MSP Evolution: Unlocking Tech Efficiency
Why Monitoring the Techs’ “Ready to Engage” Dashboard is Your MSP's Secret Weapon
No excuses. No explanation. You don’t win on emotion. You win on execution.
- Tony Dungy
In the bustling world of MSPs, the Service Coordinator is often the unsung hero, acting as the central hub and customer advocate. They manage open tickets, identify priorities, and ensure smooth operations. Among the tools at their disposal, one Autotask dashboard stands out as a game-changer for unlocking your technical team's maximum potential: Techs’ “Ready to Engage” Monitor Dashboard.
Today, fellow Autotask Gladiators, we are going to delve into the significance of this dashboard and how it can revolutionize your MSP's efficiency.
The Dashboards
Advanced Global installs 3 primary dashboards for Service Coordinators in our Service Delivery Foundational Improvement engagements.
The first Dashboard is titled “All Open Ticket Management” Often called the “HUD” or Heads up Display, this dashboard surfaces information that allows the Service Coordinator to quickly see an overview of the MSP’s Service Delivery status and make decisions. This is where triage and scheduling occur, and the Service Coordinator spends a lot of their time.
The next is the “Workload Rebalancing Dashboard.” Here the Service Coordinator sees information more focused on tickets such as SLA status, tickets reaching estimated time, time needed, etc. Of course, everything is color coded for a quick understanding of where to focus. This is dashboard allows you to quickly rebalance workloads to keep Clients happy and Techs from going underwater.
The third and maybe the most important dashboard is the Techs’ “Ready to Engage Monitor.” Here is where the Techs' primary workspace – the Ready to Engage widget – is monitored. And let’s be clear, maintaining the Techs' Ready to Engage widgets in "fine working order" is critical to:
Techs knowing what the Right Next Ticket is
Maximizing Efficiency
Finding the Freedom to Grow the Business
Not to mention, Home on time for Dinner, Off the Grid Weekends and Vacations, or Improving one’s Gaming Score.
Techs’ “Ready to Engage Monitor” Maintenance is Critical
The Ready to Engage widget, sorted by the Next SLA Event Due Date, is designed to organize a Tech's Day and show them exactly what to work on next, maximizing their efficiency. It moves waiting tickets out of their immediate list and highlights scheduled engagements. A well-maintained widget ensures that tickets needing attention are always at the top, based on SLA priority.
However, if this widget isn't kept clean and accurate, it loses its value. Overdue tickets clogging the top of the list, tickets without proper SLA dates, or a confusing mix of work prevents the Tech from trusting the system designed to help them.
The Cost of Mistrust: Reverting to Old Habits
This lack of trust is incredibly damaging because Techs will never fully lean into the new, efficient processes or consistently use their dashboards if they don't trust the Ready to Engage widget. When Techs don't trust the dashboard, they revert to old, less efficient habits like scrolling through cluttered Queue views, their general worklist, or "My Tasks".
These alternative views are problematic because they are often not sorted by SLA automation and can be a confusing mix of scheduled, waiting, and critical tickets. The Techs then spend a significant portion of their time – potentially 30% of their day – simply trying to figure out what to do next, rather than working on client requests. This leads to decreased efficiency (sometimes as low as 50% or less than 20 productive hours per week while being paid for 40 hours of productivity) and prevents them from getting to lower-priority tickets, which then drift into the dreaded backlog or become "first birthday" tickets (over a year old). Moreover, a cluttered Ready to Engage widget with overdue items adds stress to the Techs, making them feel constantly behind.
How to Maintain the Techs' Ready to Engage Widget
As the Service Coordinator, it falls on your shoulders to keep these widgets in fine working order. It's not as difficult as it sounds and primarily involves a few key steps that take only minutes twice a day once the system is clean.
Here’s how you can maintain the Techs' Ready to Engage widgets:
Ensure Every Ticket Has a Next SLA Event Due Date: View all the widgets and check for tickets missing this crucial date.
Most often, this happens when a ticket has been reopened. To fix this, go to the ticket history and clear the resolved date and time associated with the SLA event.
Sometimes, it's due to a missing contract on the ticket, indicating an issue with contract mapping or setup. A Workflow Rule should ideally put a non-contract SLA date on the ticket if the contract field is empty.
Remember, project or recurring tickets shouldn't typically be in the Ready to Engage widget; they should be scheduled on calendars.
2. Address Tickets with Past Due Dates: Ensure all due dates shown are today or in the future. Overdue tickets (more than one from yesterday or more than two days out) need immediate action.
Don't delay or overthink it. Pick up the ticket and schedule a Service Call for the Tech.
The ideal time to schedule these cleanup tasks is Thursday afternoon, as it's less busy than Monday-Wednesday. Schedule a reasonable block of time, perhaps an hour, given that remote desktop engagements average 30-45 minutes. You can add a note asking the Tech if more time is needed.
Scheduling the ticket removes it from the Ready to Engage widget and puts it on the Tech's calendar where it belongs.
3. Monitor Workload Volume: While not strictly "cleaning" the widget, ensure the workload is balanced. For remote desktop Techs, aim for 8 to 12 tickets in their Ready to Engage widget.
If a Tech has too many tickets, perform workload rebalancing to distribute them.
If a Tech has too few, use workload rebalancing to add more, keeping them within the target range. Adjust based on the Tech's role (field or project engineers may have fewer).
Summary/TLDR
Maintaining the Techs' Ready to Engage widget through Techs’ “Ready to Engage Monitor.” is crucial for maximizing efficiency and ensuring smooth operations. By keeping this Autotask widget clean and accurate, MSPs can significantly reduce the time Techs spend deciding what to do next, allowing them to focus on delivering high-quality service. Embrace these maintenance practices to build trust in your systems, enhance productivity, and ultimately drive your MSP towards greater success.
The Next Level
Ready to 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!
Steve & Co
At Advanced Global MSP Consulting, we are committed to helping you grow your MSP business by improving your service delivery experience and eliminating Chaos. We understand the unique challenges you face in the MSP industry, including the mental health struggles that can come with the territory.