When Workers are their own Tech Support

The concept of the bring your own device (BYOD) workplace has a lot of benefits to it, like a chance at improved productivity and also some reduced costs, as well as being able to take advantage of the mobile workforce. But some companies that put BYOD in practice are finding that these gains are being eaten by increased calls to the help desk about issues with personal devices. That's got some wondering how to make workers into technological first responders, offering up some basic first aid for devices before getting tech support involved.

Forrester (News - Alert) principal analyst Michele Pelino, whose specialty is BYOD policy, noted that the more employees can do for themselves, the less likely they are to call in support help. Those help-desk calls can devour both time and money, but when the employee can render a little device first-aid on the scene, the need to call in the heavy support—which costs on several fronts—drops. This led to Pelino saying “Self-service support is a big trend for BYOD.”

But not every employee is technically inclined, and looking only for the tech-savvy in interviews may be counterproductive in its own right. But IT departments can actually help with this, offering the necessary self-help tools to let the employees fix many common problems. Frequently asked questions (FAQ) guides may help, as well as some basic literature or support blogs can let the users fix at least some problems that crop up.

This serves a twofold purpose for the enterprise. One, when employees are somewhat in a position to fix problems, many problems never actually reach the help desk at all. This reduces the total number of calls placed, and in turn, total expenses. Two, when calls actually do reach the help desk, the calls are now somewhat easier to resolve for the help desk. When a call comes in, the help desk commonly has to try several different things to ensure that the fix isn't a simple one. But when the employees can do the simple fixes themselves, before the help desk can even arrive on the scene, the help desk staff can go right to the heavier fixes, skipping the basics, and thereby save both time and money.

There are even platforms designed to help on this front, like MyIT. MyIT offers a simple, customizable menu that reflects certain corporate issues in a dashboard format, like detailing that the IT department is aware that, say, Wi-Fi is down, and is working on the problem with an expected fix available by noon. Basic strategies can be made available to fix the problem, and if the basics fail, employees can even send requests to fix the problems electronically from smartphones.

The more that employees can do to help streamline the repair process, the better overall for the firm. Not only do employees manage to fix some simpler problems, but those employees are also able to get back to work faster, and generate productive value for the company as a whole. Employees as first-aid providers for technology has a lot of value to it, and it's the kind of thing that should make companies take notice.