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About the CTI moduleThe CTI module integrates your telephone system with TOPdesk and other applications. When a customer rings your service desk, his or her name and company or site information are automatically displayed on the computer screen, enabling your service desk operators to easily navigate to calls, reservations or changes linked to that particular caller. Furthermore, the CTI module can be used to make calls directly from TOPdesk to customers, suppliers, colleagues and more.

Small time-saversTOPdesk has been using its own CTI module for a little over a year now. “Before you start using it, you might wonder whether it’s really such a bother to manually type a caller’s phone number,” says Roland. In practice, however, it appears to be a different story. “Having to

type the entire phone number every time someone calls can get quite tedious,” explains Roland, “especially if you’re on the phone all day. The CTI module enables you to select a random (telephone) number in any possible text box of a website or document with your mouse. You then simply press the F8 key and you’ll be connected to the selected number. Because our Support department deals with Dutch, English, German and other international calls, you would normally have to leave out the nought in the telephone number. The CTI module can detect these noughts and removes them automatically.” According to Roland, the advantages of the CTI module can each be considered small time-savers. “In the worst-case scenario, you might spend a couple of minutes dealing with each call. The CTI module can really save you a lot of time, particularly when dealing with special cases, such as putting a caller through. It not only saves you time, but you are also less prone to making errors when you don’t have to enter each number manually. The CTI module prevents you from making crucial mistakes.”

Useful for both customers and colleaguesThe CTI module will not only increase the productivity of your service desk, but also the satisfaction of your customers. “Customers appreciate not having to repeat their name three or four times,” explains Roland. “When you use the CTI module, you see exactly who is calling and from which site they are calling.”

Learn all there is to know about Computer Telephony Integration (CTI)

Little things can make a big difference

Would you like to maximize your service desk’s efficiency? Using the

telephone integration feature, you can identify callers automatically and view

their personal contact details. This is useful for the support of both internal

and external customers. TOPdesk’s Support department also uses the CTI

module for this purpose. “The only disadvantage of the CTI module is that

once you start using it, you won’t ever want to stop,” says Roland de Schepper,

TOPdesk Support specialist.

TEXT: TIMME HOS

The CTI module in a nutshell + Internal and external customers are put through directly to the right service desk operator

+ Details are logged automatically, improving the efficiency of

your support department

+ Service desk operators remain one step ahead of the caller,

improving customer satisfaction

+ Outbound calls are easily made with just one press of the F8 key

+ Outlook integration provides immediate insight into your

colleagues’ availability

+ Internal chat option

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The CTI module can also act as a useful tool for you and your colleagues. For example, when a colleague rings your number to put someone through to you, TOPdesk will display the names of both the colleague and the caller. “This is extremely useful”, says Roland. “You can then say: ‘Thanks John, put them through!’. When a customer rings the service desk, the same pop-up message will appear on all your colleagues’ screens. In this way, they can better anticipate the needs of the caller and the right service desk operator can pick up the phone; for example when he or she is the designated contact person for that caller. This spares you the trouble of putting the call through yet again.”

Now even easier to useTOPdesk version 4.3 has incorporated an improved CTI module, which has been enhanced visually. When someone rings the service desk, for example, the pop-up message displays a photograph of the caller. It also includes a number of links to various frequently-used modules, such as Incident Management, Change Management and Reservations Management. “Using the CTI module, you can easily log an incident from within the pop-up screen. And when someone rings you back about a certain incident, you will be able view their audit trail and current incidents with just one click of the mouse. You can also directly submit a new

request for change or reservation request. During a call, TOPdesk will fill in some of the required contact details automatically in the incident. If someone dials a wrong number or calls the wrong department, for example, you can click on the pre-filled incident and mark the call as ‘wrong number’ with just one click of the mouse.”

Reporting on ‘nonsense calls’Roland and his department often speak with people who are actually trying to contact a different company, or who call the wrong department by accident. “Some organizations don’t want to register these calls, because the time this takes doesn’t outweigh the advantages,” explains Roland. “But this does mean that your department’s workload is not represented accurately in the reports.”

The CTI module enables you to log these types of phone calls with just a few clicks. Using predefined values, you can register the time it takes to process such a call automatically. Reports can then give you insight into how these ‘nonsense calls’ can affect your department’s performance. It could turn out that these calls take up two percent of your time.

The downside? You won’t ever want to stop using it!Are there any disadvantages to using the CTI module? “The only disadvantage,” according to Roland, “is that once you start using it, you won’t ever want to stop. On one occasion we were experiencing some technical problems with our telephone system, which affected the CTI module. We noticed the difference immediately. Even people who would normally only receive ten to fifteen calls a day noticed, as they couldn’t remember who had called which colleague.”

Learn all there is to know about Computer Telephony Integration (CTI)

Little things can make a big difference When the phone rings,

the pop-up screen will

display the caller’s

photograph and details

The CTI module enables you to see exactly who is calling

Interested? To find out how the CTI module can maximize your service desk’s efficiency, please contact TOPdesk.