Friday, July 30, 2021

Lack of time is the single biggest challenge MSPs face. Between hiring, training, sales, client relationships management, and so much more, MSPs are constantly pulled in competing directions. Unfortunately, many of the tasks and responsibilities that tug at an MSP’s schedule the most are also the most costly – usually the result of inefficient, poorly structured systems. Taking care of these tasks isn’t just a frustration, it’s a real danger to the success of your MSP, robbing you of profitability and opportunity. Here are some of the top opportunities for MSPs when it comes to reclaiming their most precious, unrenewable resource: time. 

Top 5 Efficiency Killers For MSPs (And How We Can Help Mitigate Them)

1. Scheduling Ping Pong

Thanks to constant innovation in technology, helpdesks are busier than ever, and, with clients continually optimizing their tech stacks, that’s not likely to change anytime soon. Clients can’t afford downtime and want their tickets handled fast (and the first time). The biggest time-wasting frustration for your helpdesk dispatchers and techs isn’t even related to their task: it’s scheduling. The game of scheduling ping-pong with phone calls and emails between clients, dispatchers, and techs can eat up over two weeks of time every year. That’s a huge opportunity cost because it’s not just the actual time wasted (which is detrimental enough on its own), but also the client perception of lower quality service. At TimeZest, we designed our revolutionary scheduling solution to automate the process, assigning the right tech and selecting the right spot on a client’s calendar to seamlessly schedule support and eliminate unnecessary steps that prolong issue resolution.

2. Unnecessary Meetings For Simple Problems

You likely do not need a meeting – or even a phone call – to resolve a password reset. Whether this is an area your client should be responsible for themselves, or one you want to continue to govern, know this: Gartner Group studies report the average 10-person MSP wastes nearly $10k per year on password reset tickets. If you feel it’s critical that you continue to provide this service to clients, it’s even more critical that you automate scheduling into your workflow so that the right techs are assigned seamlessly, without unnecessary scheduling of phone calls or meetings that will inevitably delay resolution and cost even more time. 

3. No-Shows

It’s an age-old helpdesk story: they finally work through the painful game of scheduling ping-pong to secure a meeting on a client’s calendar only for them to no-show. Not only are no-shows a missed opportunity to resolve a client’s problem, but they’re also an enormous time-waster. They’ve killed a time slot your talented tech could be resolving an issue, the laborious process has to be started all over again, and, inevitably, your client is frustrated, too (despite the client being the one responsible for the no-show). TimeZest has a direct and immediate impact on eliminating no-shows, because the automated scheduling workflow is designed to secure the optimal time on the client’s calendar from the beginning, and because the client has the power to reschedule conveniently on their terms. 

4. Replacing and Training Top Talent 

Wasted time has a negative impact on your bottom line, but it also has a negative impact on your team members. If you’ve spent time attracting and training a skilled helpdesk team of dispatchers and technicians, you know how valuable these professionals are. The bottom line is – they’re not scheduling experts, but scheduling becomes a seemingly endless and joyless part of their role, leading to decreased satisfaction and, ultimately, to them leaving your team. Replacing valuable team members is, as MSPs well know, not easy, and onboarding new team members is costly – it can take at least 3 months to get a new tech fully trained – and you’ll likely need to lean on your best techs to assist with this, further decreasing efficiency and adding additional workload for them. By harnessing the power of TimeZest’s automated scheduling, MSPs can empower their teams and allow them to spend their time doing what they do best: efficiently resolving client problems and, as an added benefit, improving client perceptions of your team.  

5. Managing A Poorly Designed Tech Stack

There’s nothing like an optimized tech stack, but not every client brings that to the table. As an MSP, you are providing an experience, and – even when it’s no fault of your team’s – a bogged down, complex tech stack can make clients misplace blame for their frustration at the inefficiency they experience. We designed TimeZest to seamlessly integrate with existing PSAs, such as ConnectWise and Autotask, so you can provide an even more efficient and streamlined helpdesk experience, embedding scheduling in your service tickets without ever having to leave the workflow environment.

We’re here for MSPs.

At TimeZest, we’re a team of MSP industry professionals, and we know seemingly small frustrations can, over time, become hugely costly inefficiencies to your bottom line – and to client perception. One of the most powerful testimonials we’ve received shared that, after making no other changes other than integrating TimeZest into their client’s PSA, an MSP reported glowing customer reviews about their increased availability. The helpdesk was busier than ever, but the seamless scheduling and automated workflow improved the customer psychology around their helpdesk efficiency. The business landscape is competitive and challenging enough without allowing easily resolved inefficiencies to eat you alive. Learn how TimeZest’s revolutionary, seamless scheduling workflow automation can eliminate costly and unnecessary frustration for your MSP business.