Tackling Help Desk Overload as December Approaches 

Supporting technology needs in a school district is no easy task. Every day, IT departments face a mountain of support tickets, ranging from broken student devices to network connectivity problems. These challenges aren’t just about keeping technology running — they’re about supporting teachers, students, and staff so they can focus on learning. 

Keep reading for a deep dive into some of the key problems school districts face when it comes to managing help desk systems, and, more importantly, the solutions that have worked for the GBAPS team. From reducing repetitive tickets to improving team coordination, these strategies are aimed at helping IT departments make the most of their resources while providing the best possible support to students, teachers, and staff. 

Problem 1:

An Overwhelming Number of Help Desk Tickets 

Help desk tickets just keep coming, and whether it’s broken devices, password resets, or network outages, IT teams can quickly become buried in work. Most technology departments are constantly trying to close out tickets and manage the workload. However, when you’re short on staff, it’s hard to keep up, and small issues can pile up while critical ones go unaddressed. 

To handle the volume of tickets, Steve’s team follows a few key strategies: 

• Service Level Agreements (SLAs): By setting clear priorities for tickets, they ensure that urgent issues are dealt with first. For example, a network outage might be classified as “critical,” while a broken student device is marked as “medium” priority. 
• Ticket Follow-up Rules: The team follows a rule where technicians check in on tickets within two days of leaving a response to ask for additional information. If the user hasn’t replied, the team marks the ticket resolved unless the person reaches out again. This keeps their queue moving and ensures tickets don’t sit idle for weeks. 
• Hold a “Flip the Queue” Day: Sometimes, they work on the oldest tickets first, ensuring long-standing issues are addressed before anything else. Teams are generally good at jumping to the most important or urgent tasks, which means that less critical issues can sometimes be overlooked for extended periods. By intentionally focusing on older tickets, they ensure that those less urgent tickets receive attention, maintaining a balance and keeping all users satisfied. This approach helps prevent frustration among users who have been waiting a long time for resolution, even if their issue is not classified as a high priority. 

By implementing these rules and focusing on priorities, the team can better manage the flow of work. 

Problem 2:

Miscommunication or Misrouting of Tickets 

When tickets aren’t assigned to the right people, it slows down the whole system. Sometimes, end users mislabel their problems, causing confusion for IT staff. For example, someone might submit a ticket as a “network issue” when it’s really a “Wi-Fi issue,” causing the ticket to go to the wrong technician. 

This misrouting wastes valuable time and can delay critical repairs or solutions. 

Here are a few tips on how you can improve routing: 

• Routing Rules: Using automated rules based on the category, school site, or issue type ensures tickets are assigned to the right person or team as soon as they come in.  
• Use Problem Types Effectively: Create clear categories like “device repair,” “software issue,” or “network problem,” so users can better describe their issues. 
• Regularly Review Problem Types: As your district’s needs evolve, keep reviewing your ticket types to make sure they’re still relevant. Sometimes you may need to adjust your system, like adding or removing a problem type based on ticket trends. But be careful: too many problem types may create additional issues. If you don’t need to report on a specific problem type or assign those issues to a new team, perhaps you don’t need an additional category. 

Problem 3:

Repetitive and Common Issues 

Teams often deal with the same types of issues over and over again. Password resets, printer problems, and broken screen repairs are common across all school districts, and they can eat up a huge amount of time. They also take up time that could be spent on more critical problems. 

The best way to reduce these types of tickets is to create self-service options. By building a library of Knowledge Base articles, IT departments can empower users to solve basic issues on their own. Steve’s team uses their help desk system to create articles that answer common questions like “how to connect to Wi-Fi” or “how to reset a password.” This can lead to a 25% reduction in tickets created for these kinds of problems. 

Here’s how you can create an effective Knowledge Base: 

• Identify Common Issues: Look at your help desk trends. What problems are popping up the most? These are the ones to focus on. 
• Create Step-by-Step Guides: Write simple, easy-to-follow instructions for users. Include screenshots and highlight common mistakes. 
• Automate Article Suggestions: Some help desk systems will suggest Knowledge Base articles when users start entering their ticket details. This can prevent tickets from being submitted in the first place. 

With a well-built Knowledge Base, you can reduce the number of repetitive tickets, freeing up your team to focus on bigger problems. 

Problem 4:

Poor Organization and Lack of Team Coordination 

In a school district, especially a large one, IT teams may struggle with organization. There might be multiple departments — technology, operations, maintenance, and more — all working on different types of tickets. Without proper coordination, it’s easy for teams to step on each other’s toes or overlook tasks. 

When teams don’t communicate well, tickets can get lost or take longer to resolve. 

The technology department in GBAPS has implemented several strategies to improve organization and teamwork: 

• Assign Tickets to Teams: This helps prevent one person from being overwhelmed by unrelated issues and involves creating teams that handle similar types of issues collectively. This approach encourages collaboration and flexibility, allowing technicians to support each other, even across different buildings. Although implementing this strategy is challenging, especially with a small team covering many sites, the goal is to pool resources and knowledge to foster teamwork and shared responsibility. 
• Use Flowcharts: Steve’s leadership team created flowcharts to outline the proper process for handling tickets, as part of a broader effort to keep everyone on the same page, especially when multiple teams are involved. The flowchart clarifies responsibilities and improves efficiency. For instance, the first step is always to assign yourself to a ticket, ensuring no two technicians are working on the same issue simultaneously. The goal is to maintain clear communication, reduce redundancy, and make sure every technician knows their role in advancing each ticket to resolution. 

These strategies help ensure tickets are handled smoothly, even when multiple teams are involved. 

Problem 5:

High Ticket Volume During Critical Times 

The holiday season can bring added pressure for IT teams. With staff taking vacations and the end of the year fast approaching, tickets can pile up quickly. Additionally, teachers might need support during their time off for lesson planning or technical issues. 

When your team is short-staffed, it becomes even harder to keep up with urgent issues. 

Here are a few ways to manage high ticket volumes during busy seasons: 

• Encourage Early Vacation: Steve encourages his team to take vacation earlier in the year to avoid an empty help desk during the summer or holiday rush. Historically, staff would often take vacation in June or July, resulting in half the team being unavailable at once. When staff members do need to be out, tickets are visible to everyone but filtered by individual responsibilities. This way, if someone goes on vacation, others can step in and handle their tickets without confusion.  
• Focus on Critical Tickets: Prioritize critical tasks, like network outages or device repairs that affect multiple users. Low-priority tickets, like how to save a document, can be addressed when there’s more time. 
• Pre-Holiday Cleanup: Before the break, try to clear as many tickets as possible. This can make returning to work in the new year less stressful. 

Next Steps 

Managing a school district’s help desk is no small task, but with the right strategies in place, it becomes manageable. By setting clear priorities, improving communication, and creating self-service options, IT teams can streamline their workflows and reduce stress. Implementing SLAs, creating Knowledge Base articles, and improving ticket routing can go a long way toward increasing organization and tackling help desk overload. 

If your district is facing similar challenges, take the time to evaluate your help desk system and processes. A few small changes could make a big difference in keeping your tickets under control and your team running smoothly.