It’s not hard to think of the many ways businesses can benefit from upgrading their Help Desks. This move can lead to improved efficiency and superior customer service to start with. It can also put the IT team on the same page as far as current, consistent technical knowledge, reassure staff that their machines will be fixed in a timely manner, and reassure management that the IT team is continuing to be professional and productive.

But traditional businesses aren’t the only place that can appreciate enhanced Help Desk software and services: schools and school districts can also benefit from improved organization and workflow.

Here are some areas where other educational institutions have seen value:

• Service requests. Help Desk software can keep track of orders, including when they were submitted, and who is assigned to take care of the task. Districts that have schools spread out through a large geographic area may be able to provide the IT member with all the pending orders for one school when he or she heads out there, rather than them having to go back and forth multiple times between jobs. It also can give management ideas about what repairs/replacements may be needed immediately or can be scheduled later.

• Transportation. Work orders don’t have to be just for misbehaving desktop computers. Badly-behaving buses can also be included. Schools with fleets of buses can include details about the condition of each one, including which ones are needing minor or major repairs, plus its past service record. Drivers will appreciate current info about the vehicles, and the repair team will appreciate the details of where to begin.

• Maintenance. Taking good care of schools requires a blend of cleaning immediate messes and also ongoing upkeep. Help Desk efforts can keep track of the history of each building, including when it last received major maintenance such as painting. This can be a handy tool when trying to schedule improvements and upcoming projects. It could also be a useful resource, especially if the maintenance staff changes at the different school from year to year. A Help Desk can also include scheduling information about common areas such as the gym or auditorium.

• With teachers. Whether a district has three teachers or three dozen, they all can benefit from a central area that keeps track of their performance, placement, and historically. It also can help automate some processes such as payroll, training and indicating all open and filled positions at each school. Finally, it can create and maintain a ‘paper trail’ of any performance issues or challenges with any of the teachers. Since documentation is so important in academia, the Help Desk can show clearly what step everyone is on in the evaluation process.

Overall, an active Help Desk, especially something like GroupLink’s “K-12 Help Desk Solution” can be a huge step forward in terms of efficiency and ongoing support needs. Contact us to learn more.