Most managed IT providers send a monthly report. Many administrators skim it, see a few charts, and file it away. That is understandable when the report is a wall of ticket counts with no explanation. But the right handful of measures can tell you a great deal about how well IT support is serving your staff, and where hidden problems are building.
Here are the helpdesk measures worth your attention, what they mean, and what questions to ask.
Response time measures how long it takes from submitting a request to the first human reply. It tells you whether staff are being heard.
Ask for it broken out by priority. Urgent issues, such as a unit unable to chart, should have a much faster target than routine requests like a new printer. Check what targets are written into your service agreement, and whether the provider actually meets them.
Resolution time measures how long it takes to fix a problem. A fast response with a slow fix can be frustrating. Look at the typical time to resolve by category and priority, and pay attention to the slowest tickets, not only the average. A handful of tickets that stay open for weeks may be hiding a bigger issue.
This measures how many problems are solved on the first interaction without a handoff or callback. A higher share generally means well-trained technicians and good documentation. A low share can signal vague tickets, understaffing or gaps in remote tools.
Total tickets matter less than the pattern. Ask:
Is volume rising, falling or stable?
Which categories dominate: passwords, printers, Wi-Fi, EHR access, email?
Which locations or units generate the most requests?
Are there spikes after changes such as software updates or new hires?
Repeated tickets about the same problem point to a root cause that deserves permanent attention rather than repeated quick fixes.
Ask specifically for a list of recurring problems: the same device, the same user or the same error showing up again. If one nurse station printer generates ten tickets in a month, replacing it is probably cheaper than continuing to repair it.
The backlog is the number of open tickets, and aging shows how long they have been open. A growing or old backlog may indicate that the provider is stretched thin or waiting on decisions from your side. Review the oldest tickets monthly and decide whether to close, escalate or schedule them.
Many helpdesk systems send a short survey after each ticket. Ask for the score and, more usefully, the comments. Satisfaction trends often reveal communication problems that technical measures miss, such as staff not knowing what is happening with their request.
A good report goes beyond tickets. Request measures such as:
Percentage of computers fully patched and up to date
Devices missing endpoint protection
Backup success rates and the date of the last test restore
Accounts with multi-factor authentication enabled
Devices nearing end of support or end of warranty
These show whether preventive work is happening, not just break-fix work.
Numbers can mislead. A drop in tickets might mean fewer problems, or it might mean staff gave up on reporting. A very short resolution time may reflect tickets closed too quickly. Always pair measures with conversation. Ask your provider to explain what changed and why.
What were the top three causes of tickets this month, and what are we doing about them?
Which tickets took the longest, and why?
Are there any upcoming risks, such as devices reaching end of life?
What do you recommend we budget for next quarter?
Were there any security incidents or near misses?
A thirty-minute monthly or quarterly meeting with your IT provider is enough. Bring a unit manager occasionally to share frontline feedback. Keep notes and assign follow-ups so the review leads to action.
If your service agreement lists response targets, confirm the report measures them in the same way. If it does not specify any, consider adding them at your next renewal. Clear expectations make the relationship better for both sides.
UnityCare IT provides clear, plain-English reporting to healthcare clients and welcomes regular review meetings with administrators. If your current report is hard to interpret, we can show you what a useful one looks like and what to ask your provider.
Call or text: 405-285-3845
New customers: start@unitycareit.com
Existing customers: support@unitycareit.com
Address: UnityCare Technologies, 2524 N Broadway Ste 554, PMB 947974, Edmond, Oklahoma 73034-4172