Tips to recruit an online technical support
You can count on the help of a freelance professional who provides online technical support. Recruiting a specialist who is able to solve practically any configuration problem you have and do it remotely. This means that you do not need to come to your office to check.
You also do not need to be hired permanently. You can contract a number of hours in the month or pay for a service each time, so the contract is very flexible.
If you are wondering how to do it and what to take into account to contract online technical support, we give you some useful tips.
1. Evaluate their technical knowledge and skills
The first key of all, obviously, is sufficient technical knowledge. This requires, not only asking about their experience, but carrying out some test.
For example, you can ask him to uninstall and install something you already own: A printer, an antivirus, your Office on the computer, etc. Something that you use regularly and that you know how it should work correctly. That is, it is not necessary that you have a problem at the moment to try.
For other things, tests can be designed by a technology professional who can help you evaluate results. If you do not have technology knowledge, one option is for the person to take a test already designed like this Educaplay technical support test . You can find similar ones on the internet.
You can also ask them to show you their certifications or documentation that they have the required level of technical competence.
2. Review their experience
Experience is another fundamental aspect to get an excellent technical support service. You can ask to review your resume and ask for references to verify the veracity of the information.
An experienced professional is essential if the work you do is highly technical or complicated.
On the other hand, a junior support technician may offer you a better rate, and if the work to be done is not too difficult, he may be the ideal candidate to hire. This is important to keep in mind, since the fact that a candidate does not have a lot of experience does not make them bad.
Consulting results rather than years of experience is the key.
3. Openness to providing virtual or face-to-face support
Of course, you can have your preferred method: Skype, Hangouts, WhatsApp, mail, even from Facebook or another social network. A good technical support professional should be able to provide support through whatever your usual means of contact.
That is to say, it must be adjusted to your needs. You must be able to offer support from various media and even propose what that medium will be.
Ask the person you are going to hire by which means they can give you support or tell them that you usually use a certain service and ask for suggestions.
On the other hand, if you are going to require the person to show up at your offices, they must have the possibility to do so, so you should check if they are available to provide face-to-face support occasionally and if they are available to do so any day of the week. week.
This, more than anything, is required when the problem is physical: a jam in your printer, damaged cables, etc.
4. Opening hours
One point that you surely do not want to lose sight of when determining who to hire as an online technical service is the time at which you may require help.
If you usually work 9 to 5, it's best to hire a freelancer who is "on your side of the world" so to speak.
Review your needs and choose the location of the professional accordingly.
5. Understanding your business
Of course, no one knows your business like you do. And you might think that unless someone works there, they can't understand its complexity. But it's not like that.
A contract worker can be just as committed to the success of your business as any plant worker.
For this, it is important that when interviewing you explain well what you do. All the fundamental aspects of your company, such as its organization, work philosophy, etc. It is also important that you tell him the time of the clientele you serve.
This will make you have a better understanding of the service to be provided. But it will also help you gauge the person's experience in similar markets. Freelancers tend to work for a more diverse number of clients. Likewise, the projects they have attended can be very diverse.
By explaining in detail what you do and letting them know the process, you can determine how well they understand your field.
Although the experience of the technician is not enough, the ease of understanding and learning can be the key to finding a great ally.
6. Ability to work in a team
Technical support can sometimes require the cooperation of members of various departments. Therefore, the person you hire must have a sense of teamwork, be organized and have the ability to collaborate in multidisciplinary groups. Preferably, you should have customer service experience as well.
Sometimes someone can be a specialist in an area, but not have such good social skills. Ask openly if you prefer to work alone or in a team.
In the end, if you decide on someone who is more of an introvert, make sure that this will not affect the possibility of ever working in a team.
7. There must be good communication
Another differentiator between a great hire and one that is not: Good communication. The tech support freelancer you hire should be easy to contact and available online when you need them.
When evaluating the candidates, you can ask them some questions and measure the time they take to answer you. Also, it is a good idea to schedule a video call to chat “in person”.
That way, you can see how well the conversation flows between the two of you. The candidate has to click and inspire confidence. If not, discard it and choose someone else.
Remember that it is possible that he not only provides a service to you, but also has to deal with someone from your team of collaborators. Think about who you usually delegate work to. Then imagine how the online support technician would interact with those people.
If you think there could be synergy between him and the rest of the collaborators, you are on the right track.
8. Confidentiality
The tech support person you hire online should be professional enough to respect your confidential information. This means that it will not reveal internal procedures, business strategies or information about the technology used in your business.
If necessary, you can ask them to sign a confidentiality agreement with you for added security. You should not have problems or raise objections to do so.
You can ask them to sign in person or send them a PDF document for digital signature.
9. Rates
The rate will depend on the type of service for which you require support, but also on the type of contract you make. Therefore, an important aspect to take into account is the frequency with which you require the service.
To quote a technical support rate, think about whether you need the service on a recurring basis (once every 15 days, once a week or more) or if it is more temporary (every month or more).
If it is the first case, you can request that they offer you a package of support hours. For example, 24 hours, which you can distribute over a certain number of days. And if it is the second case, you can publish the support request whenever it is required