are you being served?

A holding operation

It's equally important not to be unrealistic. Whilst first-time problem resolution is desirable, it is not always achievable. If temporary fixes are provided to keep stores operational, their quality and effectiveness needs to be measured. Do they genuinely keep stores trading until a problem can be permanently remedied or are they simply a distraction? Again, this is a useful measure of Help Desk competence.

Staying in tune

The most valuable attribute of any Help Desk analyst is to have experienced IT problems occurring in store at first hand, so it's no surprise that ex-retailers make the best analysts. Their appreciation of the problems, the business impacts and the store environment gives them real empathy with store staff.

Those with both retail and system experience are better equipped to quickly uncover the source of a problem and provide workable solutions. This is particularly valuable when faced with critical problems that must be identified and flagged for immediate resolution in order to keep a store functioning.

There's no doubt that a good Help Desk is a critical contributor to store performance. As such, it's an area worthy of sensible investment, appropriate resourcing and regular measurement.