Rapidly Scale for Growth – Use a Managed Service Desk Provider

As your company grows, you may encounter growing pains, including the ability to scale your IT services team. Hiring additional people is often expensive and not always justifiable. 

Many companies have found partnering with a managed service desk provider to be more manageable and cost effective than a do-it-yourself approach. 

A trusted managed service desk provider can help you avoid the expense of ramping up headcount, save time by removing the need for recruiting or training, and can even help you scale more quickly by adding skills and expertise you don’t currently have. However, finding the right service desk provider for your company can’t happen without due diligence on your part. 

There are three key considerations to keep in mind when evaluating a managed service desk provider:

1. Find a provider with the right amount of experience and expertise
   Regardless of whether you outsource to a managed service desk provider or hire full-time employees, remember that you are adding personnel to your team. This means you should be building the depth of expertise and experience of your IT department. In fact, there are numerous areas where IT expertise can be leveraged, such as keeping up with ongoing releases of new software, understanding different operating systems and attaining certifications with specific technologies.
   
   When considering outsourcing some or all your service desk tasks, first determine the skill sets your team needs. Then, seek out a managed service desk provider with the necessary expertise and experience to fill any gaps. 
    
2. Choose a provider that is readily accessible and offers users multiple contact methods
   The traditional 9-to-5 workday is shifting – some workers begin their work day before the sun rises, while others work into the late hours of the evening. So why shouldn’t your service desk be available to these workers or those in other time zones? 
   
   You need a provider with around-the-clock availability. Finding a 24/7 access service desk provider with multiple contact methods can take this burden entirely off your plate. This enables your IT team to focus on strategic peak-hour needs – and your end users get the help they need at times that suit their fluctuating work schedules. 
    
3. Select a provider who truly understands your company’s unique culture and acts as a de facto extension of your team
   When hiring full-time employees to your IT team, the expectation is that your personnel understand and support your company’s mission. Outsourcing to a managed service desk provider should be no different. Find a company that treats you as a partner – someone who understands your business culture, processes and lingo, and makes it their goal to ensure that you and your end users are satisfied with the services they receive. 
   
   Your managed service desk provider should be an extension of your team, just as they would be if they were in-house, full-time employees. Your outsourced service desk should feel like an integral part of your team and reflect that in the way they interact with you and your customers. 

Choosing to outsource to a managed service desk provider should be a faster, easier way to scale your team to meet the demands of your business. Hiring the right outsourced service desk provider makes this process ramp up quickly and smoothly, provides enhanced end-user satisfaction and saves you money. 

We welcome your thoughts. Please comment below on what you think companies should consider when hiring a managed service desk provider.