Informed Support, Measured Service and Flexibility are the features of Support Desk service.

Our Support Desk is staffed from 8.00am to 6.00pm Monday to Friday including Bank Holidays and has the following service features: Informed Support - Our Support Desk is manned by experienced and well-qualified IT staff. All members of the Support Desk receive extensive product and project awareness training. Measured Service - We use dedicated helpdesk software for call logging and monitoring purposes. We provide monthly call reports to customers and internal staff. Flexibility - We pride ourselves in providing a highly flexible and responsive service focused on satisfying all evolving customer needs. A summary of the Support Desk arrangements include: Call Reception We provide a dedicated phone number with several lines to the Support Desk. Our Support Desk staff are fully trained on call handling techniques and we make use of our helpdesk software for logging each call. We assign a unique Support ID for each reported issue and use system classification data and pre-defined Service Level Agreements (SLAs) to prioritise the required response activities. Resolution or Referral We endeavour to resolve as many first line queries as possible. Where it is necessary to assign a call to another department, we follow defined procedures that clearly identify criteria for referral, interface procedures and recipients of various forms of referral. While resolution times depend on a number of factors including complexity, the availability of the client, access to external resources etc, best efforts are made to resolve problems or find workarounds, depending on urgency and the number of people affected. Reporting We produce regular routine and custom reports for clients and senior management which provide information on issues in summary, detailed and statistical formats. Call Tracking and Management Support Desk software is used to track resolution activities initiated in response to all support requests. We also make use of a knowledge base of past calls and their resolutions in order to assist with the support process going forward. These tools are also used to analyse our performance, detect trends and issues for ongoing improvement of products and services such as: Changing user requirements (e.g. types of request or demand levels). Robustness of supported systems (e.g. quickly identify emerging problems and promulgate information on known errors). Performance of the Help Desk (e.g. monitoring the ability of the desk to respond to varying demands). Effectiveness of call assessment & resolution. Our activities and processes are formally defined and regularly reviewed to ensure that all contributing parties share an agreed, common understanding of process requirements. First Line Customer Liaison The Support Desk acts as the first point of contact for all users enquiring about or requesting system related services. Communication of Short Term Changes We use a range of technologies and procedures to facilitate effective communication of short term changes to users, including telephone, e-mail, Internet etc. On-going Customer Service As part of our Quality Management System we request feedback from clients on the services we provide. The Support Desk Manager may also liaise with client representatives at defined intervals to assess user views on performance and requirements.