Re:Two main variables: complexity and end-user (Score 1)

I work in third level support for several government departments as well as large companies. We support everything under the sun, including other people's custom built applications.

I started at help desk level, worked up to management and decided to go back and become a tech. With 5 years experience in the support industry there are a few things I've learnt.

1) The average number of calls * the average length of a call and call logging !> more than 80% of your help desk staff's time.

2) Tools and ressources are essential. Knowledge Base, help files, good documentation structure.

3)Expand the way you help your users. Look for new ways to provide help. eg: Our customers are professionals, with access to faxes, email or the Internet. We make extensive use of this to cut on the length of calls. Each month, the top ten FAQ are published. A monthly newsletter is sent via email and/or post . It provides quick tips on resetting your router in event of failure or "the dark places where your serial numbers hide".

4) Team work. Good team work between 2nd (3rd)level support and help desk staff. Increases the confidence the help desk has in their decision making abilities. Feedback from the support team can increase performance as well as customer satisfaction.

5) Reporting. Nothing is more important than knowing the help desk's performance. Is one help desk staff taking too long on calls? Is one user making too much use of the help desk? Where can we improve efficiency? Are we meeting our Key performance indicators or service level agreements?

One help desk has 40000 users in 4000 different schools. Each school calls 3 times a month at an avg of 11 min per call. We have 5 help desk staff and 3 third level support staff. We do lan wan desktop and hardware support for each school.