The Guru’s Guide for LeGaL service desk supporT Guru’s Guide for LeGaL service desk supporT ......
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THE GURU’S GUIDE FOR LEGAL SERVICE DESK SUPPORT LAW FIRM SPECIFIC METRICS & KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS 3rd Edition August 2012
Transcript of The Guru’s Guide for LeGaL service desk supporT Guru’s Guide for LeGaL service desk supporT ......
The Guru’s Guide for
LeGaL service desk supporTLaw firm specific meTrics & key performance indicaTors
3rd Edition August 2012
WELCOME TO THE GURU’S GUIDE, 3RD EDITION
I have been involved with the law firm service desk, also often referred to as the help desk, in some form or fashion for the past 23 years. While my role has evolved, from Am Law 200 firm I.T. Director, to CIO, to now President of a service desk outsourcing provider, I’ve consistently had access to service desk data. Being able to analyze it, and make use of it in order to improve desk performance, has always been extremely important to me.
Thus, we at CMS Intelliteach have spent decades compiling law firm metrics of varying scale and size. Today, we share our findings with the law firm community in the form of this “Guru’s Guide”. The original Guru’s Guide, launched in August 2010, included 600,000 analyzed tickets and was followed up in January 2011 with a 30 city ‘Become a Helpdesk and Deskside Support Guru’ roadshow co-sponsored by the International Legal Technology Association (ILTA).
The data and statistics in this 3rd Edition Guru’s Guide represent over 2.2 million service desk tickets across a variety of law firm sizes, locations, and hardware and software configurations during the period of January 1, 2010 to June 30, 2012.
If you have ideas or suggestions on what you would like to see in future Guru’s Guides, please contact us at [email protected] or email me directly at [email protected].
Lance Waagner President
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As was the case with the previous versions of the Guru’s Guide released in August 2010 and August 2011, the 3rd Edition is an evolving ‘work in progress’ report and will continue to be updated with fresh data, as well as new metrics and performance indicators.
The data and findings presented in the complementary 3rd Edition Guru’s Guide are based on specific technology infrastructure and service level assumptions. The report aggregates independent law firm user support and service desk statistics and metrics. It is based on 2.2 million service desk tickets (an increase of 1 million from the Guru 2nd Edition last fall) collected and analyzed from January 2010 through June 2012 across a variety of law firm sizes, locations and hardware/software configurations.
Items of note...
The data presented in the 3rd Edition Guru’s Guide is based on the following:
• Analysis of more than 2.2 million law firm tickets
• 200+ major software rollouts and upgrades supported by CMS Intelliteach service desk analysts within the past five years
• An Automatic Call Distribution (ACD) system receiving, distributing and reporting the results of all phone and email support requests is in place
• A ticketing system automatically recording each customer interaction and soliciting end-user satisfaction is in place (IQTrack)
Any changes to the above systems or assumptions will alter the corresponding data.
GURU’S GUIDE: DATA & SYSTEM ASSUMPTIONS
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CMS Intelliteach, the largest law firm-specific outsourced service desk company, has released the 3rd Edition of the Guru’s Guide, a comprehensive report aggregating independent law firm user support and service desk statistics and metrics. The updated Guru’s Guide provides unique benchmark data relating to the most supported legal applications, service desk staffing, service quality ratios pre and post-software conversions, Bring Your Own Devices (BYOD), and analysis of support ticket ‘origins’ and day of service. The data presented in the 3rd Edition is based on 2.2 million service desk tickets collected and analyzed from January 2010 through June 2012 across a variety of law firm sizes, locations and hardware/software configurations.
3rd ediTion Guru’s Guide findinGs incLude:
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Top TickeT caTeGories 41% of the 2.2 million service desk tickets closed are specific to various versions of Microsoft Office, including 22% for Microsoft Outlook.
The 4th most frequent user support ticket handled by the firm service desk is Remote Access at 7%.
read more on paGe 4
The chanGinG profiLe of microsofT office TickeTsCMS Intelliteach has supported over 200 Microsoft Office rollouts over the past 18 months which has lead to a steady increase in the proportion of Microsoft Outlook tickets.
Microsoft Office 2010 calls make up 19% of the total Microsoft Office calls, compared to 2% for the same period 12 months earlier.
read more on paGe 5-7
conversion & upGrade impacT on The service desk Conversions cause a significant increase in volume and add additional strain to existing resources, systems, and service quality.
Ticket volumes increased by 42% during firm-wide upgrades and took an average of 90 days to return to pre-conversion levels.
read more on paGe 8-9
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BrinG your own devicesThere is a growing trend for law firms to introduce BYOD (Bring Your Own Device). We see a growing trend in the first half of 2012, and we can only predict that this increase will continue to rise more sharply during the rest of 2012 and into 2013 and beyond.
read more on paGe 10
TickeTs By oriGin Data indicates that, on average, tickets created via email have a lifespan 6 times longer than those originated by telephone.
Email is far less efficient for both the user and the service desk: 78% of live (phoned-in) service desk tickets are resolved in that first contact whereas only 11% of email tickets can be resolved in a single contact.
read more on paGe 11
TickeTs By weekday Based on 2.2 million analyzed tickets, Tuesday sees the highest call volume (20.3%) and Friday (17.1%) the lowest.
It should be noted that all firms analyzed in the Guru’s Guide provide 24/7 support and therefore urgent issues that occur over a weekend can be dealt with on the Saturday or Sunday.
Firms not providing 24/7 support typically see Mondays as the most demanding service desk call days.
read more on paGe 12
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3rd Edition August 2012
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EquipmentRequest
Laptop
Hardware
LitigationSupport
Desktop
PDA
Telephone
Server
Printer
Anti-virus,Spyware, etc.
Administration
OtherMicrosoft Office
Network
Timekeeping
OperatingSystem
DocumentProduction Tools
Internet Explorer
PDF Tools
Remote Access
Other Software
DocumentManagement
Microsoft Word
Microsoft Outlook
<1%
<1%
<1%
<1%
<1%
<1%
<1%
<1%
<1%
1%
1%
2%
2%
2%
4%
4%
4%
5%
6%
7%
10%
19%
22%
Exchange Server
Laptop
Telephone
Hardware
PDA Procurement
Desktop
DocumentManagement Server
Server
Network
Printer
4%
4%
5%
5%
5%
6%
6%
6%
8%
10%
TOP TICKET CATEGORIES
This chart shows the top categories of all law firm user support tickets closed by CMS Intelliteach’s service desk from January 2010 to June 2012. The total, including requests handled by internal legal I.T., exceeded 2.2 million tickets during that time frame.
10% of SERVICE DESK tICKEtS relate to various versions of document management systems.
REMotE ACCESS is the 4th most frequent user support ticket handled by the firm service desk.
How does your firm handle it’s after-hours support?
43% of SERVICE DESK tICKEtS relate to various versions of Microsoft Office.
22% are specific to Microsoft Outlook.
The next largest category is Microsoft Word at 19%.
inTernaL i.T. deparTmenT
Top 10 TickeT caTeGories
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[ ToTaL microsofT office caLLs received ]
The number of Microsoft Office rollouts and Office specific call volumes have increased steadily since late Q2 2011: from 22,000 in Q1 2011 rising sharply in the second half of 2011 as many law firms rolled out both Office 2007 and 2010. Rollouts halted over the holiday period at the end of 2011. Then came the wave of Office 2010 rollouts with incident volumes increasingly steadily through early 2012 and reaching more than 57,000 calls in Q2 2012.
CHANGING PROFILE OF MICROSOFT OFFICE TICKETS
Items of Note...In Q2 2012 we see Microsoft Office 2007 calls start to decrease to 43% of total Microsoft Office calls as Microsoft 2010 rises.
As predicted in the 2nd Guru’s Guide, Microsoft Office 2010 ticket volumes increased through the second half of 2011 and into 2012 as several client firms completed their rollout to Office 2010 with Windows 7.
Microsoft Office 2010 calls make up 19% of the total Microsoft Office calls compared to 2% for the same period 12 months earlier (Q2 2011 vs Q2 2012).
Microsoft Office XP calls have decreased to just 5% of total Microsoft Office calls; CMS Intelliteach continues to support some client firms who are using earlier versions though call volumes are not enough for significant data impact or analysis.
By Q2 2012, Microsoft Word accounted for 34% of all tickets for, while Excel generates 7% of all tickets.
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XP200320072010
Distribution of calls by Office version as % of total
48,62752,271 51,572
54,39756,136
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20000
30000
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Q2 2012Q1 2012Q4 2011Q3 2011Q2 2011Q1 2011
57,290
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MICROSOFT OFFICE, A CLOSER LOOK
Based on the 2.2 million service desk incidents collected and analyzed by CMS Intelliteach, Microsoft Outlook related questions are the most frequent.
How DoES tHIS CoMpARE to youR fIRM?
When we explore more deeply, the majority of these are “how-to” questions, e.g. how to set up Out-of-Office, how to edit a distribution group, how to change the Inbox view, etc.
CMS Intelliteach has supported over 200 Microsoft Office rollouts over the past 18 months and this has lead to a steady increase in the proportion of Microsoft Office tickets which specifically relate to Microsoft Outlook.
Our data suggests that during conversion periods, the increase in Microsoft Office tickets is not evenly distributed. Microsoft Outlook is used by all end-users in a firm, no matter their position, from document production specialist to Chairman. Earlier this year we published our Office 2010: Top 20 Service Desk Rollout FAQs and it is clear from this that many Outlook “how-to” questions asked during conversion periods will be repeated until the next rollout. For example: how to create a signature, customizing Inbox settings, etc.
Service Requests
12%Create a distribution list, public folders, etc.
How-To
77%Specific functionalityquestions
Break/Fix
11%Performance issues, error messages, etc.
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10000
15000
20000
25000
30000
35000Q1 2011
Q2 2011
Q3 2011
Q4 2011
Q1 2012
Q2 2012
PPTExcelWordOutlook
[ microsofT office TickeTs By appLicaTion ]
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INCREASE IN MICROSOFT OFFICE 2007 & 2010
As you would expect with so many law firms completing their Office 2007 or 2010 rollouts, the proportion of these two versions is steadily increasing. We expect this to continue as several clients upgrade to Office 2010 during the second half of 2012.
Microsoft Office tickets as a percentage of overall ticket volume remains constant - the last 4 quarters have seen this remain steady at 22% of total volume. More than half (54%) of the Microsoft Office suite calls relate specifically to Microsoft Outlook. When firms upgrade to a new version of Microsoft Office, the impact hits the attorneys, particularly with the new ribbon interface.
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5,000
10,000
15,000
20,000
25,000
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35,000
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Q2 2012Q1 2012Q4 2011Q3 2011Q2 2011Q1 2011
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10,000
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20,000
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Q2 2012Q1 2012Q4 2011Q3 2011Q2 2011Q1 2011
Microsoft Office 2007
Microsoft Office 2010
Microsoft Office 2003
Microsoft Office XP
[ microsofT office ToTaL incidenTs ]
MICRoSoft offICE 2010 has increased significantly since last year and now represents 19% of all Microsoft Office tickets.
MICRoSoft offICE 2003 sees a steady drop in ticket volume: from 49% in Q1 2011 to 33% 18 months later (Q2 2012).
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CoNVERSIoNS CAuSE A SIgNIfICANt INCREASE IN VoluME AND ADD ADDItIoNAl StRAIN to ExIStINg RESouRCES AND SyStEMS.
Most firms prudently staff to “maintenance” levels, not “project” levels, and require additional support to properly service the user community during upgrades.
Using recent data from law firm service desks (average firm size 700 employees), volumes increased by 42% during firm-wide software upgrades.
Analysis of a limited number of CMS Intelliteach’s full-time clients suggests that, on average, it takes three months for call volumes to return to pre-conversion levels.
!The impact to staffing is significant. The difficulties a firm faces in recruiting and training a team familiar with the new software while maintaining existing support for the old software is only magnified by the recent cost-cutting measures most firms have instituted.
THE IMPACT OF CONVERSIONS ON FIRMS AND THE SERVICE DESK
0.0
1.0
2.0
3.0
90 days post conversion
60 days post conversion
30 days post conversion
ConversionPre-conversion
2.00
2.652.85
2.302.10
[ averaGe TickeTs per user per monTh ]
42% INCREASE IN VoluME during firm-wide software updates
month
1month
2month
3
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Apr May Jun Apr May JunJul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar
2011 2012
Apr May Jun Apr May JunJul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar
2011 2012
Pre-conversion Conversion Post-Conversion
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Pre- Conversion Post-Conversion
Firm ‘A’ implemented an aggressive rollout, or “big bang” approach across multiple offices, including international. Call volumes took five months to return to normal after the last user was converted.
Firm ‘B’ implemented a slower rollout across its multiple offices. In this case, call volume took one month to return to normal after the last user was converted.
cms inTeLLiTeach has supporTed over 200 major roLLouTs for many Law firms of varyinG sizes.
here are Two sampLe scenarios To demonsTraTe ‘Back To normaL’ TickeT voLumes.
RETURNING TO PRE-CONVERSION CALL VOLUMES
firm A
firm B
Average pre-conversion call volume: 4,574/month
Average pre-conversion call volume: 2,656/month
Volume returned to normal after five months
Volume returned to normal after one month
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There is a growing trend for law firms to introduce BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) as well as tablets (iPads and the like). In the ILTA 2011 Purchasing Survey, 25% of firms responded that they had purchased tablets in the past 12 months and 25% planned to buy tablets or similar devices over the next 12 months. The introduction of BYOD policies such as iPads, iPhones, Android devices, etc. and the associated technologies are starting to impact the number of service desk incidents. Overall, these are not significant numbers, however it is a growing trend, particularly in the first half of 2012, and we can only predict that this increase will continue to rise more sharply during the rest of 2012 and 2013.
The data below also includes incidents relating to cloud technologies such as iCloud, Dropbox, WatchDox, etc. The use of such technologies does not come without risks. A study released by SkyDox in June 2012 suggests that while many law firm users have embraced easier file-sharing platforms, many have done so without informing their I.T. department, which brings into question issues around security and version control.
(Includes incidents relating to iPads, iPhones, Dropbox, iCloud, Skydrive, etc.)
BRING YOUR OWN DEVICE:HOW IT IMPACTS THE SERVICE DESK
0
2,000
4,000
6,000
8,000
10,000
Q2 2012Q1 2012Q4 2011Q3 2011Q2 2011Q1 2011
[ The risinG Trend in Byod incidenTs ]
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69% of contacts were made via the telephone, while email produced 27% of total contacts. 2% “other” include phone and email contacts made to other members of the I.T. staff.
More law firms are also trying new channels for support including self-service and instant messaging.
The TickeTs By oriGin charT shows how The end-user conTacTed The service desk.
TICKETS BY ORIGIN
Items of Note...While email continues to grow in usage, are employees actually receiving better service?
A sample of 1400+ tickets across a range of law firms were analyzed and this reflected that, on average, most live calls can be resolved in the first contact (78%) whereas only 11% of email incidents can be resolved in the initial contact.
Data indicates that, on average, tickets created via email have a lifespan six times longer than those originated by telephone. This is typically due to the user’s inability to troubleshoot their situation or clearly describe the need they have in their original request, often requiring an additional email exchange or callback.
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Live Call
69%Email
27%
Voicemail
1%
Other
2%Walk-up
1%
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2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2012 2015*(*estimates based on IQTrack data)
Number of contacts per service desk ticket
2020*
2 3 4 5 6 7
Live calls by telephoneIncidents logged by email
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2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2012 2015*(*estimates based on IQTrack data)
Number of contacts per service desk ticket
2020*
2 3 4 5 6 7
Live calls by telephoneIncidents logged by email
[ percenT of aLL service desk incidenTs LoGGed By emaiL ]
[ efficiency of Live caLLs vs emaiLed incidenTs ]
EMAIl IS tHE fAStESt gRowINg CoNtACt MEtHoD with most firms averaging less than 10% just five years ago.
6xlonger lifespan
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0
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Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
18.8%20.3% 19.9% 19.2%
17.1%
2.1%2.6%
The TickeTs By weekday charT shows on which day of The week The end-user conTacTed The service desk.
One might expect Mondays to have the highest call volume, however most public holidays are on a Monday and if people take a long weekend, this may have some impact on call volumes.
It should be noted that the firms analyzed provide 24/7 support and therefore urgent issues that occur over a weekend can be dealt with on the Saturday or Sunday. If a firm does not provide 24/7 support, Mondays may be more demanding.
Typically, firms not providing 24/7 support receive 1% of incidents over a weekend or weeknights after hours. In firms that do provide formal 24/7 support, that volume is likely to increase to 5% of total call volume, typically servicing timekeepers or fee-earners.
TICKETS BY WEEKDAY
Perhaps surprisingly, Tuesday typically sees the highest weekday volume ...
... while Friday sees the lowest.
Tickets on the weekend are slightly higher on Saturday compared to Sunday.
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Measuring user satisfaction may be the most important measurement of all. If users aren’t happy with the service they receive they will find an alternative for support in the form of a co-worker or possibly discover the answer or unsupported solution for themselves.
Providing your end-user community the opportunity to rate each and every interaction with your service desk is critical in effective management of that function. Having ticket-specific reporting vs. annual or occasional surveys allow for action to be taken whether the issue might be specific to a particular analyst, a lack of team-wide training, training from which the entire firm might benefit, or sometimes an adjustment to user expectations.
Above are survey results from January 1, 2010 to June 30, 2012 based on satisfaction surveys completed by 125,000 random and voluntary end-users. While this benchmark might not be a realistic target for all law firms, it is equally imperative that once survey information is collected, any negative items are addressed immediately. In our environment, poor surveys automatically reopen, the priority changes to emergency status, and the ticket is escalated to a member of management. Regardless of how you handle your workflow, never allow a complaint to go unanswered.
SURVEYS
QUALITY OF SERVICE
EXCELLENT GOOD FAIR NEEDS IMPROVEMENT
TIMELINESS FRIENDLINESS OVERALL EXPERIENCE
91.8%
6.7%0.7%
0.8%
92.1%
6.6%0.7%
0.6%
93.1%
6.2%0.4%
0.3%
91.6%
6.8%0.8%
0.8%
cusTomer saTisfacTion raTinGs
AN AVERAgE of 98.7% ‘excellent’ or ‘good’ ratings
aBouT cms inTeLLiTeachIntelliteach joined CMS in March 2012 and provides 24/7/365 support to over 100,000 law firm employees in 50 countries spanning 1,250 locations and including more than 35% of the AmLaw 200.
Our focus on technical/software support for the legal industry and award winning customer service performance will continue to remain industry leading. It is our privilege to develop and provide the products and services that allow firms to manage, grow, and protect their businesses.
CMS Intelliteach offers need-based support options including:
• Complete service desk outsourcing (live user support 24/7/365)
• After-hours support (extends the internal law firm service desk with additional coverage at night and on weekends)
• Overflow support (provides call assistance on an as-needed basis)
• 100% customizable support options to work with your firms Service Desk needs
CMS Intelliteach opened a dedicated London/UK office in December 2009.
aBouT The Guru’s Guide As part of an ongoing effort to provide law firms with timely reporting and to accelerate service desk support improvements through better user information, CMS Intelliteach consistently collects and tracks massive amounts of service desk related statistics. The data presented in the 3rd Edition Guru’s Guide is based on 2.2 million service desk tickets collected and analyzed from January 2010 to June 2012 across a variety of law firm sizes, locations and hardware/software configurations.
For more information on the Guru’s Guide:
visit www.intelliteach.com/Guru email [email protected] or call (866) 698-7837
