hat does a help desk analyst do?

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An early career Help Desk Analyst with 1-4 years of experience earns an average total compensation (includes tips, bonus, and overtime pay) of ₹282,531 based on 13 salaries. A mid-career Help Desk Analyst with 5-9 years of experience earns an average total compensation of ₹361,741 based on 5 salaries

Help desk analysts are on the frontline of customer support. They are focused on helping to resolve technical issues end users encounter, or connecting those users with more intensive IT support, when needed.

The help desk analyst is one of the most visible IT roles – as well as an evolving one. In fact, it’s one of the few public-facing IT jobs. But what does an average workday look like for this professional? Here’s a quick overview. 

A tiered role

Help desk analysts are on the frontline of customer support. They are focused on helping to resolve technical issues end users encounter, or connecting those users with more intensive IT support, when needed. Here are the three levels of analysts:

• A Tier 1 help desk analyst typically takes the initial inquiry and manages relatively simple hardware, software or network issues. If they can’t address the problem, they escalate it to a Tier 2 analyst.
• A Tier 2 analyst is able to resolve more complex systems and applications problems. These help desk analysts generally decide whether or not to generate a trouble or work order ticket, or escalate the issue to the next level.
• Tier 3 analysts research and resolve the most complex issues that other help desk levels have been unable to fix. They also identify trends in issue reporting and come up with preventative solutions.

Remote assistance

A help desk analyst spends the majority of the day performing remote support. This can take a number of forms:

• Over-the-phone support
• Screen sharing or remote control
• Live chat support
• Email support

Performing any kind of technical support is challenging enough, but remote support can require even more skill.

If screen sharing or remote control tools aren’t available, help desk analysts must depend on users to be their eyes and hands when trying to resolve a problem. The help desk analyst must visualize what the user is seeing on his or her screen and know exactly what suggestions to give, and how to word that guidance so the user can follow it.

Providing remote support can be particularly tricky during busy periods of the day when the volume of calls picks up, queues get longer and pressure mounts. The help desk analyst therefore needs to know how to keep cool and work efficiently – and it doesn't hurt to have a sense of humor, particularly when receiving requests like these. (Although laughing at end user requests while helping them is obviously not a good idea!)

Ticket maintenance

Help desk requests are tracked using a ticketing system. The most efficient help desks have standards set for ticket quality, like average time to resolution and percentage of tickets that are escalated to higher levels.These standards are used to measure the quality of service, as well as to detect trends in product quality. This is why a help desk analyst must regularly maintain tickets.These professionals typically spend a portion of the workday reviewing existing tickets and looking for cases that should be closed, following up with users where appropriate, and setting reminders for future action.

Help desk analysts who deal with especially time-sensitive issues will spend a larger share of their day on ticket maintenance and following up on reminders to make sure their tickets are on track for a speedy resolution.