What does a Help Desk Manager do?

A help desk manager is in charge of training, supervising and motivating a group of help desk employees. This support staff is typically depended upon to provide clients and customers with exemplary and timely support on the telephone and through email and website communications. The manager may work for a third party support company or be part of an in-house help desk department.

Help desk support typically centers on the resolution of technical issues related to computer applications or operating electronic systems or devices. The manager is normally required to be an expert on all the supported products and often regularly interacts with vendors, customers and other department managers. She is also the person who customarily screens and hires new employees and makes recommendations for promotions and dismissals.

Satisfying customer needs is ordinarily the main goal of a help desk manager. She depends on her team to provide expert, practical advice to customers in a friendly, professional manner. To ensure customer satisfaction, she frequently monitors communications to make sure they are free of condescending, impolite or imprudent attitudes and language.

Providing ongoing and adequate training on new and existing systems is a major part of the help desk manager’s job. She is normally required to be up-to-date on the latest products for which her team provides support. Once she is educated on system operations and learns what the most common inquiries will likely be, it is her responsibility to clearly impart that information to her staff. Her ability to effectively train her staff in helping resolve customer issues is key to her and her department’s success.

In addition to training and customer service activities, a help desk manager is typically required to prepare work schedules that guarantee adequate customer service coverage at all times. It is generally thought that overworked help desk employees often provide substandard support to customers. Effective personnel scheduling by the help desk manager commonly averts this problem.

Another typical responsibility of a help desk manager is to help develop or revamp guidelines and procedures to enhance the quality of help her team provides. She regularly monitors customer communications and notes the areas in which interactions seem unclear or need improvement. Incorporating positive changes into help desk relations improves both customer and employee satisfaction.

Qualified candidates for help desk manager must have a bachelor’s degree or equivalent technical education in computer operations, math or computer science. Familiarity and knowledge of computers and high-tech products are necessary. Experience in customer service and management are pluses for help desk manager job applicants.