Having effective IT support in place is pivotal to any business’s smooth operations. We’re firmly in the era of AI, and customer and employee expectations regarding technology are more heightened than ever. Individuals expect to receive a personalised support experience, which puts pressure on internal teams to deliver better support with the same resources.

For businesses to succeed and maintain a competitive edge against others in their space, they need to be able to meet these demands whilst continuing to provide high-quality support services.

In this blog, we look at the challenges businesses face and ways that businesses can overcome them in the pursuit of quality service delivery.

The strategic importance of delivering effective IT support services

Technology underpins the majority of what we do and how businesses operate. As such, having an effective IT support function (whether delivered internally or through an outsourced partner) is key to the seamless delivery of business operations.

Whether it’s day-to-day troubleshooting of technical issues or the implementation or upgrading of IT infrastructure, businesses rely on quick resolution and a need for limited downtime, which means that IT support as a function needs to bring its A-game every day to avoid disruption.

The common challenges facing how businesses deliver quality IT support

Rising employee costs

With rising employee-related costs, businesses are having to make tough decisions: Do they take the hit and invest in more resources, move the budget from elsewhere – which could affect the quality of service in other areas – or try to deliver more with the same level of resources?

Budget constraints

In addition to rising employee costs, businesses face wider increased costs on materials, energy and taxation, all of which mean that they’re having to make difficult decisions across the board, and many are looking at internal team costs that could provide savings. As such, internal IT team sizes may be at risk, which could lead to a reduction in output or quality as teams shrink.

The UK technical skills gap

The technical skills gap affecting UK businesses is adding additional pressures on businesses with highly skilled and experienced workers in high demand, which means that difficult decisions must be made about where they focus their time and effort. Should they be assigned to support services or work on strategic objectives?

Consistency among team members

With increased workloads and ranging levels of skillset across internal teams, it can be difficult for a business to ensure consistency of service and output. Naturally, more experienced team members can deliver quality output more quickly and effectively, which can cause issues during busy periods.

Evolving customer expectations

When an issue occurs, customers expect quick a business to provide a quick, seamless, resolution in a way that works for them. Whether that’s by speaking to a representative on the phone or via live chat or self-serving, individuals want a timely response to their queries.

Maintaining quality during periods of growth

Most businesses have ambitions to grow, which itself does not come with growing pains; how do you drive sales without overwhelming your internal systems and teams? Both are important: you need a solid team to support the increase in revenue, and you need increased revenue to fund team growth.

Overcoming challenges and driving consistent quality

There are no surefire ways to ensure quality of service. However, businesses can improve their support delivery by focusing on the following areas:

Ongoing training & development

By freeing up time for team members to keep up with technological advancements, businesses can improve their capability and breadth of understanding. Businesses could also implement a coaching programme whereby more experienced IT specialists allow more junior members to shadow or be mentored by them.

Quality assurance

Businesses could look to introduce automation to flag potential areas that need manual reviewing or to highlight consistent areas that would benefit from further 1-1 or team training or development to improve overall quality standards. By introducing technology into the QA process, businesses can be more efficient with their team’s time, relieving them of the need to review every piece of output manually.

Engaging a third-party

One of the quickest ways to drive quality is by accessing a team of premium technical experts. Managed support partners often have access to experts at the top of their game, who can make strategic recommendations and deliver quality services.

Looking for more effective managed IT support?

Get a better understanding of your needs by undertaking our assessment…

contactus@phoenix47.co.uk