Be a Warrior at Your MSP & Wield These 5 Autotask Smart Sub-Widgets
Here’s a quick summary what we’re covering in this article:
When Sub-Zero is getting closer every.single.day.
The 5 Autotask Sub-Widgets to know about
Why Sub-widgets win in the game of MSP Kombat
Welcome back, Autotask Warriors, to another installment of how Advanced Global is helping you defend your MSP, well…like a warrior.
Wondering if you remember 1992 and the release of the “Mortal Kombat” arcade game? Maybe you do, maybe you don’t.
If you do recall it, “Sub-Zero Wins” was probably a phrase you became all too familiar with. And for those of us on the US East Coast who have already had our first snow, “sub-zero” is something getting closer every single day.
With that first snow, we suddenly realize that we have a very short time to finish January’s plan to eliminate Chaos and grow your MSP in 2023. So, there’s no time to waste – we’ve previously discussed widgets. Now, let’s get right into “sub-widgets.”
On the “All Open Tickets” widget are 5 sub-widgets that are often overlooked but provide a wealth of information, which can be leveraged to drive Client requests from New to Complete within expectations.
The 5 sub-widgets are:
Service Coordinator Help Needed
Critical Requests
Overdue
Client Responded to Closed Ticket
All Client Responses
It is great to be aware of these sub-widgets. But…how do we leverage them? How do sub-widgets win?
Service Coordinator Help Needed
The Service Coordinator Help Needed sub-widget is driven by a Ticket UDF that lets the Service Coordinator know that a Tech needs some non-billable support without giving up ownership or pulling the ticket from the journey from New to Complete.
The Tech can add a Ticket note or Time Entry Internal note, communicating what non-billable support is needed, such as:
Verify the parts are here for tomorrow’s scheduled work.
Can you reschedule this ticket?
Provide some background info on a Client relationship or problem history.
Once alerted, the Service Coordinator can easily review the note, track down and provide the information, and turn the flag off; all without disrupting the Client Request flow from New to Complete.
The financial benefit to the MSP is that non-billable work is shifted from the Tech to a non-billable Service Coordinator, without disrupting the Tech’s focus on providing a great Client experience or stressing out over some non-billable work.
Critical Requests
It is a good idea that everyone knows when a Critical Request is in play:
For the Techs, it is good to know because on a moment’s notice, they may be called on to engage.
For the Service Coordinator, it is good to know so they can stay on top of the 360 communications and keep the noise off the Tech.
For the Tech saddled with the Critical Request duty, it is good to know if there are more Critical Requests in play than the ones they are already handling.
And for the Owner, it is good to know that everyone else knows - and with one click, they can see where things are at.
Overdue
This is a very popular sub-widget that is a waste of real-estate, attention, and most everything else having to do with the concept of an overdue ticket. Why? Mostly because of how it is used. For most MSPs, it is used to disrupt the Tech to find out why it is Overdue and to put pressure on them to “Get’er Done.” Which results in pushing out the due date so it is no longer overdue (and therefore off everyone’s radar). Meanwhile, the Client is still disappointed and really does not care about our problem with due dates - they just want to know “when is my stuff going to be fixed??”
Ideally, the due date is set by the SLA Automation and cannot be changed by the Techs. This way, they learn to ignore it, focus on meeting Client expectations, and maybe repurpose the time to complete the Documentation, Time Entries, and Update the Client before disengaging – what a concept, right?
In addition, if the SLA Automation is setting the Due Date, then the Due Date matches the SLA Resolve date, and now Overdue is a duplicate sub-widget with the SLA Summary sub-widget. Simply put, it is wasted real-estate, time, and attention.
Customer Responded to a Closed Ticket:
When a Client responds to a Closed Ticket, you do not what the Ticket reopened:
It dinks the Tech’s reopen rate for Atta-Boy’s and Thank Yous
If it is a new issue, it is engaged on as the old issue
The Service Manager needs to be aware that a ticket was completed pre-maturely if that is the case
A better way to handle Client responses is with an automated mechanism that if the Ticket is open, change the status to “Client Responded”. If closed, set a UDF flag to alert the Service Coordinator who can then review the ticket and make a decision:
Reopen the ticket and put it on the Techs plate
Note the Atta-Boy and keep the ticket closed
Note the new Issue request and create a new ticket for it
Oh, and then turn off the UDF so that the sub-widget is now cleared.
All Client Responses
When a Client responds to a Tech, the Service Coordinator is in the best position to know if that Tech is available or not. They may be on PTO, onsite, or working on a project and not paying attention to their dashboards. A Service Coordinator will know this and can respond on behalf of the Tech.
An example response would be that (Tech’s First Name) is not available at the moment. He will be available (next Monday, this afternoon, tomorrow, etc.). Can action on your response wait until they return, or do you need someone sooner than later?
This not only provides a great Client experience (keeping them from seeking other providers) but also gives them an opportunity to choose – wait or trust a different Tech. Trusting a different Tech goes a long way to reducing “My favorite Tech syndrome” and makes it easier for the MSP to provide better service down the road.
Summary:
Bottom line: Sub-widgets win in the game of MSP Kombat. Effectively leveraged, these 5 sub-widgets create moments that matter and allow the Service Coordinator to efficiently move tickets from New to Complete.
Finish it. There are dozens more widgets and sub-widgets available in the Autotask software - and my team knows exactly the ones you need. Just drop us a line at info@agmspcoaching.com with “Widgets” in the subject and we’ll be happy to help.
The elephant in the room:
Who is Advanced Global, and why should we listen to them?
Recently, someone we’ve been in communication with since DattoCon 2018, who was faithfully reading our articles, commented that up until a few months ago, “I really did not know what Advanced Global does.” So here are a few bullet points to let anyone interested know who we are and what we do:
We Are – the Autotask Global Service Delivery Authority
We Help – MSPs thrive
We Solve – Service Delivery issues, inefficiencies, and challenges by making sure that:
techs know what to work on next
someone is managing all open tickets and driving them to completion
the staffing levels are correct, and the workload is balanced
Real-Time Time Entry is a cultural habit
the Client has a great client experience
profit is maximized
Autotask is being fully leveraged
the historical data that is in the Autotask software is accessible to benchmark, track & USE effectively
the Service Delivery operations can scale
projects are completed On-Time and On-Budget
the company can grow
MSPs know what they don’t know
Our Tools:
Autotask “Best in Class” standard build
Our MSP robust Service Delivery SOP library
Advanced Live Reports
Expertise in providing a transformational experience
Note: We are not philosophers; we are doers with 31+ years of Service Delivery experience, bringing real Service Delivery Improvement change, profitability, and Best in Class performance.
We start our engagements by offering a FREE No-Obligation PSA Configuration Evaluation
