I'm doing a project on computer support help desks and I would like to
know the industry standard ratio (or range of ratios) of computer
support held desk personnel to customers. Note that this is for
external customer support provided by a company to its customers (E.g.
a software company providing phone support to its customers ) NOT
internal IT helpdesks. Thanks.

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Request for Question Clarification by bobbie7-ga on 03 Aug 2006 22:09 PDT

Sandy24,

How many technicians do I need to staff my support
center?http://www.coastaltech.com/hd-staff.htm

Please let me know if the figures at the above link provide you with a
satisfactory answer to your question?

Bobbie7

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Request for Question Clarification by bobbie7-ga on 03 Aug 2006 22:09 PDT

Here's a clickable link

http://www.coastaltech.com/hd-staff.htm

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Request for Question Clarification by bobbie7-ga on 09 Aug 2006 11:20 PDT

Dear Sandy24,

Did you have a chance to check out the information at the link I provided?

Thanks, Bobbie7

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Clarification of Question by sandy24-ga on 10 Aug 2006 13:26 PDT

The link you sent provides information about help desks within an
organization that are used to support an organization's employees. I
am specifically interested in help desks that are used to support
external customers. e.g. the ratio of customers:help desk staff at the
help desk of a company like Dell, Microsoft, Adobe that support
external customers i.e. users of their products not their internal
employees.

Hope that clarification makes sense. 

Thanks.

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Request for Question Clarification by bobbie7-ga on 10 Aug 2006 13:32 PDT

Hello again Sandy24,

Thanks for the clarification.

How about the following numbers?

"RMI goes by the standard ratio of 1500 customers to one support
person. It currently employs 15 representatives for dial-up customers
and four for residential customers. The staff's internal goal is to
keep hold times between five and 10 minutes. One main concern is those
calls that are abandoned because the customer was stuck on hold,
according to Mike Mara, RMI's vice president and general manager of
Internet services.

In general, calls at RMI take eight to 10 minutes to resolve.
Approximately 85% of the calls do not require a second call. Support
is available 24 hours a day for business customers and 8 a.m. to 8
p.m. six days a week for residential customers."

http://telephonyonline.com/mag/telecom_customer_care_reputation/


"In most shops staffing is usually 1:500ish (at best...sometimes it is
more in the realm of 1:1000)"
http://techrepublic.com.com/5206-11179-0.html;jsessionid=QDABJbZZT4_lgWK3Yq?forumID=7&threadID=195529&start=0


Thanks, Bobbie7

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Clarification of Question by sandy24-ga on 11 Aug 2006 10:38 PDT

Yes - this is what I needed. Thank you.

Hello again Sandy24,

Thank you for the positive response to my clarification request.

I am reposting the information below to make my answer official.

"RMI goes by the standard ratio of 1500 customers to one support
person. It currently employs 15 representatives for dial-up customers
and four for residential customers. The staff's internal goal is to
keep hold times between five and 10 minutes. One main concern is those
calls that are abandoned because the customer was stuck on hold,
according to Mike Mara, RMI's vice president and general manager of
Internet services.

In general, calls at RMI take eight to 10 minutes to resolve.
Approximately 85% of the calls do not require a second call. Support
is available 24 hours a day for business customers and 8 a.m. to 8
p.m. six days a week for residential customers."

http://telephonyonline.com/mag/telecom_customer_care_reputation/


"In most shops staffing is usually 1:500ish (at best...sometimes it is
more in the realm of 1:1000)"
http://techrepublic.com.com/5206-11179-0.html;jsessionid=QDABJbZZT4_lgWK3Yq?forumID=7&threadID=195529&start=0


Thanks, 
Bobbie7