Sourcing and the Helpdesk

In a previous post I wrote that CEOs don’t think technology is value for money and generally they don’t understand it. As a consequence the CEO will view technology as the obvious candidate for outsourcing. Outsourcing happens most frequently to things that are thought to be expensive, lack value for business or are not core to the business. It’s not surprising therefore that frequently the CEO sees technology ticking all three of these boxes.

Most CTOs would be mortified if they knew the CEO thought the technology function was not value for money or core to the business. Unfortunately CTOs are often stuck at the coal face and don’t have time to get that helicopter view because there’s always something that needs fixing. So what, if anything should a CTO do about it?

Outsourcers prefer to speak to CEOs rather than CTOs because they can talk about bottom lines and cost savings rather than quality and effectiveness. There's good reason for this, is impossible to do it all, reduce costs and make a margin. Therefore it's important for CTOs to be aware of the wolves prowling round outside. The CTO needs to either get in bed with the outsourcers before the CEO does and make good decisions based on quality and effectiveness rather than on costs or keep the wolves at bay by ensuring the CEO understands how reliant the business is on technology and how cost effective it is already for the company.


One of the "easy" targets for outsourcers is the Helpdesk. A traditional candidate for outsourcing where the outsourcer can demonstrate cost savings whilst allegedly improving service and throughput. However, these are incompatible and this wonderful picture demonstrates just how incompatible they really are.

So, with the outsources telling the CEO that they can achieve the impossible, what can be done about it?

Outsourcers would have you believe that the Helpdesk is all about statistics, processes and procedures, ITIL, service levels and first time fix rates, and they’d be right, but they will most likely forget to mention that the main reason why a Helpdesk is successful is not because of its stats, but because of the people on the Helpdesk. Their experience, wisdom, knowledge of the business and most importantly the relationships they build with customers are what makes a Helpdesk successful.

Now for the shock. The Helpdesk is where every individual within a business forms their opinion of the technology function. The technology function will only be as good as the last call somebody made to the Helpdesk and how that call was handled.

Outsourcing the Helpdesk is a bit like outsourcing your own character. People form an opinon of you through what you do, how you do it and what you say. To give away control of the single source of opinion for technology, how the service is being provided or what is being said to your customers is unforgiveable.

Given that the Helpdesk is the character of technology, how should it be staffed? Again traditionally, the Helpdesk has been the nursery where fresh-faced newbies get introduced to the technology function, spend 6-12months answering the phone and then rush off to something allegedly more exciting or technically challenging. Giving responsibility for technology's customer satisfaction to the most junior employees is madness. Instead, utilising experienced, technical people with very good telephone skills and a passion for helping people who love working in a stressful environment makes sense. It costs more, but again, what price do you put on technology being held in high regard?

Outsource the Helpdesk and the face and character of technology is lost, someone else is in control of the technology function's destiny. Technology's value to the company rises and falls on public opinion, not service level attainment or cold hard facts. This opinion inevitably bubbles up to CEO level who will naturally be asking what people think of technology so the CEO can also form an opinion. When asked, people won't remember the recent successful infrastructure project or resolved data issue, it'll be whether their desktop PC is fast enough and what happened last time they spoke to the Helpdesk. If a CTO is to deliver value, start with an insourced, highly competent Helpdesk, it will also ensure the right person is in charge of the future direction of technology sourcing - the CTO!