Organization
Large help desks have different levels to handle different types of questions. The first-level help desk is prepared to answer the most commonly asked questions, or provide resolutions that often belong in an FAQ or knowledge base. If the issue isn't resolved at the first level, it is escalated to a second level that has the resources to handle more difficult calls. Organizations may have a third line of support which often deals with software-specific needs, such as updates and bug fixes that affect the client directly.
Larger help desks have a person or team responsible for managing the issues, commonly called queue managers or queue supervisors. The queue manager is responsible for the issue queues, which can be set up in various ways depending on the help desk size or structure. Typically, larger help desks have several teams that are experienced in working on different issues. The queue manager will assign an issue to one of the specialized teams based on the type of issue. Some help desks may have phone systems with ACD splits that ensure that calls about specific topics are put through to analysts with experience or knowledge on that topic.
Many help desks are also strictly rostered. Time is set aside for analysts to perform tasks such as following up on problems, returning phone calls, and answering questions via e-mail. The roster system ensures that all analysts get time to follow up on calls, and also ensures that analysts are always available to take incoming phone calls. As the incoming phone calls are random in nature, help desk agent schedules are often maintained using an Erlang C calculation.
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