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Help Desk Staffing Ratios 2021
The help desk not only plays a key role in maintaining user productivity, but it also serves as the day-to-day face of the IT organization. This report provides staffing benchmarks for the help desk (service desk). We look at the trend in help desk staffing over a five-year period and provide five benchmarks by organization size and sector: help desk staff as a percentage of the IT staff, users per help desk staff member, applications per help desk staff member, first-call resolution rate, and help desk tickets per end-user support staff member. Because companies organize the end-user support function in different ways, we also provide benchmarks for a combined help desk and desktop support staff. We conclude with recommendations on optimizing help desk staffing levels.
October, 2021
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Help Wanted for the Help Desk
The help desk role should never be overlooked; it is more important than ever. It is the face of IT for the business. And, as businesses maneuver to adapt to new working environments—work from anywhere—help desk technicians take on a strategic imperative. In 2021, the help desk staffing ratio took another jump, albeit small, surpassing the 2019 ratio. This Research Byte summarizes our full report on help desk staffing ratios.
October, 2021
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IT Help Desk Outsourcing Trends and Customer Experience 2021
The decision to turn over an IT organization’s help desk function to a service provider has a long and varied history. It is one of the services that helped establish the contemporary IT outsourcing industry. Even so, our research shows that help desk outsourcing is not as pervasive as one might think. In this report, we analyze the percentage of organizations outsourcing help desk (frequency), the average amount of work outsourced (level), and the change in the amount of work being outsourced (trend). We also present data on cost and service experience and on how these trends differ by organization size and sector. We conclude with some key questions to consider.
March, 2021
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What’s Behind the Decline in Help Desk Outsourcing?
The decision to turn over an IT organization’s help desk function to a service provider has a long history. Nevertheless, our research shows that it is not as pervasive as one might think. The percentage of organizations outsourcing their help desks at any level declined again for the third straight year. One factor behind the decline is that many support tasks have become easier to perform and can be done remotely. This Research Byte provides a summary of our full report on IT help desk outsourcing.
March, 2021
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Help Desk Outsourcing Trends and Customer Experience
The number of organizations that outsource help desk work rose in 2015, halting a two-year decline during which IT organizations brought help desk operations back in-house. Help desk outsourcing is a strategy IT organizations turn to when budgets get tight. This study examines adoption trends and customer experience with help desk outsourcing. We report on the percentage of organizations outsourcing help desk (frequency), the average amount of work outsourced (level), and the change in the amount of work being outsourced (trend). We also present success rates for the customer’s cost and service experience. Finally, we show how these trends differ by organization size and sector. (13 pp., 8 fig.) [Research Byte]
January, 2016
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Help Desk Outsourcing Trends and Customer Experience 2015
The frequency of help desk outsourcing has declined in this period of recovery, particularly among smaller organizations. One reason may be the decidedly mixed customer experience. This study examines adoption trends and customer experience with help desk outsourcing. We report on the percentage of organizations outsourcing help desk (frequency), the average amount of work outsourced (level), and the change in the amount of work being outsourced (trend). We also present success rates for the customer’s cost and service experience. Finally, we show how these trends differ by organization size and sector. (13 pp., 8 figs.) [Research Byte]
February, 2015
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Help Desk Outsourcing Trends and Customer Experience 2013
The frequency of help desk outsourcing has leveled off after a sharp, post-recession rise. While recent trends may be prompting more organizations to consider this option, the customer experience remains decidedly mixed. This study examines adoption trends and customer experience with help desk outsourcing. We report on the percentage of organizations outsourcing help desk (frequency), the average amount of work outsourced (level), and the change in the amount of work being outsourced (trend). We also present success rates for the customer’s cost and service experience. Finally, we show how these trends differ by organization size and sector.(17 pp., 8 figs.) [Research Byte]
November, 2013
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IT Help Desk Series 2013
In this special publication, we bundle three reports that deal with various aspects of help desk (service desk) management. Reports cover help desk staffing ratios, help desk outsourcing trends, and help desk salaries. The price of this special bundle is discounted 50% from the cost of these three reports if purchased separately.
March, 2013
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IT Help Desk Outsourcing Trend and Customer Experience
Companies can dramatically reduce costs through outsourcing the help desk function, but caution is advised. Service levels can decline as well. In this study, we measure help desk outsourcing activity in four ways: outsourcing frequency, outsourcing amount, outsourcing cost experience, and outsourcing service experience. The study also examines the rate at which organizations use offshore service providers and the amount of work typically offshored. Finally, the report examines the five-year trend in help desk outsourcing frequency and amount to determine whether the outsourcing of this function is growing or shrinking. (20 pp., 14 figs.) [Research Byte]
October, 2011
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Help Desk Benchmarks 2011
The IT help desk is under pressure to maintain higher level of customer service while constraining costs. This study is designed to help technical service managers benchmark their help desk metrics against those of other IT organizations to establish baseline performance, identify gaps in unit costs and productivity, and improve operational effectiveness. This five chapter study reports metrics for the worldwide composite sample, by organization size, and for the US/Canada. Australia/NZ Edition available separately. (82 pp., 68 figs.) [Full Report Description and Executive Summary]
December, 2010
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Help Desk Benchmarks 2011: Australia/NZ Edition
The IT help desk is under pressure to maintain higher level of customer service while constraining costs. This study is designed to help technical service managers benchmark their help desk metrics against those of other IT organizations to establish baseline performance, identify gaps in unit costs and productivity, and improve operational effectiveness. This five chapter study reports metrics for the worldwide composite sample, by organization size, and for Australia/New Zealand region. (82 pp., 68 figs) [Full Report Description and Executive Summary]
December, 2010
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Help Desk Outsourcing Activity, Trends, and Cost Experience
Help desk outsourcing is poised for growth, despite the bad reputation that offshoring of call centers has received in recent years. This study examines current help desk outsourcing activity. We report on the three-year trend in the percentage of organizations outsourcing the help desk (frequency) and average percentage of work outsourced (level). Next we examine outsourcing activity by organization size, reporting on frequency, level, change in amount of work outsourced (current trend), and actual cost vs. expectations (cost experience). Concerning offshore outsourcing, we report on the frequency and trend in the use of offshore service providers. Finally, we consider how outsourcing frequency varies by sector. (17 pp., 12 figs.)[Research Byte]
October, 2009
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Adoption Rising for Service Desk Self-Support Tools
Service desk (help desk) managers are under pressure to cut budgets. Although outsourcing is a viable approach to reducing service desk costs, a more strategic approach is to deploy self-support tools to allow users to service their own routine needs, reserving the use of help desk personnel for activities that more truly require their intervention. In this study, we examine trends in the adoption of these self-support tools. We look at adoption trends for the composite sample, by organization size, and by industry sector. We also assess the ROI experience of firms that have adopted these technologies, as well as the risk as measured by the percentage of organizations that exceed budgeted amounts for total cost of ownership. (10 pp., 6 figs.)[Executive Summary]
September, 2009
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Service Desk Software Prime Focus for IT Investment
Tools for automating the IT service desk (help desk) are part of a mature market. Still, as IT budgets are tightened, demand for help-desk services continues to escalate and the bottom-line benefits of automated, efficiency-enhancing tools have become increasingly attractive. In this study, we examine adoption trends and current investment activity for service desk software by organization size and industry sector. We also discuss types of service desk software and provide our assessment on key factors IT organizations should consider when investing in service desk automation tools. (9 pp., 5 figs.)[Executive Summary]
July, 2009
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Measuring Help-Desk Efficiency
As a labor-intensive function, the IT help desk (or service desk) is generally high on managementâs list of areas targeted for productivity gains. But, as it is often said, if you cannot measure something you cannot improve it. To meet the needs of managers seeking to better handle this critical function, this study examines the most common metrics used for tracking help-desk efficiency, costs, and productivity. It also assesses the role of technology, service-level agreements, outsourcing, and IT service management best practices in improving the return on investment for the service desk. (14 pp., 6 figs.)[Executive Summary]
May, 2009
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