IT HELPDESK: Definition, Duties, Salary, Outsourcing & Guide

Table of Contents Hide

What is IT Helpdesk?
How did IT Service Desks Originate?
Types of IT Helpdesks
Main functions of an IT helpdesk
Benefits of IT Helpdesks
IT Helpdesk Job Description Template
What Does an Outsourced Help Desk Offer?
Why Outsourcing Your Helpdesk?
IT Helpdesk Salary
Is Help Desk a Good Entry-Level for IT?
What is the Difference Between Helpdesk and Technical Support?
Is Helpdesk a Dead-End Job?
What is the Average Salary for IT Helpdesk in Canada?
What Counts as Help Desk Experience?
Is it Specialist the same as Help Desk?
What is the Difference Between IT Help Desk and Support Analyst?
Conclusion
Related Articles
References

When your agents must switch between multiple apps and tools to do their tasks, it does not make for a great employee experience. They’re probably wasting time looking for information that’s difficult to discover, having trouble keeping track of tickets, and feeling overwhelmed by the number of platforms they’re utilizing. With more than 40% of workers open to new opportunities, it’s critical to keep your employees engaged and pleased. An IT help desk provides your IT team with an organized system that includes the tools needed to manage and resolve issues from many channels in one location. In this guide, we will look at what an IT helpdesk really is, its job description, salary, and easy outsourcing process.

What is IT Helpdesk?

An IT help desk is a software platform that assists users in resolving issues via a single (or many) points of contact.

Employees and IT team members can use IT help desks to:

Troubleshoot problems
Keep track of their problems.
Help with help desk services, goods, or procedures

When a technical problem with a gadget or piece of software arises, everyone heads to the IT help desk. However, you’ll find much more than technical professionals guiding you through the process of resolving your IT issues.

The modern help desk includes a wide range of capabilities, such as:

Integration with self-service portals to enable employees to self-serve answers to typical IT questions.
Giving IT leaders visibility into the types of cases and problems that reoccur, allows them to develop solutions and create standardized methods to resolve issues more quickly.

Because a good IT help desk makes it simple for consumers to acquire the assistance they require, businesses become fundamentally more customer-centric. It also assists agents in resolving issues faster, lowers downtime, and increases productivity.

How did IT Service Desks Originate?

When the IT revolution was in full swing in the late 1980s, IT help desks were developed as a tool for IT teams rather than end users. Today, that difference has grown somewhat hazy, since support desks can also be employed to benefit customers.

IT help desks are primarily concerned with incident management. They are often employed to give reactive rather than proactive support via a help desk ticketing system. When an employee or client encounters an IT problem, they can submit a ticket, and an IT team member will assist them in resolving it.

In the end, a help desk is a subset of a service desk. Its function is to service your IT team’s current demands so that they may better serve the needs of your corporation.

Types of IT Helpdesks

Customer service differs from company to company since different firms have particular goals. Despite these differences, systems can be classified as follows:

Automated Helpdesk: The automated IT helpdesk is a low-cost self-service support system that often includes a self-service portal. This portal serves as the hub for the development of support requests and the associated IT helpdesk ticketing system.
Cloud helpdesk: Cloud solutions are completely online. This provides the benefit of greater location independence.
On-premises helpdesk: The on-premises helpdesk has a physical location, but it does not have to be the same as the headquarters of the organization.
Open-source helpdesk: Open-source helpdesks can be hosted in the cloud or on-premises. The main difference is that they are open and publicly accessible, and they employ open-source software.
Enterprise helpdesk: Enterprise helpdesks are physically located on the premises of a corporation. As a result, they are frequently salaried support employees for the respective organization.

Main functions of an IT helpdesk

In the most basic situation, the base for IT helpdesk support is a phone number. It enables employees and consumers to get remote helpdesk support 24 hours a day, seven days a week. This has the advantage of allowing you to solve consumer problems in real-time. Furthermore, mature support teams provide the required scale. IT helpdesk support is responsible for the following tasks:

Requests are handled in real time by IT support. These can be submitted by authorized individuals by phone, email, or messaging apps.
To manage incoming tickets, the customer support department employs specialized IT helpdesk software. A ticketing system for IT helpdesks ensures that all client inquiries are answered in a timely way. As a result, both their creation and management of IT helpdesk staff.
Because customer assistance frequently comprises multiple professionals, there is always the possibility of escalation. Tickets that individual members are unable to resolve are forwarded to the next unit. This enables inquiries to be addressed and issues to be resolved considerably more swiftly and consistently.

The knowledge database provided to IT helpdesk workers is equally crucial. Well-tested solutions (for example, to the top ten most common helpdesk calls) can be found and deployed to give quick and effective service. Because it is regularly updated, most problems can be resolved quickly.

Benefits of IT Helpdesks

The most crucial advantage provided by the IT help desk is increased client satisfaction. However, there are other advantages to using IT helpdesk software:

The company’s IT helpdesk makes a significant contribution to the organization’s effectiveness. This is because it resolves internal technological issues as soon as they arise.
The solutions can be drawn from a large knowledge base.
Problems that are out of the ordinary can be escalated. This frequently requires collaboration among many professionals who profit from their combined expertise.
Customer service requests are centrally logged in an IT help desk ticketing system. As a result, there is a high level of traceability, which leads to faster response times.
Remote helpdesk support is a wonderful alternative because support employees may use special software to fix numerous problems. Such hotlines are appropriate even for smaller businesses that do not have their own team of experts on hand.
A comprehensive IT helpdesk aids in the early detection of product faults. This is related, in part, to the measurements employed and the relationship with the consumer.

IT Helpdesk Job Description Template

This IT helpdesk technician job description template offers a summary of the most significant functions and responsibilities of an IT help desk technician. It is also fully configurable and ready for posting on employment sites. Save time, attract eligible candidates, and hire the best personnel by utilizing it.

IT Helpdesk Technician Job Description Profile:

IT Help Desk Technicians are IT professionals who provide technical support on computer systems and operate as the first point of contact for customers who require technical support over the phone or via email.

You should know that it is critical to establish a clear and exact IT Help Desk Technician job description in order to recruit the best IT Help Desk Technician for your demands.

IT Helpdesk Technician Job Description:

Are you an expert IT Help Desk Technician who can solve any technical issue? Even with challenging customers, are you patient and friendly? Are you able to communicate your high technical knowledge in a clear and understandable manner?

Then you are the ideal candidate for our team!

IT Helpdesk Job Description Responsibilities:

Serve as the first point of contact for customers who require technical assistance by phone or email.
Troubleshoot utilizing various diagnostic procedures.
Troubleshooting, diagnosis, and resolution of technical hardware and/or software issues
Provide prompt solutions and exceptional customer service.
Unresolved concerns should be escalated to the next level of support.
Provide the necessary information about IT products or services.
Keep a record of difficulties and how they were resolved.
Customers should be contacted again.
Give comments on processes and make suggestions for improvements.
Maintain technical documentation and a service catalog for software installation, hardware configuration, and problem diagnostics.
Procedures should be improved, according to your suggestions.

IT Helpdesk Job Description Requirements:

Previous (x) year(s) of experience as an IT Help Desk Technician
BA in IT, Computer Science, or a related discipline
Comprehensive understanding of computer systems and mobile devices
Practical experience detecting and fixing fundamental technical problems
Excellent interpersonal and communication abilities
Customer-focused and patient

What Does an Outsourced Help Desk Offer?

A managed IT service is an outsourced or outsourcing IT helpdesk. An experienced third-party managed services provider (MSP) manages all help desk needs for the organization with this service. MSPs provide technical support to users, whether they are clients, vendors, or members of the organization’s internal staff. The help desk mostly comprises break/fix or incident management, which entails responding to difficulties in a timely manner so that organizations can continue to progress.

Why Outsourcing Your Helpdesk?

Although there are advantages to retaining helpdesk tasks in-house, outsourcing is quickly becoming a popular alternative for businesses. In fact, 66% of organizations with 50 or more employees outsource at least one department. These advantages are frequently enjoyed by organizations that convert to using an outsourcing support IT helpdesk.

#1. Understand Remote Work

The pandemic’s consequences on the workplace have led to businesses and people accepting the new normal. This suggests that remote work will continue to be the norm in the future. By outsourcing helpdesk tasks, businesses may provide quick assistance to every remote worker. An outsourced help desk lets employees stay productive no matter where they work, rather than enabling remote workers to go offline for several hours or even days.

#2. Cut costs

Manual ticket management can be costly, but outsourcing IT service helpdesk tickets at scale can dramatically minimize this cost. While pricing can vary depending on the helpdesk solution and degree of support, outsourcing can help to reduce operational costs.

#3. Increase Your Competitiveness

Customer service is frequently the most important differentiation between organizations, particularly in saturated marketplaces. Enterprises can gain a major competitive edge by outsourcing their IT helpdesk. Customers are 83% satisfied with help desk solutions, and 91% say they would buy from a company that provided them with a positive experience.

#4. Enhance the User Experience

Poor customer service costs businesses in the United States $4.7 trillion per year. That is why, in order to improve the user experience, many firms are outsourcing help desks.

Users have high expectations of organizations. With an outsourced help desk, firms can meet customer requests without overburdening in-house IT employees. As a result, IT personnel will have more breathing room while customers will receive the near-immediate responses they anticipate.

#5 Scale Without Issue

Every month, most businesses contract help desk vendors for a specified service level. If the firm suffers an unexpected boost in demand, the outsourced support desk can grow its offerings to meet the increased demand.

As resource requirements change, the company can update its Service Level Agreement (SLA) to match the change, which is far less expensive than employing and training in-house personnel. This enables us to handle higher call volumes as needed to meet consumer demands.

IT Helpdesk Salary

The average annual salary for an IT Helpdesk Analyst is $44,109 as of April 15, 2023. In case you need a quick salary calculator, that works out to about $21.21 per hour. This salary equates to $848 each week or $3,675 per month for an IT helpdesk analyst.

The IT Helpdesk Analyst salary presently varies from $34,687 (25th percentile) to $47,860 (75th percentile), with top earners (90th percentile) earning the highest. The average salary range for an IT Helpdesk Analyst varies little, implying that there are few prospects for greater pay or advancement, even with several years of experience, regardless of region. Cash bonuses, commissions, tips, and profit sharing are all possible forms of additional compensation.

Is Help Desk a Good Entry-Level for IT?

Without prior experience, entry-level help desk employment might be a great way to break into the computer industry. Help desk professionals are the primary point of contact for everyone in need of technical support, from clients to coworkers.

What is the Difference Between Helpdesk and Technical Support?

The help desk and technical support each have their own positions and roles. While a help desk is mainly concerned with answering customer questions/requests and improving the customer experience, technical support is concerned with resolving customer technical issues.

Is Helpdesk a Dead-End Job?

Helpdesk positions are not always a dead end for an IT professional’s career. Some companies may offer opportunities for advancement and growth on occasion.

What is the Average Salary for IT Helpdesk in Canada?

In Canada, the average IT helpdesk salary is $59,783 per year or $30.66 per hour. The entry-level salary begins at $46,176 per year, with the most experienced IT helpdesk professionals earning up to $74,796 per year.

What Counts as Help Desk Experience?

Help desk support is the process of giving end-users/customers information and support relating to company information as well as information about the organization’s products and services. Internal help desk service is also common to answer technical questions within the company.

Is it Specialist the same as Help Desk?

A technical support service is one that assists users of technology products or services.IT support, help desk, and service desk are other terms for technical support. Technical support, in contrast to traditional training, often focuses on assisting with a specific user problem or issue.

What is the Difference Between IT Help Desk and Support Analyst?

The help desk is a lower level of support in the IT support hierarchy for basic, rapid remedies. Technical support delves a little deeper and is utilized for more challenging issues that necessitate more in-depth technical knowledge. If your printer stopped operating, you would contact a help desk.

Conclusion

Whether your firm needs an IT help desk or an IT service desk, it is critical to focus on your end users: your IT personnel (who give support and services) and your workers and customers (who receive support). Good luck with your reading!