Best Practices for MSPs When Partnering with an Outsourced Help Desk Provider

The relationship between managed service providers (MSPs) and outsourced help desk providers is a crucial one. It’s about building a partnership that benefits both parties, especially the clients who rely on seamless, high-quality support.

Data from Market.us Scoop highlights the importance of this collaboration. It shared that despite worries about data security, 78% of companies around the world trust their outsourcing partners.

That means for you, aligning with the right MSP Help Desk Outsource provider can make all the difference in improving service efficiency and client satisfaction. However, getting the most out of this partnership requires careful planning and active collaboration.

In this guide, we’ll break down the best practices MSPs should follow when partnering with an offshore help desk provider.

Why the Right Partnership Is Key for MSPs

Think of your relationship with an outsourced help desk as a symbiotic partnership. It’s finding a team that integrates with yours, understands your goals, and helps you deliver top-tier service. It’s not just finding people to answer tickets.

That’s what a great collaboration looks like. But it doesn’t happen by accident. It takes planning, communication, and a mutual commitment to excellence. A recent Deloitte survey even revealed that 78% of companies made the effort to cultivate good relationships with their external providers.

When you do outsourcing right, you gain access to around-the-clock support, improve service levels, and scale without overwhelming your internal team. But, if the partnership is off-balance, it can have the opposite effect. It could lead to longer response times, service inconsistencies, and frustrated clients.

You’re trusting an external company to be the front line of your business. Y889-our clients shouldn’t see the difference between your team and the outsourced team. So, it’s essential to pick the right help desk provider that shares your dedication to quality.

Here are some of the best practices to keep in mind when you’ve already dipped your toes into outsourcing a help desk team:

Clear Communication with Your Help Desk Provider

Good communication is the glue that holds any successful partnership together. For MSPs working with third-party help desks, communication should be clear, frequent, and purposeful.

Start by setting up dedicated communication channels — whether that’s chat software like Slack, email, or a ticketing system. It’s vital to establish how information will flow between your team and the external support team. Will there be daily syncs? Weekly performance reviews? Make sure everyone is on the same page about how and when comms will happen.

Transparency is also key. Whether it’s an urgent technical issue or a minor query, open lines of communication ensure that problems are solved quickly. And don’t forget to keep feedback loops open. This helps the help desk team continuously improve and better align with your internal processes.

Tips to Strengthen Communication with Your Outsourcing Partner

1. Establish a Single Point of Contact (SPOC). Avoid the chaos of using multiple channels by designating a single point of contact between your MSP and the help desk provider.
2. Create a Communication Protocol Handbook. Don’t just agree on communication methods, document them. A handbook detailing preferred channels, escalation processes, and response times can serve as a quick reference for both teams.
3. Set Up Regular Sync Meetings. Don’t wait for issues to arise. Regular, brief sync meetings (weekly or bi-weekly) can preempt problems and see to it both teams are aligned on ongoing tasks and priorities.
4. Foster an Open Feedback Culture. Encourage your help desk team to share their insights and suggestions. Often, the people on the front lines have valuable perspectives that can improve service delivery.
5. Use Visual Dashboards for Updates. Visual tools can make complex information more digestible. Use dashboards to display real-time updates on help desk performance, ticket status, and other critical metrics.

Defining Roles and Responsibilities Early On

In any partnership, knowing who does what is important. Defining clear roles and responsibilities prevents overlap, confusion, and mistakes. Early on, have a discussion with your offshoring firm to outline exactly who handles what.

For example, is your chosen outsourcing company taking care of Tier 1 support while your team manages escalations? Or are they responsible for both front-line issues and more complex technical problems? Being crystal clear about these jobs lessens bottlenecks and improves efficiency.

Roles shouldn’t just stop at technical responsibilities either. Define escalation paths — who is the point of contact for urgent issues, and when should something be flagged for higher-level review? This structure verifies that problems are addressed promptly and don’t linger on someone’s to-do list.

Tips for Establishing Roles and Responsibilities

Assign a Liaison for Complex Issues. For particularly complex or high-priority issues, assign a dedicated liaison who can coordinate between the MSP and the help desk provider to ensure swift resolution.

Develop a Responsibility Assignment Matrix (RAM). Also known as a RACI matrix, this tool clarifies who is Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed for each task. It’s a simple way to prevent overlaps and gaps in responsibilities.

Create Role-Specific Playbooks. Don’t leave roles open to interpretation. Develop detailed playbooks for each role involved in the help desk process, outlining their tasks, decision-making authority, and who they report to.

Conduct Joint Onboarding Sessions. Kick-off with a joint onboarding session where both MSP and help desk teams can meet, learn about each other’s roles, and clarify any doubts. This sets a collaborative tone from the get-go.

Use Role-Tagging in Communications. When communicating, tag individuals based on their roles (ex. @JohnSmith_ITSupport). This directs questions or updates to the right person ASAP.

Setting Realistic Expectations and Goals

It’s tempting to assume that by bringing on an outsourcing company they can take on everything without any hiccups. But it’s important to still be practical about your objectives. In fact, Boston Consulting Group reported that 62% of companies renegotiate their outsourcing contracts. 

You’re entering into a partnership, not a magic fix. Be clear about what you expect, but be also realistic about what the provider can deliver.

Do you need 24/7 coverage or just help during peak hours? How many tickets should they handle each day? Are there specific response times that must be met? Set up service level agreements (SLAs) to keep everyone on the same page.

Setting expectations isn’t just about volume or speed — it’s about quality. Be upfront about the level of service your clients expect and how your chosen offshore company can meet those standards. Regular reviews of their performance will guarantee they stay on track with your goals.

Tips for Setting Reasonable Expectations and Goals When Outsourcing

1. Co-Create SLAs with Your Provider. Don’t just accept off-the-shelf SLAs. Work with your help desk provider to create one that reflects your specific needs, timelines, and business goals.
2. Start with a Soft Launch. Before fully committing, do a soft launch of your help desk services. This trial period helps identify gaps in expectations and provides an opportunity to make adjustments.
3. Incorporate Flexibility into Goals. Set goals that allow for flexibility and re-evaluation, rather than rigid targets that may become irrelevant as circumstances shift.
4. Break Down Big Goals into Sprints. Instead of long-term, monolithic goals, break them down into smaller, manageable sprints. This approach keeps the team focused and allows for quicker adjustments if needed.
5. Use the SMART Criteria for Goals. Ensure that all goals are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. This framework makes it easier to track progress and make needed adjustments.

Regularly Reviewing Performance and Making Adjustments

You wouldn’t hire an employee and then never check their work. The same logic applies to an outsourced help desk team. Regularly reviewing their performance sees to it that they are meeting the benchmarks you set at the beginning of the collaboration.

Schedule consistent check-ins, whether monthly or quarterly, to review key performance indicators (KPIs) like response times, ticket resolution rates, and customer satisfaction. These reviews are opportunities to identify areas for improvement and adjust processes where needed.

The best partnerships evolve over time. You may start with one set of goals and find that your needs change as your business grows. Flexibility is key here. Both you and your offshoring collaborator should be willing to adapt and optimize.

Tips for Checking and Improving Outsourced Functions

1. Conduct Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs). Go beyond monthly reports by conducting in-depth QBRs where both teams can analyze performance trends, discuss challenges, and plan for the future.
2. Use Data-Driven Insights. Don’t rely on gut feelings. Use data analytics to identify performance bottlenecks, customer pain points, and areas where the help desk excels.
3. Gather Feedback from All Stakeholders. Regularly collect insights not just from your internal team, but also from end-users and the support staff. This 360-degree feedback can uncover issues that might otherwise go unnoticed.
4. Create a Continuous Improvement Plan. Make performance reviews actionable by developing a continuous improvement plan. Identify specific actions that can be taken based on the review outcomes.
5. Incorporate Peer Reviews. A new perspective can often bring valuable insights to the table. Consider incorporating peer reviews, where team members evaluate each other’s work as part of the performance review process.

Partner with STAFFVIRTUAL for Your Help Desk Needs

Working with an outsourced help desk provider is more than just a transaction. It’s also a long-term partnership that can enhance your MSP’s ability to serve clients effectively.

To make your partnership thrive, nail down clear communication, set achievable goals, consistently review performance, and pick the right team to work with. Do this, and you’re setting the stage for a collaboration that just works.

STAFFVIRTUAL is the partner you need to provide exceptional support. Let us handle your help desk needs so you can focus on what you do best for your MSP and clients’ growth and success. Schedule a meeting with us and discover how we can help your business.

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Sources:

Managed Service Provider (MSP) Best Practices | Scribe

Managed Services Provider Statistics 2024 By Best Improved Tech | Market.us Scoop

Global Outsourcing Survey 2022 |  Deloitte

Post Pandemic Outsourcing Trends for CEOs | Boston Consulting Group

What Is A RACI Chart? How This Project Management Tool Can Boost Your Productivity | Forbes Advisor

SMART Goals | Corporate Finance Institute