Looking for a help desk service for your customer support team? Consider these 7 crucial factors

When it comes to finding the right help desk service for your business, there are a lot of factors to consider. How much can you afford to spend? What kind of support do you need? How many agents are available? These are just some of the questions that you need to ask yourself when making this important decision.

Why is a help desk important to your business?

A customer support help desk is a critical component of any business, as it serves as a dedicated point of contact between you and your customers. Its core function is to provide a platform for customers to voice their concerns, ask questions, and seek assistance with any issues they may be facing.

A well-structured help desk can improve customer retention by ensuring that client issues are resolved quickly and efficiently. It also allows you to gather feedback and identify areas for improvement, so you can offer a better customer experience. In today’s competitive marketplace, providing excellent customer support is not only vital for increasing brand loyalty, but it can also be a key differentiator in attracting new customers.

Here are the important factors that you should consider when choosing a help desk service for your customer support department.

User experience

Choose a help desk partner that offers instant access to answers and a smooth handoff to a live support agent to give customers the best user experience possible. With an instant access feature, customers can quickly get the answers to their inquiries, so they don’t have to suffer long wait times for support agents.

A smooth handoff process also ensures that customer queries are handled efficiently and effectively. By showing them that their needs are being taken seriously, you create a positive impression of your company and its customer service offerings.

Customization

With customizable options, customers can tailor the help desk to their specific needs. They can choose from various support models such as self-service, live chat, or dedicated account management. Additionally, they can configure their help desk with multilingual support, automated ticketing, and CRM integrations.

Channel support

It’s also essential to choose a help desk platform with a multichannel customer support function. It should have capabilities that range from handling email and calls to live chat, SMS, social media, and more. In other words, it should be a one-stop shop for handling customer inquiries.

Note, however, that not all help desk subscriptions are created equal — higher tiers offer more advanced features and greater flexibility. That said, focusing on fewer support channels can actually improve your customer experience by ensuring quality rather than quantity. By selecting a vendor that specializes in your preferred channels, you can achieve high-level support and a more satisfied client base.

Number of agents

The number of customer service agents you need depends on the size and scope of your business, as well as your customer service needs. It’s important to factor in how many concurrent conversations you may be able to handle with your current help desk solution to ensure that no customers are being left behind. And the ideal help desk should be scalable, allowing you to add or remove agents as needed.

Reporting and analytics

Having access to customer feedback is essential in improving customer retention rates. Comprehensive reporting and analytics can pinpoint areas of improvement and help your business better understand your customers. It also helps identify the best strategies for providing excellent customer service. Additionally, reporting and analytics can help you identify trends in customer behavior and give you valuable insight into customer preferences.

Security

Choose a help desk provider that has comprehensive security measures in place, such as two-factor authentication and data encryption. This will ensure that customer data is protected and secure to keep your customers’ information safe.

Budget

Lastly, when evaluating different help desk solutions, remember to factor in your budget. If you’re looking to manage your customer support without breaking the bank, consider help desk providers that offer free versions. While the features may be limited, you’ll still have a fully functional support center and a chance to get acquainted with the solution before you scale up. In any case, be aware of budget limitations before committing to any particular help desk solution.

If you’re looking to enhance the quality of your business’s customer service, consult NetWize’s IT experts. We’ll guide you in choosing the best possible solution for your company in Salt Lake City. Call us or leave us a message.

The dangers of insider threats: What your business should know

You’re probably aware of hackers, malware, and a variety of online scams and have put IT security measures to defend your business against them. But do you also have sufficient protection against insider threats?

Insider threats come from a variety of sources, making them difficult to anticipate and prevent. In this article, we’ll take a look at why businesses have such threats and what can be done to safeguard against them.

What is an insider threat?

An insider threat is any act carried out by someone who has authorized access to a company’s systems and data. This could be an employee, a contractor, or a business partner.

Alarmingly, cases of insider threats seem to be rising steadily in recent years. According to a 2022 study conducted by the Ponemon Institute, insider threat incidents have risen by 44% over the past two years. The costs to contain them have also continued to rise; the current average cost is $184,548.

Insider threats can take on many different forms, but one of the most common types of insider threats is the malicious insider.

Also known as turncloaks, these are individuals with authorized access who use it for personal or financial gain. Current or ex-employees, business partners, and contractors may all pose a malicious insider threat to any given company.

Human error caused by negligence is another common type of insider threat. This kind of threat typically occurs when an employee accidentally shares confidential data with unauthorized parties or clicks on a malicious link that leads to the installation of malware.

Examples of insider threats

There have been plenty of insider threat incidents across a variety of industries, including finance and healthcare.

In 2015, an employee at JPMorgan Chase was accused of stealing client account information and trying to sell it to an undercover informant for tens of thousands of dollars. In 2016, Anthem, Inc. had to pay a penalty of $16 million because an employee responded to a malicious email that opened the door to further attacks.

These cases demonstrate how insider threats can result in massive losses for businesses. They also illustrate how important it is for companies to protect themselves from such attacks by monitoring all access to sensitive information and data, especially when it comes to privileged users like administrators or contractors.

How can insider threats be prevented?

Preventing insider threats can be challenging because you need to strike a balance between giving employees the access they need to do their jobs and keeping sensitive information secure. Here are some tips on how to prevent insider threats:

Implement access controls

Access controls are the perfect solution to restrict any unauthorized access to data and systems. These controls can include user authentication, IP filtering, role-based access control, and other similar solutions.

Monitor employee activity

Regularly monitoring employees’ activities on your network is an effective way to detect potentially malicious activity before it becomes a major threat. You can use software such as security information and event management or user behavior analytics to track user activities so you can quickly spot any suspicious behavior.

Use secure storage solutions

Secure cloud storage solutions offer encryption, authentication, and other features to ensure that data remains protected even if an employee tries to access it without authorization.

Educate staff on cybersecurity policies

Employees should be provided with comprehensive cybersecurity knowledge, from understanding the risks posed by their routine tasks to learning how to effectively prevent them. Make sure you have clear security policies in place, and that your employees are regularly trained in them.

NetWize’s cybersecurity experts can help you implement the measures outlined above to help keep your Utah business safe and secure from malicious actors. Learn how you can get advanced security for your company — request a free consultation today.