Going fully remote
Many businesses had to cope with the idea of turning all of their processes around and trying to work out a new workflow that’ll suit all the employees and have a positive impact on the entire organization. One of the main difficulties was going fully remote. It was logistically hard to send all of the employees home nearly overnight without any preparation. In some cases it influenced their productivity or even mental state, disrupting their work-life balance.
Nevertheless, a service desk can be as effective during home office as it was when everybody worked onsite. Cloud-based services are able to connect all the employees regardless of the place they stay in and the data flow is easy and convenient, too.
Finances and asset management
The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has been unexpected and destructive for many companies. Some had to fire most of their staff, others went under just a few months later. The year 2020 was financially challenging but the pandemic still lasts and has a devastating impact on businesses every day.
Providing employees with mobile-capable assets like a service desk was a definite key to organize their remote work during the crisis. Companies that took care of it beforehand were in a better position, not having an additional expense in the times of the biggest meltdown.
Security issues
It hasn’t been easy to both adjust to the new situation and keep the business running, maintaining a high standard of security. Majority of employees working outside the office create an additional risk. That is why a company has to take proper care of safety and privacy related issues.
A high quality service desk can eliminate this concern almost immediately. Using it, businesses can be confident that all of their assets are properly secured and privacy measures are respectively kept.
Business continuity fail
The COVID-19 crises disrupted many businesses' continuity, devastating most of their development plans and the ability to recover from unexpected disasters.
A service desk adjusted to an organization's processes can be a great help in putting the pieces back together and keeping the company as a whole.
Ineffective communication
Working remotely can be a huge barrier in effective communication. Some entrepreneurs forget to update their employees and stakeholders on the company’s situation during the crises. People should be informed about the business’s priorities and most important tasks.
Automation definitely helps. A manager is for example able to send push alerts with automatic notification every time an employees’ task status changes. Thus, a coworker doesn't have to search for an update on his or her own.
Lack of knowledge sharing
Tough times make it harder to both communicate with other coworkers and to remember that every team member has to have the same basic level of understanding.
If everyone on the IT service desk is able to handle the support basics such as: password resets, network connectivity issues, email issues resolutions, unlocking accounts, and others, it gives us a proper advantage.
Summing up
Crisis caused by pandemic requires special measures, especially regarding companies that struggle to survive. The more efficient way of organizing the work process we choose, the bigger are our chances for survival. If companies applied service desk solutions before the COVID-19 outbreak, their path has probably been a bit easier. But there’s still time to optimize some of the internal processes and make the company’s work more effective. It’s definitely worth a try.
