Reimagining the Helpdesk: CX Today Expert Round Table

Helpdesks are growing up. 

From integrating natural language processing (NLP) capabilities to leaning on artificial intelligence to pre-emptively answer a query, the best helpdesks are no longer just FAQ pages or email forms. They have transformed into veritable knowledge centers that prove highly beneficial to both customers and agents. 

And the advent of the metaverse is set to disrupt the world of customer experience even further, adding layers of complexity but also layers of opportunity to delight customers.  

So, what have been the most impactful innovations, what are some of the most exciting helpdesk technologies currently available, and what does the future look like? 

In this edition of the CX Today roundtable series, our panel of industry experts answer these questions and more, showing how their organizations are reimagining the helpdesk. They are: 

• Eric Jorgensen, RVP, EMEA at Zendesk 
• Eric Vermillion, CEO at Helpshift 
• James Matthews, Country Manager, UK & Ireland at CM.com 

Learn from their specialist insights below as our panelists answer thought-provoking questions and consider the hottest trends within the space. 

How Has Helpdesk Software Landscape Progressed in the Past Ten Years? 

Jorgensen: The advancement of technology over the past ten years means a helpdesk is no longer a static FAQ and email form on your website; it’s an effective frontline system for first-touch support and as valuable to your agents as it is to your customers. With the addition of AI, helpdesks can now be maintained through automation, with real-time, dynamic information rather than static, manually updated answers.   

When harnessing helpdesk software, whether by browsing common questions or interacting with a chatbot, direct customers to articles that can answer their questions without needing to speak to an agent. For agents, the same automation can act as a knowledge base to help serve customers faster with recommendations on responses during a customer conversation.   

The landscape has also progressed with more use cases for helpdesks. Just as AI can assist with customer inquiries, companies can use this software to streamline the employee experience and HR resourcing giving employees the tools to answer their own questions.   

Vermillion: The technology transformation in the helpdesk landscape in the past ten years has been vast. 

Consumers now expect nearly instantaneous answers and resolutions, whereas long waits were the norm a decade ago. Businesses have realized the value and ROI of investing in the maturation of their technology strategy (IBM, 2022). This means setting up their support tech stack to enable self-service and automation experiences that are both effective and delightful. 

Smart chatbots have become a mainstay of support. They have come a long way since the first (somewhat) contextual chatbot, Google Now, was released in 2012 that had basic information about the user, like their location and time zone (Science Direct, 2020). 

Modern channels like mobile apps have become an integral part of the customer support journey that brands need to ensure their helpdesk software can enable rather than forcing users to leave the app to call or email support and wait for a response. Additionally, agents should be able to easily orchestrate these tickets all from one place (Helpshift, 2022). 

Matthews: With many teams still working at least semi-remotely, AI technology is ensuring that effective communication is taking place within and between teams.   

Internal knowledge base chatbots are facilitating the onboarding process for remote workers. From learning about their new workplace to confidently dealing with customer service issues, the encyclopedic knowledge of processes and a vast library of information that chatbots possess ensures that the right information is at their fingertips in seconds. This reduces the need to pass queries up the chain of command, freeing up line managers’ time for more pressing issues.   

Smart management solutions are making daily workloads more manageable, allowing agents to focus on resolving issues while technology responds to repetitive and simple customer questions with intelligent and personalized answers.  

Often customers will use different platforms to communicate depending on various factors, such as where they are, what time of day it is, or which device they're using. A conversational view across channels means that teams can quickly respond to conversational threads without missing a vital piece of the customer service puzzle, simplifying and streamlining communications across the board. 

In Your Opinion, What Is the Most Exciting Innovation in the Helpdesk Space? 

Jorgensen: Many once viewed the helpdesk as a tool to prevent customers from raising tickets by answering their questions without agent interaction. It’s exciting to see how ‘speed of resolution’ is being replaced by ‘quality of interaction’ in service teams - with the helpdesk as a jumping off point for customer conversations rather than a wall between customers and agents.  

Businesses that foster collaboration between their sales and service teams find that customer service is no longer viewed as a cost center but as a source of profit with the opportunity to upsell, cross-sell and retain customers through every customer interaction. And when teams can share customer feedback, businesses can better meet their expectations and create new products that wow, as well as further improve their helpdesk to win over customers and encourage them to explore more of the online space. 

Vermillion: With so many ways to engage and the complexity of problems increasing, the raw volume customer service demand continues to grow, and companies can't just endlessly throw people at it.   

Automation allows businesses to bridge the capacity gap that exists and, when done right, gives consumers much more ability to self-serve and do it on their schedule. 

Matthews: Smart inbox management is increasing internal efficiency and boosting customer performance through many tools, including inbox zero, personal routing, and an SLA-driven omnichannel inbox. 

In the context of an increasingly digitalized environment, customers have come to expect timely, informative responses to their queries.

Management tools that keep inboxes clean and clear aid task prioritization by giving agents a transparent overview of all conversations, indicating items that require urgent attention.

Traffic light color coding facilitates efficient workload management by indicating to agents how much time they have left to answer a question based on SLAs. 

Advanced personal routing also streamlines the customer experience by automatically connecting the customer to the right agent. With options to set routing based on criteria such as skills, brand, store, or language, this technology ensures that an appropriate agent has direct ownership of a query, delivered straight to their inbox, providing customers with a personalized experience. 

Which Current Helpdesk Trends Do You Find Most Exciting? 

Jorgensen: The increasing adoption of AI in helpdesk management is very exciting. It’s becoming increasingly accessible to businesses without the need for a team of developers or data scientists to implement.