The more the world digitises, the more valuable human-centric IT support becomes

Most office-based workers would agree that we are increasingly dependent on digital tools and platforms just to get work done. This is not a bad thing. On the contrary, it reflects how far the world has travelled on its digital transformation journey – to an economy where we can get more done, more efficiently.

However, one of the most remarkable truths to emerge from this hyper-digital world is the need for genuine, human contact when it comes to the most fundamental of all technology functions in the workplace: IT support.

Remote and hybrid work models are becoming standard all over the world. Even in businesses where an office-based culture dominates, there’s often more flexibility around when and where work can be done. Collaboration tools mean you and I can work on the same live project no matter where we are in the world. However, constant connectivity can– and often does – lead to digital fatigue, where an increased reliance on personal and work devices can lead to a radical reduction in human interaction and an increase in stress.

Now take a moment to consider what happens when a device stops working. It’s about more than a laptop not turning on. It becomes a moment of deep anxiety because the very means to get work done is taken away. Hours, or even days, could be catastrophic not only for overall productivity but for core functions or deadline promises. Most IT supportsystems are designed for efficiency – not human experience.

Agents who demonstrate alack of empathy, or no understanding of individual work contexts, can lead to even more anxiety. Put simply, technical solutions can create more cognitive load. Factor in the classic 8-hour Service Level Agreement (SLA) and that could become a recipe for an emotional breakdown!

This is, sadly, often the state in most businesses and their IT support desks. There’s reduced human connection in favour of impersonal and transactional interactions. Turning the lens inwards briefly, serving many organisations with many desks and devices, we started noticing an emerging trend. Staff would choose, after generating a support ticket, to physically walk into the support section to engage with engineers. People were craving the ability to interact with humans.

Despite increased reliance on digital platforms and tools, there’s a pressing need for personalised technological support. There’s a demand for human-centric environments. People respond well to emotional intelligence supported by flexible, adaptive support models, which is as important as having highly skilled and accredited engineers.

Beyond this, the 8-hour SLA model is well and truly outmoded by now as most businesses cannot, or refuse to, accept extended losses in productivity. In other words, in 2025 and beyond, digitally stretched employees need something beyond a “help desk”. They need a tech lounge, a human-centric walk-in environment that ticks all of those boxes and then more.

If an on-site tech lounge wants to be relevant to a modern organisation with a modern workforce, it needs to be underpinned by three key pillars: It needs a guaranteed response time, it needs a dynamic and communicative ticketing system and it must be underpinned by human-centric support.

Guaranteed response time

This is the golden goose, so to speak. This is why we have taken a bold approach and promised that employees will be back to work in 60 minutes, guaranteed. The first big effect of this is radically reduced anxiety. When an employee, or manager, knows that –without any doubt – they will be working again within an hour, the emotional strain is contained. If it cannot be technically resolved within an hour, a loan device is prepared, a cloud user account is set up, and the employee can continue working while the technical teams iron out issues with the machine. The key here is minimising disruption.

A dynamic ticketing system

This is not just about sending an email or printing out a piece of paper with a number on it. Modern businesses need a ticketing system that provides an accurate time estimate forservice resolution. The point of this is to allow teams to plan accordingly. When sent via automated SMS, it provides the employee with all of the above as well as the ability to share the details with line managers to manage expectations. By knowing exactly when a machine will be ready, an employee can enjoy a coffee, take their lunch or do other chores– it frees them up, as opposed to aimlessly staring at a wall wondering.

Human-centric support

As mentioned, this cannot be ignored in a world teetering every closer to digital fatigue. We have turned our walk-in centers into literal tech lounges, complete with top-of-the-range coffee machines. It is paramount that staff are friendly. A genuine smile, empathy, knowledge about the business, transparent communication – these go a long, long way, and this can only be achieved when an IT support partner’s engineers have gone through expensive technical certifications and self-mastery courses.

At Nkgwete we don’t do this to make “nice lounges”; having the most certified engineers in Africa with soft skills to boot is an absolute necessity for modern organisations. Ironically, the more the world digitises, the more human-centric care becomes a currency. Modern workplace IT support simply must evolve with the times to remain relevant, not just from a customer experience perspective, but also in terms of minimising downtime to the absolute minimum, guaranteed.

Manqoba Masina, Operations Manager at Nkgwete IT Solutions

*** The views expressed here do not necessarily represent those of Independent Media or IO

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