atSpoke, a modern workplace service desk for intuitive internal ticketing has compiled a report (titled “COVID-19 and the Great WFH Transition”), which analyzed customers’ ticket data from Jan. 1 through June 30, 2020, showing how internal support teams were impacted and how their operations have changed over time.The study found a slight climb in IT requests as employees shifted to different tools. IT teams saw a small spike during the weeks going into WFH due to the pandemic, as employees submitted tickets related to more WFH support and tools. Traditional support desks experienced a 157% spike in support calls. For organizations already using a service desk solution with chat and AI for auto-resolution, employees were significantly more self-sufficient. IT teams at these companies didn’t waste time on simple and repetitive requests like password resets.
A notable change for service desks due to COVID is that employee ticket volume now starts one hour earlier than usual. The report noted that this change is consistent across companies and functions. Without a morning commute, employees are at work earlier, and they are also stepping away from their keyboards a bit earlier in the evenings.
Additionally, HR tickets have settled in at 10-15% below normal volumes as people working from home have fewer issues to report to HR.