Increase Resolution Rates

INSIGHT INTO INNOVATION

THE TOP THREE Ways to Increase Service Desk Resolution Rates...

Service Desk first tier resolution (FTR) is a key metric central to enhancing value and reducing costs across the infrastructure support chain. No other data point drives ROI greater than FTR; as service desk resolution increases, the need for backend resources is reduced and greater capacity is freed up to focus on more strategic IT initiatives. With the multiple inputs, issue categories, and technologies resident with any support operation, the IT practitioner is often left wondering, ‘where do I begin’? Behold, the top three ways to increase FTR in your service desk operation.

1. Benchmark your data Cataloging and benchmarking your existing first tier resolution rate is step one. The key focus is to evaluate different incident types based on their categorization, and then measuring FTR against those incident types. This will establish the baseline upon which further improvements will be measured. Once you’ve established FTR per category, it’s time to analyze the category types to determine which of those items the service desk should reasonably be able to solve and which items necessitate an escalation. This exercise gives you insight into your current operations, and also sets up more detailed analysis for enhancement opportunities.

2. Understand what items your service desk can solve, and then solve more of them For items within your control, how are you doing? Frequently there is substantial opportunity to enhance resolution rates within the closure capability of the service desk. These items typically include standard office application troubleshooting support, procedural assistance, and basic networking activities. Quick hits to increase solve at level 1 include measuring FTR by agent, implementing free remote access tools for advanced troubleshooting, and instituting a level 1.5 group to scrutinize items prior to escalation.

3. Understand what your service desk can’t solve, understand why, then tackle process redesign Now that we’ve optimized items we can solve at level 1, let’s look at items we can’t solve, and more importantly understand why we can’t solve them. There are traditionally three factors that impede FTR at the service desk; hardware issues that require a physical touch, process issues that dictate escalation, and the absence of access rights to resolve specific items. Due to the benchmarking exercise we previously conducted, we already know process items outside of our control and the frequency of escalation. There are always legitimate reasons to have the service desk escalate certain incident types, though often tradition and habit drive our behavior rather than a focus on efficiency. Take a hard look at your data and identify processes that could be driven down to the service desk for resolution. Often granting incremental access rights to the service desk will bear fruit, and deploying value stream maps and other lean principles will enable you to evaluate processes in a new light.

Ready to take the next step on the journey to infrastructure optimization? Stay tuned for our next installment. If you would like to receive the next three issues in this series, fill out the form below and enter "Resolution" in the message box.