Due to the economic situation in Poland and around the world, there have been many fluctuations in the job market over the past few years. Rising inflation has caused many employees to seek better-paying jobs.
However, it quickly became apparent that the market is indeed prepared to quickly and significantly increase wages, but only for those with seniority status, meaning experience and key skills for the company.
So, what skills should Help Desk employees possess to increase their market position? Let’s take a closer look at selected competencies and ways to acquire them.
Help Desk, as we know, is a very important part of the IT industry. In general, it can be defined as a department that deals with incident management in systems, such as Jira, reported by phone or email (although the largest companies are now moving away from this method).
Although the eyes of the IT world are mainly focused on programmers, engineers, or analysts, without Help Desk, the IT business simply would not exist. Once considered a department for solving IT problems within a company, today it is often a 24/7 support not only for employees but also for external clients. More advanced Help Desks are often divided into several levels of service, so both strictly IT knowledge and soft skills are necessary for effective task execution for Help Desk employees. Communication skills in different types of environments and under time pressure also remain important.
It often happens that employees of a company implementing IT projects have to use many applications, to which they log in through passwords. Recently, in order to maximize cybersecurity, two-factor authentication is used, which causes the primary password to be forgotten. The Help Desk employee manages passwords and employee access from the Active Directory platform, where there is the possibility of assigning, editing, and revoking permissions depending on positions. Active Directory is also used for creating access groups, managing user computers connected to the domain.
The ability to move efficiently in this system is a huge advantage for the Help Desk employee. In my work, I practically greet AD when I come to the office and say goodbye to it just before leaving.
Let us remember the knowledge and the need to constantly expand it in the field of the latest cloud solutions, which allows the Help Desk employee to actively support the actions of IT employees working from any place in the world with access to the network. Cloud activities include managing the aforementioned Active Directory (including employee identity management, application and service security, or access to the production environment). Cloud solutions are also an ideal place to create backups of projects and data.
Help Desk becomes a kind of Data Center, which also allows other employees to work stress-free. They do not have to worry about the permanent loss of data, which, thanks to the help of the Help Desk, can be easily restored. All thanks to knowledge and skillful use of the Microsoft Azure cloud service.
Although the eyes of the IT world are mainly focused on programmers, engineers, or analysts, without Help Desk, the IT business simply would not exist.
Having knowledge of hardware servicing techniques, including warranty policies on corporate equipment, is also helpful for the position. Most companies allow employees to perform minor repairs on their assigned equipment (not to be confused with upgrades or component replacements, but rather installing software or applications).
Sometimes laptops or desktop computers fail to pass POST, meaning they don’t display an image, or simply don’t respond to the power button. In such situations, Help Desk employees with skills acquired while working as computer service technicians come in handy. An IT employee can only perform their duties with proper equipment, and ordering new equipment takes time. If the Help Desk employee can repair the equipment, their performance ratings within the department will certainly increase.
The most desirable soft skill for a Help Desk employee is the ability to acclimate to a new work environment. This is due to the fact that the Help Desk, as well as the Service Desk, which is connected to the IT department, both serve as a sort of IT equipment hub: actively supporting the work of all company employees. Here they personally, by phone or email, report any equipment malfunctions or problems with the equipment they are using.
Once again, quick reaction is crucial, ensuring work continuity. Help Desk supports others, prioritizing support based on problem importance or complexity. Therefore, a Help Desk employee is a ‘front-line’ support – they decide what to do next. In this case, other soft skills such as conscientiousness, dedication, and team collaboration are essential to success in the department.
Soft skills such as conscientiousness, dedication, and team collaboration are essential to succeed in the department.
Although there are currently applications or websites that help employees solve technical problems with equipment on the market, the future of Help Desk looks bright.
Support from artificial intelligence is a natural step in IT development, but in my opinion, no chatbot can replace human contact. Currently, only simple and repetitive tasks with low variability (such as access requests) are automated, while more diverse and difficult issues are addressed by support department employees. This increases the speed and effectiveness of their actions.
Therefore, support from a Help Desk employee with high technical and interpersonal skills still seems irreplaceable.
Michał Bucholc
