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Helpdesk tools on the rise in practice

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30th Jul 2015
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If you ever thought that accountancy was becoming a wing of the software industry, entrants to the Practice Excellence Awards this year are lending some weight to this view by adopting helpdesk query management software in significant numbers.

Originally designed to streamline the workloads of software support teams, helpdesk software usually operates a ticket system that logs incoming queries and tracks them through to resolution. The programs will usually also help the operators compile a database of frequently asked questions (FAQs) to help them answer regular queries more efficiently.

For managers, helpdesk systems also make it possible to report on the volume and topics of queries, and to measure the average times they take to resolve. These provide useful benchmarks for monitoring service in high-volume call centres, but accountants using the systems and the company selling them are making a very strong case for using them within small companies and professional services firms.

Several PEA15 entrants flagged that they were now using helpdesk systems such as Zendesk and Help Scout to monitor client queries.

Just as happens in the software industry, “out there” innovations like this that stood out last year have been widely adopted across the profession.

For one of the small firm entrants email had become a significant issue, with important queries getting lost in the incoming deluge. The accountant noticed that Digita used a ticket system for its customer service and after looking around, installed Zendesk. “Service levels have now gone back to where they should be. This is measured by Zendesk and is proving to be a great and essential customer support tool,” they reported in their PEA15 entry.

Another firm in the Innovation category developed a helpdesk and FAQ centre to which clients can submit requests and queries and get answers “within minutes”. Much of this information  is available online to both clients and staff, so there is much less chance of a client left waiting while emails fly around trying to locate the best person within the firm to answer.

The level of helpdesk activity among Practice Excellence Award entrants was mirrored at the recent Three times more event in London, where Zendesk UK managing director Nick Peart told an audience of accountants about the emergence of a service-driven “promoter economy”.

Cloud and mobile tools and social media raised the bar, so that customers now expected service to be “instant, transparent, personalised and ubiquitous”, Peart said.

Within accountancy, many firms used to send out an annual Budget summary, and that was the extent of their customer communications.  But like cloud software suppliers, accountants now face the same challenge of having to win customers every month.

“Customer service should be the backbone of your business. They need you to solve their problems,” Peart said. “The point they become loyal is when you are meeting their expectations quickly and beautifully. If you meet that, they’re happy.”

But rather than cosseting clients and sending them chocolates, he emphasised, “Every dollar you spend beyond that isn’t necessary.”

Coming from the process-driven software industry, Peart’s views might prove difficult to swallow for professionals dispensing business acumen and often highly technical advice, but Peart based his arguments on a familiar message: “Unless you measure, you can’t improve.”

Helpdesk software collects the data that make it possible to monitor times for initial responses, resolutions, as well as the accuracy of replies and customer feedback. Staying on top of these measures help all sorts of companies keep the business focused on customer service and help them differentiate their services.

And once again the feedback was more about consistency and volume than achieving perfection. “It’s better to get back to 1,000 people with a 97% success rate that 30 at 100%,” Peart argued.

The other area he encouraged accountants to investigate was giving customers access to FAQ databases and sharing answers with the client community - like the PEA15 Innovation entrant.

“If you are trying to deliver scale and make customers happy, you’ve got to look at self-service,” he said, adding that when given a choice 67% of customers preferred looking things up themselves on the net to talking to someone.

Replies (4)

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FT
By FirstTab
30th Jul 2015 17:24

Knowledge base

I was thinking about this for the past few weeks. We are asked the same questions by clients, having a knowledge base would make it so much easier and bring good time savings.  

I like Digita's ticketing system. This made me think about having something similar. I will look into help desk tools. I can see real benefits from using it. Of course, the price of the software compared with the benefits would be a deciding factor. 

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Replying to Tax Dragon:
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By chatman
06th Aug 2015 12:06

Cost-benefit?

FirstTab wrote:
Of course, the price of the software compared with the benefits would be a deciding factor. 

Funny to hear that from a Digita user!

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By QuickAccounts
30th Jul 2015 21:07

Zendesk

We've started to set up Zendesk as a ticketing system for customer enquires and queries.  It's got lots of potential and the initial cost is low.  I think a good website should help regarding client queries and as a FAQ.  In my opinion SJD are an excellent example of a firm that has a great deal of really useful information for their clients on their website.

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By TheHoltPartnership
06th Aug 2015 12:15

An everyday, pro-active business tool

Good article and something we have been preaching for at least the last 10 years. As Web Designers, we try and encourage clients to think of their Website as more of an everyday, pro-active business tool. Websites are much, much more than just lead generation tools for passing trade in Search Engines! Implementing a FAQ system to answer repetitive questions, not only reduces the time to answer questions, it also gives you the opportunity to get your key business messages across i.e. Customer Support is taken very seriously.at xyz Practice. Installing Helpdesk & FAQ systems, demonstrates to your visitors, you are serious about Customer service and not just someone claiming to offer it. We offer both these systems and clients can purchase them outright i.e. no monthly charges that can mount up over the years; http://www.theholtpartnership.co.uk/faqs.php and http://www.theholtpartnership.co.uk/helpdesk.php

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