There may be a gap in your service desk process that is affecting end user expectations and experience. For example, how do you handle communication around ticket escalations? Without a streamlined way to track activity and update end users on ticket progression, they may reach out repeatedly, which only clutters the ticket queue, causes more delays and leads to end user dissatisfaction. Conversational ticketing, however, keeps end users informed and supports consistent information flow among the service desk team throughout the lifecycle with no additional work on the agent’s behalf.
Tickets Have Been Triaged, So Why Are End Users Reaching Out?
It’s a simple question. While most service desk systems provide overall structure to organize and escalate tickets (the big process), communication back to the end user about escalation or status might be a blind spot (perhaps a missing, smaller process).
End users generally want to know what’s going on, and most are fine with waiting their turn. But if there is a high degree of follow up, they probably have a good reason for the urgency, possibly a deadline, presentation or meeting, etc. Is collecting information about an underlying need part of ticket prioritization? It might help.
Conversational ticketing provides transparency to end users and agents while unblocking common obstacles related to:
- Ticket backlog: lack of effective categorizing and routing.
- Silos: assigning tickets to specific agents with no transparency among the team.
- Inconsistent or incomplete activity updates: managed manually.
These are just a few things that can slow down ticket management and end user communication.
How Does Conversational Ticketing Affect End User Expectations?
Conversational ticketing enables service desk operation in Microsoft 365 (M365), providing a Microsoft Teams-oriented experience. It uses artificial intelligence (AI) and Teams’ chat functionality to support end users and service desk agents. It’s a form of digital transformation that is very productive for end user experience.
Virtual Agent: Updates End Users at Each Lifecycle Stage
The AI-powered virtual agent acts like a tier 1 service desk agent, intercepting end users’ requests and responding with relevant knowledge articles. They also provide automatic updates at each stage of the lifecycle. These simple notifications eliminate communication gaps, so that end users feel heard. They also go a long way toward managing expectations.
Adaptive Cards: Maintain Information Consistency
In conversational ticketing, information flows through the ticketing lifecycle from initial request to resolution in a very consistent fashion. That’s because Microsoft Adaptive Cards serve as the foundation for templates and custom forms used throughout the lifecycle.
End users can ask for help via email or Teams chat, and agents really benefit from accurate, up-to-date ticket data that automatically compiles in activity history. It’s accessible to the team.
Support Groups: Give Ownership of Service Quality to a Small Team
The goal is to keep tickets progressing through the lifecycle, but silos can halt progress. This can happen when agents accumulate tickets routed specifically to them. If a backlog develops, the broader team may not be aware, and they aren’t able to step in and help. They might lack visibility and be unaware of ticket status.
Routing tickets to support groups changes this. By routing tickets to support groups that you define, agents can work specific types of tickets that require specialized expertise. One benefit of group routing is that the team can help each other out and make sure tickets are efficiently addressed.
Ticket Type Properties: Customize How Tickets are Categorized
If you are considering prioritizing tickets according to end user need or related criteria, you’ll need a way to categorize accordingly. Ticket type properties give you options beyond incidents, service requests and change requests, so that you can customize the name and meaning associated with the category.
As you continue to refine how tickets are escalated, adjustments to ticket type properties can be made. At any point you can change the type, how the team will use it and what it means.
These are just a few examples of how conversational ticketing addresses possible process gaps that hinder end user experience. Not only can the service desk team operate with continuous teamwork, they also have the flexibility to refine the process along the way.
You can see how conversational ticketing operates in this demo video and even try it in a 14-day free trial.
