What Is a ‘Tech Bar’ and Why Are Companies Creating Them?

You may have heard of the term ‘Tech Bar’ before, but do you know what one is? 

Tech bars are modern, relaxed IT hubs in your head office building that provide employees seeking device repairs, advice and overall servicing a streamlined, digitally-enhanced experience that they’d expect when visiting a store.

They’re positioned in one physical location  and enable IT support workers to provide a better, more efficient service. They also give employees full transparency around wait-times.

When done right, tech bars offer a seamless, personalized and time-efficient experience for both the IT teams and the employees who require support. 

And they’re rapidly growing in popularity. According to a survey by Spiceworks in 2020, which included responses from 1,073 IT professionals from North America and Europe, around 30% of large organizations (more than 5,000 employees) reported having a physical IT help desk or “tech bar” on-site.

What does a tech bar involve?

Besides a few fancy couches and a pull-up banner, a truly effective tech bar empowers your IT team to provide a better, more transparent service to employees within your organization – and that means having the right digital queuing and appointment scheduling software in place like you’d expect to see in a store.

By placing employees seeking immediate support into a digital queue, your IT support desk can seamlessly attend to all incoming requests, and organize them in terms of priority. This approach also means employees are given a queue position, an estimated wait time and are updated with SMS and email notifications. And appointment scheduling software enables employees to book in time with your IT team beforehand, which not only manages their expectations, it allows you to allocate your internal resources accordingly, and assign particular problems to the people with the right technical expertise, resulting in a much better service.

What are the benefits of tech bars?

Organizations with tech bars at their head office benefit from:

• Happier, more productive colleagues:  According to employee experience management tool, HappySignals, tech bars have the highest user satisfaction rating (88%) among the most common support channels, and the least amount of lost work time (half the lost time as with phone support, and a third of the lost time reported for email or portal support). 
• Higher employee satisfaction within the IT team: Your IT team has a clear idea of their schedule for the day and can plan their workloads around it. They won’t be continuously bombarded with questions that lie outside their area of expertise, nor will they all be needed at the IT support desk from 7am to 7pm every day.
• A tech bar gives the IT services team a friendly face: With face-to-face contact and the right software to provide support, your IT team will naturally build better, more understanding relationships with colleagues throughout the business. 

How to deploy a tech bar

To successfully deploy a tech bar, you need to thoroughly plan. 

Here are some essential steps to consider:

Define the purpose and goals of your tech bar

Before deploying a tech bar, it’s crucial to have a clear understanding of why you need it and what you hope to achieve. 

Do you want to provide technical support to employees or customers? 

Are you aiming to enhance engagement with your products or services? Identifying your objectives will help you create a more effective tech bar.

Choose a suitable location

The location of your tech bar is critical. It should be easily accessible to your intended audience and visible enough to attract attention. 

Ideally, it should be located in a high-traffic area like a lobby, cafeteria, or break room.

Equip your tech bar with the right tools

Your tech bar should be stocked with the tools and resources necessary to provide technical support. 

These may include computers, tablets, chargers, cables, and software. 

Take into account the specific needs of your intended audience and equip your tech bar accordingly.

Train your tech bar staff 

Your tech bar staff should be well-versed in the products and services you offer and have the technical know-how to provide support. 

Ensure they receive comprehensive training and can respond to common queries and troubleshoot typical problems.

Promote your tech bar

Once your tech bar is operational, it’s crucial to promote it to your intended audience. 

Use signage, social media, and other marketing channels to spread the word about your tech bar and the services it provides.

By following these essential steps, you can implement a successful tech bar that offers valuable technical support to your intended audience. Remember to continuously assess and refine your tech bar to ensure it adapts to the changing needs of your employees or customers.

Improve your support with Qudini by Verint

Learn more about how we can help improve your IT support productivity by getting in touch today or read our case study that explains how Qudini’s Tech Bar solution transformed a major grocery retailer’s new head office tech bar.