It seems that every time businesses decide to cut down on expenses, they always seem to focus on the Help Desk/IT department. IT Managers are very often asked to work with outdated software, understaffing and an ever- increasing backlog of calls and angry customers.

What the people upstairs seem to forget is that without proper equipment, software and competent support staff, the back bone of the company could very well crumble.

Its a vicious downward spiral; The IT/support budget is cut, we have to service our customers with outdated software, the support staff is unmotivated and leaves, theres not enough money to hire competent people so novices will do, we therefore offer a shocking service, the word climbs up the ladder, our budget is cut some more because the service is poor anyway, and here we go again!

The reality is that while a company is spending thousands of dollars on computers and printers and everything else they need, theyre cutting back on the one department that takes care of assuring every system works and that every employee/customer gets his/her problem fixed quickly.

It costs money when a program stops working and an employee stares at that blank screen for half an hour. Itll cost even more if no one knows how to fix it. Its very frustrating for people to wait hours on end to get someone to look at their problem. What a waste of time, money and productivity!

No matter how good the warranty is, at some point, the equipment needs replacing or fixing and at one point which lets face it happens more often then not you need competent people to come and help. That alone should justify the cost of your help desk.

What it really costs

Take a moment to analyse what your company is already spending for the following items the ones that you wont see on any statement:

o Time spent figuring out where to go for help.

o Time lost waiting on-hold for a customer support officer. o Time spent reading the product manual.

o Time wasted through poor practices & procedures.

o Lost productivity of those called away to assist.

o Duplication of support efforts, re-learning the same lessons over and over.

If you think that all these items only occur once in a while and that your staff are resourceful enough to find a solution on their own, think again. The same problem could reoccur time and time again and be fixed time and time again by different people not knowing that its happened before. If your staff member cant fix his/her problem on his/her own, they call someone else to help him or her. That someone else stops what theyre doing and takes an hour trying to fix the problem but cant. They call another one, and another one. See where Im going?

Every office has a knowledgeable person that learnt a particular software application or is naturally inclined to technology. That person is often called to help out in the situation mentioned above. And every time this person stops what theyre doing to go and help, they stop being productive at their job. Even worse, if this employee happens to be a high-paid specialist, then the company is throwing away dollars out the window when they could employ a cheaper and trained resource to deliver support.

Worse still, in some instances, when your help desk department is so short staffed that your customers are by-passing the official support people and asking the specialist for help, the company is still losing money!

How to Calculate The Costs of Your Help Desk

Start with the obvious: The salaries, cost of training your support staff, computer hardware and software, phones, copiers, office space etc. The accountants should be able to provide all of this, and tell you how your company for such assets is booking depreciation. Include in the software category the cost for the help-desk automation tools (help desk system). If you dont have a help desk software that keeps track of the length of your calls, the level of urgency of the calls, what type of problems are logged and how long it takes to resolve the problems, then you need to seriously consider such a purchase.

This is the most efficient way to track what your department is doing, how it spends its budget and what resources need to be considered when the next budget comes around. This software must have the ability to create analysis reports on, the level of urgency of the calls, what type of problems are logged and how long it takes to resolve the problems. If you present this important information to the accountants youll show them what your department does and why it needs a bigger chunk of the budget!

Final Note

Basically, when it comes time to determine if you need a support department, think of how you couldnt afford not to. Computers will crash, people will need support on different software programs, and your employees/customers will need someone to help them with their problems. Having properly trained support staff makes a big difference when we think of a companys productivity. Without them, so much time and money would be wasted.