MSP Evolution: Unlocking MSP Efficiency
A Guide to Evaluating Your Ticket Management Process
It has been my observation that most people get ahead during the time that others waste.
- Henry Ford
Greetings Autotask Gladiators!
Welcome back to another exciting week of Autotask learning brought to you by the Advanced Global MSP Coaching Team! As we dive into the summer months, it's the perfect time to focus on growing your MSP and unlocking new levels of efficiency. 🌞
Summer is often seen as a time to relax, but it's also an excellent opportunity to sharpen your skills, streamline your processes, and set the stage for future success. Remember, the work you put in now will pay off in the months and years to come. Let's make the most of this season by tackling challenges head-on and continuously improving our service delivery.
In this week's blog article, we explore key evaluation tools that can help you assess and enhance your ticket management process. From the Daily Triage QC Report to the Backlog List of Tickets, these insights will empower you to identify bottlenecks, improve efficiency, and keep your service delivery engine running smoothly.
Stay motivated, stay focused, and let's continue to transform our MSP operations together!
The Key Tools
In the fast-paced world of managed services, keeping tickets flowing smoothly from creation to completion is paramount. It ensures customer satisfaction, Tech efficiency, and the financial health of your business. But how do you know if your process is working? The answer lies in regular, structured evaluations. By leveraging specific reports and evaluation methods, you can gain deep insights into bottlenecks, identify areas for improvement, and keep your service delivery engine running like a well-oiled machine. Let's explore some key evaluation tools.
4 Key Evaluations and Reports:
Daily Triage QC Report
Ready to Engage QC
Stuck Ticket Intervention Training
Backlog List of Tickets
Daily Triage QC Report
The Daily Triage QC (Quality Control) Report is a light but essential tool for service coordinators. This report provides a snapshot of all tickets created during a specific day and details how they were triaged. It is typically run in the evening or reviewed the following morning, allowing service coordinators or coaches to assess triage decisions, assignments, and overall handling without the pressure of the moment.
Reviewing this report helps answer questions like: Were all tickets assigned? Were they assigned to the appropriate Techs based on the issue and Tech workload? Are tickets still sitting in the triage queue at the end of the day? Identifying tickets stuck in the triage queue or questionable assignments are potential "red flags" that warrant further investigation. Using this report during peaceful “reflection time” allows for clear thinking on where improvements can be made, which can then inform actions taken during busy periods.
Ready to Engage QC
The Ready to Engage widget is designed to show Techs the tickets they need to work on next. A weekly report focusing on this widget is crucial for ensuring it remains clean and functional. This report details tickets currently in the Ready to Engage state, providing information such as the assigned Tech, Client, ticket link, the next SLA event due date, when it was last touched, priority, estimated hours, and worked hours.
The purpose of this report is to identify tickets that are "clogging up" the widget, particularly those that are overdue or lack necessary scheduling. If a ticket is overdue (past its SLA due date), it needs attention, and the Service Coordinator should determine what the Tech needs to finish it and potentially schedule a specific time block for them to work on it. Tickets lacking a service call, including recurring tickets and projects, should also be scheduled, as Techs need dedicated time for tasks that require concentration or have no defined SLA. The report also helps flag reopened tickets, which may need their history edited to reset the SLA. Keeping the Ready to Engage widget clean ensures Techs can focus on their current tasks without being overwhelmed by aged or improperly scheduled tickets.
Stuck Ticket Intervention Evaluation
The Black Hole Stuck Ticket Evaluation is described as the "crown jewel" of the intake and open ticket management improvement program because it provides a comprehensive score on how well tickets are being driven from new to complete. Running this evaluation, perhaps weekly, allows you to grade your performance.
The evaluation covers various metrics, including the number of tickets in the triage queue, SLA summary (waiting/on hold), the status of the Ready to Engage widgets, tickets with a next SLA event due date more than 24 hours past due, the ratio of open tickets per Tech, tickets requiring scheduling without a service call, unassigned tickets, and tickets where worked hours are greater than two times the estimated hours. It also includes an evaluation of scheduled tickets with no future service calls and the backlog list of tickets.
Each metric is evaluated and assigned a grade (Great, Okay, or Bad) based on defined goals. The metrics graded as "Bad" highlight the specific areas where you need to focus your efforts and make improvements. For example, a "Bad" score for the triage queue size or overdue tickets indicates that these areas require immediate attention.
Backlog List of Tickets
The Backlog List of Tickets report specifically identifies aged tickets that fall outside the expected range of completion. According to Gary Pica of TruMethods fame, this list comprises incident tickets (critical through standard workflows) that are over 7 days old, and moves, adds, and changes that have been around for longer than 30 days. The rationale is that customers are unlikely to pay for break/fix incidents or minor changes that have gone unresolved for these extended periods. Project work and recurring preventive maintenance tickets are excluded as they operate on different timelines.
Managing the backlog depends on its size. If the number of backlog tickets is less than five per Tech, the Service Coordinator can work with individual Techs to schedule these tickets into their calendars, perhaps fitting them between higher priority tasks. However, if the backlog is larger, exceeding an average of five tickets per Tech, more structured approaches are needed.
This might involve blocking out dedicated time for Techs to work on their backlog or scheduling "ticket counting parties" (also referred to as "ticket killing parties") where the entire service delivery team focuses on clearing backlog tickets, encouraging collaboration to resolve roadblocks. Sharing the report in advance can prompt Techs to resolve simple issues or identify needed assistance before the dedicated work session.
Wrap-Up and Next Steps
n the fast-paced world of managed services, maintaining an efficient ticket management process is crucial for customer satisfaction, Tech productivity, and business health. Regular evaluations using specific reports can help identify bottlenecks and areas for improvement. Key evaluation tools include:
Daily Triage QC Report: Assesses daily ticket triage decisions and assignments to ensure proper handling.
Ready to Engage QC: Focuses on tickets in the Ready to Engage state, highlighting overdue or unscheduled tickets.
Stuck Ticket Intervention Evaluation: Provides a comprehensive score on ticket management performance, identifying areas needing attention.
Backlog List of Tickets: Identifies aged tickets that exceed expected completion times, prompting structured approaches to manage backlog.
By leveraging these tools, MSPs can proactively address issues, enhance efficiency, and keep tickets moving towards completion. Regular use of these evaluations ensures a well-oiled service delivery engine, ready to tackle challenges and improve operations.
Now it’s time to get ahead while others waste time. Take your MSP operations to the next level. Dive deeper into our series on MSP Evolution and discover more strategies to streamline your processes and enhance service delivery. Check out our latest articles on monitoring chaos, workload rebalancing, and automation. Subscribe to our newsletter for exclusive insights and tips to keep your MSP ahead of the curve. Go watch some YouTube videos. Read “Unshackled.”
And finally, if you like Easy Buttons, email us at info@agmspcoaching.com and we can transform your MSP Operations together!