How does the service catalog help the help desk?

Service catalog customer support.

The IT services catalog is an important tool to help reduce the number of unnecessary help desk tickets. This document helps to document and manage all the services that the IT area is committed to deliver.

The importance of the service catalog is given by charting the role that the help desk will play in a contract with the customer and defining a clear scope (the so-called “job description”) for the customer service staff.

Thus, all remain aligned on what to expect from efficient service and how to perform this type of service on tickets.

And you, want to know more about how the services catalog helps in your help desk? Keep reading our post!

Cartoon character gif signing a contract. Service Catalog metaphor.

The concept of service catalogs

The service catalog is a key piece in the customer service industry because it has the guidelines for this sector, either on the side of the user making the request for a ticket solution and for the professional who works directly in this area.

The client side

The service catalog serves as a detailed presentation of all the help desk industry resources that are allocated for the delivery and resolution of open tickets. With this, the client gains a clear view of the services that can be provided and what to expect when opening a tickets for this sector.

The customer must know all the services that are available and the time that must take to solve a ticket, in addition to all the necessary resources.

The agent side

This side may be the most impacted by the existence of the service catalog due to the assistance that this entails for the entire industry. With a well-crafted document, the help desk can define services that are part of or not of the scope “do-it-yourself” role.

The service catalog should also contain a clear picture of what is provided to the customer, tools that define and manage the types of requests that the help desk industry can address.

Besides, it should also serve as guidance to the IT team on known the importance of each resource and give attention to the relationship with the customer.

The relationship of the service catalog with the help desk and examples on how to use the service catalog

This type of documentation can assist in targeting customers in solutions to low-priority or easy-to-resolve problems by the help desk industry.

With this, gains in efficiency and productivity are guaranteed to the customer service sector due to the fact of handling tickets from a single document.

The service catalog is an important way to maintain good customer service and some are important for your development and application.

Since the service catalog is an important document, there must be a person or sector responsible for its development and updating. Here some important tips:

1 – Make the document available to both customers and the help desk / service desk industry;
2 – Organize the types of services;
3 – Keep the document in clear, concise and efficient language, in addition to avoiding
exaggerations;
4 – Avoid out-of-scope requests and make outline or proposal suggestions to run the service within the scope of the service catalog.

Besides knowing some tips on a good development, execution and maintenance of the service catalog, it is also interesting to know some examples about this document. Below are some good practices.

  • Create, delete, and change user accounts;
  • Release and revocation of accesses to specific folders, printers and systems;
  • Set up email accounts, local and/or network printers;
  • Clarify doubts about the operating system used by the company;
  • Perform backups of company server files;
  • Restore backups in case of incidents;
  • Manage systems, upgrade and install licensed applications;
  • Manage running systems;
  • Maintenance and replacement of hardware;
  • Establish and maintain security policies;
  • Provide SLA compliance reports;
  • Among others.
Gif of person making the sign of the cross. Ahead the following caption: "Waiting for feedback from client".

How a service catalog can help the help desk /service desk

The service catalog offers a way for the help desk and service desk to maintain the level of service and keep customer satisfaction always at the best possible levels.

This is due to the clarification of everything this sector can provide in the resolution of request and how the customer can seek help in the customer service sector.

Besides, maintaining an up-to-date service catalog impacts directly on the level of work provided by the help desk professional, since this professional will have clear information about how to help and what he or she is free to do for the resolution of the requests.

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