Recently, the IT Service Management (ITSM) world has seen an increased focus on self-service IT. An increasing number of organisations are taking it on as a stronger and more beneficial approach in ITSM for a wide range of reasons. Self-service opens up unrivaled opportunities in both CS (Customer Service) and internal processes. Here are some of the benefits that may be expected by integrating self-service IT into your operations:
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Cost Savings and increased ROI
Self-service allows customers and users to take over some of the functions previously provided by an organisation's help desk. The use of well maintained knowledge bases, service request information and other forms of self service means that end users will not need to resort to a help desk. According to HDI research, the average service ticket with chat and email costs approximately $10 and a phone call averages $14 or more, with the capacity to reach $20 and up for difficult problems. By empowering customers to take matters into their own hands, the organisation helps them understand some of the basic functions and technicalities that are needed to solve problems, something that will undoubtedly reduce costs and increase ROI in the long run.
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Reduced pressure on service desks
Naturally, an increase in successful self-service will cause a decrease in ticket requests. In turn, a decrease in the workload of a help desk allows customer service reps to spend more time on problematic tickets without feeling rushed or overloaded. It will also save organisational resources and make reducing the number of CS reps possible. By allowing end users to log incidents for themselves, the organisation increases both the customer's efficiency levels, as well as its own by reducing the pressure for both parties.
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Higher availability to customers
In the event that an organisation is unable to have a 24/7 help desk, a self-service option can be available for customers anywhere, anytime. Customers no longer have to waste time on hold or wait for a response after sending an email. According to customer service expert Shep Hyken, self-service customer support will not only continue to rise in popularity, it will become expected by increasingly savvy customers. The accessibility and ease of use of self logging is what encourages customers to try to move from the old-school approach of phone calls to self-service. But one must keep in mind that in the event that a self help user experience is not smooth, people will quickly resort back to calling the help desk.