Whether you’re dealing with remote branches or numerous private offices, having an experienced onsite technician on hand will go a very long way in overcoming IT problems and increasing customer satisfaction. However, there are some steps that you can take to transition to an onsite tech support solution, and there are also some tips that you can take to ensure that the transition is as smooth as possible. The following article offers some tips to help make your transition as easy as possible.
First, if your business is in a growing area, it may be easier to handle onsite support yourself. While this may seem like a daunting task, in fact, it can be relatively simple and can provide you with some added peace of mind, especially if your company has more than a couple of branches in different parts of the country.
An excellent way to determine if you should try to handle your own onsite support is to look at the number of branch centres, and the average number of employees that are hired to maintain the centre. You will want to find a place that is near a branch office so that your support technicians can travel from one location to another whenever necessary. You will also want to be near the IT department of the branch.
Second, it is essential to discuss the service level agreements with your onsite support provider. This agreement should cover the number of technicians that you hire, the number of support services that you pay for, and other features. Besides, you should also consider how often you will have support personnel visit your office and whether they will do any maintenance or upgrade jobs as part of the service level agreement. If you want your technicians to focus on customer service, then you should consider these things as well.
Third, make sure that your service providers provide training sessions regularly. The amount of support you need should depend a great deal on the size of your company and its IT department. However, a company that has several branches may require onsite support services that can help keep each chapter up to date on current technology, as well as help prevent conflicts between the systems. When it comes to choosing a service provider, you can select the ones that offer both onsite support. Still, you should be especially careful when selecting those companies that charge more per hour or package than others.
Fourth, take the time to talk with each service provider you interview to make sure that they offer the kind of support you need. There are specific tasks that every service provider is not capable of performing, and you want to make sure that they are knowledgeable about the most critical areas.
Suppose you want your onsite tech support to address most common issues. In that case, you may want to choose a provider that specialises in necessary repairs and general computer support. At the same time, a provider that specialises in security, data backup, and troubleshooting might be a better option if your company deals with complex issues like virus attacks or network problems.
Fifth, consider how you will manage your support solutions when the need arises. For example, some companies that deal with onsite tech support may require that you provide a credit card number to unlock their services. Therefore, you should consider the possibility of having the card information on hand for emergencies.
