Help Desk Staffing Ratios 2009

August, 2009

$195.00

Because the help desk (or service desk) comprises a sizable portion of the IT staff, it is a target for cost reduction, outsourcing, and efficiency gains through improved processes and automation tools. As such, periodically determining appropriate help desk staffing levels for an organization is a useful exercise. This study provides benchmarks for help desk staffing. Key metrics include number of users and number of PCs per help desk staff member. We provide both metrics for the composite sample and by organization size and sector. We also examine help desk staff as a percentage of the IT staff, the trend in help desk personnel over time, and the impact of outsourcing on help desk employee headcount. We conclude with recommendations on optimizing help desk staffing levels. (13 pp, 9 figs.)
[Executive Summary]