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We discussed earlier the impact of IT support on an organization’s overall business. Once you’ve accurately measured the correlation, you may find your technical support systems need to be revamped. Of course, that now merits the question: “How can I improve technical support within my organization?”

I read a recent article called the “The 10 Worst Practices for Technical Support and How to Overcome Them.” While the author, Rick Gallagher, made some really interesting points, I thought trying to list 10 worst practices was a little ambitious. As a result, I only came away with a handful of points that were pertinent or noteworthy. Incidentally, Gallagher’s strongest three points are actually helpful steps you can take to improve your IT support.

1. Coach, don’t criticize. As problem-solvers, it’s easy to identify what (or, perhaps more accurately, who) is to blame, but it can be hard to effectively communicate that in a positive way. Do your best to reinforce strengths, and stay away from “constructive criticism.”
2. Focus on skills, not smiles. Too often IT support personnel are trained to “smile” rather than to skillfully navigate conflict. Many IT support representatives are skilled at trouble-shooting problems, the trick is to also have them skilled at trouble-shooting people. A problem solved the wrong way is, unfortunately, still a problem.
3. Don’t treat support as an island. As we mentioned in the previous post, the impact of IT support is often overlooked. Strive to effectively integrate your technical support department into the larger business.

The fact of the matter is that the technical support your organization offers is affecting your business. Quantifying its impact and then making any necessary changes or improvements will ensure your continued success. And for many small businesses who operate with little to no IT support systems, the answer may be outsourcing the need to technical support professionals who have proven themselves to be reliable and effective.

[photo: Seattle Municipal Archives]

Additional Resources:

Is IT Support Helping or Hindering Your Business?

Information Visibility: Making IT Effective

The Cost of IT Failure: Is your business at risk?

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Tags: integrating it support, it help professionals, IT support, Support, technical support

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 17th, 2009 at 12:15 pm and is filed under IT Help Desk, Small Business IT. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.