Businesses use standard operating procedures to document the steps needed to deliver or complete specific processes or tasks. In help desk terms, SOPs outline how operators should handle customer queries. This allows staff to manage all responses in a structured and uniform way from initial contact to successful resolution.

Initial Contact

Assign Priority

The initial interview assesses and assigns call priority based on criteria that the company has set in place. Priority labels may include enterprise failure, critical situation, regular scheduled service and planned events, for example.

Create Tickets

Customers may have more than one problem, regarding different issues or equipment. Employees write up discrete problem tickets, allowing each issue to move separately on to the appropriate center.

Documentation

Computer systems that track data provide instant access to technicians who require it. They follow documentation procedures to allow the next technician or manager to see what’s been done on the ticket up to that point.

Problem Solving

The goal of the help desk analyst is to solve the problem to the customer's satisfaction. That entails having a clear understanding of what the customer wants and, occasionally, what she did to find herself in this predicament. SOPs are written to obtain this information. Analysts can then propose solutions. Sometimes this means duplicating the problems for themselves and then working to resolve the issues.

Customer Communication

Customers expect to be reassured that their problems are being solved, not overlooked. Company protocols are typically set up to require analysts to call their customers at regular intervals to touch base with them about their concerns. They document any communication with a customer.

Problem Escalation

Procedures facilitate moving problems to more advanced and experienced teams when initial help levels cannot resolve them quickly. Some companies have two or three levels of technicians to solve problems in particular technical areas.