IT Service Desk Metrics To Track for Operational Excellence

IT service desk metrics are indicators that track the performance and effectiveness of a service desk. By examining these metrics, you can gain insights into areas of strength and identify potential bottlenecks or inefficiency within your service desk. But what are these metrics? In this article, we'll explore different metrics that will help improve your service desk's operations.

But why is it even important to track IT service metrics? What benefit will you get? Tracking IT service metrics is essential for several reasons, of which a few are listed below:

• Performance Evaluation: Metrics provide data to assess the performance and effectiveness of IT service delivery. By tracking metrics, you, as an IT manager, can identify areas of strength and weakness and make informed decisions to improve your service desk.
• Identifying Trends and Patterns: Metrics help identify trends, patterns, and anomalies in IT service delivery. By analyzing historical data, your team can detect recurring issues, anticipate future challenges, and take proactive measures to address them.
• Resource Allocation: Metrics assist in resource (tools and teams) allocation by providing valuable insights into workload distribution and resource utilization. You can identify underutilized resources, reallocate them where needed, and ensure optimal use of resources to meet service demands.
• Continuous Improvement: Metrics serve as a basis for constant improvement. They pinpoint areas for improvement and provide feedback on the effectiveness of improvement efforts. You can use IT service desk KPIs to set benchmarks and achieve better outcomes over time.

Now that you know why tracking metrics is important, let's explore the key IT service desk metrics one by one.

11 Must Track Service Desk KPIs

Below are 11 key IT service desk metrics that you need to keep track of in order to effectively deliver IT services:

1: Incoming Ticket Volume

By tracking this metric, you can find the average number of tickets submitted during a specific period (each day, week, month, quarterly, or yearly).

This way, you can identify how often employees face issues or raise requests for IT services (like app access requests) and accurately predict the required number of support staff (IT teams) that needs to be allocated.

This also helps your team understand if they need to improve or add more self-service support options, like a knowledge base, to resolve the issues faster and expedite the approval process.  

2: First Call Resolution (FCR)

The first call resolution (FCR) rate indicates the number of calls or tickets your team successfully addresses during the initial interaction/contact. Monitoring the number of resolved support requests is important because it provides insight into your team's productivity.

So, efficient resolution with minimal back-and-forth communication indicates that your support system is effective and can deliver better IT services at the first time of contact.

How do you calculate the FCR rate? Here's the formula for it:

First call resolution time = Total number of issues or requests addressed during the first contact/ Total number of support tickets generated within that time frame

3: Average Speed to Answer (ASA)

The average speed to answer (ASA) measures the duration it takes for a service desk agent (IT team) to respond to a call or ticket. Extended waiting time signifies the requirement for additional staff at the service desk or indicates underlying issues if many requesters report the same problem.

Note: Service desks use a queuing system where requests are directed to the first available agent, either initiated by the chatbot or from the onset of the interaction.

4: Average Handle Time

Average handle time (AHT) is the overall duration required to address a ticket, from when employees submit a request until its approval. If the average handle time is long, it means that your team lacks resolving skills and needs more training or that FAQs and chatbots need to be updated.

However, managing AHT can be challenging as it varies based on the nature of the issue/requests and its resolution/approval approach.

How to calculate AHT? Here's the formula to calculate it.

Time spent on each call or interaction + comprising talk time + hold time + follow-up time = Total time spent

Then, Total time spent/Total number of calls = Average Handle Time

5: Support Tickets Opened Vs. Closed

Support tickets opened vs. closed is a comparative metric that evaluates the total count of tickets opened against the total count of tickets closed/resolved.

What is the reason behind tracking it? Monitoring the ratio of tickets opened to tickets solved clearly indicates the number of unresolved tickets still requiring attention. Also, regularly reviewing this metric helps your team manage demand and identify patterns in ticket volume.

For example, if resolutions consistently fall behind, it means you need more staff or need to improve efficiency in other ways. Likewise, a sudden increase in new tickets could indicate a problem with service delivery that needs addressing.

6: Service Level Agreement Compliance

Service level agreement (SLA) compliance is an IT service desk metric that depicts the number of tickets or calls resolved within the agreed-upon time period.

Most organizations, especially those with outsourcing arrangements, establish service-level agreements. That's because failing to meet these agreements can result in financial repercussions (penalties).

So, to avoid being non-compliant, it's crucial to evaluate the IT service desk's performance against these service levels and take any necessary corrective actions.

7: Escalation Rate

The escalation rate denotes the number of calls forwarded to a higher level of support because of complications, employee dissatisfaction, or issue complexity.

Call escalation indicates a breakdown in the support process, necessitating intervention from someone with greater expertise or authority.

Also, keeping track of how many calls are escalated helps find out what problems are causing issues, making them easier to fix. It also helps set up a system for deciding which problems must be fixed first, ensuring that urgent issues are addressed promptly.

8: Call Abandonment Rate

The call abandonment rate (CAR) metric indicates the number of calls that are abandoned or disconnected before reaching a service desk agent.

This metric is essential for assessing the responsiveness of the service desk to incoming calls. A high call abandonment rate indicates issues such as long wait times, insufficient staffing, or ineffective call routing systems, all of which can negatively impact the employee experience and interrupt their workflow.

By monitoring the call abandonment rate, you can identify areas for improvement in their call handling processes and take steps to reduce abandonment rates.

9: Incident Volume

Incident volume (IV) metrics measure the overall count of incidents or tickets users open within a specific timeframe.

Service desks usually expect a steady number of calls, ideally going down as they fix problems. But sometimes, like during new product releases or company mergers, there might be more calls. So, while assessing IV key performance indicators, you need to keep these factors in mind.                                          

10: Problem Resolution Rate

The problem resolution rate denotes the number of issues resolved by the service desk within a specific time frame, and it is closely linked to the service level agreement (SLA) KPI.

It shows how effective the service desk is at fixing problems within the agreed-upon timeframe.

For example, a Service level agreement (SLA) specifies that the service desk must fix any reported issues within 24 hours. So, the problem resolution rate shows the number of issues that were successfully resolved within that 24-hour period. This metric is extremely important because it helps evaluate how well the service desk is performing in terms of efficiency and whether it's meeting its promises to address problems within the agreed-upon timeframe.

11: Agent Utilization Rate

The agent utilization rate (AUR) depicts the amount of time service desk agents spend actively engaged in handling tickets or calls.

The AUR KPI serves two main purposes. Firstly, it assesses the effectiveness of your front-line agent-free measures. Secondly, it helps determine whether your staffing levels are appropriate.

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Note: It's important to understand that the AUR may fluctuate depending on the time of day, and staffing levels should be adjusted accordingly to accommodate these variations.

By tracking these IT service metrics, you will understand how well your current service desk is functioning. However, if it is not able to serve its intended purpose or meet your expectations, you can consider opting for a request management solution like Zluri.

Zluri’s app catalog and access request solution will help streamline your service delivery with ease. Let’s quickly go through how it does that.

Improve The Effectiveness Of  Your Service Delivery via Zluri

Zluri's app catalog and access request solution automates the entire request management process. It allows your team to create workflows that help effectively manage multiple results with just a few clicks.

So, your team no longer has to practice manual request management methods, which are time-consuming and prone to errors.

Although automation stands as a primary advantage of having a solution like Zluri, it offers more than just automation to streamline your service delivery. Here are the other benefits:

Visibility Into Requests

provides your team with complete visibility into incoming requests, pending requests, recently raised requests, and requests that have been approved.  

With this visibility, they can effectively manage, organize, and prioritize requests, speeding up the approval process and saving significant time.

Integrates With Slack To Provide Timely Alerts

It integrates with Slack, providing your team with instant notifications for access requests in real-time. Therefore, whenever an employee submits a request, your teams receive notifications via Slack.

Furthermore, the app access request details (who has requested for what apps and for how long) appear in the IT team's Slack channel and Zluri's access request dashboard under pending requests. Detailed View Of Requests

Additionally, as per Kuppingercole's research and analysis report, to provide your team with a more detailed view, Zluri's access management categorizes requests into two subsections: pending and completed.

In the pending section, your IT team can easily identify which applications are awaiting approval, while the completed section displays all approved requests.

This way, they don't have to go back and forth through different screens to find out which requests are pending and which are completed, saving time and improving efficiency. Also, this minimizes the chances of missing out on approving requests.

Additionally, audit trails allow for tracking of actions taken, providing visibility into all details.

Automated Request Approval Triggers

Your team can create triggers (when and then conditions) to automate request approval actions. For instance, your team can set automated rules for when a new employee from the marketing department joins the organization and grants them access to Salesforce.  

What are you waiting for? Book a demo now to witness how Zluri's advanced capabilities simplify your service management process.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1: What does the term IT Service Desk Metrics mean?

IT service desk metrics are indicators or measurable values that help assess the efficiency, effectiveness, and performance of IT support services provided by a service desk.

2: How frequently should IT service desk metrics be monitored and reviewed?

IT service desk metrics need to be monitored and reviewed periodically (monthly or quarterly) or on a regular basis. By doing so, your team can identify performance trends and detect areas for improvement, and, accordingly, take action to make the required changes.

3: How can you reduce the ticket escalation rate?

The ticket escalation rate can be reduced by taking the following actions:

• Providing frontline IT teams with required training
• Implementing efficient escalation procedures, giving them access to required tools and authority to fix problems on their own
• Addressing underlying causes of escalations