MSP Evolution: The Service Coordinator Workload Rebalancing Dashboard
A Key to MSP Efficiency
“Don’t wait. The time will never be just right.”
What a wonderful world we live in. You grow up reading comic books and watching cartoons - Bug Bunny, Transformers, Robotech/Macross, Sailor Moon, DuckTales, Ren & Stimpy, TMNT - and then you grow up and it looks like YouTube and Tiktok have killed them.
Then you see so many Start Trek arcs explored in new comics, G.I. Joe and Transformers compendiums raising over $3 million on Kickstarter, and MeToons is in high demand for their retro cartoons and some great ones are also on Pluto. (“Yo, Joe!)
Those of you who grew up with the Marvel universe will understand when I borrow the words of the Great Stan Lee: “Welcome true believers, this is Stephen Buyze. We’re about to embark the exploration of a fantastic new universe and the best part is that you are gonna create it with me.” The universe, of course, is Autotask and PSAutomation.
Today, I’m peeling back the curtain a bit and showing you what the Service Coordinator Dashboard should look like. This is the “heads-up display” or “Operations Center” of an MSP.
So let’s get to it. “Autotaskers, roll out!”
Your Heads-Up Display
In the dynamic world of MSPs, managing Tech workload effectively is paramount to delivering quality service, meeting SLAs, and maintaining profitability. A critical tool for achieving this is a well-designed Service Coordinator dashboard, particularly one focused on workload rebalancing. This dashboard provides the Service Coordinator, often called the "Hub of the Company" and "Customer Advocate," with the visibility needed to understand Tech workloads and proactively intervene when necessary. Leveraging Autotask dashboards with dynamic widgets allows for constant updating and reordering of tasks, showing not just numbers but also which tickets need intervention and freeing Techs from the noise of deciding what to work on next.
On the Service Coordinator Workload Rebalancing Dashboard, the widgets are divided into three groups. (If you are not familiar with widgets, email info@agmspcoaching.com, and I will send you a recent webinar.)
Workload Based on Ticket Counts
Workload Based on Estimated Hours to Completion
Nice to Know Information
Let's explore key widgets that enable workload rebalancing:
Workload Based on Ticket Counts
Techs’ All Open Tickets
Techs’ Ready to Engage Tickets
Techs’ SLA Overdue Tickets
Workload Based on Estimated Hours to Completion
Techs’ Estimated Hours Due Today
Techs’ Estimated Hours Due This Week
Nice to Know Information
SLA Summary
Service Calls Scheduled
Out of Office
Estimated vs Actual Hours
Techs’ All Open Tickets
Knowing the total number of open tickets is important. The volume of Open Tickets per Tech ideally should be 18-22 tickets and is an indicator of intervention is needed. A Service Coordinator should take ownership of all open tickets, and while this widget itself doesn't dictate immediate action, its volume provides a high-level health check of the service board.
Techs’ Ready to Engage Tickets
This is a core widget for Techs, and the first one they should be looking at. It contains tickets that are ready to be worked on at will without requiring scheduling. The Ready to Engage widget sorts tickets by the Next SLA Event Due Date, guiding the Tech's work order. Ideally this widget contains 8-12 tickets (a day to a-day-and-a-half’s worth of work).
Techs’ Resolve SLA Overdue Tickets
The goal for overdue tickets should always be zero. (In reality, 3 or 4 will always be hanging around.) Advanced Global strongly recommends using the SLA Resolve field vs Due Date field to determine if a ticket is truly overdue or not. The reason for using SLA Resolve rather than the Due Date is that the Due Date can (and will) simply be pushed out making them disappear from this view and the MSP is now feeling good about themselves, while not solving the underlying problem and leaving the Client disappointed. (Yes, we could lock down the Due Date to match the SLA Resolved Due Date, but that causes problems in the Automated Mechanisms.)
The problem it causes: when editing a ticket the SLA release of the Due Date is delayed a few seconds after hitting save, so, while certain workflows using the priority field allow pushing out the Due Date (On-Hold being the most important of the Waiting Customer SLA Event status), the Due Date reverts back after saving.
If the number of overdue tickets is more than 5 per Tech, it signals a problem requiring management intervention. The intervention is in the form of a Backlog Remediation Strategy which utilizes the Backlog List of Tickets (BLT) report. By the way: Overdue tickets consistently create a negative customer experience, making this a crucial metric to minimize. A great way to get a Client to fire you is to let your Techs handle their own ticket triage and response.
Techs’ Estimated Hours Due Today
Knowing the number of tickets on any one Tech is nice to know, but it is only half of the Workload Equation. A workload dashboard can provide visibility into the Total Estimated Hours due today per Tech. This offers a more nuanced view than just ticket count, helping the Service Coordinator understand the potential workload pressure on each Tech for the current day and inform rebalancing decisions.
Techs’ Estimated Hours Due This Week
Similar to estimated hours due today, the workload dashboard can display the Total Estimated Hours per Tech for the week. This provides a broader perspective on the Tech's upcoming workload, helping the Service Coordinator forecast potential bottlenecks, and plan for workload rebalancing over a longer timeframe.
SLA Summary
This is a proactive widget designed to indicate when intervention is needed. It highlights tickets approaching their Next SLA Event Due Date, whether for Tech Engagement or Completion. By monitoring this widget, the Service Coordinator can identify tickets potentially "in trouble," see who the ticket is assigned to, assess that Tech's workload, and determine if they are likely to meet expectations. The aim is to take proactive steps to avoid missing an SLA without initially contacting the Tech.
Service Calls Scheduled
Knowing which Techs are scheduled for remote or on-site work is essential for workload management. This widget allows the Service Coordinator to see who is scheduled and therefore not available for immediate engagement on unscheduled tickets. This information is crucial when assessing if a Tech can handle an additional task or if a ticket nearing its SLA needs reassignment. The Service Coordinator reviews the daily schedule as part of their duties. Tickets requiring the customer to be available or those estimated to take more than 4 hours should generally be scheduled.
Out of Office
Knowing Tech availability, particularly who is on PTO, is vital for rebalancing. A widget showing who is off any day this week or simply whether a Tech is working today allows the Service Coordinator to quickly determine if an assigned Tech is available to address a ticket, especially one coming up on an SLA deadline. This information is used to decide if intervention is needed without directly contacting the Tech.
Estimated vs Actual Hours
Tracking Estimated vs. Actual Hours per Tech, perhaps via a Live Report or widget, offers insight into Tech efficiency and can identify who might be struggling or taking longer than average on specific task types. While not a direct rebalancing tool for a single ticket, this data informs decisions about future assignments, training needs, and can highlight engagements that are "going sideways". Automating the population of the Estimated Hours field based on historical data is critical for leveraging this insight.
End Credits
By combining the insights from these key widgets, a Service Coordinator has a powerful toolset to proactively monitor Tech workloads, identify potential issues before they impact SLAs or Client satisfaction, and rebalance the Workload effectively across the team. This approach moves beyond simply reacting to problems and enables a more efficient and proactive service delivery operation.
We learned from a great cartoon that “knowing is half the battle.” The other half is doing. Don’t wait. The time will never be just right. Send me your questions, your needs, your frustrations, and your stress. My team gets you. We’re here to help. info@agmspcoaching.com
Please make sure to tune in next week, same Bat time, same Bat channel. (Yes, I know...DC, not Marvel).