The cornerstone of successful IT support is communication.

If your job is to provide IT support to your customers - no matter whether they are your colleagues from the "business" divisions or whether you provide support to your customers as an IT supplier, we have six recommendations for you to be more successful.

1. Sharing information with the customer

What to share? How often? Is it better to email, call or meet in person?

Each customer expects and requires a different level of information. It is necessary to estimate the customer correctly

The answers to these questions are different for each customer. Because each customer expects and requires a different level of information.

However, it is important that the customer has enough information to believe in what you are doing and that you are doing it in their best interests.

It has worked well for us on our projects to set up regular contact between project manager and customerwhere they discuss the current requirements and set the future direction of the support on a monthly basis. Getting feedback is also an essential part of this.

Because without feedback, how can we provide a service that both parties feel good about?

2. Every customer contact is important

Do not underestimate any form of communication with the customer.

I understand as standard that every member of the support team who comes into contact with a customer must know the rules for email and phone communication.

But what about other communication channels? Make sure your support understands the importance of ANY communication.

There is a difference if a customer who tries to call receives a text message saying:
"I can't, I'll call you later."
vs,
"Hello, I am currently in a meeting, I will get back to you after the meeting. Thank you Lucie"

Which one would you like?

Definitely the second one.

3. Continuously improve the team's information sharing process

I consider a functioning transfer of information and knowledge to be one of the most important conditions for the successful provision of support.

Not only is information transferred and retained, but it strengthens the collaboration of the team as a whole, which is invaluable, for example, in uncovering the root cause of a problem.

Us has been successful in using the Sharepoint Wiki in addition to regular team meetings and email communication, which is accessible to all members from anywhere and without the need for special applications or tools.

4. Does your team understand what you want them to do?

Most managers know what they want from their people. They just don't bother to tell them in a way they can understand.They assume they should know that themselves.

My advice is, "Don't assume, check it out."

When setting goals, you need to make sure they are understood by all parties so that everyone knows what good performance looks like and what they are responsible for.

Do you know what confirmation bias is ?

This is the tendency of people to primarily seek confirmation of what they already think and one of the enemies of understanding in defining a goal.

When setting goals, you need to make sure they are understood by all parties.

And how do you confirm that you're on the same wavelength?

The question "Do you understand?" I would leave aside. It's not very appropriate because people tend to nod even if they don't understand.

Rather, ask in the style of "What will you do first?"

Do you understand?

Don't lose the joy of the game!

5. To be able to acquire and use knowledge in practice.

The world of IT is changing at such a rapid pace that a company that doesn't allow its employees to access new information is teetering on the thin edge.

Give your employees regular access to training, conferences, workshops or at least webinars.

Not only that, let them choose the training they are interested in.

They will enjoy them all the more and will spread the information to the rest of the team.

Right now we are sending two members of the team to a conference in the USA and I believe this will increase their enjoyment of the game for a longer period of time.

6. Feedback comes first.

It's understandable that positive feedback from a customer can make you happy and motivate you to keep working.

But it is also important to appreciate negative feedback.

Negative feedback means that the customer wants to do something about the current situation - to change it. It means that he does not let his dissatisfaction grow silently and one day he will not leave you without a word.

Therefore, treat it as a source of valuable advice and always respond to it in a timely manner. The earlier you respond to it, the less negative opinion will have time to take root.

And what definitely not to do? Don't let it fizzle out...

Lucie Šimková, works as Project Manager Junior at Blue Dynamic.