What Makes a Great IT Support Team?
In the world of IT, it’s not a matter of if something will go wrong, it’s a question of when.
Perhaps more concerning is the fact that, with IT infrastructures becoming more and more interconnected, even seemingly small errors can become huge problems.
Thankfully, these challenges and concerns are not something that you have to deal with on your own. IT support professionals are always close at hand to help you through all of your most pressing IT challenges.
Still, the question remains:
How do you go about selecting an IT support team?
It all starts with understanding what makes a team great. That’s what we’re here for! We’re going to outline some of the qualities that make for great IT support so that you know exactly what you should be looking for.
Respect and Understanding
IT support is a service industry—the best teams are in the business of supporting you and your end users. That means that top-notch IT support involves respect for your organization, an understanding of its unique needs, and a strong desire to help you as expediently as possible.
When you sit down with a support team, take note of how the interaction goes. Are they asking questions? Listening attentively? Offering suggestions for proactive support? All of this indicates an earnest desire to see your business be the best that it can be, and it’s a strong sign that when you need them most, your support team will be there to help you.
Problem-Solving Attitudes
When you reach out to your support team, it’s often the case that you won’t know what the problem is. Your dedicated support agent is going to be responsible for asking the right questions to facilitate incident diagnosis, as well as offering the correct troubleshooting processes to streamline resolution.
All of this requires a detail-oriented, problem-solving approach. The best IT support agents can think critically about a problem, apply an understanding of your business and infrastructure, as well as parse through the information provided by your end user in order to quickly come to a realization about what the problem may be.
While training and certification are certainly big parts of this process, the ability to learn from mistakes is another. If an IT support provider has been in business for a few years, it’s a good sign that they’ve passed that test with flying colours.
An Understanding of Their Limitations
Tiered support exists because it puts users in touch with the perfect representative to address their needs. However, if the process isn’t structured properly, it can be very easy for tiered support to break down and become more of a hindrance than an asset.
For tiered support to work, agents need to know when to escalate the issue, and the sooner they figure that out, the better. The more time they spend trying to resolve problems they might not be equipped to deal with, the greater the service impact to your business.
The best agents know when a problem is too complex for them, and escalate the problem quickly and efficiently to put your end users in touch with the ideal person to address it. Make sure that your IT support team has a clearly defined process for incident escalation, and ideally one that’s been in place for a long period of time. This would imply not only that the process works but also that the team using it is comfortable in applying it throughout their day-to-day routine.
If your business is on the hunt for a new IT support provider, today’s article will definitely prove to be an asset on your search for the perfect partner.
Remember that we’re speaking from experience—we’ve proudly supported our clients for years, and are always happy to lend our service to businesses in need. If you need a helping hand, get in touch today to find out more!
