What Features Does the Top Help Desk Software Offer?
Plenty of software companies claim to have the best possible product, but it stands to reason that only a few can truly occupy top positions. This means that it’s up to the consumer to determine which one really is the best. Since “best” and “top” can be subjective when it comes to things like help desk software, it can take some serious thought to decide on one. That said, it’s safe to say that the best option will be the one that most closely meets or exceeds your needs. Not only that, it should be able to keep up with your company as it grows rather than becoming obsolete.
2017 Top 20 Help Desk Software List Published by Capterra.com
With that said, there are some features and benefits that any help desk software should have if it is to be considered a top option. These are the ones that many companies will find useful and that will make it easier to do business. Here are some of the ones to look for:
Multi-Channel Organization
The days when all support requests came in over the phone are long gone. Now, even the ability to integrate email isn’t enough to keep up with all of the ways people will ask for support. The top help desk software isn’t overwhelmed by society’s ever-increasing number and type of communication channels. It will efficiently unify support requests from Twitter, Facebook, live chat, email and phone; and turn them all into easily-organized support tickets. In fact, it can even support API-driven proprietary systems.
When you have this level of integration, it’ll be easy to assign ticket ownership and keep track of progress no matter which channel is being used. This will allow you to eliminate service “black holes” and massive channel-based differences in support efficacy. Your customers will appreciate being able to get great service even if they tweet this problem at your company’s handle instead of calling on the phone.
Automation Capability
Different support issues necessarily need different levels of responses. Look for software that allows you to set up rules-based criteria for initial sorting onto separate support tracks. It should also let you set up escalation procedures that are customized for how your company wants to handle complex problems.
Notifications should also be automated. If you want to keep tabs on a specific ticket, or simply know when tickets come in, the software should allow you to set up automatic notifications to the email address(es) you specify. This will help you or your designated managers ensure that none of the tickets are being ignored or forgotten about.
Help desk software should also let you automate things that aren’t already part of the original package. The ability to set up macros is essential here. Some popular macros allow for one-click transfer of tickets between departments, changes in ticket priorities, and other ticket-property adjustments. With this capability, you aren’t limited to what the developers thought of. You can set up a macro for anything related to your help desk operation.
Features that Enhance Your Staff’s Productivity and Morale
No matter which help desk software you use, you still need humans to actually resolve issues. You also need them to stay interested in the work and maintain high morale so they will want to carry out their tasks. Motivated workers are more efficient and customer-friendly than those who are imagining themselves being somewhere else.
Top help desk software makes it easy for you to foster the positive environment that brings about the aforementioned qualities. It lets you set up a forum for workers that both lets them blow off steam and helps them network to find solutions to nettlesome problems. Good software also allows for gamification, which rewards workers for hitting the milestones you set. You can also set up specific quests for employees to complete in order to gain other rewards. These rewards can be whatever you choose, so you can tailor them to match the difficulty of the task.
Some software attributes should deal with productivity in a more direct manner. The ability to assign specific tasks to individual workers should be present in your help desk solution. This is especially good for tasks that require someone to “own” them to ensure that they get done. With good help desk software, you can do this in just a few clicks. Managers that have been granted access to the task-creation function will be able to do the same. This lets you increase task ownership through several levels of your operations.
Mobility
Help desk personnel no longer need to be rooted behind a desk in order to do their jobs. The top help desk software makes it easy for them to log in and work from mobile devices and other remote options. This is great for companies that provide on-site support for their customers or who hire people who work from home to answer support tickets.
Customer-facing Portals
Customers expect to be able to log on to your site and access a support portal to see how their tickets are progressing. The best help desk software will include such a portal and make it easy for you to set it up on your domain.
Support for Paid Help Desk Service
For some companies, support isn’t just an adjunct to the products they sell. Instead, they sell the support itself. Therefore, top help desk software has the option to charge for trouble tickets already on board. This makes it easy for you to provide paid technical support without having to get a separate solution to handle the charges.
These are just some of the things that set the top help desk solutions apart from the rest. If you buy the best for your company, you can rest assured that you’ll have all of the features you need for an efficient and customer-pleasing support department.
