You might think that technical expertise is the most important skill needed to work on the Service Desk team at XPERTECHS but that’s only partly true. You need foundational knowledge about IT, but it’s vital to have the communication skills that are necessary to put the person on the other end of the phone at ease.

That means you have to be an active listener so that you can empathize with the caller’s frustrations. You have to ask good questions to pull out the information that’s going to help you understand what’s happening so you can fix the problem and get the person back to their workday.

You’d see how we apply empathetic communications to IT support if you took a peek inside the Service department at XPERTECHS. The phones are ringing. Technicians are speaking with clients. Some are working on tickets submitted by email. One person slides their chair over to talk to a coworker. The Teams channel is chattering. There’s laughter as coworkers share a joke or a funny meme.

Yes, it’s busy but the activity ebbs and flows. For the technicians on the IT support front line, some days can feel like they’ve been on the phone all day. On other days there’s time for a friendly game of putt-putt golf and water cooler talk.

Roles in the Service Department

The Service department at XPERTECHS is focused on one-to-one IT support for computer users at client companies. The department includes three main roles.

Service Desk Technicians

These are IT generalists who know a little about everything. They have basic understanding of the Microsoft suite of software plus Exchange and Azure. They understand how computers work and their operating systems. They know about different types of cell phones and the various apps that people need for business.

Escalations Technicians

These people are like junior system administrators. When there’s an issue that cannot be resolved quickly by the Service Technicians, they pass it along to this team. The people on the escalations team have more experience under their belts than the Service Desk Techs and more years of experience. They are familiar with advanced troubleshooting techniques and act as mentors for Service Desk Techs.

Deployment Technicians

Deployment Technicians are the people who get new computers set up and ready for delivery to clients. They work in our onsite workshop imaging machines and getting them set up according to the profiles that we have documented for different job roles for each company. They may also work directly with employees at client companies to customize set up according to their needs.

Facing the Challenge of the Unknown Problem

Interacting with people who may be frustrated and not at their best can certainly be a challenge. We already talked about the skills that service desk staff need to have when it comes to communicating with client computer users. Another challenge that the service team faces daily is the appearance of an unknown problem.

You won’t see any backing down when new issues emerge that the technicians have never encountered before. In fact, these folks are stimulated by the opportunity to tackle something new because they see it as a learning opportunity.

There can be many people who contribute to the solution to a complex problem. That’s what’s happening with all the back and forth that goes on in-person in the office and on Teams chat. Whether it’s a new type of software or equipment, or a rare error code that’s encountered, service desk and escalation technicians have the resources they need to find the answer.

The People Who Rock the Service Department

The kind of people who find success in Service Department roles are people who are critical thinkers. They’re able to move logically from one step to the next. They recognize when they need to keep going and when they need to ask for help.

XPERTECHS provides training to help employees develop their troubleshooting skills and supports employees with reimbursement for training and certifications. Some people find that the service desk is their niche and they develop their career by becoming a subject-matter expert in addition to developing their competence in troubleshooting. For others, the service desk is a steppingstone on their path to other IT and cybersecurity specialties.

Related: 7 Ways a Job on the Help Desk Can Springboard Your IT Career

When we’re hiring, we are especially interested in seeing resumes that include basic Microsoft or CompTIA certifications. We’ve found that spending some time as a Deployment Technician is a great first step for someone who is more entry-level but understands how computers work and is eager to learn more.

Is the XPERTECHS Service Desk Your Next Career Destination?

Can you start to picture yourself being part of our Service Desk team at XPERTECHS? Learn about our current opportunities on our careers page and join our Talent Network to keep in touch.