For businesses that rely on information technology help-desk support to keep day-to-day operations running smoothly and to keep networks secure, it’s vital to know where your help-desk technicians are located.
Let’s face it, we’re accustomed to getting customer service from afar, but when it comes to your IT help-desk team, location may be a detail that is overlooked by those hiring technical support.
Large enterprise organizations have increasingly turned to offshore or “near shore” customer service; instead of staffing these positions with employees on the payroll, they have outsourced the support to people all over the world.
The Philippines is a popular option while the relatively new term “near shore” usually means Mexico or Canada. The option called “onshoring” is the practice of utilizing labor from a more-affordable area of the same country. In the U.S., South Dakota and Iowa have been popular, due to lower labor costs in those states.
Meanwhile, in the Northeast, there’s a growing trend for small to midsize IT companies to move away from local employees and toward outsourcing as a lower-cost alternative. In fact, cost and availability of talent are the reasons most cited for moving away from the local office.
For organizations evaluating outsourced IT support, it’s crucial to know where the day-to-day help-desk personnel are located. Here are a few challenges businesses face when dealing with support that’s not local.
Inconsistent support personnel. With the revolving door of IT specialists in a given or several locations, continuity of care and quality control are almost impossible. Getting service from the same person or the same small, coordinated team of individuals usually results in greater efficiencies.
On-call to on-site. During troubleshooting, the ability to move seamlessly from a help-desk phone call to on-site support for a difficult problem often means a speedier solution instead of starting over with a new vendor dispatched to your door.
Time-zone differences. While the people on the front lines troubleshooting your issues may have adjusted to East Coast times, their management team may work normal hours for that country. Reaching a manager or someone of a higher level of competency is often a dilemma.
Language and communications issues. When dealing with basic support needs from personnel for whom English is a second language, things can get lost in the translation. This can be both frustrating and, more importantly, may pose a setback to a speedy fix if there is confusion.
Data and security concerns. Different countries have different data security and compliance requirements that impact how they convey information to their clients and users. It’s critical that your outsourced help desk understands and complies with the requisite rules for your area or industry so you are not left vulnerable to hacks and fines.
If your support vendor uses or transitions to offshore/nearshore or onshore support, here are some tips to help eliminate some of the challenges.
First, try to place your service calls at the same time. While it’s impossible to know exactly when a support need will arise, this tactic will increase the likelihood that you reach the same representative who has familiarity with your company and its systems.
Next, be ready to use a translation smartphone app when communication becomes an issue. Having the app translate words into the support rep’s native language can help reduce barriers.
Finally, assess your situation, such as how tech-savvy your users are and the impact of protracted downtime on your customers and your bottom line. Make an informed decision about whether outsourced IT support is worth the cost savings.
In many cases, the benefits of a more efficient, local service are worth a few extra dollars.
Donald Nokes is the president and co-founder of NetCenergy LLC, an information technology support firm in Warwick. He can be reached at dnokes@netcenergy.com.
