'Help Desk Training' For CRM Systems

Here is my discussion on ‘Help Desk Training’ For CRM Systems, one of the Six Types of CRM Training:

Every  system user should have a comprehensive help function in the CRM software, which may or may not include system User Documentation online. A help desk should also be set up to support your CRM system. Users often contact the help desk by phone, although more companies are implementing a help desk that offers multimodal access via e-mail or Intranet).

The help desk fulfills several important needs, including one phone number to dial when the user encounters a problem. This implies that the help desk should be staffed with properly trained personnel and supported by a system that features proper logging and tracking of callers’ questions. In smaller companies, the help desk may be integrated with the systems administrator function. In larger companies, staff is usually trained to support CRM applications or individuals are trained to support more than one application within the company.

A successful help desk requires strict business procedures to handle incoming questions. For example, each question that is received needs to be logged in so that there is a record of the types of incoming questions. When a caller’s question cannot be answered on the spot (often called first-line or first-tier assistance), the help desk should then route the question to the appropriate individual within your company (second-line or second-tier assistance), such as the systems administrator, and then track the question until the query has been resolved. In the worst-case scenario, the question may require changes to the software code (third-line or third-tier assistance), which may mean that the help desk routes the question to the systems administrator, to the IT department, or even to outside software vendors (especially if third-party software packages are being used).

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