A quick read with a big impact.

5 Steps for a Transition from In-House to Outsourced Help Desk Support

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Your organization has made the decision to hire a help desk support team. Now comes the transition from in-house to outsourced, one of the most important pieces that can ultimately lead to the success or failure of the partnership. A poor transition can negatively impact things like productivity, employee satisfaction, and even customer satisfaction, but these can all be avoided with a well-executed and smooth transition. In order for the transition to be successful, here are 5 key steps that your organization must take.

1. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Help desk KPIs are the most important measurable outcomes that indicate the success or failure of your help desk support operations. Without them, you can never be quite sure what’s working. And selecting the right help desk KPIs allows the help desk support team to focus their efforts purely on what’s most important. Click here for our top 5 key performance indicators you should incorporate into your planning.

  1. 2. Organizational Deliverables

A deliverable is the building block to the entire transition process. It could be a report or document detailing what’s important to make the transition successful. In the case of outsourced help desk transition planning, deliverables could include:

- Statistics, analysis, and studies of outsourcing the help desk
- Revised business plans
- Projected growth, customer satisfaction, ROI, etc.
- Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
- Methods detailing how new departments are created and which new ones are needed

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3. Required Systems and Operational Integrations
A transition process needs to be smooth. As such, much thought should be given to the systems that will facilitate the transfer from in-house to outsourced. The systems can include the phone system, ticketing system, access rules for information and projects, the organizational chart order including important contacts, escalation rules, or simply hardware and software information. After everything has been communicated, a detailed description should then be documented before integration. A good transition plan is like a vision statement that shows how a smooth transition to outsourced help desk services can be beneficial to your organization. When there's a clear description of how the impending transition will blend with your current operations, it can be a very easy and successful process. 

4.  Communication and Documentation
Communication can be the element that makes the whole transition a success or a failure. So communicate early and set expectations. Communication, especially when done incorrectly, can be a hotbed for misunderstandings. Working with the outsourced team to document your processes and develop step-by-step training procedures will allow you to better communicate with the business, Investing in the time to clearly document expectations will help to continually improve your communications. It’s very important for the communication and documentation process to be managed effectively, professionally, and with great skill.

5. Avoid Micromanaging
The last step of a successful transition is sometimes the hardest. This is when you have to take a step back and allow the help desk outsourcing company to do the job you hired them to do. If you have put the time and energy into your systems on the front end, done your due diligence with interviewing and hiring the right partner, you are now at a point where you can turn your focus on managing import IT projects, running your business more efficiently, or setting new goals to grow your business to the next level.


Are you looking to transition from in-house to outsourced help desk support for your organization? Simply 
click here to speak to our team of help desk experts. 

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