In today’s business world, having a reliable and efficient customer service desk is more important than ever. Your customers are the lifeblood of your company, and keeping them happy should be one of your top priorities. However, with the increasing popularity of automation, you may wonder what impact this will have on your service desk.
Whether keeping your customers informed or the faster resolution of tickets, service desk automation always ensures that processes and workflows are executed efficiently and provide an exceptional end-user experience. According to Gartner, around 69% of the managerial work will be automated by 2024. This stat clearly shows how organizations are moving towards the path of digital transformation and automation.
With an automated service desk, not only will the productivity of your employees be enhanced, but it will be beneficial for the whole business operations.
Do you want to know how automation will impact service desks? Then, read on to find out!
History of automation
The history of automation on service desks can be traced back to the early days of computing. One of the first applications of automation was batch processing, where sets of tasks were executed automatically without user intervention. This helped to improve efficiency and reduce costs on service desks, as manual labor was no longer required for specific tasks.
With the advent of more sophisticated computing technologies, automation on service desks has become increasingly sophisticated. Today, many different types of automation tools are available that can help streamline various processes on a service desk. These tools can help to improve efficiency and productivity while also reducing costs.
What is a Service Desk?
According to ITIL’s definition of a service desk – “It is a single point of contact between the service provider and the users. A typical service desk manages incidents and service requests and also handles communication with the users.”
In a simple version, A service desk is a centralized point of contact between an organization and its customers. It is responsible for managing customer requests and providing support services. Service desks are often used by organizations to track and resolve incidents, as well as to provide information and support to customers.
How does automation help a Service Desk?
The automation of service desks has had a positive impact on the efficiency and productivity of organizations. Automation has allowed service desks to manage more customer requests with fewer resources. Additionally, automation has helped to improve the quality-of-service desk services by reducing errors and increasing accuracy.
Service desks are under constant pressure to do more with less. This is where automation can help. Automation can help service desks in several ways, here they’re
- Automation can help reduce the time it takes to resolve tickets by gathering the necessary information to resolve a ticket. With automated workflows, automated service desks will bring more speed and accuracy to the service desk processes.
- Automation can help reduce the number of tickets that need to be handed down to senior staff by resolving issues without human intervention.
- Automation can help improve the resolution quality by offering accurate and up-to-date information, which can help reduce the need for manual processes. Also, it will reduce the chances of errors and provide accurate outcomes.
- Automation can help improve customer satisfaction by providing customers with a faster and more consistent resolution experience. With automated notifications and alerts, automated service desks keep the customers informed of the ticket’s progress.
- Automation can help free up staff time so they can focus on more complex issues. Service desk automation will take care of routine tasks, leaving staff free to focus on more challenging problems.
What are the benefits of automation for a Service Desk?
When it comes to Service Desks, automation can be a game changer. By automating key processes and tasks, Service Desks can improve efficiency and productivity while reducing costs. Here are some of the benefits of automation for Service Desks:
- Increased Efficiency – Automation can help Service Desks to streamline their operations and become more efficient. By automating repetitive tasks, Service Desks can save time for more critical tasks.
- Improved Productivity – Automation can also help to improve productivity levels at a Service Desk. By taking care of routine tasks, Service Desks can allow their staff to focus on more value-added activities.
- Reduced Costs – Automation can help Service Desks to reduce their costs in several ways. First, by automating tasks, Service Desks can reduce the need for staff to perform those tasks. Second, Service Desks can reduce overall operating costs by improving efficiency and productivity.
- Faster Resolution of Tickets – With the help of automated workflows, service desk agents can efficiently provide quickly resolved issues which will ultimately help in improving customer experience and enough time to focus on other essential tasks.
- Automated Alerts & Notifications – Every customer loves instant responses. When it comes to service desk automation, it provides automated alerts and notifications to users so that they have all the updates on ticket progress. This process will ultimately help in improving the end-user experience.
How to get started with automating your Service Desk?
Automation may be the answer if you’re looking to improve efficiency and speed up resolution times for your Service Desk. Here’s a quick guide on how to get started with automating your Service Desk operations.
- Define the processes you want to automate.
The first step is to identify which Service Desk processes you want to automate. This will vary depending on your organization’s needs, but some common areas to consider include incident management, problem management, change management, and asset management.
- Select the right tools.
Several different automation tools are available on the market, so selecting the one that best fits your needs is essential. Some factors include ease of use, cost, integration with other systems, and scalability.
- Train your staff.
Once you’ve selected the right tools and defined the processes you want to automate, it’s time to train your staff on how to use them. This will ensure a smooth transition and help everyone get the most out of the new system.
Conclusion
Service desk automation is necessary for organizations that want to reduce the overall operation cost and enhance business productivity. The outcome of service desk automation is to offer you a consistent and delightful customer experience.
Automation can significantly impact a service desk, both positive and negative. On the positive side, automation can help to speed up processes and improve efficiency. On the negative side, automation can lead to errors and missed opportunities for human interaction. Ultimately, it is up to the service desk to decide how much automation is appropriate for their needs.
Whether it be faster response time, amplifying customer experience, or more accurate reporting, service desk automation will help the customers and the organization. So, streamline your service management and deliver a great customer experience with service desk automation.
