Kick It Up Beyond 9 to 5 With After-Hours Help Desk Support
It’s 2 am in the morning. There is an exam the next day. Your institution’s LMS has contracted some technical issues. A number of your students are struggling with the login. They drop messages, call the IT department in vain.
It’s the weekend. Your faculty members have to update some e-courses on your institution’s LMS but they are unable to. They know it’s no use calling the IT department since they will be off duty.
Step in after-hours help desk support and both the issues are resolved!
Besides increasing the customer satisfaction rate, after-hours support develops customers’ faith in an institution. After all, end-users who have round-the-clock assistance are likely to be more satisfied than the ones who have to wait through the night or over the weekend to get their issues resolved.
How is after-hours support critical in the higher education space?
Ensures institutional success:
With everything becoming increasingly fast-paced, students expect prompt replies to their queries. Your failure to meet their expectations can result in them being frustrated and frustrated students have done no institution any good. Hence, after-hours support becomes imperative to ensure student and institutional success.
Shows your students that you care:
24/7 support availability shows that you care about your students. They know someone is out there, always ready to help. Immediate resolution of their queries strengthens their trust in your institution which means increased student satisfaction rates.
Increases student engagement:
There might be low service utilization during after-hours but that doesn’t reduce the value of the service. Round-the-clock assistance is imperative to retain and engage your students. Happy students mean better engagement which translates into better success rates for your institution.
Frees up your staff:
When an IT Help Desk takes care of your after-hours needs, it frees up your staff to tend to other tasks at hand. This increased productivity will generate more revenue for the institution and compensate for the costs of IT Help Desk services.
Gives your students a positive learning experience:
Students who have access to support at all the hours are bound to have a positive academic experience. Your response time to the technical issues faced by your students and faculty can have a significant impact on their learning and teaching experiences. Make sure they don’t feel abandoned by providing after-hours support.
Your students would have it easier if there was a single support platform they could contact, in case of technical emergencies. Outsource professional support if your own staff doesn’t have the requisite technical skills. Besides immediate assistance, and an easily accessible knowledge base created by a professional IT Help Desk provider is the best thing that can happen to a distressed student.
Help desk service providers, these days, specialize in different industries, and tailor their services according to the needs of their clients. In the higher education space, availing the services of a specialized help desk can yield great results for an institution.
After all, when IT Help desk needs are not confined to business hours, why do the services have to be!
Anthony Banford is an esteemed executive with 19 years of experience in technology, consulting, and education. He begins his latest chapter as Chief Revenue Officer at BlackBeltHelp, aiming to innovate in the higher education support industry. His move follows a successful stint as Head of Revenue at StudentBridge since March 2023, where he significantly contributed to the company’s merger with Full Measure Education, enhancing its service offerings.
Todd Hollrah joins BlackBeltHelp bringing 25+ years of experience managing service delivery operations for several Fortune 500 clients around the globe. After a distinguished career as an executive in the BPO industry, Todd will provide critical insight into building an exceptional customer experience combining both live voice and automated solutions.
Inspired by a family computer that always needed fixing, Chris Uthe has submerged himself in business and technology for the last 20 years. His first company, a PC repair and networking business, was started at just 16 and successfully fueled a deep interest in solving problems as he helped business customers throughout his hometown adopt technology into their business. He would go on to successfully run a media & managed IT company before joining the Ed Tech industry with a successful 13-year tenure within an ERP/SIS company leading the Student Portal & Learning Management division. His last startup, EdSolio, helped to fuel the winds of competency-based education by providing a comprehensive view of a student’s work and achievements. Chris is now focused on creating successful learners by ensuring the highest quality help and support through the use of AI backed toolsets spending the last 3 years in the student engagement and support markets.
Quaiser Absar is the Chief Technology Officer and Director of Institutional Computing at Shenandoah University in Winchester, Virginia.
Bringing in over 2 decades of experience with him, Manish has ensured seamless operations in terms of client delivery, reporting & analytics, quality, training, and transitions with a special focus on technical integrations to help reduce costs and improve the bottom-line.
Anthony has served higher education in diverse, leadership roles for over 30 years and has helped organizations thrive through his expertise in developing, analyzing, and executing growth strategies. Prior to joining BlackBeltHelp, he served in College Administration as well as in leadership roles within Blackboard Student Services and Ellucian, Inc.
Accomplished IT Specialist and Manager with extensive experience in a higher education setting and demonstrated abilities to effectively manage both student and professional staff. Self-motivated problem solver, who is skilled in managing many issues and prioritizing their importance to find resolutions in a timely and effective manner. Possesses strong abilities to adapt to new technologies by extrapolating from existing experience. Possess first-rate communication and collaboration skills to work with diverse groups effectively.
Lila Buytendorp has been serving as the Director of User Services at Moraine Park Technical College (MPTC) since 2000. In this role she is responsible for staff & lab desktop computing and end user support. She guides and supports technology based on the curriculum needs and ensures technology is implemented to support the emerging needs of the college. She builds and supports integrated systems to improve efficiencies and uses technologies to support data-driven decision making. Lila is a member of the Capital Projects Planning and Design Committee to ensure new or remodeled facilities have appropriate technology.