From Chaos to Control: The Power of CAFM and Service Desk
From Chaos to Control: The Power of CAFM and Service Desk in Facilities Management
Facilities management is a complex and demanding field, so having the right software and support in place is essential. That’s why most facilities managers (FMs) opt for a CAFM system to help them keep an eye on their buildings and drive efficiencies. But a CAFM can’t make decisions when the FM isn’t around…
So how can facilities managers keep their buildings running smoothly 24/7? That’s where a service desk comes in handy. A service desk can make life easier for FMs by logging, tracking and ensuring building issues are dealt with in a timely manner. However, you don’t just want an outsourced service desk who doesn’t care about your tenants or their problems—you need a team who feel like part of your business.
“To this day, whilst I have seen and operated many other CAFM and service desk systems in many companies, none has ever grasped the synergies required to deliver for my FM teams, as Elogs always has.”
– CEG
In this blog, we’ll explore the importance of service desks in facilities management with a special focus on Elogs CAFM + Service Desk. Our key topics include:
- What problems does a service desk solve?
- What are the main benefits of an integrated CAFM and service desk?
- What are the common problems that a service desk deals with?
- Why is an integrated service desk better than an outsourced approach?
- How does Elogs CAFM+ Service Desk work?
- What makes Elogs CAFM+ Service Desk unique?
What problems does a service desk solve in facilities management?
The whole point of service desk is to track jobs from start to finish, ensuring that nothing gets dropped. It takes ownership of any building issues that may occur, supporting tenants and giving facilities managers peace of mind.
Out of Hours Issues
One of the main challenges for a facilities manager is dealing with building issues out of hours. For example, if a one of your tenants has a pipe burst in in the middle of the night, it’s harder for FMs to effectively deal with this issue when they’re half-asleep.
A service desk solves this problem because they can respond to these emergencies 24/7. This means the FM doesn’t have to be on call day and night. Ultimately, your tenants can get these issues resolved quickly and you can relax knowing your properties are in safe hands. This also helps you build better relationships with your tenants as they can trust that their requests will always be dealt with smoothly and efficiently.
Keeping FMs informed
When using Elogs CAFM+ Service Desk, facilities managers can stay informed on anything occurring within their properties. So, if the service desk fixes a tenant problem in the night, the FM will receive a notification from the CAFM letting them know what’s happened in the morning.
This is important because a facilities manager needs to be aware of what’s going on in their buildings at all times. But it can be hard to keep track, especially if you’ve got a large property portfolio. While the service desk takes responsibility for the issues in your buildings, CAFM keeps you informed to give you total visibility. Using a service desk also saves your in-house team from going on constant site visits. This translates to considerable time and cost savings for your business.
Finding a service desk who can react quickly
However, it’s important you choose a service desk who have a fast response time, otherwise your tenants could be waiting for hours before anyone picks up the phone. When calling the Elogs Service Desk Centre, 90% of our clients said we always answer the phone in under 20 seconds while 85% agreed that our team responds to emails on the same day, if not within two hours. In facilities management, having a service desk who can react to these problems quickly promotes positive relationships with tenants as well as maintaining your business’ reputation.
What are the main benefits of an integrated CAFM and service desk in facilities management?
“Colliers have utilised the Elogs CAFM and 24/7 Service Desk for over 5 years now and can say with certainty that it significantly reduces the day-to-day workload for our management team, as well as giving us useful metrics and insight to help manage our supply chain.”
– Colliers International Property Consultants
A key benefit of integrating a Service Desk with a CAFM system is that it acts as a single source of truth. By having that streamlined communication between the service desk and the CAFM, the facilities manager is always kept up to date on what’s happening across their buildings. This ensures that tenants, both residential and commercial, have minimal reasons to complain, protecting your reputation and improving tenant satisfaction.
By making sure nothing gets dropped, a service desk allows FMs to focus on other important things in their business, meaning they can manage their workload more effectively and enhance productivity.
Rather than taking a reactive approach to facilities management, a service desk empowers FMs to proactively address issues quickly. In a nutshell the main benefits of a CAFM and service desk include:
- Driving efficiencies within your business.
- Streamlining facilities management.
- Improving tenant relationships.
- Enhancing professional reputation in the industry.
- Saving the facilities manager time and making life easier.
Elogs CAFM+ Service Desk has been designed to make life easier for property managers and FMs. That’s why 92% of our clients agree that our service desk helps them do their jobs more efficiently.
What are the common problems that a service desk deals with?
As you can imagine, tenants may call a service desk for all sorts of reasons related to the state of the property they occupy. However, based on the experience of the Elogs’ Service Desk team, we’ve found that the most common problems are:
Broken windows:
This can cause a health and safety issue that can be dangerous for tenants. It’s important to fix this problem as quickly as possible to ensure occupant safety.
Alarms going off at night:
Of course, this causes a significant disturbance to tenants and their neighbours, so deploying a service provider to swiftly resolve this is crucial.
Heating issues:
If the heating goes off or the boiler stops working during Winter, this can be a major concern for building occupants. Once again, a quick resolution is necessary here.
Facilities managers often struggle responding to these problems out-of-hours. So, a service desk makes this process easier by taking responsibility for these issues and providing solutions 24/7.
Why is an integrated service desk better than an outsourced approach?
So, why is an integrated CAFM+ Service Desk better than an outsourced approach? Although you could buy a CAFM system and a service desk separately, there are a few drawbacks to this approach. When you outsource your service desk, you often end up with a team who don’t feel part of your business. By outsourcing the service desk, you will always get a different person answering the phone, meaning there is never any consistency.
Whereas, with an integrated approach, like our CAFM+ Service desk, we act as an extension of your business. This approach offers the full package, ensuring you have a service desk team who truly care about your problems. Having a service desk team who are invested in your business means that they’ll want to provide efficient solutions for you and your tenants.
How does Elogs CAFM+ Service Desk work?
Elogs Service Desk helps people solve problems by taking calls or emails and raising requested jobs on the CAFM system. Once a job has been raised, our team will communicate with the clients, the facilities managers, the surveyors, and the contractors to ensure the work gets completed as quickly as possible.
Essentially, our team embed themselves into your company and take on the customer facing role. With our service desk, you’re able to focus on the other priorities within your business.
What makes Elogs CAFM+ Service Desk unique?
Elogs is one of the few providers who offer an integrated solution in the form of a CAFM+ Service Desk. Every action taken by our service desk team is traceable and auditable in the CAFM system. This gives you complete transparency and visibility of your buildings.
By choosing Elogs, you not only get an advanced CAFM platform, but also a devoted team who care about your problems and are deeply committed to solving them. Unlike an outsourced approach, our service desk team is genuinely invested in your success and are driven by compassion, empathy, and a willingness to provide practical solutions. But, don’t just take it from us—listen to what our service desk team have to say…
Elogs CAFM + Service Desk is the key to ensuring seamless facilities management through saving time, improving communication, and ensuring nothing gets dropped.
Are you ready to boost your business’ reputation and enhance performance? Try Elogs CAFM+ Service Desk today and position your business as an industry leader.
