Five help desk metrics to check weekly

Most help desks have a dashboard, and most people open it once, on the first day. The reason is simple: there are too many numbers, and nobody said which ones to look at when you only have five minutes.

Here are the five we check every week, in the order we would open them. For each one: what it means, when it is bad, and where it lives in UnitLook.

1. Unassigned requests

The simplest metric and the most useful. Nobody works on a request without an assignee, and the client does not know that, so they wait.

What to look at: the number should be zero, or very close to it, at the end of a working day. If it climbs day after day, the problem is not the amount of work but that nobody is in charge of distribution.

Where it is: on the requests dashboard, among the key indicators and on the Status tab, where they are listed. A click on a row opens the request, so assignment is done on the spot.

2. New versus resolved

A chart that compares how many requests were created and how many were resolved in the same period. One week means nothing, but the trend does.

What to look at: if new ones regularly outnumber resolved ones, the pile is growing, even if each individual request is handled on time. A team like that will not feel the problem right away but in two or three months.

Where it is: on the Overview tab, with a comparison of last week and this week and of last month and this month. The Trend tab shows how many requests were created per month over the last twelve months.

3. Overdue deadlines and escalations

A deadline is a promise to the client. When it is not kept, that is not a statistic but a reason for a conversation.

What to look at: three levels. Overdue means the deadline has passed. Due soon means the deadline is within seven days. To escalate means the overrun is longer than fourteen days. The third level should have no requests. If it does, somebody has stopped looking at them.

Where it is: on the Deadlines tab, with a calendar of deadlines and a list. The warning log remembers events, for example an email sent for an overdue deadline or an escalation, so you can see whether somebody was notified.

4. Workload by assignee and department

An equal number of open requests does not mean an equal workload, but when somebody has three times as many as the others, it is worth asking why.

What to look at: the distribution of open requests by assignee, department, client and category. If one person holds most of the requests in one category, there is a risk for both the client and the team: when that person is away, the category stands still.

Where it is: on the Overview tab, in the open requests view. You can switch between clients, departments, assignees, owners and category. The Departments card groups open requests by the department they are assigned to.

5. Requests awaiting confirmation

Resolved is not the same as done. Until the client confirms, the request is up in the air: it can come back, and the assignee must not forget about it.

What to look at: how many there are and how long they have been waiting. A request that sits resolved and unconfirmed for weeks usually means the client did not see the message or the solution was not explained clearly. A reminder or a short phone call often fixes it.

Where it is: among the key indicators, as the number of requests waiting for confirmation.

What not to treat as the main number

The total number of open requests is usually the first figure people look at and the least useful. A large number can mean a bad situation, but also a large, healthy inflow. A small number can mean excellent handling, but also clients who stopped reporting problems.

That is why we read it alongside the other five, not instead of them.

How to turn it into a routine

There is no need for a special meeting. Fifteen minutes is enough, always on the same day, in the order in which we listed the five metrics here. Whoever goes through the dashboard writes down two things: what changed since last week and who took what.

If you are just setting up a help desk, see ticket categories, priorities and statuses and your first week in UnitLook. For a deeper look at hours, planned versus actual. An overview of the features is on the ticketing system page.

FAQ

What is the most important help desk metric?

If you have to choose one, unassigned requests. It shows whether anybody is working on what has arrived at all.

How often should I look at the dashboard?

Unassigned requests and deadlines every day, and the rest once a week. The trend of requests per month is enough to look at monthly.

Does everybody see the same numbers?

The dashboard shows the requests a user is allowed to see, so the numbers depend on permissions. The Mine card respects the roles you choose in the filter: owner, assignee, participant or follower.

Do we get a warning when a deadline passes?

Yes. The system sends an email for an overdue deadline and for a deadline that is about to expire, and it records escalations. The events are visible in the warning log.

If you would like to see the dashboard on your own data, get in touch for a demo at unitlook.com. It takes 45 minutes and needs no preparation.