Remote Support Best Practices

If you are a network administrator or a help desk operator, you are aware of how hard it is to offer on-demand remote support to an inexperienced user who doesn’t know the basics to perform even simple tasks. One of the remote support best practices used by a vendor at this juncture is to determine the remote user’s comfort level and decide if remote control is necessary. If the problem is minor and the user has a basic level of competency, it may be most efficient to simply offer troubleshooting instructions directly, or refer the user to an online troubleshooting guide.

Following are more remote support best practices that have been commonly implemented in a remote support environment.

To get the greatest return from your remote support system, it is essential to first gain the confidence of the support staff that will be using it. New technologies always have a learning curve and also require the acceptance of the end users. If the support staff is reluctant to use the remote support technology, then the greater goals of improved support and faster average call time will never be realized. Remote support best practices stipulate careful change management and the involvement of support staff in the initial decision-making and planning processes (so as to capture their input and support in the overall remote technology rollout).

Besides gaining the tech staff’s support, another essential remote support best practice is gaining customer support on the other end of the call. There may be some initial reluctance to allow a remote control session, so tech staff should be equipped to explain how it works and that there is no security risk involved. Remote support best practices involve preparing customers ahead of time with advance notice and discussion of the benefits of remote control, as well as mentions in newsletters, email marketing campaigns, and the corporate website.

In the case of a technical support call, the customer may try to explain an unusual situation or reaction that is difficult to duplicate; remote support software is very helpful in such an event. The remote support software will be able to effectively capture that situation, leading to a better solution. In addition, if the flaw is difficult to duplicate, your engineering department may not be able to remedy the flaw immediately. Capturing it by recording the session will provide the engineers with valuable information that can be used to create an update or patch.

Easy access and integration is essential to allowing customers to enable a remote support session. Remote support best practices include the ability of the tech support staff to launch a session easily with just a few clicks, without causing a long wait for the customer.

The last of the remote support best practices is to use this tool as a teaching opportunity. The support operator may well be able to easily remedy the situation at hand with very little interaction with the client, but taking the opportunity to instruct the client will help avoid future calls. During the remote control session, the operator should explain the processes they are undertaking and allow the client to actually see the process through the remote control interface.