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Jan 31, 2022
Jan 31, 2022
There is substantial responsibility for the technology team of an organisation to be the strategic partner that delivers and secures new ways of working to enable business continuity in the face of disruptions. This phenomenon is especially relevant considering the interruptions from the Omicron variant of COVID 19. Unfortunately, when it comes to Service Management, many still view it as a low-priority initiative, which is flawed thinking. This blog will unpack why your organisation should invest in Service Management and the value you could realise from doing so.
A recent Forbes Innovation article titled "CIOs' Top Priorities For 2022" reported that as software becomes ever more critical to corporate success, Tech Leaders’ to-do lists are getting longer and longer every year. Furthermore, top CIOs in the US project that there are a few areas that will be demanding more of their attention in 2022 than ever before. These areas include technologies that enable better customer experience, turbocharging employees' productivity, and guarding against cyberattacks, and guess what is at the core of these initiatives, Service Management.
There are still many individuals who believe that Service Management solutions are no more than simple ticketing tools. Unfortunately for them, the organisations these individuals belong to tend to have an unstructured, break-fix approach when assisting their customers. These organisations are trapping themselves in a perpetuating firefighting mode. More importantly, this poor practice prevents the technology team from evolving into the organisation's strategic partner that they so desperately need.
How can organisations embrace next-generation technology initiatives, such as industrialising AI, adopting virtual technology, implementing advanced cybersecurity processes, and tooling when they struggle to fulfil the most basic service management tasks? And at what impact will these initiatives have on the total experience (TX) of their organisation?
The report titled ‘2021 IT Priorities’ compiled by Snow Software surveyed over 1,000 organisations across the US, Australia, and the UK with unsurprising results. The report found that although customers showed more empathy toward technology teams after the pandemic, an overwhelming 67% of those surveyed were frustrated with the service they had received due to both outdated technology and poor service.
One must ask how this is affecting the Customer Experience (CX). Is it causing a negative impact? The answer is yes.
1. Total Experience - Better Outcomes for All!
Solely focusing on either Customer Experience (CX), User Experience (UX), or Employee Experience (EX) at the cost of others is no longer how organisations should operate. Focusing on one without the others is an oversight that will have many negative impacts. Yes, customers pay the bills of any organisation, but the employees are the ones who drive that experience. Instead, organisations must take care of employees who will, in turn, take care of the customer. The goal, therefore, is the so-called Total Experience.
If there's too much focus on the cost, technology, or process, the employees may not see (or care about) the organisational success. This increases the employee's risk of not being satisfied, in turn putting the customer's experience at risk- which directly affects the bottom line.
2. Maintain Control and Oversight
Under a poor and reactive service model, service professionals may work across a broad spectrum of issues. Understandably, this often confuses priorities, roles, responsibilities, appropriate service levels, stakeholder decisions, and how colleagues should interact when resolving incidents.
Investing in Service Management helps build a structure that creates transparency and accountability. For example, formalising focus for IT staff and standardising processes for essential functions threads a visible line of sight. illustrating direct cause and effect between individual contributions and business results.
When staff have clear roles, they become accountable for the services they are responsible for delivering. Standardising processes also lead to more predictable results and timely delivery of critical services.
3. Become the Strategic Partner
The number of day-to-day operational activities that service groups (IT, HR, Facilities) address will never diminish. For example, in IT, Gartner reported that 80% of traditional budgets are consumed by tasks that "keep the lights on” but add little value. Such tasks like supporting end-users with issues like Password Resets and managing infrastructure devices like printers are ultimately a drain on valuable time and money.
Perhaps the greatest Service Management value is the bandwidth it delivers to focus on activities that drive innovation and growth. Organisations can free up IT staff to focus on strategic services that add commercial value by optimising time-consuming, routine tasks with standardisation, more efficient processes, as well as automation. Using next-generation solutions, such as Ivanti Neurons for Service Management assists technology teams by streamlining these processes and promoting innovative thinking.
Learn more about how Service Quality is helping to lead Australian businesses change the way they think, implement, and continuously improve Service Management here.
About Service Quality:
Founded in 2007, Service Quality survives on a simple but powerful idea: empower you to do more with your Service Management and Security solutions. With cutting-edge support and award-winning security and service management practices, you can be sure that Service Quality will help maximise your Service Management investment. Today, hundreds of thousands of users rely daily on Service Management and Security solutions designed and implemented by Service Quality to make their work flow.
Written By: Angus Kenny - Director, Enterprise Solutions
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