11:45 AM PST

Wed, Mar 03, 2010 11:00 AM - 11:45 AM EST / 11:00 AM - 11:45 AM PST

Wed, Mar 10, 2010 11:00 AM - 11:45 AM EST / 11:00 AM - 11:45 AM PST

Wed, Mar 17, 2010 11:00 AM - 11:45 AM EDT / 11:00 AM - 11:45 AM PDT

Wed, Mar 24, 2010 11:00 AM - 11:45 AM EDT / 11:00 AM - 11:45 AM PDT

Wed, Mar 31, 2010 11:00 AM - 11:45 AM EDT / 11:00 AM - 11:45 AM PDT

Click to see more information at Healthcare and Hospital Help Desk

Retaining Customers By Measuring Their Satisfaction

Mon, 18 Jan 2010 16:00:45 -0700

Going Beyond the Metrics Described in the SLA

The key to retaining customers is keeping them satisfied. To do that, you must go beyond the metrics described in the SLA. It is easy to get too focused on response performance when starting service level management. However, customers do not really care about the numbers. They want a help desk that addresses problems to their satisfaction.

Implementing customer satisfaction surveys demonstrates that you value your customers’ business and provides you with the information you need to continue to meet their needs. These surveys do not replace, but supplement the empirical numbers of service level agreement compliance reports.

This white paper illustrates how you can retain customers by measuring their satisfaction with your customer service management software. It also describes the strengths and weaknesses of different types of customer satisfaction surveys, such as periodic and incident surveys.

See http://www.givainc.com/wp/customer-satisfaction-surveys-customer-service-it-help-desk-software.htm and click “Download White Paper” to request this White Paper.

10 Ways IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) Improves Information Security

Sun, 17 Jan 2010 16:59:14 -0700

This white paper discusses ten ways that ITIL can improve information security:

ITIL keeps information security service and business focused.
ITIL can enable organizations to develop and implement information security in a structured, clear way based on best practices.
With its requirement for continuous review, ITIL can help ensure that information security measures maintain their effectiveness as requirements, environments and threats change.

Request a copy of the white paper to see the rest of the ways that ITIL can improve information security.

See http://www.givainc.com/wp/itil-increases-information-security.htm and click “Download White Paper” to request this White Paper.

Using TCO to Evaluate Help Desk & Customer Service Software- Total Cost of Ownership

Sat, 16 Jan 2010 17:57:29 -0700

Compare alternatives based upon Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)

This white paper presents a framework for help desk and customer service/call center software vendor selection.

Acquisition cost is only a small part of the total cost of ownership (TCO) of help desk and customer service software. There are also significant lifetime recurring hard costs in personnel. All the costs to consider are discussed including a detailed breakdown of training costs, report creation, server requirements, web implementation, future customization, upgrades, network costs, etc.

Many help desk or customer service/call center software applications appear to be the same on the surface. Learn to ask the right questions that vendors hope you do not ask. This total cost of ownership (TCO) approach will allow you to compare products on an “apples-to-apples” basis.

See http://www.givainc.com/wp/tco-hosted-help-desk-software-compare.htm and click “Download White Paper” to request this White Paper.

Customer Service and Help Desk Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) - Outsourcing IT Infrastructure

Fri, 15 Jan 2010 04:55:29 -0700

Decrease capital, deployment, labor, operations, network, training and support costs

Are you interested in learning right now how much money Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) can save you on your help desk or customer service software?

According to Gartner Group, a global IT research firm, the annual cost to own and manage software applications can be up to four times the cost of the initial purchase. As a result, companies end up spending more than 75% of their total IT budget just on maintaining and running existing systems and software infrastructure. The number of software applications that a company may need are infinite. The resources to operate these applications however are finite.

The Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) revolution allows companies to subscribe to software applications and outsource operating the back-end infrastructure to the SaaS vendor. The SaaS vendor can do this much more cost effectively; providing significant overall cost savings for the company. SaaS can significantly decrease capital, deployment, labor, operations, network, training, support and intangible costs. As a result, companies can spread their IT budget across many more applications to support and grow their business operations which will in turn contribute to the bottom line.

This White Paper provides the reader with a comprehensive look at the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) analysis any decision maker should complete before making a choice between a SaaS or a traditional software deployment.

See http://www.givainc.com/wp/outsourcing-software-as-a-service-saas-hosted-help-desk-customer-service-software.htm

and click “Download White Paper” to request this White Paper.

Sample Service Level Agreement (SLA) - Help Desk & Customer Service Best Practices

Thu, 14 Jan 2010 04:53:23 -0700

Is Your Help Desk SLA Complete?

IT help desks and customer service organizations prepare service level agreements to detail the services provided to customers. SLAs describe how the work of the IT help desk and customer service organization is prioritized along with agreed upon response and resolve times.

For example, a Service Level Agreement (SLA) describes the factors influencing first level problem determination, such as:

Number of customers affected
Effect on business mission
Context of problem
Deadlines
Estimated solution time
Application involved
Frequency of problem
Customer’s sense of priority
Customer’s commitment level
Availability of workaround
Threat to data integrity or computer security

Tables used to define severity levels describe how calls are prioritized and the associated response and resolve commitments.

Request this sample service level agreement, which is consistent with help desk and customer service industry best practices. Be sure all relevant topics and details are included in your SLA.

See http://www.givainc.com/wp/slas-service-level-agreements-best-practices-example-sample.htm and click “Download White Paper” to request this White Paper.

Calculating Return-on-Investment (ROI) for Knowledge Base Software & Self-help Tools

Wed, 13 Jan 2010 05:51:32 -0700

Increased First Call Resolution Rate Lowers Costs

Knowledge Management is the ongoing process of capturing, optimizing, and delivering information. It is not a one-time purchase of a new support center tool. Therefore to calculate the Return On Investment (ROI), you need to evaluate the cost of implementation and the cost of management. Quantifying the financial savings benefits of a knowledge base can be difficult.

Most managers are able to forecast the costs, but struggle to forecast the savings. Companies struggle to put a value on customer satisfaction, job satisfaction, quality service, and the intellectual capital that is captured in the knowledge base. Before you can forecast an improvement using a knowledge base, you have to establish a baseline from which to measure.

This knowledge base white paper demonstrates how to calculate and quantify savings from:

Reducing the average call time in your call center
Increasing the first call resolution rate
Reducing the escalation rate
Reducing the training time of a new support person

See http://www.givainc.com/wp/knowledge-base-software-roi.htm and click “Download White Paper” to request this White Paper.

Hosted ITIL & SOX Compliant IT Change Management Software Urgent RFC

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 17:49:44 -0700

A good change management process must have a way to bypass the normal approval routine. When the Change Manager receives a RFC that he deems urgent, he changes the priority to “URGENT,” the status to “PENDING” and the Waiting Code to “AWAITING APPROVAL.” Giva eChangeManager automatically notifies via email the Change Advisory Board (CAB) and the Emergency Committee (EC) of the urgent RFC.

See http://www.givainc.com/demos/eCM/01-hosted-it-change-management-software-tracking-itil-rfc.htm for demo.

Hosted ITIL & SOX Compliant IT Change Management Software Urgent, Simple, Routine RFCs

Mon, 11 Jan 2010 05:47:07 -0700

Urgent, Simple, Routine Change Quick Approval-Giva eChangeManager

The Change Manager or a member of the Emergency Committee can also click on “Quick Approve” from the home page to approve urgent, simple or routine changes.

See http://www.givainc.com/demos/eCM/01-hosted-it-change-management-software-tracking-itil-rfc.htm for demo.

Implementing Service Level Agreements (SLAs) for Service Management

Sun, 10 Jan 2010 17:43:36 -0700

SLAs- Two-Way Accountability for Customer Service

A Service Level Agreement (SLA) is a type of service management system that establishes a two-way accountability for service, mutually agreed upon by customer and provider. It is really a contract that documents operational and interpersonal relationships, establishes mutual expectations, and provides a standard to measure performance. Organizations that have such systems in place achieve higher customer and employee satisfaction ratings.

This white paper explains how to get started in creating a Service Level Agreement and pitfalls to avoid. The following is the table of contents for the white paper:

Service Goals
Definition of terms
Service delivery elements
Escalation procedures
Telephone, Web and Email response times
First contact resolution by the Support Center
Reporting methods
SLA contract period
Examples of cases by severity level and case type
Sample of the customer satisfaction survey questions

See http://www.givainc.com/wp/implementing-service-level-agreements-slas-writing.htm and click “Download White Paper” to request this White Paper.

Hosted ITIL & SOX Compliant IT Change Management Software RFC Routine Change

Sat, 09 Jan 2010 05:41:22 -0700

RFC Simple Routine Change Approval & Notifications-Giva eChangeManager

The Change Manager reviews all newly submitted RFCs. If the RFC is a simple, routine and low risk RFC, then the Change Manager approves the request immediately by changing the status to “APPROVED” or to “SCHEDULED.”

See http://www.givainc.com/demos/eCM/01-hosted-it-change-management-software-tracking-itil-rfc.htm for demo.

Benchmarks for Root Cause, SLA Compliance, Call Abandonment, First Call Resolution

Fri, 08 Jan 2010 04:38:07 -0700

Evaluate Your IT Help Desk or Customer Service Organization- Take a Quiz

According to the Help Desk Institute, help desk costs increase 10-20% every two years from:

Increasing complexity of new help desk & customer service software
Shorter life cycle of help desk & customer service software
Increasing customer use of help desks

To control costs and increase customer service satisfaction, take the short quiz contained in this white paper to assess how your help desk or customer service organization is operating. In addition, read about the best practices and benchmarks for common metrics like call abandonment and first call resolution rate.

By performing the root cause analysis described in this paper, one company found that new employees contacted their call center four times as often as other employees. After offering a 30-minute IT orientation to new employees, new user calls to the help desk decreased by 60%.

Performance goals are also important to establish: customer satisfaction, cost per call, call abandonment rate, service level compliance, first call resolution rate, and cycle time. Individual agents should be measured using calls per month, customer satisfaction, and first call resolution rate.

See http://www.givainc.com/wp/help-desk-performance-metrics-root-cause-first-call-resolution-call-abandoment.htm and click download white paper.

Hosted ITIL & SOX Compliant IT Change Management Software RFC Notifications

Thu, 07 Jan 2010 04:35:12 -0700

RFC Approval & Notifications-Giva eChangeManager

Submission of a new RFC automatically notifies the Change Manager via email. The email notification has an embedded hyperlink to the RFC making it easy for the Change Manager to process the change.

See http://www.givainc.com/demos/eCM/01-hosted-it-change-management-software-tracking-itil-rfc.htm for demo.

Methodology for Optimizing Help Desk & Customer Service/Call Center Staffing to Save Money

Wed, 06 Jan 2010 17:30:54 -0700

Optimizing staffing levels will save money

If you want to strike the balance between having sufficient staffing to react as needed and doing so economically, this white paper will be helpful. Industry studies indicate that 80% of a typical help desk budget is salary, so staffing appropriately has a major impact on the bottom line.

The common Erlang formulas from queuing theory fall short because of the wide diversity of help desk entry points (call, fax, email, web, walk-ins, and pages).

Using the detailed formulas and methodology presented in this paper, you will be able to calculate the relationship between staffing levels and customer support levels. First, the paper looks at call center flow models to see how the organizational structure affects costs and program performance. Secondly, call volume, time to process a call, and time to resolve a call are used to determine the average number of staff required for a given call volume. A 70% utilization rate is a good starting point, since the inflow of random calls requires some slack capacity.

This is an outline of the White Paper:

Call Flow Design - Understanding the Different Strategies

Gate Keeper Model
Call Sorting Model
Tiered Structure: Specialist Model
Tiered Structure: Generalist Model

Financial Impact of the Various Models

How Many Help Desk Staff Are Required For Your Call Volume?

Determining Direct Labor Requirements
Determining the Number of Potential Direct Labor Hours Available
Utilization Rate
Sample Formulas

Appendix A: Cost Calculations for Typical Call Flow Support Models

Appendix B: Gross Staffing Level Calculation Worksheet

See http://www.givainc.com/wp/help-desk-customer-service-staffing-level-model-optimization.htm

and click “Download White Paper” to request this White Paper.