An important element in any computer systems administration is the help desk facility. The help desk has at least a twofold purpose: to resolve any problems users have with the system, and to assist them to use the system more effectively. The help desk may also be responsible for providing users with access to systems by allocating login rights and passwords.
In a small EMB, the 'help desk' may be one officer. In a large EMB, a help desk may need many staff. In some cases there may be several help desk teams, dedicated to different functions or different regional offices. The help desk function may be staffed internally, or may be outsourced to contractors. Help desks may also be shared with other agencies, particularly where whole-of-government computer systems are in place.
Help desks are generally most effective when they are staffed by officers with the skills necessary to provide help quickly, or who are able to seek help from appropriate technical staff as needed. In some cases, help can be provided immediately. In others, calls for help may have to be logged and dealt with when appropriate staff are available.
Where calls for help have to be prioritised, having a formal structure in place will enable help desk staff to decide which calls to deal with next. This formal structure will often be most effective if it is negotiated with and agreed to by users, so that they know what sort of priority to assign to calls for help and what level of help can be expected.
It is often useful for calls for help to be logged by the help desk and records kept of types and numbers of requests, and of the time taken to provide the assistance. This will help to identify problem areas that might need fixing by training or improving hardware or procedures.
