Whether responding to employee or customer questions, a helpdesk is a vital tool in a business’ arsenal. Increasingly we’ve seen artificial intelligence technologies such as natural language understanding come to the fore in the industry, offering conversational assistance before handing off to human workers for the most complex tasks.
In today’s fireside chat, we welcome Simon Johnson, General Manager, UK and Ireland, Freshworks and Celine Maher, VP UK&I at Zendesk, to discuss such trends and the future direction of helpdesk technology.
How has the development of AI and omni-channel contact centres impacted the growth in the helpdesk over the last year?
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Simon Johnson[/caption]
Johnson: “The last year brought a big change in how companies approached customer service. Before the pandemic, many contact centres were still reliant on legacy systems which did not allow for much automation, requiring workers to manually respond to requests and pass conversations between colleagues. This changed as companies were forced into remote or hybrid environments, prompting helpdesks to take full advantage of technology.
“AI is now a key part of the best helpdesk experiences. It allows human agents to automate repetitive tasks and focus on higher-value tasks. The advent of remote working also meant that customer service teams had to adapt to be contactable through multiple channels. AI allowed omni-channel contact centres to pick up a conversation that was started on Twitter and continue it over email or via a chatbot.
“The increased adoption and recognition of AI and omni-channel contact centres has enhanced the broader value of business helpdesks. Allowing workers to focus on higher value or urgent tasks means helpdesks can more often provide the seamless customer experience they are intended to and increased their value exponentially.”
Maher: “Technological advancements in AI and the rise of omni-channel contact centres has helped businesses address growing demand in the number and type of requests from customers, as well as provide quality customer experiences that drive loyalty. According to Zendesk’s Customer Experience (CX) Trends Report 2021, the number of average weekly support requests has risen by 20% since the beginning of the pandemic, with businesses looking to technology to help manage the influx of requests.
“An omni-channel customer engagement platform in particular, can enable helpdesk teams to prioritise, monitor, manage, and respond to ticket requests in the most efficient way regardless of where the conversation started. Combined with AI-powered technologies, an integrated helpdesk and knowledge base can empower customers to solve straightforward issues themselves, which is often the quickest and most convenient response. In turn, this frees up agent time so they can focus on providing more strategic support to customers, addressing complex issues and offering guidance. This shift has grown and reshaped the scope of the helpdesk within organisations, showcasing its pivotal role as more than a cost centre, but a potential revenue driver. As a result, firms are investing further in their CX, recognising its crucial role in business success.
What are the major challenges/ hurdles for businesses wanting to adopt helpdesk technology?
Johnson: “Whenever an organisation decides to implement a helpdesk solution, its immediate focus should be to align this process with their long-term strategic goals. During the implementation phase, however, there are often challenges that distract them from this. Sometimes, the implementation of new software can bring out a company’s deficiencies or reveal previously unidentified process gaps.
“One of the main challenges for implementing helpdesk software is a mismatch in expectations between the organisation and the software provider. Companies must understand how to balance the cost and time of implementation with quality. As part of this, the potential system features should be clearly identified and communicated to its users. It is also crucial that the business and software provider agree on the reporting tools to effectively assess the performance and metrics of the integration.
“In addition, companies can receive push back from the end users of the system who are unconvinced by the need for change. This tension can be eased by involving the employees in the process analysis and taking their advice through the planning and implementation phases, rather than dictating the pace without any consultation.”
Maher: “Businesses wanting to adopt helpdesk technology have faced a changing landscape. In the last year alone, companies have needed to shift entire lines of business online, equip agents to address pandemic-induced customer concerns and rolled out new technology to provide CX teams with the right tools to work from home.
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Celine Maher[/caption]