If you are looking for a career opportunity where you can use your excellent interpersonal and management skills, and you are good at resolving conflicts, a help desk manager might be the perfect fit for you.
Help desk managers supervise technical support teams to help customers with computer issues. They may train help desk technicians and ensure that technicians employ excellent customer service and technical expertise. They typically handle any escalations and work to resolve problems.
Help desk managers must be good leaders, have a high level of technical skill, and have outstanding troubleshooting skills. They evaluate the performance of team members and provide constructive feedback. Exceptional verbal and written communications skills are a must as they deal with team members, internal and external customers, and prepare reports on performance to upper management. A deep knowledge of computer hardware and software and excellent problem-solving skills are essential while working as a help desk manager.
Sample job description
Help desk managers supervise technical help desk support teams, track performance, and ensure a high level of customer service. They also hire, train, and support help desk representatives. Help desk managers need excellent leadership skills, strong interpersonal skills, and must be adept at handling conflict. If you have experience providing excellent technical support to internal and external customers, as well as training, supporting, and leading a help desk team, you could be the perfect fit for the position at [Your Company Name].
Typical duties and responsibilities
- Take initial telephone or email inquiries and troubleshoot and manage standard hardware, software or network problems
- Perform remote troubleshooting through diagnostic techniques and pertinent questions
- Determine the best solution based on the issue and details provided by customers
- Direct unresolved issues to the next level of support personnel
- Pass on any feedback or suggestions by customers to the appropriate internal team
Education and experience
This position requires an associate or bachelor’s degree in IT, computer science, or a relevant field. Certifications like COMPTIA A+ Certification or Microsoft Technology Associate (MTA) are strongly preferred.
Required skills and qualifications
- Strong problem-solving skills
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
- Ability to work in a team environment
Preferred qualifications
- 2 + years of team management experience
- Hands-on experience with help desk and remote control software
- Experience leading complex technology project and dynamic project teams
- Bachelor’s degree in business administration, computer science, or related field
- Ability to effectively manage and mentor employees
- Customer-service oriented with a problem-solving attitude
- Strong technical background with excellent analytical and troubleshooting skills
Typical work environment
Help desk managers typically work in offices where they spend much of their time on a computer. They also spend time supporting the help desk team, training new team members, and hiring. The work can be stressful and fast-paced much of the time. Help desk managers generally work from 9 AM to 5 PM Monday through Friday, but they may have to work overtime on occasion as the workload demands.
Typical hours
The typical work hours for a help desk manager can vary, especially if they work for an organization with 24-hour support services. That means help desk manager could work varied shifts, including nights, weekends, and holidays.
Available certifications
Many institutions offer certifications that allow help desk managers to improve their skills and knowledge and gain an advantage in the workplace. Here are some of the top certifications for help desk managers:
- Certified Service Desk Manager (CSDM). The Knowledge Academy offers this certification for service desk managers who are looking to gain a better understanding of the help desk environment. Candidates learn essential management skills, how to integrate and promote the service desk, quality assurance, effective management of tools and technologies, and more.
- Help Desk – Manager. This course is administered by Udemy and provides instruction on managing, hiring, and building a team in a help desk environment. Students gain an understanding of how to hire new staff, how to evaluate staff, how to build and manage an effective team, and what the principles of IT service management are. The requirements to take the course include a basic understanding of the business industry and a basic foundation of the help desk industry. A certificate is awarded upon completion of the course.
Career path
Help desk manager positions are often the next-level step for people who worked help desk to start a career in the IT field. Working at a help desk is a great way to gain knowledge of various hardware and software platforms, as well as develop problem-solving and communication skills. Patience, resourcefulness and a desire to help others are considered valuable soft skills for candidates applying to help desk manager positions.
Though a bachelor’s degree is not often required to become a help desk manager, people who want to pursue a four-year degree are encouraged to study disciplines like computer information systems (CIS), help desk administration, technical support, and network administration. Some candidates can be hired as help desk manager with just a specialized certificate in PC repair or IT/help desk support, instead of a formal degree. Candidates with industry certifications in IT infrastructure like CompTIA Server+ or specific platforms like Microsoft Technology Associate (MTA) are often considered attractive for help desk technician positions. As with all management positions, leadership experience is generally preferred as well.
Many help desk managers go on to positions as database administrators, IT security specialists, or network administrators. Other help desk managers remain in the support aspect of the IT field and become directors and beyond.
US, Bureau of Labor Statistics’ job outlook
SOC Code: 11-3021
| 2020 Employment | 482,000 |
| Projected Employment in 2030 | 534,700 |
| Projected 2020-2030 Percentage Shift | 11% increase |
| Projected 2020-2030 Numeric Shift | 52,700 increase |
Position trends
Nearly every organization has technology needs, and whether the organization has an in-house IT department with its own support staff or relies on support from its IT equipment and software vendors, the need for help desk managers will exist for years to come. However, some industry analysts foresee an increase in the use of chatbots and artificial intelligence (AI) to take care of simple support needs.
However, according to the trade publication CIO, the transition to the use of some automated help desk applications doesn’t mean that the need for human help desk employees will go away. Instead, it could merely divert humans to doing the things humans are uniquely good at, like troubleshooting complex issues and providing exceptional customer service to users and clients.
While technical expertise will always be valuable to a help desk manager, soft skills like communication, patience, and the desire to help people are also of value to companies when they look to hire a help desk manager. Many industry observers see the technical support field drastically shifting to a more customer-focused model in the years to come.