Not all help desk features advertised by big software companies save you time and effort. And not every organization has the exact same needs.

But whether you are underutilizing your current help desk’s features or considering a new one, keep an eye out for these features to get your money’s worth:

Simple Ticket Submission

A simple ticket submissions process promotes proper use of the help desk. If it’s complicated or annoying to submit a ticket, issues and incidents often find unwanted ways to get resolved or go unaddressed altogether. Wave goodbye to your user satisfaction ratings. Ease of use may sound like a luxury to some, but it is fundamental to a universal service like a help desk.

Many offer customizable web forms that you can embed anywhere to make submissions available from any web-enabled device. However, there is an even simpler way that only requires the user to send an everyday email.

Some help desk systems also offer an email-to-ticket feature which converts incoming emails into trackable tickets within the help desk. No more endless training of how to login into the system or how to properly fill out forms so it gets sorted correctly.

Workflow Automation

Technology thrives in automating the mundane and routine. Help desks are a perfect place for automation, especially when you have dozens of queued tickets waiting to be resolved.

A help desk with workflow automation enables you to create recurring sequences of tickets only once ready to be activated by the click of a button. Schedule projects requiring multiple individual tasks or approvals following a prescribed order each tracked all the way to completion.

Automation is what technology does best! Workflow can save everyone from the end user to a support technician a great deal of time.

Asset Management

Even smaller organizations typically manage a lot of hardware and software assets for their end users. A help desk with built-in asset management makes it easy to track tickets that are tied to assets, and the end users to whom each is assigned.

If something needs to be replaced, repaired, or goes missing, asset management makes it simple to find out where that item should be or whether or not it has needed repeated repairs.

Bonus points to help desks with built-in remote access.

Knowledgebase

A strong knowledge base reduces the need for heavy Level 1 support. 24/7 Intelligent searching, sharing options, and linking to tickets get users the information they need to solve their own issues.

Look for a help desk that can also convert closed tickets into helpful knowledge base articles for when similar situations arise. This resource is not only efficient, but helps to build community as individuals share solutions and collaborate. Enjoy watching support requests get resolved via community and self-help.

Automatic Reporting

Again, we feel the more a help desk can automate routine tasks the better. A help desk that offers reporting is a must. But one that can also generate and deliver reports automatically can save a lot of headaches with the boss.

Look for reporting features that can generate custom reports then automatically emailed to select individuals on a reoccurring basis. Does your boss want a weekly or even daily report of current open tickets sorted by category and location? Have your help desk send it automatically every time, on time!

Conclusion

A good help desk is a valuable tool in any organization. When implemented correctly, a help desk can solve problems before they even have the chance to arise.

Ultimately, look for features that will be effective in your environment. After all, we all want our help desks to save us time and headaches in the end.