Help Desk Statistics

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In all of the engagements that we deliver, there is almost always a set of core help desk statistics that can provide considerable insight into the practice levels within an enterprise for client lifecycle management. By the way, these statistics do lend themselves to other disciplines beyond client lifecycle management.

Before I go on, the declaimer, the comments and ideas on this blog are mine, and do not represent those of my employer.

The help desk statistics that I frequently leverage are in a time frame of the current period, the same time last year, and the previous 90 days. In this way, we can observe any trending that is occurring in the installed base. Below are some of the key stats:

1) Call volume- we know from various industry reports that the average end user calls the help desk .8 to 1.2 times per month (your mileage may vary). Given this data point, we can look and see if your end users experience is more or less than the average.

2) Abandon rate- as stated in my previous blog posting, there are experts who do not agree with me on this point. I believe that the abandon rate does impact customer satisfaction in a very negative fashion. Increased abandon rates beyond 2% to 4% likely reflect issues to be addressed by a business.

3) First call resolution rate- the goal of 70% resolution rate is the average. Many business seek higher levels. Resolution rates sometimes reflects more of the issues with software than any hardware or other issues.

4) Top ten calls- this is like the "David Letterman Top Ten List". By running this information in the time frames discussed earlier, you can see trends and other factors. As PC's age are they really more help desk calls? The top ten typically has password reset as #1, application help#2, status #3 , networking, drivers, screen locked, printers, and so on. Again depending on your business, your top ten may varies there a segment of end users using the help desk more frequently than others?

5) Call duration- end user want not only to access the help desk, with 70%+ resolution rate, but want the problem solved in 5 minutes (or less).

6) Calls per agent- how many calls can an agent handle during the course of a day? With a refresh cycle with W7, the number of calls may decline as the volume picks up and spikes. Retaining top talent is also an issue as turnover rates vary by geography and businesses.

These represent the type of information that help desk stats can provide, so you are likely asking- why is this important?

With W7 the help desk will most certainly see a spike in activities. There will be more "how to"questions, driver questions, and application integration questions. It would not seem to be unusual to see the volumes increase, the stats become more challenged (meaning lower scoring) and an overall spike in all metrics and volumes.

In our planning for technology refresh cycles and W7 in this cycle in particular, the help desk statistics are invaluable to anticipate potential issues and impacts.

As you do your planning and on going lifecycle planning, are there other stats that you find particularly useful and are you including the potential help desk impact in your W7 plans?