The cornerstone of successful IT support is communication.

Whether your job is to provide IT support to your customers — and it doesn't matter if that means colleagues from other "business" divisions, or customers you support as an IT vendor — here are six tips for being more successful.

1. Sharing information with the customer

What should you share? How often? Is email better, or a call, or meeting in person?

Every customer expects and needs a different level of information. You need to read your customer correctly

The answers to these questions differ for every customer, since every customer expects and needs a different level of information.

What matters, though, is that the customer has enough information to trust what you're doing and believe you're doing it in their best interest.

On our projects, we've found it works well to set up regular contact between the project manager and the customer, where they discuss current requirements every month and agree on the direction of support going forward. Getting feedback is an essential part of this too.

Because how could we provide a service both sides feel good about without feedback?

2. Every contact with the customer matters

Don't underestimate any form of communication with the customer.

I consider it standard that every support team member who interacts with the customer needs to know the rules for email and phone communication.

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

There's a real difference between a customer trying to reach you receiving a text that reads:
"Can't talk, call you later."
versus,
"Hello, I'm in a meeting right now, I'll get back to you once it's over. Thanks, Lucie"

Which one would you rather receive?

I'd definitely go with the second one.

3. Keep improving how information flows within the team

A well-functioning transfer of information and knowledge is, in my view, one of the most important conditions for delivering successful support.

It's not just about passing on and retaining information — it also strengthens collaboration across the team as a whole, which is invaluable when, say, tracking down the root cause of a problem.

We've found it useful to complement regular team meetings and email with a SharePoint Wiki, which every team member can access from anywhere, without needing any special apps or tools.

4. Does your team understand what you're asking of them?

Most managers know what they want from their people. They just don't bother to tell them in a way they'd actually understand. They assume it should be obvious.

My advice: "Don't assume, verify."

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

Do you know what confirmation bias is?

It's people's tendency to primarily look for confirmation of what they already believe — and it's one of the enemies of understanding when defining a goal.

When setting goals, you need to make sure they're understood by everyone involved.

So how do you confirm you're on the same page?

I'd leave out the question "Do you understand?" It's not a great one, because people tend to nod along even when they don't understand.

Ask something more like, "What will you do first?" instead.

Understand?

Don't lose the fun of the game!

5. The ability to gain knowledge and put it into practice

The world of IT changes so fast that a company that doesn't give its employees access to new information is walking a thin line.

Give employees regular opportunities to attend training, conferences, workshops, or at least webinars.

And not just that — let them choose the training that interests them.

They'll enjoy it that much more, and they'll spread that knowledge to the rest of the team.

Right now we're sending two team members to a conference in the US, and I believe it'll boost their enjoyment of the job for a long time to come.

6. Feedback comes first

It's understandable that positive feedback from a customer feels good and motivates further work.

But it's just as important to value negative feedback.

Negative feedback means the customer wants to do something about the current situation — to change it. It means they're not quietly letting their dissatisfaction grow until, one day, they leave without a word.

So treat it as a source of valuable insight, and always respond to it in good time. The sooner you respond, the less chance that negative impression has to take root.

And what should you definitely not do? Don't let it just fade away…

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