- [Instructor] The modern service desk
interacts with users over a variety of channels
using a variety of devices,
not just on voice calls using phones.
And it is increasingly common
for this interaction to take place
using multiple channels and devices at once.
Let's have a look at these channels.
Here, we see the channels of modern services
typically provide services across
to the users who consume those services.
Let's walk through each of these in turn.
The first channel shown here on the far left
is the most important one.
It is where no contact is made
because the service desk
has prevented incidents and requests in the first place.
This channel is crucial to the user experience
and must be managed and tracked.
A distinguishing characteristic of a modern service desk
is that they report on this channel
and communicate how many unnecessary low-value interactions
with users they have prevented.
This is because the easiest contact to handle
is the one you never get
and no contact is a better experience to a user
than an unnecessary one that goes well.
Think about it, how should our service desk measure itself?
On users rating us as five out of five
on tickets that we handled well
that we could have prevented in the first place
or on the overall user experience with us
at touch points that should happen
and by the extent to which we eliminate
unnecessary low-value interactions?
Modern services measure themselves
by how well they optimize the overall user experience
with the service desk
at the touch points that should happen
and by the extent to which they prevent
unnecessary low-value interactions.
This results in a higher value add
and a better user experience.
Modern end point management tools
like Nexthink and Aternity enable visual management
of a key portion of the overall user experience.
It's a TX or technical experience.
Such tools enable services
to see the user's technical experience
and to proactively prevent or remediate issues
before user even sees the need to make contact.
If you haven't seen this class of tools,
be sure to check them out.
After preemption, we have the self-service channels
shown here on the left.
Self-service can be much more efficient and cost-effective
than assisted service.
Of course, the self-service experience can be awful
if not staged and conducted properly
and can negatively impact the user experience.
But it doesn't have to be that way.
This is covered further
in the other modules under shift-left,
but for now, you must know that one set of channels
fits under the heading of self-service.
Now, we get to the self-service channels.
The first is DIY, do-it-yourself,
or self-service without the assistance of the service desk.
This is where the user helps themselves
or seeks help from other sources besides the service desk,
like one of their fellow workers.
Think about it.
When's the last time you called a help desk?
did you search for a solution online first
or ask a colleague first
before or instead of calling the help desk?
In fact, the Nexthink Experience 2020 Reports
indicates that 55% of users said they only report
about half of their technology issues to the IT department.
This makes a lot of sense.
There are a lot of help options out there:
on community sites, YouTube, and the like.
So, DIY is a channel.
Recognizing this is key
because it helps you focus your services
on the things that are harder for users
to do for themselves
and for which there are no good alternatives
for them to leverage.
Now, we move to ways that users can interact with us,
the service desk, across channels using devices.
The first shown here is through mobile apps.
Users can use mobile apps like ServiceNow's Now Mobile app
to submit incidents and requests,
manage tasks, and access company resources from anywhere.
They can also use their devices,
including their smartphones, tablets, and laptops
to access support communities.
They can do this under DIY, of course,
but in this case,
the service desk sets up or connects users
with preferred communities as part of their service.
Such communities can be internal to your organization.
For example, on Yammer, or Teams, or Slack,
or external, as in SolarWinds.
Note that the service desk runs on a continuum
from fully automated, fully manual in nature.
Most service desks are represented
by a blend of technology automation like chatbots
and self-service portals,
along with human assistance.
So, the portal that you stand up
in your core IT service management tool
like ServiceNow Service Portal application
can represent your service desk to the users
either completely or in part.
Users may seek help on your self-service portal,
using it to search for answers
in your knowledge base or communities,
and to get help with incidents from a virtual or live agent,
and to request products and services
from your service catalog.
Your interactive voice response or IVR system
is another channel you can use for self-service.
This is where you call and press a number
to select a service.
For example, self-service password reset or account unlock.
In the case of self-service password reset,
the IVR can be a great experience
for self-service for users.
If improperly staged and left unmanaged,
it can be a blocker to a good experience
and a significant dissatisfier.
Like all channels, the IVR must be staged and managed
to ensure it does provide a good experience.
So, we see that every channel we stand up
to interact with users can be a barrier or an enabler.
A lot has to do with how they're set up
and how, in some cases, if, they are managed.
Modern service desk put the user experience at the center
as the key measure of how we're doing.
So, they pay attention to ensuring technologies
aren't just implemented and managed
with cost efficiency in mind.
The chatbot or virtual agent
is a channel that straddles both self and assisted service.
They simulate human-assisted service
and for many use cases,
they can be a better option than human service.
chatbots can be available 24/7.
They can have the relevant information at your fingertips
and can be easier for users to use
for dispatching simple inquiries,
like, "What is the status of my request?"
As compared to humans and other technologies like IVRs.
Like all channels, the chatbot or virtual agent
must capture user sentiment
as in featuring the question, "Did this help you?"
And if not, allowing routing to another channel directly,
such as to live chat.
Now, we get into the set of human-assisted services
shown here on the right.
Human-assisted services feature interactions
between the user and the service desk
that require varying levels of live human interaction
and that tend to be more single-threaded and expensive
than self-service.
Live chat support can be provided in many ways:
through SMS, Slack, or Teams integration
as part of a platform like ServiceNow,
or through purpose-built tools like Tidio.
Chat can be attractive to users
because they can interact in an asynchronous way with agents
and to service desk
because an agent can be more productive
straddling multiple chat streams at once
versus just one single-threaded voice call.
Like other channels,
it's important to provide padding to other channels on chat.
For example, if the live chat desk is offline
as it's off hours
to allow the user to redirect their query to email
directly from the chat box.
Email is another possible channel for interaction
between users in the service desk.
Some service desks have a high volume of email contacts
and others do not.
If the volume is quite low,
there's a danger that this channel
will become less well-managed.
In this case,
because live chat is more immediate and efficient,
some modern service desks deprecate this service
by creating auto responders to inbound emails
that redirect users to live chat with a message like,
"This channel's been deprecated.
Click here to chat with a live agent."
You are probably familiar with call me back functionality.
It's where you call the help desk
and you get a message like, "You're fifth in line
and the current wait time is five minutes.
You can continue to hold for the next available agent
or press one to have us call you back.
If you choose to have us call you back,
you won't lose your place in line."
Call me back functionality is a lot more cost-efficient
and provides a much better user experience
than call overflow solutions
that pass inbound calls to dispatchers
during peak periods or off hours.
Now, we get to the one of the most common
and one of the most expensive solutions,
a voice interaction.
Such interactions can be highly effective
as compared to other channels
when those channels have not been stood up
and are not managed properly.
However, voice interactions can also be inefficient
for both the user and the service desk agent
as they are single-threaded
and require synchronous communications.
That is both the user and the agent
are tied up for the duration of the call.
Such calls can also be assisted
by using remote control software, such as Bomgar,
which has now been rebranded as BeyondTrust.
With such software, the service desk can see
and control the user's device,
which aids in troubleshooting
and in walking the user through steps in a process.
This last channel is the ultimate service experience,
personal and in-person.
Such interactions can range from walk up support
at physical help desk areas
to high-end concierge or genius-bar-type services,
including servicing mobile professionals and VIPs
by going to the location.
Like all channels, the setting for in-person interactions
should be pleasing to the user.
So, pay attention to aesthetics here
and make sure staff are skilled at customer service
and look sharp,
and that the space is clean, well-lit, organized,
comfortable, and welcoming.