CDM Book

Service Desk Institute
Service Desk & Support Manager

Published by Syzygal Limited, a company incorporated in England and Wales, having its registered office at Kemp
House, 152-160 City Road, London, EC1 V 2NX, United Kingdom; registration number: 07996997.
First edition 2013; this edition published 2018- production version 2018-1
©syzygal Limited 2017- www.syzygal.com
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Acknowledgements
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This publication is based on Service Desk Institute materials and Service Desk & Support Manager standard version
6.0.
Disclaimer
This Syzygal publication offers high-quality support for the delivery of accredited training courses.
Examination Institute endorsement does not mean that this material is essential to achieve any qualification, nor
does it mean that this is the only suitable material available to support such qualifications. No endorsed material
will be used verbatim in setting any examination/assessment and any resource lists produced by the Examination
Institute shall include this and other appropriate texts.
Copies of official specifications for all Examination Institute qualifications may be found on the Examination
Institute website.
Welcome
Welcome to your professional education training event. As with all new knowledge this course is likely to be very
challenging and have lots of new information to learn and assimilate. We hope you enjoy your training experience,
but please remember that your instructor is there to ensure you understand all aspects of the new learning, so
please do not hesitate to ask your instructor for clarification or assistance throughout the course.
In your joining instructions, you will have received a course agenda which has been designed to give you an
indication of the topics to be covered and when. The nature of the subject and level of certification means that
from time to time the order or timings may be changed at the discretion of your instructor. This is to ensure you
receive maximum benefit and value from your training event.
This course will comprise of lectures, team exercises, group discussions and practice examination questions.
Throughout the duration of the course we will ensure that regular breaks are taken; at least one morning and
afternoon break, and usually at least 45 minutes for lunch.
This accredited course has been developed in-house by our own Consultants who have a wealth of best practice
and industry experience. As a result, course content is clear, relevant and focused on adding value to your training
experience; guiding you to the opportunity for a successful examination outcome.
We hope you enjoy your course and if you have any issues or problems please feel free to speak to your instructor
directly or contact the training administration team.
Study Guide Contents

Section Title Page
1 Course Overview and Introduction 7

2 The Strategic Role of Support 21
3 Essential Management Skills 45
4 Developing and Promoting the Service Desk 95
5 IT Service Management 127
6 Quality Assurance 189
7 Effective Management of Tools and Technology 215
8 Staff Recruitment, Retention and Development 247
9 Leadership and Management 269
10 Professional Development 293
11 Group Activities 313
SOl• Service Desk & Support Manager (SDM) Study Guide
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Section 1
Course Overview and Introduction

Section 1- Course Overview and Introduction
Course Administration
• Course delivery
Lectures
- Group activit ies
- Discussions
Practi ce exams
• Please keep mobile devices on silent
• Feel free to break at your own convenience
• Facilities review
© Syzygal Limited 2017 I Page 7

Introductions
• Who are you?
• Why are you here?
• Tell us about your work and experience
• What do you plan to do with the knowledge gained from this course?
• I'll go first

Course Overview
• Gain knowledge and understanding of SDI ®
Terminology
Structure
Core concepts and principles
Practices
• Prepare to sit and pass t he examination
·Add value to your role for your organ isation
• Have some fun along the way!
The aim of this best practice course is two-fold. Firstly to gain an insight on the Service Desk Institutes set of standards,
including learning the terminology, structures, core concepts and principles, and practices. Secondly, to prepare you for
the associated exam. This two pronged approach will give the grounded knowledge to apply your newly learnt skills in
your workplace, and add value to yourself by adding one of the most respected certifications to your name.
To gain the most out of the course, we ask you to get involved as much as possible, as this course has been designed with
TACT in mind:
• Theory- ensuring that all the syllabus aspects are delivered in a thought provoking way
• Absorption- aligning the theory to real world examples- please feel free to nominate any current issues that you are
having
• Consolidation- Consolidating your newly gained information, by use of realistic exercises, that will help convert said
information to practically aligned knowledge
• Testing - to understand where you are, absorbing the information and also preparing you for the exam

Course Objectives
• For Service Desk Managers to develop and demonstrate
Service desk and support strategies
Key leadership and management compet encies
Service desk and support technology strategies
Interfa ce the service desk with other IT fu nctions
Deliver service desk processes and services
Deliver exceptional customer service and support
Service Desk Manager's Standard and Course Objectives:

Develop and deliver service desk and support strategies to fully underpin the organisation's business strategy and
objectives
Demonstrate the key leadership and management competencies needed to be a successful Service Desk and Su pport
Manager- to include operational management, organisational change management, human resources, t eam
development, service desk promotion, risk and financial management
Develop and deliver service desk and support technology strategies to underpin strategic obj ectives
Interface the service desk with other IT function s, processes and standards to maximise the efficiency and
effectiveness of IT
Design, contract and deliver service desk processes and servi ces to deliver exceptional customer service and support
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Section 1- Co urse Overview and Introduction
Course Objectives
• Skills and competencies required for success
Service commitments, ethi cs and attitud e
Valu e of t eamwork
Effective business re lationships
Communicat ion skills
Effective negotiation
Coaching and mentoring
St ress management
The course objectives are to explore the skills and competencies required for success, including:
• Service commitments, ethics and attitude
• Value of teamwork
Effective business relation ships
Communication skills- verbal, nonverbal, listening, writing and questioning
• Techniques: developing rapport, effective negotiation, conflict resolution, stress management and time management
• Call management skills and techniques for dealing with difficult people

SDI Service Desk and Support Manager Certification (SDM)

• 60 multiple choice questions
~1:'1~~
• 75% pass mark (45 correct answers)
~
• Time allowed : 60 minutes
• All content covered in this course
• No negative marks
KEEP
CALM
IT'S
ONLY AN
E MINATION
The exams are randomly generated from a pool of pre-authorised exam questions in order to deliver a different exam
each time.
• The exam consists of sixty (60) multiple-choice questions

• Candidates will have sixty (60) minutes to complete the exam
• The passing score for the exam is 75%. Approved Instructors must achieve a score of 87% or higher to qualify to
facilitate SDI training courses
The Service Desk and Support Manager exam is based on the SOl SDM standard.
Page 12 I © Syzygal Limited 2017

SDI® Qualification Scheme
Service Desk and

Support Manager
(SDM) Service Desk Manager
Service Desk and

Support Analyst
(SDA) Service Desk Analyst
Qualification Objectives: SDI's Service Desk Manager Qualification (SDM) recognises an individual's knowledge of the
competency requirements and skills required to be a manager of a service desk. A person who passes the SDM exam can
be expected have the skills to:
Develop and deliver service desk and support strategies to fully underpin the organisation's business strategy and
objectives
Demonstrate the key leadership and management competencies needed to be a successful Service Desk Manager to
include operational management, organisational change management, human resources, team development, service
desk promotion, risk and financial management
Develop and deliver service desk and support technology strategies to underpin strategic objectives
Interface the service desk with other IT functions, processes and standards to maximise the efficiency and
effectiveness of IT
Design, contract and deliver service desk processes and services to deliver exceptional customer service and support
SDA is the acronym that is used for the Service Desk and Support Analyst which defines the skills required by service desk
and support analysts in an IT service and support environment. The Service Desk and Support Analyst qualification
recognises an individual's knowledge of customer service and support competencies and certifies that they have the skills
required to work in the IT support industry
How to prepare for the exam- Attending a training course is the preferred option for most candidates seeking
certification. Training will assist course participants in preparing to take a qualification exam while also building skills
valuable to one's profession in the support industry. Training will help candidates to understand the best practices and
concepts captured within an SDI standard as well as how to apply them within the workplace. All SDI qualification exams
are weighted. The exam questions are classified according to the categories contained in the standards. The exam is
designed to test the candidate's mastery of the knowledge in each category. If you have limited time to study for the
exam, we recommend that you focus your review on the categories that have the highest weight percentage.

The Service Desk Institute Mission

• To enable organisations to enhance the value of business and IT integration
through exceptional IT service and support by
Setting global industry standards
Delivering thought-leadership and knowledge
Influencing service improvement for individuals and organisations
• Inspiring service desks to be brilliant!
Embrace best practice to raise the quality of service delivery
Engage with customers to create an inspiring and engaging service experience
Invest in and empower teams to be inspired, take action and be better
Shine by demonstrating and delivering exceptional business value
SOl
•
The SDI Mission: SDI is the leading professional body for everyone working in the IT service and support industry. The
Institute has been connecting IT service professionals across the globe since 1988. SDI sets the internationally recognised
best practice standards for service desks and service desk professionals. It is these standards which form the basis for the
SDI professional qualifications programme and the service desk certification programme. Delivering exceptional, fun and
inspirational experiences for everyone working in IT support, SDI is here to support you in making your service desk be
the best it can possibly be.
The SDI Vision: Passionate about helping service desks make a difference and realise their full potential, we promise to
deliver exceptional, fun and inspirational customer experiences and support, guide and educate those committed to their
own service improvement journey.
SDI Qualifications: The competencies required for each SDI qualification were identified and approved by SOl's
International Committee for Individual Standards, a group of industry experts and experienced practitioners from a
number of organisations, in order to:
• Establish an international benchmark to recognise the breadth of knowledge required to successfully fulfil the role
• Document the necessary skills
• Provide a mechanism to recognise and develop the breadth of knowledge required for developing individuals aligned
to international industry standards
• Provide leadership to the IT support industry by providing a recognised qualification in IT customer service and
support
The SDI qualification is an open qualification standard that is independent of any other training curriculum. SDI is the
administrator, facilitator and arbitrator of the standards. The exams are independently administered and proctored.
As the driving force for the ITSM and service desk industry, SDI generates dynamic thought leadership and offers essential
research and expertise with clear opinions around your key IT support issues. SDI also conducts and delivers forward -
thinking research to drive and support IT service management decision-making.
SOl's goal is to provide the information and advice, the skills and knowledge that both organisations and industry
professionals need to achieve success.

SDI® Standards
• Organised into 'concepts'
• Defined and supported by one or more 'topics'
• Within each topic there are 'competencies'
The SDI role-based standards are organised into concepts that are defined and supported by one or more topics against
which a service desk and support professional can be assessed .
Within each topic there are one or more competencies. For each there is a range of knowledge. If one approaches the
standard as if interviewing for a position in a service desk, the would be either a specific question or a concept that an
interviewer would ask in the interview process, and the range of knowledge would be the expected answer. In other
words, it is expected that someone in a specific service desk position will possess the range of knowledge for each
competency.
To completely cover a range of knowledge for some of the competencies would be an endless task (e .g., "Explain the
responsibilities of the service desk"). In such cases, SOl's International Qualifications Standards Committee has either
defined the information in the range of knowledge to cover common knowledge or has provided examples that relate to
the competency. An experienced professional should be able to expand upon the range of knowledge.
It is common to have a similar set of competencies in more than one qualification standard, with the range of knowledge
varying between standards. For example, the standard for a service desk and support analyst and a service desk and
support manager may include the competency, "Explain the objectives of change management." The range of knowledge
for this will differ in each of the standards. The standard for the service desk and support analyst may include an
awareness of the change management process, while the standard for a service desk and support manager may contain a
more detailed description of how to use the change management process within the service desk.
© Syzygal Limited 2017 I Page l S

Service Desk & Support Manager (SDM)

• Qualification standards
Open
International
Industry
Standard
• SDI qualif ications
Val idation of skill sets
Evidence of exce llence achieved
Professional development
Personal pride
Credentials t hat travel
SOl
This presentation contains SDI's Service Desk and Support Manager (SDM) qualification standards. It provides the
•
information, the requirements, and the guidance necessary for test creators, curriculum developers, test takers and test
administrators. SDI bases its certifications on open international industry standards, and is independent of any training
curriculum.
Open - means that the standards are published in order to allow organisations to use the standards to improve their
services, for individuals to study the standards in preparation for an exam, and for training and consulting providers to
develop offerings that align with the standards
International- means that a committee of professionals with international experience and/or who work for global
companies has developed the standards, and that the standards are recognised in the global market
Industry- refers to the service and support industry, which initially focused on internal support of information
technology and later expanded to include external support organisations and shared service desks
Standard -defines the knowledge that a support professional in a specific role is expected to know, and a set of best
and common processes and practices within a service desk
SDI is committed to defining standards for additional support professional roles as the industry evolves and its needs
change. In business today, customers want educated and qualified professionals to support their business needs. SDI
qualifications provide:
Validation of current knowledge and skill sets
Evidence of excellence achieved
Professional development
Personal pride
Credentials that travel

Who is SDM Designed for?

• Individuals with several years' management experience in the support
profession
Team Leaders I Supervisors
Service Desk Managers
Support Managers
Service Delivery Managers
Customer Service Managers
• All industry sectors

• Large, medium, and small sized service desks
SDI's SDM exam and training materials are aimed at individuals who have one to three years of management experience
in the support profession. Examples of professional job titles include:
• Team Leaders
• Supervisors
• Service Desk Managers
• Support Managers
• Service Delivery Managers
• Customer Service Managers
Individuals interested in achieving an SDI qualification will come from all industry sectors across a range of large, medium,
and small sized Service Desks. They will have a desire to be recognized for demonstrating an understanding of the
important topics listed in these standards in order to pursue employment and advancement opportunities in the support
industry.


Section 2
The Strategic Role of Support

Section 2- The Strategic Role of Support
The Role of The Service Desk

• To serve as a single point of contact {SPOC)
Sr"*-•'''''J
The most important aspect of an effective Service desk's role is to be the single point of contact (SPOC) for all IT-related
issues. The intention is to provide consistent and easy-to access initial support for alilTs customers.

The Activities of The Service Desk

• Deliver services that achieve the expected business outcomes in line with
organisational objectives
• Represents the entire IT organisation
• Focus on business
Demonstrate value and contribution
Identify and initiate improvement initiatives
Follow policies, processes and procedures
A comm unication channel for custom ers
• Manage customer expect at ions
S,l'lah•lftl I J I
As the single point of contact for all IT related issues, the role of the service desk has become an increasingly complex
one, unlike early versions of service (or help) desks, which were comparatively straightforward in nature. Consequently,
the service desk now has many more responsibilities. Some of the key responsibilities are to:
• Represent the IT organisation to its customers
• Demonstrate the value and contribution of the service desk to the organisation
• Identify and initiate service improvement initiatives
• Follow the organisation's priorities and processes
• Provide a clear communication channel between customers and the IT organisation
• Manage customer expectations

The Activities of The Service Desk

• Set standards of behaviour for customer contact
• Balance the cost support while maintaining quality
• Provide first contact resolution whenever possible
• Knowledge creation and maintenance
• Develop effective processes and procedures
• Be aware of societal and environmental issues
• Adhere to, police and support security policies
• Manage compliments and complaints relating to IT service issues
S,n..h•lftl I J I
• Set the standards of behaviour for customer contact throughout all communication channels
• Balance support expenses to keep IT support performing at the optimum levels of quality and cost effectiveness
• Provide first contact resolution for customers, where possible and practical
• Contribute to knowledge creation and maintenance
• Develop and implement effective processes and procedures to ensure consistent service support
• Be aware of appropriate societal and environmental issues and responsibilities relating to the service desk
• Adhere to, monitor and support the organisation's security policies/requirements
• Manage compliments, complaints and suggestions relating to IT service issues

Successful Service Desk Characteristics

• Leadership • Staff satisfaction
• Consistency • Customer satisfaction
• Commitment to quality • Results analysed
• Policy and strategy • A great customer experience
• People management • Service ethics
• Resources • Credibility - respected
• Deliver value
• Processes documented and
reviewed
Service desks are made up of several inter-related and inter-dependent elements that exist at varying levels of
development in your organisation today. These elements act as building blocks and give you a solid foundation for
providing strategically valuable support services.
By understanding the necessary alignment and dynamic relationships between the elements, and your organisation's
current ability to effectively address each element, you can develop a blueprint for a world-class support team.
The key characteristics of a successful service and support organisation will include the following:
Leadership- Leadership defines how managers guide their organisations towards success and how they inspire and
motivate employees. Effective leaders guide the formulation and evolution of statements of purpose, and ensure that
they are communicated and understood throughout the entire organisation. They provide highly visible support and
encouragement to individuals and teams as they seek to carry assignments forward to completion. Important
leadership skills include fostering meaningful teamwork, resolving communication issues, determining resource
requirements, determining priorities and priority issues, and inspiring an environment of cooperation and enthusiasm.
• Commitment to quality -In their everyday lives people have the right to expect services which are responsive to their
needs, which are delivered to a consistently high standard, which treat them with respect and which provide them
with good information. This is a legitimate and reasonable expectation and in this regard the service desk should be no
different to other services provided in a modern society. In fact, the service desk should lead the way.
Policy and strategy- The mission, vision, goals and objectives of the support functions must clearly and effectively
support the business purposes of the enterprise. As with any business activity, they must contribute to the
organisation's ability to achieve its stated goals. It is also essential that any support function is fully integrated with the
rest of IT. Policies and strategies translate purposes and objectives into plans that can be acted upon, measured and
revised as required, in order to achieve the desired results. Specific plans, policies and procedures must be established
to define the way in which the organisation's goals are to be achieved. To be useful, plans must lead to the
achievement of measurable results and be coordinated with the plans of the larger enterprise.
People management- The most important responsibility of support management is the creation of an environment
that motivates people to perform at their peak. Staff roles and responsibilities and support processes must be well
documented. The support staff must have and maintain the required set of skills to respond effectively to customer
requests for assistance. Meaningful performance feedback, peer and management recognition, strong corporate
communication, and opportunities for technical and professional growth are proven motivators.
Resources- The support operation must have access to the resources and tools necessary to achieve the established
objectives. These may be infrastructure-related or support specific. They include financial and human resources,
physical facilities, communications infrastructure and processes, specialised organisational knowledge and

competencies, hardware/software tools, and/or third party partnerships. Support technology such as problem
management/call management systems, knowledge bases, self-help tools, remote access tools, self-help web
tools, self-healing software, and automatic call distribution systems (ACDs) can provide significant increases in
service desk efficiency and customer (end user) productivity, which translates directly to cost savings, superior
service, or both.
Processes- The support function must have in place processes that allow it to be successful. These must be well
defined, measurable, documented, communicated and understood by those who will manage and those who
will execute these processes. Examples of service desk processes include call logging and tracking, triage (a
process in which things are ranked in terms of importance or priority), escalation procedures, performance
measurement, quality improvement, effective knowledge capture and distribution, information management
and communication, change control, customer satisfaction and service level management.
Employee Satisfaction- The satisfaction of the people within an organisation can significantly influence the
organisation's success. Support staff must be well motivated to perform their jobs. They should understand why
their job is important, receive satisfaction from their work, and feel supported and valued by management for
their effort. Measurement of key factors such as absenteeism and turnover, attitude and enthusiasm can reveal
the degree of job satisfaction within an organisation.
• Customer satisfaction- The perception of customers, with regard to the success of the support function in
satisfying their needs and expectations, will ultimately determine its overall success. All customers have
alternatives for obtaining the support services they require. For example, customers can get support from co-
workers, product vendors, and the Internet. For the service desk to earn the position of favoured provider, the
corporate culture should recognise its value and support its importance. Support's value should be recognised at
a senior level and visible throughout the organisation. Normally this is reflected by the existence of effective
Service Level Agreements and customer-centric performance measures. By utilising customer satisfaction
surveys the support organisation can collect meaningful customer feedback, manage customer satisfaction
levels and create an effective collaboration between the support function and its customers; leading to long-
term customer loyalty.
Performance results generation- Performance results are the measured achievements compared to goals.
Measurement processes must be objective, reliable and realistic. Results must be clearly communicated to the
appropriate audiences. Performance objectives and results must either be achieved, or the reasons for any
variance must be clearly understood, and appropriate actions must be taken to achieve the standard set or it
must be revised.
Benchmarking and certification- A successful service desk will have a clear definition and understanding of its
quality, capability and delivery performance levels. This allows it to identify areas for improvement as well as
being able to demonstrate its relative quality and value for money. Usually this is achieved via some form of
external assessment and ratification based on industry comparisons and standards. In many cases, organisations
will measure themselves against industry standards, benchmarks and delivery levels. Many other organisations
will require to be externally reviewed or audited to prove that they are meeting certain delivery levels and this
can ultimately lead to attainment of industry certification standards, such as ISO/IEC 20000 (service
management certification) or SDI Service Desk Certification (SOC). Benchmarking covers two main areas-
performance delivery levels (database), and capability maturity models (e.g. Capability Maturity Model
Integration (CMMI)). Performance benchmarking looks at metrics for actual delivery of set service levels and
services, and compares these to other organisations, usually in demographic groups. This approach usually
simply looks at results and provides some commentary on why these results might happen, without actually
analysing the organisation in detail. Capability maturity models review a number of organisational issues,
including structure, management, process, roles, tools, reporting etc., providing analysis on the relative maturity
levels in each area and giving the organisation feedback on how they might improve. These are usually the basis
for certification programs such as 150/IEC 20000 and SDI SOC.
• Service ethics - In order to build strong customer relationships and loyalty we need processes in place that detail
the standards describing the behaviour we expect of our own people. It is important for our customer, our
people and other stakeholders- to understand exactly what we stand for and how they can expect us to conduct
ourselves. A code of conduct is an integral part of the way we work every day and should be linked to existing
values- such as excellence, teamwork and leadership; the code shows how these values apply to our daily
business practices.
Credibility - By giving good customer service, advertising that we give good customer service and then backing it

up again and again brings credibility to the service desk. If you do this, your customers will tell all their
colleagues and the word of mouth advertising will rapidly spread throughout our internal and external customer
base.

Vision Statements
• The purpose of an organisational vision statement is to provide an
aspirational view of what the organisation wants to become
• The objectives include

Promote the image of the organisation
Provide staff with a vision they can work towards
Encourage team members to develop skills and competencies to support the vision
A vision statement is a more conceptual view of the future state towards which your service desk is working. A common
vision permits everyone to work as an effective team toward long-term goals without constant management intervention
and supervision.
A vision statement should provide - in clear and understandable language - a longer-term view of what the service desk
wishes to become.
It should promote the image of the service desk, and be written carefully and coherently so that is it easily understood so
that service desk staff are able to consistently work towards achieving it.
It should engender pride in team members for being part of the service desk, and encourage them to develop the skills to
support and achieve the vision.
When developing a vision statement:

• Omit statements that are not achievable
• Keep the vision statement direct, clear and brief
• Consider the who, what and how
Why is a vision statement important to your team and its success? Remember- if you don't know where you are going,
how will you get to where you want to be.

The Mission Statement Purpose

• To define th e service desk's reason for existing
What you are doing?
- Why you are doi ng it?
• It should
Demonstrate commitment to the orga nisation's vi sion
Be aligned with its business goals
Be supported by appropriate crit ical success factors and key performance indicators
Be regularly review ed
The purpose of having a service desk mission statement is to define the service desk's reason for existing clearly and
simply.
It should be regularly reviewed to ensure that it demonstrates commitment to the organisation' s vision and is aligned
with its business goals.
Appropriate critical success factors and key performance indicators should support it.

The Mission Statement Contents

• A purpose statement
What you want to do
- Why you want to do it
• Underpinning objectives, the business practices required to achieve it
• The expected standard of performance
A mission statement typically includes:

• A purpose statement -what the service desk is trying to achieve
• Underpinning objectives- the business practices required to achieve the stated purpose
A clearly defined mission statement provides service desk staff (and customers) with an overall objective against which
they can measure performance. You must then trust and support your staff and empower them to serve their customers
well.

The Mission Statement Objectives

• Identify the purpose and role of the service desk
• Align support goals with the organisation's goals
• Inspire commitment and buy-in
The mission statement provides an instrument for both measuring progress and
moving ahead
Sr"'*-•''' 1./J
The objectives of a service desk mission statement are as follows:

• To identify the main role and purpose of the service desk
• To align support goals with the organisation's goals
• To inspire commitment from the team
The mission statement should provide an instrument for both measuring progress and moving ahead day-by-day.
Not having a mission statement is like not knowing where you need to go, but getting on an airplane anyway.

Good Practice and Best Practice

• Good practice
Accepted common way of doing something
Proprietary knowledge of individuals and organisation s
• Best practice
- A technique or methodology th at has consistently shown superior results
Sr"*-•'tiJ..J.J
Today's support environment is increasingly focused on the need to deliver support in a professional, timely and cost-
effective manner. People should be recruited for skills that are not just technical.
Customer satisfaction is key, and the role of the service desk, and its goals and objectives, should be clearly defined.
Professional service does not 'just happen'. Guidelines and principles need to be established to which all personnel in IT
should adhere.
As our industry has matured, standards that determine what best practice is, or should be, have evolved. A Service Desk
and Support Manager should at least have a basic understanding of the concept of good and best practice and the most
commonly referred to industry and management business standards.
• Good Practice- A collection of specific methods that identify the accepted common way of doing something. Sources
of good practice include standards, frameworks, proprietary knowledge (intellectual property) of individuals and
organisations, supported by complementary guidance for particular industry sectors
• Best Practice- A technique or methodology that has consistently shown results superior to those achieved using other
means and that is used as a benchmark

The Service Desk and Best Practice

• SDI® best practice standards
• ITIL® Framework
• 150/IEC 20000
ITIL ....
·ISO 9000 :._.:
• •
.. Serum
• ISO/IEC 27001 .
•
.
. ..
The DSDM ag1Le
• DevOps
• COBIT®
Agile Project Framework ... •.
• Lean IT LCA N IT
• Agile
COBITO
AN I SACA FRAMEWORK
Professional service cannot and does not 'just happen'. Guidelines and principles need to be established, to which all IT
staff should relate and adhere.
As our industry has matured, standards that determine what good and best practice are, or should be, have evolved. A
Service Desk and Support Analyst should at least be aware of, or have a basic understanding of the most commonly
referred to industry good and best practice models.
Sources of good and best practice include:

SDI® best practices
ITIL® Framework for IT service management
ISO/IEC 20000- IT service management
ISO 9000- Quality management systems
ISO/IEC 27001 - lnformation security management systems
DevOps- a practice that emphasises the collaboration and communication of both software developers and other
information-technology (IT) professionals
COBIT®- Control Objectives for Information and Related Technology
Lean IT- Quality management system based on the Lean principles
Agile- An approach to deliver development (Serum) and projects (DSDM) in an iterative approach

Business Standards
• Formal standards
• Formal IT governance and audit assessment
• Industry good and best practice
• Methodologies relevant to service management
• Formal business best practice quality models
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Common business standards and best practices relevant to the service desk include:
Formal standards relating to IT best practice such as:
• ISO/IEC 20000- IT service management
ISO 9000 -Quality management
• IS027000 - Security management
• ISO/IEC 15504- IT process assessment
• ISO 14000 - Environmental management
• ISO 22301 - Business Continuity Management
• IT41T Reference Architecture- an operating model to manage the business of IT
Formal IT governance and audit assessment standards such as:

• The Control Objectives for Information and related Technology (COBIT ®)
• ISO/IEC 38500- Corporate governance of information technology
• SDI Service Desk Certification (SDC)
Industry good/best practice guidance such as:

• Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI)
• SFIA- Skills Framework for the Information Age
• Agile- software development methods
Formal business best practice quality models such as:

• EFQM Excellence Model
• Six Sigma -techniques and tools for process improvement
• TQM -Total Quality Management
Kaisen - philosophy for continuous improvement

The Purpose of Industry Standards

• Meet IT governance requirements
• Meet industry-sector regulatory requirements
• Demonstrate compliance
Achieving certification demonstrates tangible evidence offollowing best

practice
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The purposes for following a formal industry standard or good/best practice are to:
• Meet IT governance
• Meet industry-sector regulatory requirements
• Demonstrate compliance by providing appropriate supporting evidence

The Benefits of Business Standards

• Increased consistency and accountability
• Improved governance
• Reduced business risk
• Greater control of IT infrastructure
• Areas for improvement are identified
• Improved efficiency
• Costs maintained and managed
• Increased mora le and customer satisfaction
• Commitment to quality is demonstrated
• Improved development time
There is little doubt that following business standards will prove to be beneficial to your team and organisation.
Some of the key benefits of following business standards include:

• Consistency and accountability in providing support is ensured
• Governance is improved. This protects and preserves the integrity of information
• Business risk is reduced
• Greater control and management of the IT infrastructure
• Areas where we can improve our service/product offering to the customer base are identified
• Costs are maintained and managed more effectively
• A clear commitment to quality is demonstrated
• Customer satisfaction will increase, as will employee morale and satisfaction
• Project development is undertaken in a practical manner, making good use of proven processes and approaches that
minimise the time taken
Note: Certification provides tangible evidence that we are following best practice. This should enhance our image and
reputation throughout the organisation.

A Global Perspective
• Different time-zones
• Language support
• Cultural differences
• Services alignment
• Differences in working methods
• Local currency
• Public holidays
• The organisation•s business mission
• Legal requirements and local governance
Most business operations today must consider the needs and requests of customers (and employees) from many
different cultures, often speaking many different languages. In the support arena, this can be particularly challenging-
added to the difference in times zones, currency, language, public holidays and customs is the challenge of sorting out
technical language and acronyms. This can lead to confusion and misunderstandings when providing solutions over the
telephone or via email. The technical request or issue may be misunderstood. Instructions to solve the problem may be
misunderstood; and there can be a great deal of frustration on both the part of the customer and the analyst
representing your support organisation.
It is therefore essential that we (and our staff) have a good understanding of the national and cultural differences as well
as the implications of local legal requirements and governance that may be involved in aligning services to meet the
organisation's business mission for the provision of global support.
To ensure consistent service delivery we should undertake the following:
Be aware of the impact of language difficulties and how they can create misunderstandings:
Use translators
Avoid e-mails that are written in a casual style
Show interest in the country and the culture to which you are providing support; ask for information on cultural issues
from your business partners
Learn some of the language basics of the country or region to which you are providing support, even if it is a simple as
how to say 'thank you' or 'please'
Study the business practices of successful multinational businesses and read about how to do business with other
countries; and/or take a professional or college level course on international business or cross-cultural studies
If you take holidays abroad, you could consider a holiday in a country to which your organisation provides support. Or you
could undertake a study tour to gain greater understanding of how other parts of the world do business.
To avoid frustration, misunderstanding and a breakdown in your support activities, we have suggested here some tips
and techniques for effective cross-cultural communication that all your analysts should be able to use effectively and
comfortably.
Pauses to verify understanding
Use only proper/standard language
Eliminate slang

Sect ion 2 - The Strategic Role of Suppo rt
Moderate their speaking speed to accommodate the other person

Encourage the customer or co-worker to ask questions for clarification
Follow-up the conversation using e-mail or fax to reinforce key points in writing

Service Ethics -Code of Conduct

• Standards of mora l and ethical behaviour
• Source of clarity for employees
• Helps to manage risks associated with behaviour
• Supports the organisation's brand
- Build s credibility, reputation and compet itive advantaee
• Instils values in order to improve the customer experience
• Helps to prevent litigation
• Encourages and benchmarks professional behaviour
All organisations have standards of professionalism that they expect all staff to adhere to. These are most commonly
referred to as a Code of Conduct, which is typically contained within the company handbook.
The purpose of a code of conduct is to:

Manage the organisation's risk
• Document expected behaviours to ensure that all employees understand what the organisation expects of them
• Document the organisation's standards of moral and ethical behaviour
• Serves as a source of clarity for employees where there are vague or questionable areas of behaviour
• Merge and align behaviour with the organisation's values
• Prevents litigation
Define the benchmark for professional behaviour
The organisation's handbook should contain general information for employees about the organisation and the
organisation's policies, processes and procedures and of course, the code of conduct. It is essential that all members of
staff understand it, what it means for them within the context of their roles and responsibilities, and to ensure that they
adhere to it.
Implicit in any code of conduct is the effect on others (customers, customers, colleagues, peers, 3rd party suppliers etc.)
of our behaviour.
Working with a code of conduct also facilitates the identification of potential risks to the organisation: it enables us to
respond promptly to any areas of behaviour that need to be addressed.
It also provides a means to leverage the organisation's brand to build credibility and reputation for competitive
advantage.
A code of conduct should instil values in order to improve the customer experience and encourage greater
professionalism from all employees.

Service Ethics - Honouring Commitments

• This has a positive effect on
Custome r satisfa ction
Trust
Credibility
Employee morale
Accountability
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If you have become accustomed to following best practice in your service desk then you are probably well aware of the
importance of making commitments that will be honoured and of not making commitments on behalf of others without
their agreement (we typically are able to do this if we have OLAs and SLAs in place, to which all teams have subscribed).
If we meet our commitments, whether they are to customers, team members or the whole organisation, and we are seen
to be accountable even when things go wrong, then provided we behave in a manner that is appropriate and professional
towards others, the effect should be positive:
• An increase in customer satisfaction
Credibility and trust
Improved employee morale
• Accountability for actions throughout your team

Service Ethics- Meeting Expectations

• Customers expect
Issues to be resolved
The service desk to be in control
Their expectations to be managed professionally
To be kept informed
Standard business language to be used
Receive decision making data and feedback
To offer feedback about the service
Consistent and courteous service
Value for money
Expectations and perceptions are something we need to manage. It is common for an organisation's management to have
one expectation, for customers to have a different expectation, and for service desk staff to have yet another totally
different expectation or understanding about the service they are providing. When this happens you have a misalignment
within the organisation, and it is fairly easy to see why the perceptions of the service you are delivering will be different.
Customers generally have fairly standard expectations of what type of service we should be providing today. Since we are
living in a service-oriented world these standards tend to be higher rather than lower. We need to ensure that OUR level
and quality of service matches with what other good service organisations provide. Customers today are quick to
complain if they do not receive the level of service they are expecting, and they will communicate their opinion of our
service if it fails to meet their expectations to everyone and anyone. It is helpful to have service level agreements in place
that document the level and quality of the service we provide, or in the absence of these, service standards and/or
standard operating procedures that every member of your team is familiar with, and works to, consistently. Customer
expectations are usually fairly straightforward, and some typical expectations that customers express include the
following:
For their issue to be resolved within an agreed timescale
• To receive consistent and courteous service
• To have confidence that the service desk is in control of what is happening with their incident or service request
regardless of who they speak with
For their expectations to be set clearly and managed fairly and in a professional manner
• To be kept informed and up-to-date with what is happening- no surprises
• To be spoken to in plain and understandable language, without the use of technical jargon
• To be provided with good, sensible data regarding decisions made/to be made and with valuable, valid feedback
• To have the opportunity to feedback their feelings about the service received
• To receive good value for money
When we fail to deliver on these, the gap between expectations and reality can lead to customer dissatisfaction and
senior management having a poor perception of the value of you and your team.

Social Responsibility
• Power saving
• Environmental and recycling compliance
• Following health and safety guidelines
• Community and charitable projects
• Using environmentally friendly products
Social responsibility is an ethical ideology or theory that an entity, be it an organisation or individual, has an obligation to
act to benefit society at large. Social responsibility is a duty every individual or organisation has to perform in order to
maintain a balance between the economy and the ecosystem. There is always a trade-off between economic
development, in the material sense, and the welfare of the society and environment. Social responsibility means
sustaining the equilibrium between the two. It pertains not only to business organisations but also to everyone whose
actions impact the environment. This responsibility can be passive, by avoiding engaging in socially harmful acts, or active,
by performing activities that directly advance social goals.
Areas where the service desk can actively demonstrate its commitment to the organisation's social responsibility policy
include:
Power saving initiatives
• Complying with relevant environmental and recycling policies and legislation for
• Ensuring health and safety guidelines are followed
• Participating in community and charitable projects
• Using environmentally friendly products whenever possible
© Syzygal Limited 2017 I Page 4 1


Section 3
Essential Management Skills


Section 3- Essent ial Management Skills
Essential Skills and Competencies

• People management and team building skills
• Strategic planning capability (direction-setting)
• Tactical planning capability (short-term activities)
• Demonstrable knowledge of industry standards
• Demonstrable knowledge of ITSM best practices
• Excellent communication and influencing skills
• Marketing and selling ability
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There are many skills and competencies that a service desk manager requires in order to perform his or her role
effectively, and the following list is by no means exclusive. It is however a concise explanation of some of the more critical
skills or competencies.
Heading the list, perhaps unsurprisingly, are good people management and team building skills.
The next requirement, also of the utmost importance, is strategic planning ability- needed to set direction for both team
and individuals, and identify their capability in meeting your strategy plans.
To ensure your service desk is continuing to develop innovation and work more smartly, it is essential to have a good
understanding of industry standards and ITSM best practices.
To be effective as a manager, you should also be in possession of excellent communication and influencing skills; you
should have good marketing and sales skills in order to promote the service desk.

Essential Skills and Competencies

• An understanding of technology
• An understanding of the customer's business
• Driving continual service improvement by asking what is done and why?
• Coaching skills
• Time management skills
·The ability to lead by example
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A good service desk manager will have a broad understanding of technology, especially those implemented within their
organisation. We also need to have the ability to question what is done and why in order to drive continual service
improvement programs.
Having a good understanding of the customer's business is also required to help demonstrate how we can effectively
support the business objectives and goals.
Coaching skills to help develop your staff are another basic requirement; and of course, time management skills
And last but not least we must walk the talk and lead by example.

Routine Responsibilities
• Achieving service and support targets
• Promoting the service desk to customer's base and to the IT organisation
• Staff welfare, development and training
• Reporting and performance reviews
• Auditing, improving and documenting processes
• Promoting the service desk as a core business asset to senior management
• Being aware of the costs of running a desk
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Some of the most often-cited day-to-day routine responsibilities of a service desk and support manager include the
following:
• Achieving delivery targets for customer service and support performance
• Promoting the service desk to the customer base
• Promoting the service desk and service processes across the IT organisation
• Staff welfare, development and training
• Service reporting and operational performance reviews
• Ensuring that processes and procedures used by the service desk are documented, regularly audited and continually
improved
• Liaising with the organisation's senior management to promote the service desk as a core business asset
• Stakeholder management e.g. the team, other t eams and customers
• Being aware of the financial management and the costs associated with running a service desk

Strategic Responsibilities
• Define and implement service desk strategies
- Supporting the organ isation's busi ness strategy
• Understand the role of the service desk
- Supporting the organ isation's strategic plans
• Identify the service desk activities required
- To support th e organisat ion's strategic plans
• Communicate the relationship between the service desk and the strategic
plans of the organisation
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It is essential that we clearly demonstrate our grasp of business, and the requirements the organisation has of our
services and products, if our services are to grow and flourish. To do this we need to have a good understanding of the
organisation's strategic plans and the desired or expected role of the service desk in supporting them.
It is important to understand the intention behind the strategic plans, and the activities required of the service desk to
support these plans. This will enable us to ensure that our teams are prepared to support or provide appropriate
services/products in line with organisational requirements. It also ensures that the IT service desk is contributing towards
meeting the strategic objectives that the organisation has set for itself, and that the Service desk's responsibilities are
clearly understood.
It is also essential that you can both demonstrate and communicate the relationship between the service desk and the
strategic plans of the business. You should be capable of both showing and explaining the manner in which your service
desk activities are aligned to the strategic plans of the organisation, and how they will help the organisation to succeed.

The Importance of Documentation

• Processes must be documented and followed to ensure del ivery of
consistent, effective and efficient service
Creates a product ive and self-sufficient environment
- Builds confidence for professional call hand ling
It is important to follow documented processes and procedures because:

• It ensures consistent, effective and efficient service delivery from all support staff
• It builds analysts' confidence in their ability to effectively and professionally manage calls
Some of the key reasons for documenting and following clear and effective processes and procedures are:
• It encourages a more resourceful atmosphere within support because:
• Makes the induction process easier
• Allows others to perform tasks when person responsible for the role is unavailable
Encourages adherence to processes and procedures
• Gives analysts confidence to enable them to professionally manage calls
Using sensible and well-thought-out processes and procedures will help to enhance your team's strategic value within the
organisation.
Every service desk should have documented call management processes and procedures that cover:
• Incoming calls - the standard greeting/call opening. A greeting should include the following:
• Good morning/afternoon
• <Team name> e.g. IT Service Desk
• <Name> speaking
• Offer assistance e.g. how may I help you?
• Use of the customer' s name if offered/available (e.g. via screen pops), is acceptable provided it is appropriate
at this early point in the dialogue.
• Call transfer- An equally important aspect of professional call management is how we manage the transfer of a call
• Putting a caller on hold
• Outgoing calls
• Responding to non-service desk calls

Business Knowledge
• Business and IT integration
- Using ITSM processes and methods to support IT service integration with business
requirements
• Strategic awareness
Articulate the organisations strategic goals, objectives and key business processes
Knowing how to gain awareness of strategic plans
Interpret the intention of strategic plans and how to apply them
Know how IT contributes to organisational goals
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Firstly, what does it mean? It means to use information technology service management {ITSM) processes and
approaches to support the integration of IT services with the organisation's stated business requirements. It is essential
that we fully appreciate the importance of true integration between IT and the organisation's business objectives and
goals.
It is expected today that all IT managers should have a good grasp of business concepts, a good understanding of what
the organisation considers to be important in terms of success and on-going viability, and that all teams within IT are
clearly demonstrating by their actions that they support and enable the organisation and its stated goals both effectively
and intelligently. If we are not supporting the organisations objectives and goals effectively and intelligently, then we are
failing to deliver what the organisation considers the most important, thereby demonstrating either our ignorance or lack
of care for business requirements. The knock-on effect of this attitude and approach will be detrimental to our support
teams and to the business.
We must understand how to use Information Technology Service Management (ITSM) processes and approaches to
support the integration of IT services with business objectives. The application of effective IT service management,
particularly if utilising models such as ITIL®or SDI, will assist us in our efforts to support the business in the most effective
way possible. It is essential that we integrate all our services with the objectives and goals of the organisation if we are to
be taken seriously, and if senior (non-technical) management is to recognise that we understand business concepts and
requirements. What is strategic awareness? To have strategic awareness means that you are able to articulate the
strategic goals, objectives and key business processes of the organisation being supported.
To have a good understanding of the goals it is essential that you know how to acquire knowledge of the organisations
strategic plans, whether this is by personal attendance at senior level meetings, or by your manager or director keeping
you informed and up-to-date. If neither of these options is available to you, you need to find another means to get hold of
this information- perhaps another senior manager will be able to assist you. You should also have a clear understanding
of the intention behind the organisations strategic plans, and have a good understanding of how IT services will
contribute towards meeting the strategic goals.
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Business Knowledge
• Contribution to strategic decisions
Take a proactive approach t o developing and supporting strat egic initiatives
Participate in management decision making
Demonstrate sound business vision, insight and judgment
Find and developing new business opportunities
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As a service desk manager you should be involved with and/or consulted on strategic decisions. Opportunities for greater
participation include:
• Taking a proactive approach to developing and supporting strategic initiatives
Participating in management decision making
• Demonstrating sound business vision, insight and judgment
• Being involved in finding and developing new business opportunities

Strategic Alignment
• Develop service desk goa ls and objectives that support business and IT goa ls
• Networking and building close re lationships
• Undertake planning sessions with your team
• Undertake current state analysis (CSA)
• Research to obtain strategic guidance
• Communicate
Vision and strategy and request feedback
How the service desk assists the organisation to meet its business objectives
Successful service desks proactively plan how to support the strategies of the organisation.
Some sensible practices that will help create clear, insightful strategies that are designed to take advantage of business
opportunities and align available resources include:
Develop clear goals and objectives for your service desk that support those of IT and the business
Network with people within your organisation, the support industry and the wider community.
Build close and effective relationships with 2nd and 3rd line teams and also with other service providers and the wider
industry
Work with your team to develop future scenarios in which your team is likely to be a player- include them in the
process of development of new ideas and activities that will help to promote team success
Undertake an assessment or current state analysis (CSA) of the service desk using, for example SWOT; GAP
Communicate the vision and strategy on an on-going basis and request feedback
Undertake research, using both on-line and written media, to acquire strategic management guidance
Understand- and communicate- how your team's activities and services assist the organisation in meeting its business
objectives

Obtaining Support to Remove Barriers

• Ensure objectives are presented in appropriate context and language
• Obtain tangible, on-going and practical management and inter-departmental
support
• Ensure all projects
Have formal status
Are properly costed
Contain a written business case
Have al located resources
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If we are to be viewed as an asset to the organisation, we must first obtain support from critical resources and gain an
understanding of any proposed changes, improvements, recommendations or activities that we make. We must also
remove any barriers that may be justified, unjustified, derived from historical perception or fact or from current
perception or fact.
No improvement project should be implemented without verifiable data that demonstrates a positive business benefit as
the primary outcome of the project.
Once this has been achieved, we must ensure we undertake the activities required to obtain support from critical
resources, and remove any barriers when implementing amendments or improvements to services.
These activities would include:

• All documentation such as objectives, plans etc. must be written and presented in both the appropriate context AND
language (i.e. business language, occasional technical language is acceptable provided the documentation is intended
solely for technical staff)
• Obtain tangible, on-going and practical management and inter-departmental support
• Ensure that all projects have formal status : for example
• The project must have a written business case
• It must be properly costed
• Will the current resources you have available be sufficient? What other resources may be required? Can they be
sourced in house or do you need to consider using contractors/3rd parties/ consultants?

Obtaining Support to Remove Barriers

• Develop appropriate messages
- That address t he co ncerns of all parties
- That demonstrate understandi ng
• Develop a structured approach to communication
- Verif y the approach, t he clarit y and common understan ding
• Identify and communicate business and op erational ben efits
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Essential aspects for gaining support and removing barriers are:

• Develop messages that address the concerns of all parties to demonstrate understanding
• Develop a structured approach to communication in order to verify the approach, clarity and common understanding
• Identify both business and operational benefits and ensure that they are communicated

Obtaining Board Approval

• Present the case to the appropriate audience
Issues
Options
Recommended actions
Costs
Benefits
• Perform a risk analysis
• Develop a business case
• Develop a resources and time plan
• Canvass for ideas with key stakeholders
• Develop alternative plans and options
It is a well-recognised fact that having senior board or senior management approval and support for any activities you
wish to implement can really make a difference.
To gain their support and approval, we recommend using the following techniques:
• Present the following information regarding your proposal to the appropriate audience (i.e. senior board):
• Issues
• Options
• Recommendations
• Costs and benefits
• Perform a risk analysis
• Develop a business case for the preferred option
• Develop a time and resources plan for action
• Canvass key stakeholders in advance, and develop some ideas and options with them
• Be prepared and able to develop alternative plans and options as required

Commercial Management
• Create and maintain the service desk and the supporting processes and
procedures
• Communicate clear deliverables and influence expectations
• Adhere to agreed service levels
• Produce regular progress reports
• Manage the service desk as a business
Managing the service desk as a business means you must think like a business owner. For example:
• Develop and maintaining the function of the service desk and the supporting processes and procedures, including
• Identify and communicate team responsibilities
• Clearly communicate the deliverables required of the team
• Identify and communicate the expectations of the organisation, the customers and our fellow support teams.
• Produce consistent, effective, clear and coherent reports
• Carry out any audit and compliance activities required to meet business or regulatory requirements
• Clearly identify and communicate the service desk deliverables and influence the expectations that customers will
have of the services received
• Adhere to agreed service levels
• Report on the progress of the service desk
• Manage the service desk as a business partner with IT, ensuring effective balancing of costs, performance and quality

Commercial Management
• Manage the professional development of service desk staff
• Define strict time lines and budgets
• Determine the impact of proposed services on the success of the organisation
• Promote service desk services
• Seek customer input to new services
Your service desk must be able to match these basic requirements or face the consequences.
A service desk can no longer assume that its place within the organisation is a given. Forward thinking support services
managers are adopting a business perspective to insure their viability within the larger organisation. We have to know
how we will contribute to the success of our business, ensure that we accomplish those things w e have set out to do in
support of it, and communicate our impact. For many long-term IT managers, this is an unfamiliar and uncomfortable
requirement.
• Manage the professional development of all staff working in the service desk
• Define strict time-lines and budgets
Ensure that comprehensive research is undertaken on the impact to the organisation as a whole of any proposed
services or changes to existing services
• Use a well-thought-out plan for promoting the service desk
Seek customer input regarding new service desk services and products, taking into account the cost of contacts and the
cost of ownership. One further aspect of commercial management to consider: Consider some of the apparent
differences between a typical internal service desk and a successful outsourcing operation. A good outsourcer
communicates to their customers the value they provide for the fees they require. And they are willing to be evaluated
on their ability to meet or exceed predetermined and agreed upon performance measurements.

Financial Management Objectives

• Plan for the future
• Manage the cost of providing IT services
• Align IT service costs to business processes
• Support the customer and the business by delivering value for money
• Identify and manage the cost of the IT role in assisting the organisation
achieve its objectives
It is not sufficient for a service desk manager to be knowledgeable only about technology and little else today. As a
manager, it is expected that you should have a reasonable grasp and an understanding of at least basic budgeting and
accounting terminology and practices.
This means that you should not only understand the objectives of financial management generally, but also as they relate
to IT. This means:
• Managing the cost of providing IT services
• Understanding the importance of, and being able to undertake, alignment of the cost of IT services to business
processes
• To support the customers and the organisation by ensuring that we deliver value for money
• To identify and manage the cost of the role of IT in assisting the organisation to achieve its objectives

Section 3- Essential Management Skills
Financial Management Activities

• Accounting
• Budgeting
• Charging (billing)
• ROI (Return on Investment)
• Unit Cost
• Accountability
In internal service providers financial management plays a translational role between corporate financial systems and
service management. The result of a service-oriented accounting function is that far greater detail and understanding is
achieved regarding service provision and consumption, and the generation of data that feeds directly into the planning
process. Financial management consists of three main processes:
Budgeting- This is the process of predicting and controlling the income and expenditure of money within the
organisation. Budgeting consists of a periodic negotiation cycle to set budgets (usually annual) and the monthly
monitoring of the current budgets
• Accounting- This is the process that enables the IT organisation to account fully for the way its money is spent
(particularly the ability to identify costs by customer, by service and by activity). It usually involves accounting systems,
including ledgers, charts of accounts, journals etc. and should be overseen by someone trained in accountancy
Charging- This is the process required to bill customers for the services supplied to them. This requires sound IT
accounting practices and systems
ROI - This is the value of Return on Investment (ROI) and how to understand how to calculate cost benefit analysis
Unit Costs- This is establishing clear units of cost throughout IT Services that can then be used to account for spend
and form the basis of building charging models
Accountability- This is a shared and formalised understanding of accountability for the money spent within IT
Services, ensuring that a clear return on investment and value generation can be identified
There are two distinct cycles associated with accounting, budgeting and charging:
• A planning cycle (annual), where cost projections and workload forecasting form a basis for cost calculations and price
setting
• An operational cycle (monthly or quarterly) where costs are monitored and checked against budgets, bills are issued
and revenue collected

Budgeting and Accounting

• Capital costs vs. operating costs
• Fixed costs vs . variable costs
• Direct costs vs. indirect costs
In budgeting and accounting terminology there are 6 basic cost categories:

Capital- these are those costs that typically apply to the physical assets of your team, department or organisation
Operating- these are the day to day costs of running your team, department or organisation.
Fixed -these are costs that are always the same, a standard amount for example the rent you pay for your ISDN line
remains unchanged, other than when the price structures are altered
Variable- these are costs that vary from month to month, quarter to quarter, year to year, and are generally
dependent on usage. For example, the ISDN line mentioned as a fixed charge- the number of packets of data sent
over that line will be variable; therefore the charges will therefore be variable too, according to usage
Direct- these are specific costs you incur for something that only you or your department use e.g. your call
management system- if used exclusively by your department and no-one else
Indirect- these are costs for items that are used by all personnel, such as heating, lighting, networks
You should be able to apportion each cost item appropriately for your team, and be able to document clearly and
concisely the basis (and percentages where appropriate) for each one. You will work within the framework for costing as
laid out by your senior management team or financial director/CFO.

Return on Investment
• Understand what ROt is and how to use it
Used to justify money spent

Calculat es th e tim e re quired t o recoup outlay
M easu res the valu e of money spent
Enables assessment of cost and benefits
(investment gain- investment cost) x 100

investment cost
It is important that we can demonstrate ROI (Return On Investment) for the products and services provided, particularly
when those services are intangible, as is the case for much of what the service desk does.
ROI is a method that is used by all businesses to justify the investments they are making (in products, people, equipment
etc.) .
It calculates the period of time required to recover the cost of something (sometimes also called the payback period).
It can be used as a measure of the value of the investment and will enable you to make an assessment about the cost and
the benefits you should expect to see as a result of your investment (the cost-benefit analysis).
One example formula for calculating ROI is shown above.
'Gain from investment' is the total amount of money earned from the investment made by your organisation. 'Cost of
investment' relates to the amount of all resources put into generating the given payback. The result is expressed as a
percentage.
Some key (but mostly intangible) areas where the service desk can demonstrate its ROI :
Proactive problem prevention -working with problem management by capturing complete and comprehensive data
regarding all Incidents to assist in the identification and elimination of root causes before they disrupt business
activities
Listening to our customers, understanding their requirements and ensuring that information regarding t heir
requirements is passed to senior IT management in order for them to be addressed as part of the product or service
development plans
Serving as a single point of contact information centre and knowledge base for both customers and other IT teams
Key point to remember: To demonstrate ROI you must first be able to perform a cost-benefit analysis

The Business Case

•A structured proposal for business improvement that functions as a decision
package for organisational decision-makers
• To provide management with sufficient information to make informed

decisions
A business case is a structured proposal for business improvement that functions as a decision package for the
organisations decision-makers. Its purpose is to provide management with sufficient information to be able to make
decisions appropriately and correctly.
A business case should always include an analysis of business process performance and associated needs or problems,
proposed alternative solutions, assumptions, constraints, and a risk-adjusted cost-benefit analysis.
A business case is a justification for a proposed project or undertaking on the basis of its expected commercial benefit.

Producing A Business Case

• Identify tangible and intangible benefits
• Develop options and recommendations with associated benefits
• Identify risks associated with your options/ recommendations
• State your assumptions
To produce a valuable and valid business case the steps we should take include:
• Identify tangible benefits such as cost savings and/or productivity improvements
• Identify intangible benefits such as operational quality, time savings for customers
• Develop options and recommendations, with associated benefits
• Identify the risks associated with doing or not doing the options/recommendations
• State the assumptions associated with the options/recommendations

Producing A Business Case

• Identify productivity improvements
• Identify quantifiable savings
• Identify incremental revenue
• Produce an ROI report
• And final ly...

Proof read to ensure accuracy
To produce a valuable and valid business case the steps we should take include:
• Identify productivity improvements
• Identify quantifiable (tangible) savings over a specified time period
• Identify incremental revenue
• Produce an ROI report written in business language
• Proof read to confirm accuracy before presenting
You also need to identify and take account of the time-scales involved, document your assumptions, the deliverables and
dependencies along with the expected outcomes.

Organisational Change Management

• To adapt to changes in an organisation's structure in a co-ordinated and
project-based manner
• Manage changes effectively, with minimal risk and interruptions
Srn..h•''' /SJ
The purpose of organisational change management is to adapt to any changes made to the organisation's structure and
direction. It should be undertaken in a project-based and coordinated manner, utilising a set of well-defined and
documented processes.
Changes could include the provision of new services; mergers or acquisitions; an increase in volumes of work; cost-cutting
and operational rationalisation.
The processes and procedures of organisational change should be designed to minimise risks and interruptions to
customers and services and to manage the change as effectively as possible.
People like consistency, stability and the comfort of their familiar, known and understood surroundings. Change
challenges this at every turn. Change cannot simply be mandated and expected to be successful - we are set in ou r ways
and will not change willingly.
Do you recognise these: "We've alw ays done it this w ay" "Why 'fix it' if it isn't broken?"
Even if you skilfully apply every technique of effective change management you will still encounter individua ls who refuse
to cooperate - "we have always done it this way and see no reason to ever change". You must encourage them to break
away from the old ways, but never lose your values.

Key Elements of Organisational Change

• Awareness and issue clarification
• Business case development and planning
• Operational planning
• Structured communications
• Project management and governance
• Implementation and review
• Ensuring employee fairness and consistency
• Comply with legal, financial and HR requirements
• Protecting and promoting industrial relations
s, ......., , /SJ
When you are planning an organisational change of any sort, we recommend that all the following points are addressed
thoroughly, both at the start and on an on-going basis.
Be aware of and clarify any issues
Bring a consistent application and professional approach to business case development and planning
Operational planning
A consistent and structured approach to all communications e.g. using RACI (responsible, accountable, consulted,
informed)
Be aware of and apply any governance requirements to managed projects
Follow a consistent plan for implementation and review of any change
Ensure that employees are treated fairly and with consistency before, during and after a change
Ensure compliance with all legal, financial and human resource requirements
Protect and promote healthy industrial relations

The Benefits of Organisational Change

• Improves the organisation's performance
• Manages risk
• Involves stakeholders in developing plans
• Gains buy-in to new plans
• Reduces the adverse impact of changes
• Assists with planning and optimising resources
As we have been discovering, the use of well-thought-out processes is a requirement for any organisation to run
effectively and efficiently, and organisational change management processes are no different. A well-structured change
process:
Improves the organisation's performance- which should be the goal of any type of change
Provides for improved ri sk and impact assessments, and th e ability to plan for managing identified risks effectively
Involves stakeholders in developing plans, and gaining their buy-in for the new plans
Reduces the adverse impact of changes
Provides an opportunity to avoid unnecessary costs by optimising resources- do we have something in place already
that will do what customers are asking for
Any proposed change should be understood and supported by all areas of the organisation. If not, it risks failing. It is
especially important that your team understands what any proposed change is intended to do, how it will affect them and
the benefits they should see as a result.

The Elements of Project Management

• Time management
• Initiate and plan
• Define the objectives
• Determine and document success criteria
• Manage risks and costs
• Identify, control and manage project milestones
A project can be defined as an undertaking that encompasses a set of tasks or activities and which has a definable starting
point, a definable completion date and well defined objectives. Each task within the project should have a planned
completion date and the resources required for each task or activity should be assigned in advance.
A project therefore, has a clearly-defined life cycle which is the path through, and sequence of, the activities required to
deliver the end product or service.
It is useful to break a project down into stages, with well-defined and documented activities and/or tasks to be completed
within each stage.
A project has a life cycle, which is the path through, and the sequence of, the activities required to deliver an end
product. For a project to be successful there are a number of elements that should be considered:
• Time management
Project initiation and planning
Defining the project objectives
Determining and documenting success criteria
Managing project risks
Managing costs
Identifying, controlling and managing the project stages or milestones

The Elements of Project Management

• Manage resources
• Achieve project deliverables
• Communication and expectation management
• Close the project
• Review successes and lessons learned
• Ensure a continual improvement focus
For a project to be successful there are a number of elements that should be considered:
Managing resources
• Achieving project deliverables
Good communication and expectation management
Closing the project
Reviewing the success of the project and the lessons learned
Ensuring a focus on continual improvement
Project initiation and planning

Define the background for the proposed project
Determine the expected life of the project
Determine the cost of the project
Identify the structure of the project team, including personnel and skills required
• Address the issues of quality control within the project
Perform risk analysis and document the findings
• State any assumptions made
Defining and documenting project objectives

Produce a project brief: background, objectives, scope, deliverables, constraints, interfaces, customer expectations,
acceptance criteria
• Agree the likely project stages
Produce a sound business case for the project for presentation to management, including a description of the plan for
the project
Determining and documenting criteria for success

• These MUST be measurable and reportable
Managing project risks

Risks identified and analysed must be reported on to all interested parties
Proposals or plans for managing risks must be clearly defined and documented, and responsibilities and actions
understood

Identifying, controlling and managing the project stages

Project Manager authorises work to be done at each stage prior to commencement of the stage
Monitors progress
Makes adjustments as necessary
Reports on performance (results, time, costs, important events, continued validity of business case etc.)
Closing of stage prior to commencement of next one
Managing the delivery of project deliverables

Delivery of all products to the customer
Official acceptance of products by the customer
Ensure on-going maintenance, control and future changes are planned for and documented
Communication and expectation management

The project manager should have a well structured communications plan in place to ensure that all interested
parties are kept well-informed and up-to-date with the projects progress
Communication of expected outcome and benefits of the project, what is included in the project, what is not
included in the project, any assumptions made etc. enables better expectation management
If people are not told then they will make up their own stories
Closing the project

Check that any issues are resolved
File all project documents and archive
Document any required follow-up activities
Write 'End of Project' report
Notify interested parties of successful completion and closure of project
Review of the project

Write 'Lessons Learned' report- what went well, what went badly, unexpected wins, unexpected issues etc.
Review success of the project- e.g. did deliverables meet criteria, was satisfaction sought and expressed, did
team perform well together, were time scale and budget adhered to etc.
Maintaining focus on continual improvement

As a result of each 'Lessons Learned' activity, we should glean new ideas that will provide for incremental and
continual improvements to the manner in which we manage projects
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Characteristics of Successful Project Plans

• Resources and activities are identified and coordinated
• Stakeholders are identified
• Sponsorship at senior level
• Documented communication plan
• Milestones and deliverables identified
• Roles and responsibilities defined
• Costs estimated and monitored
There are some clear indicators as to whether or not a project plan will worked well or not. These indicators include:
• The resources required for each activity in the project have been identified, and the activities and the resources
required for each activity are coordinated effectively
• The stakeholders (i.e. interested parties) have been identified
• There is clear and active sponsorship at a senior level
• A coherent plan for any and all communications regarding the project has been documented
• A comprehensive communication plan has been defined
• Milestones have been clearly identified, as have the project deliverables
• Roles and responsibilities are clearly defined and communicated
• Costs for each phase and activity have been estimated and are closely monitored

Characteristics of Successful Project Plans

• Adequate time allocated for activities
• Documented meeting and review schedule
• Quality requirements defined and documented
• Dependencies understood and documented
• Risk factors are identified and mitigated
• The correct product or service is delivered on time and in budget
There are some clear indicators as to whether or not a project plan will worked well or not. These indicators include:
• Sufficient time has been allocated for resources to complete the allocated tasks
• There is a documented schedule for project meetings and reviews that is adhered to
• The quality required/expected has been defined and documented, and is reported on
• The impact of any dependencies is clearly understood
• Risk and impact analysis has been undertaken, and risks either eliminated or reduced to a manageable level
And finally ... the correct product or service is delivered to the customer on time and in budget.

Communication Skills
• Managers need exemplary commun ication skills
Explain goals and objectives t o the team
Provide f eedback to the team
Emphasise results not just activity
Demonstrate your conf idence in th e t eam
Demonstrate how progress is monitored
Be able to say 'no'
Sell t he team's successes
Share key management reports with your team
Ensure service desk is key in roll-outs
It is expected that, as a manager, you will have exemplary communication skills.
Everything you say, do or write should be clear, succinct, easily understandable by any audience, and free from
inappropriate technical jargon. You should be comfortable communicating by a variety of mediums.
We will shortly be looking at some of the specifics of communication as a manager, but prior to doing so, first let us
review some of the key behaviours expected of a service desk manager in terms of communication with their team.
To enable the service desk to deliver on its commitments, there are certain communication competencies and activities
that are expected of a successful service desk and support manager. These include:
• Communicating the service desk's goals and objectives, and how they align with IT and business objectives
• Providing consistent and constructive feedback to your team
• Emphasising the need for results, not just activity
• Demonstrating confidence in your team- and ensuring that you match your words with your actions
• Demonstrating to your team how its progress is monitored, benchmarked, and corrected
• Knowing that it is permissible for you to say 'no' sometimes and explain the reason
• Selling your successes, promoting them to the organisation and highlighting areas for improvement
• Sharing key management reports with your team, particularly those that demonstrate the ability of your team to meet
its goals and objectives
• Working to have the service desk included as a key component in the roll-out of new or upgraded systems, for
example as part of release and deployment management

Channels of Communication
• Appropriate channels to use
Peer-group meet ings
Target-group meetings
Mass meetings
Emai l
Phone
Social media
Digital channels
We use different channels of communication depending on what it is w e wish t o communicate, and to whom.
The most common options we use for communication include:

Peer group meetings
• Target group meetings
Mass meetings
E-mail
Phone
• Social media
Digital channels (such as on-line journal or diary entries such as blogs)

Effective Communication Plans

• Determine the timing and frequency
• Decide on the most effective channel to use
• Adopt most simple} effective method for updates
• Nominate an owner
Sr"*-•'' ' 17J
A communication plan is a written document that describes what you want to accomplish (your objectives), ways in which
those objectives can be accomplished (your goals or activities), to whom your communications will be addressed (your
audiences), how you will accomplish your objectives (the tools and timetable), and how you will measure the results of
your program (evaluation).
Communications include all written, spoken, and electronic interactions with your audiences.
To create an effective communication plan you will need to:

• Establish the timing and frequency of each message
• Decide on the most effective channel to use for delivering the message
• Adopt the simplest and most effective method to update the plan
• Nominate an owner
When should you develop your plan? The best time to develop your plan is in conjunction with your annual budgeting or
organisational planning process.
Where should you get your information? Information for the plan generally comes from five sources:
• Your mission statement
• A communication audit
• Surveys and focus groups
• Leadership input
• Discussions with other staff and departments

Types of Meetings
• Planning
• Information giving
• Information gathering
(Combination of the above)
• Team performance reviews

• One-to-one meetings
• Disciplinary meetings
There are various types of meetings which we will all be familiar with, for example:
Planning
Disseminating information - briefings
Information gathering e.g. focus groups, brainstorming sessions
Meetings can frequently be a combination of all, or some, of the above.
We also hold meetings to review team performance, to discuss the areas identified for improvement, for regular one-on-
ones with members of our team and thankfully infrequently, disciplinary meetings.
We can conduct meetings in a variety of ways, and, as the world shrinks and we find we have colleagues in many different
parts of the world, it is important that we are comfortable with participating in meetings where we are not necessarily in
the same physical location.

Meeting Methods and Formats

• Video
• Electronic
• In person
• Audio/telephone
Meetings are typically conducted in one of the formats listed below, although sometimes we may find that we are
combining formats:
In person
Audio/telephone
Video
Electronic (Internet or Webcasts)

Characteristics of Successful Meetings

• Adequate notice is given
Chairperson appointed - ma nages t he agenda
Agenda is published
Objective def ined
Part icipants, time and location ident ified
Expectat ions of parti ci pants identified
St art and fi nish on t ime
• Participants actively contri but e
• Outcomes, open items, tasks, actions arising and deadlines are document ed
and published
• Participants time constraints are recogn ised
To ensure a successful outcome for your meeting, the first thing you should do is prepare the ground well. This means
that meetings are scheduled in advance and that sufficient notice is given to all participants to ensure that they are not
surprised.
You must appoint a chair person to manage conformance to the agenda and produce and publish an agenda. This you
must circulate to all those invited, sufficiently in advance of the meeting itself, to allow them time to prepare. You must
define the objectives of the meeting, specify who will be participating and from where ( i.e. don't forget to consider times
and location when participants are from different regions of the world), and document any expectations that the various
participants may have. And don't forget to take into account any time constraints of the participants.
We must also ensure that all participants actively participate in the meeting and that meeting accomplishments, open
items and assigned action items and deadlines are documented and published in a timely manner.
It is essential that all meetings start and finish on time. Failure to do so will mean that people will be less and less willing
to attend in the future. Everyone is busy, and if they have taken time out to attend a meeting, it is a basic courtesy to
meet the times as defined. This rule should apply to ALL participants. It is essential that we recognise that others also
have time constraints, and that we respect these.
After a meeting is concluded, your next task is to document and publish the outcomes and achievements of the meeting,
any items still open or incomplete along with a breakdown of any assigned tasks and deadlines.
Outputs must be documented and responsibilities assigned.

Written Communication
• Collect, organise and analyse all data
• Understand
Purpose
Audience
Reci pien ts objectives
• Write concisely
• Use appropriate language
Sr"*-•'' ' 111
It is likely that much of your communication will still be in writing, whether by means of reports, letters, email, memos or
proposals.
There are certain steps you should take when preparing any form of written communication, the first of which is to
determine the purpose for writing, and who the expected recipients will be.
Next you need to identify and understand the objectives ofthe people who will receive your communication. You need to
give them what they want, not what you think they want.
Your next step is to collect all the data you require, organise it into a logical sequence and analyse it. Now you are ready
to start writing. If you're going to all this trouble, you want to make sure that people will actually read your document and
understand it, so here are few points worth bearing in mind:
• Write concisely
• Choose effective wording
Use appropriate business language that your readers will understand

Management reports
• What?
• Why?
• How?
• Distribution?
Management reports
Basic management reports need to be produced using the right language and in context. These reports should be well
written are they are used and referenced by management. The results should be made available to other areas as
required.
Management report focus

Management reporting needs to be structured to fit the way other business units produce management reports.
Management reporting will help you keep management informed, provide them with information about your team's
strategic value to the organisation, act as an on-going promotional vehicle, and help when you need to get additional
resources. Management reports should be focused on the following:
What - Why- How- Distribution?

Effective Presentations
• Identify who, what, why, how, where and when
• Consider the needs of the audience
• Use visual aids
• Provide supporting documentation if required
• Work to the three stages
Introduction
Main body
Summary
The ability to effectively present information to your peers, business unit leaders and key stakeholders is of the utmost
importance. Everything in your presentation should be delivered to give your message the maximum impact and effect on
the audience.
It is important to deliver a presentation in a format and style that the audience wants - this requires you to understand or
'know' your audience. You need to be clear about the who, what, why, how, where and when for every presentation you
give and be aware that some people prefer words whiles other prefer visuals. Consider you delivery method and use of
visual aids such as PowerPoint, slides, flip charts, acetates or electronic white boards. You also need to ensure that any
supporting documentation is prepared and checked in advance.
Organise and structure your presentation so that the message it delivers is very clear. Remember that there are three key
stages in a presentation:
• The introduction
• The main body of the presentation and
• The summary or conclusion

Effective Presentations
• Summarise visual aides
• Clearly express key points
• Use appropriate terminology
• Review and practice in advance
• Be aware of cultural differences
• Plan to obtain feedback
• Be aware of your body language
It is essential that you use the right terminology and language for the audience; you want them to understand what you
are saying. Prepare your visual aids well and ensure that they, and any other written material, are summarised. Express
your key points clearly, review what you have prepared, and always, always, practice before you give your presentation. It
is also essential to ensure that the presentation is appropriate for the audience; be careful not to inadvertently cause
offence by lack of understanding of cultural differences or by use of inappropriate presentation techniques or body
language. And always plan for how you are going to obtain feedback.

Presentation Types
• Four basic types of presentation
Information giving
Persuasive
Motivational
Entertaining
• A combination of types is quite often needed
There are four basic types of presentations:

Information giving: Designed to explain or share knowledge with the listener. This is the most common type of
presentation used within a business or professional setting. Examples of this include presenting how to use a new
system or tool, new product or new skill set.
Persuasive: Designed to gain support, approval, or commitment from the audience. Examples of this type include
presenting a business case to gain more headcount, budget or resources.
Motivational: Designed to influence or change attitudes or behaviour. An example could be the introduction of a new
procedure for your team to use or a reward and recognition scheme.
Entertaining: Designed to provide "a good time" for the audience. For example: an after dinner speech.
Note: Quite often you will combine elements of each type of presentation within an information giving presentation. Each
of the presentation types listed above is an example of formal communication targeted to an audience or group.

Effective Presentations - Considerations

• Message and style of presentation
• Corporate styling and branding
• Colour of the font and the background
• The font type and size
• Number of items and amount of text on each slide
• The placement of slide projection equipment
• The time available
• Supporting documentation
• How will you get feedback?
Plan your messages and style of your presentation taking into account the available time.
Visual aids (slides, flip charts, acetates, electronic white boards etc.) or written material should always be summarised.
Use visual aids well but wisely - the audience never appreciates 'Death by PowerPoint'. We recommend the appropriate
use of charts, tables and graphs, with optional animation, sounds and video clips. Creating visual interest is critical
because most audience members will remember what they see rather than what they hear. And remember, some people
prefer words others prefer graphics.
Use colour- it stimulates both sides of the brain and creates visual interest, use fonts that are easy to read, with succinct
content. Slides should only ever be summaries, emphasising the key points clearly and simply- and they should be easy to
read from the furthest point in the room, so check that the font size is appropriate. Limit your bullet points to a maximum
of 6 per slide; make sure that the font and the background contrast well, for easier reading.
If there is a corporate style or brand for presentations, then you should be using it! And do give some thought to the
placement of your presentation equipment.
If the audience needs to have material to refer to, make sure that you give them ON LV what is required. Ideally, it is best
handed out at the end of your presentation to avoid distraction, but if they need to refer to it during your talk, then you
must provide it at the start.
If the subject is one the audience do not understand or do not enjoy, your biggest challenge is to gain and then keep their
attention - use of colour and simple slides will help; as will enthusiasm from the speaker.
And finally ... you must plan how you are going to obtain feedback.
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Collaborative Conferencing Services

• Web conferencing, webin ars and webcasts
• Key considerations
St yle and cont ent
Body la nguage
Absence of eye-to-eye contact
Ti m ing and managing of breaks
How to check for agreement and obtain feed back
There are many considerations to be taken into account when using on-line collaborative conferencing services such as
web conferencing, web seminars (webinars) and webcasts include:
• Style and content
Digital features used
• Slideshow presentation
• Live or streaming video
• Use of whiteboards
• Use of text chat
• Polls and surveys
• Web tours
• Screen/desktop/application sharing
• Document collaboration
• Recording
• Bodylanguage
• Absence of eye-to-eye contact
• Timing and managing of breaks
• How to check for agreement and obtain feedback

Engaging your Audience

• Ask questions designed to elicit participation
• Give the audience a tangible vision of your ideas
• Use real life experiences and anecdotes
• Do not rely only on slides
• Use graphics and colours over lists and bullets
• Use open and closed questions
There are many techniques for engaging the audience and getting them to participate, those listed below are considered
to be the most effective:
• Asking questions (which can be open or closed, as appropriate) that are designed to elicit a response and participation
from the audience (e.g. a show of hands)
• Giving the audience a tangible vision of your ideas
• Use real life experiences where possible, these are much easier to comprehend
• Do not reply only on one visual aid method, it gets boring
• Always try to use graphics and colours in presentations rather than long lists of bullet pointed text
• Use both open and closed questions where appropriate and whenever possible
And remember to use personal anecdotes where they may be suitable and where they help to reinforce your message.

Communication Skills
• Listening
• Information gathering methods
• Negotiation
Successfu l negotiators
Characteristi cs of a good negotiator
• Questioning
Customer service in the support arena is, at its most fundamental level, listening to customer needs and providing
effective responses and solutions. As managers, we are involved in communication activities from the time we first walk
into our office until the time we leave in the evening. Additionally, our team members are involved in communicating
with customers via the telephone, via email, via the fax, at the customer's site or all of the above. Since so much time is
spent communicating, it is important to review some key techniques for effective communication, the most important
one of which is listening.
Listening face-to-face: as a manager, how do you demonstrate that you are listening, when, for example, a t eam member
walks into your office with a question or issue, do you:
Stop whatever else you are doing and turn your body towards the person who w ishes to speak to you
Make eye contact (if appropriate for your culture)
Adopt a suitable posture (think about what your body language may be saying)
Take notes to summarise key points (but without writing constantly as this could intimidate the person)
Use paraphrasing to check your understanding
These are all actions that indicate that you are listening.
In order to manage a call effectively we need to use the listening techniques listed below:
Make the appropriate verbal responses
Ask questions to clarify and confirm your understanding- paraphrasing is a good technique to use here
Avoid interrupting the speaker unless absolutely necessary
Keep 100% focus on the person speaking
Take notes -they are useful to refer back to, and to use to check our understanding of what is being said
It is also best practice to summarise the information we have received and the information we have given

Information Gathering
• Commonly used techniques
One-way
Structured
Unstructured
Sr"*-•'' ' /JJ
There are three commonly used information-gathering techniques, which are listed below. Each one has its advantages
and disadvantages.
One-way single transactions- where customers provide information without being prompted; out-of-hours requests;
Voice mail, e-mail, fax, etc. Benefits of one-way information gathering:
Ideal if the customer does not require an immediate response
Can be used at any time
Disadvantages may be that they may not contain sufficient or complete information or that they may be hard to
understand.
Structured -Common, ordered, repetitive types of requests and issues; Pre-defined question format and sequence e.g. a
web portal or access to information using a pre-defined entry form. Benefits of structured information gathering:
Consistent questions asked
Greater likelihood of receiving the required information first time.
Disadvantages are that it often does not sound natural, it sounds like what it is- a script being read.
Unstructured - Free-format questions, generally asked instinctively. Benefits of unstructured information gathering:
The questioner is able to react immediately to what the other person is telling them and to any emotion words they
hear in the conversation
Feels like a real conversation
Disadvantages are that people can get distracted into talking about other matters rather than the issue in question.

Successful Negotiation
• Seek a win-win solution
• Determine the real, underlying need
• Separate the person from the problem
• Acknowledge other ideas, from their perspective
• Recognise and acknowledge emotions
• Discuss the perceptions of all parties
• Engage others to ensure active participation
• Set objective criteria
• Personality types, emotions and motivations
Effective communication frequently involves negotiating positive outcomes with customers, team members, or other
teams within the support environment. To negotiate successfully you must be a good listener and have mastered the art
of skilful questioning.
A good negotiator will:

• Seek a win-win solution by being willing to find a compromise that is acceptable to all parties
• Determine the real, underlying need
• Separate the person from the problem
• Acknowledge the benefit of the other person's idea, from their perspective
• Recognise and acknowledge emotions - those of others involved and also, equally important, your own, and
understand how to address them
• Discuss the perceptions of all parties engaged in the negotiation process
• Engage with others to ensure their active participation
• Set objective criteria to measure the results and outcomes of the negotiation
• Recognise the personality types, emotions and motivations of all participants

Successful Negotiators
• Develop well-planned and rea listic commitments
• Present a strong case for their chosen position
• Flexible and w illing to change position if required
• Know th eir limits and boundaries
• Seen as good problem solvers
• Creative; seen as good problem solvers
• Viewed as good listeners
s,rw..,,, J 101
We all negotiate, every day: for example whose turn to get the coffee, which TV channel to watch or who will take an
early or late lunch break. We should operate from the position of wanting the outcome of any negotiation to be 'Win-
Win'. In general, good negotiators all show similar characteristics.
These are :
• They have the ability to develop well planned and realistic commitments
• They are prepared to present a strong case for their chosen position or argument
• They are flexible and willing to change their position when the need arises
• They know their limits and the boundaries within which they may operate
• They are seen as good problem solvers
• They are creative, and can identify several suitable alternatives or options to choose from
• They are viewed as good listeners

Successful Negotiators
• Understands concerns and ideas of all participants
• Can communicate calmly, without giving offence
• Not afraid to ask for examples and clarification
• Focus on the requirements first,
• Strive to understand the differences from the all points of view
• Don't apportion blame
• Follow through on commitments
• Communicate issues and completions
Sr"'*-•'' ' 1101
In general, good negotiators all show similar characteristics:

• They will be able to explain any concerns about other participants' ideas, calmly and without giving offence
• They are not afraid to ask for examples and clarification when necessary
• They focu s on the requirements first, not how to get there
• They strive to understand the differences from the all points of view
• They don't apportion blame
• They will follow through on commitments and communicate issues and completions


Section 4
Developing and
Promoting the Service Desk

Section 4- Developing and Promoting the Service Desk
Effective Working Relationships

• It is essential that you have effective working relationships with the other
teams in your support environment
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If our service desk is to be correctly aligned with business goals, and is to be seen of value at a strategic level, one of the
fundamental requirements is to have effective working relationships in place with other parts of the IT organisation.
Some basic steps we should take to build these relationships this include:
Communicating, in a timely manner the goals, projects, and objectives of the service desk to everyone who needs to
know or who may be interested
We must collectively focus on how to achieve the stated objectives and on the activities necessary to meet the
requirements by:
Identifying the steps necessary to deliver on commitments
Focussing on the actions needed to meet the requirements for success
Creating a business case for all significant projects along with their critical success factors- we must act and think like
a business
Ensuring that you understanding of the roles and responsibilities of each team in meeting IT service and business
objectives, and ensure that both you and your team understand the roles and respon sibilities of other teams and that
other teams understand yours
Treating your colleagues in the IT organisation as if they are your customers
Treating your service desk colleagues as you would like to be treated
Involving stakeholders and ensure that they see a value to their contribution- the 'what's in it for me' factor
Ensuring that others in the IT organisation see the value of their contribution and achievements
And, establishing regularly scheduled meetings between key service desk staff and key members of other groups is
essential.

Personal Networking
• Formal networks
• Informal networks
• Key stakeholders and influencers
Sr"*-•'' ' JJ/
The saying 'it's not what you know, it's who you know' has more than an element of truth to it, and the establishment of
both formal and informal networks will be helpful to you in achieving your team's objectives.
It is worth investing time in developing a personal network of both important stakeholders and informal leaders within
the business and IT elements of your organisation. They will provide you with a wealth of useful information on a wide
variety of topics.
Ensure that any actions you are planning to take, that may have economic, staffing or organisational impact on other
departments or teams, are discussed with your manager or other knowledgeable managers before any action is taken.
Identify the key stakeholders in your organisation, and start to develop a working relationship with them. It is always
easier to do this if they are 'friendly' customers, but overlook or ignore the 'hostile' or 'indifferent' ones at your peril!
Once you are a welcome and accepted face or voice, you will be able to explain your ideas to them. If you are viewed as a
valuable contributor, you will gain support and buy-in for your proposals. This will greatly enhance the chances of success
for your projects and ideas.
You should also undertake the same exercise for the informal leaders within your organisation. Never underestimate the
power of these informal leaders, they may not have obvious status but they are very influential nonetheless.
Sometimes the channels you use will be informal (meeting in the cafeteria during a coffee break for example); sometimes
they will be formal (as in planning meetings). You should use both formal and informal channels to ensure the success of
your projects.
Always provide reports to the stakeholders that demonstrate how they have contributed.

Building Effective Work Relationships

• Meet your commitments
• Ensure commitments are realistic and clearly understood
• Continually strive to improve your group
• Ensure mutual respect for all
• Respect the opinions of others
Srl'lah•''' Jl J
It is also essential that you have effective working relationships with the other teams in your support organisation; it is
equally essential that you have strong working relationships with your team members.
The first thing you must do is to establish your credibility as a manager and responsible employee.
As a manager you must always lead by example. Meeting commitments (honouring promises made) is something you will
have instilled into your team members and you must ensure that you abide by the same 'rule'. It is also important that
you do not commit to unrealistic targets to gain favour and that everyone involved clearly understands the commitments
and the requirements for honouring them.
Service and support are moving targets and you should continually look for ways to improve your team's skills and
abilities; this should ensure that you are keeping in alignment with the business objectives and requirements.
A fundamental rule for effective working relationships is to establish mutual respect for and from the individuals in your
team, between the individual team members, and for all other teams in the support organisation.
It is essential that you let others know that you respect their opinions. Even if you don't agree with them it doesn't mean
they are wrong, they simply have an opinion that is also equally valid, just different from yours.

Building Effective Work Relationships

• Have open communication w ith team members
• Avoid hidden agendas
• Listen actively to others
• Show empathy
• Be accountab le for your actions
• Take ownership
Sr"'*-•''' Jl J
Ensure that you have open and timely communications with your team members.
Hidden agendas (whether yours or someone else's) are never a good thing to have- they create a lack of trust, a lack of
respect and a general feeling of suspicion and engender a 'protect your back' mentality. Hidden agendas can swiftly
destroy a team.
It is important that you listen actively to others, and this is a trait that you should encourage in all your team members.
Ensure that you understand any concerns or issues that others may have. Active and effective listening will generally lead
to being able to empathise with others since it will be clear from your responses that you understand their concerns,
feelings and issues.
Remember, you are accountable (answerable) for your actions - and inactions- and for those of your team.
Your success often depends on your ability to take ownership of your job. Don't just do the job, but own it and really do it
the best way it can be done.

Contributing to IT/Business Objectives

• Advise senior management
• Provide suggestions
• Be involved in design and service improvement initiatives
• Gather and analyse data - communicate the results
• Participate in organisational initiatives and cross-functional teams
• Identify initiatives that contribute to the organisation's success
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Your responsibilities in contributing towards both IT and business objectives should, as a minimum, include:
• Advising senior management about status, issues and any concerns about service desk matters that you may have
• Providing suggestions on how to improve IT services
• Ensuring that the service desk is represented on all design and service improvement initiatives
• Gathering information, analysing, and communicating results
• To/from IT staff
• To/from customers
• Participation in organisational initiatives and cross-functional teams that will contribute the success of the
organisation. This will give you a wider perspective as well as raising the profile of both you and your team
• Identification of initiatives that will contribute to the overall success of the w hole organisation

Conducting Assessments
• A necessary step when managing change and continual improvement
activities
• Types of assessments
SWOT
CSA
GAP analysis
Benchmarking
• Outputs from assessments include
Business case/cost benefit analysis
Changes programmes and projects
Srl'lah•'' ' Jl
Conducting an assessment is a necessary step when managing change and continual improvement initiatives. An
assessment allows you to identify the issues and highlight where there are opportunities to be taken. These issues and
opportunities can be used as a basis for change and development.
The most popular types of assessment methods include:

• SWOT- Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats
• CSA- Current State Analysis
• GAP analysis- identification of areas that do not meet current or future expectations
Benchmarking
Typical outputs from assessments would include:

Business case/cost benefit analysis
• Change programmes and projects

SWOT Analysis
Helpful Harmful
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SWOT= Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats. A SWOT analysis is an effective and simple to use tool that you
can use to develop effective strategies. The purpose of a SWOT analysis is to develop a clear understanding of the
strengths and weaknesses of an organisation, an individual or a team, and any opportunities or threats that may affect
them. Sometimes the opportunities can be environmental, at other times they are concerned with specifics such as
developing enhanced skill sets to provide a greater level of support at first line.
For example: A SWOT analysis will help you to maximise your team's strengths and opportunities, and minimise
weaknesses and threats and, because it uses a very systematic approach to identifying these factors, you can effectively
link your findings to both your strategies and those of the organisation.
The steps necessary to conduct a SWOT analysis of your team, of an individual or of your whole support organisation,
could include:
Document current product and service offerings and any issues concerning them, and analyse your findings
Conduct meetings with customers, suppliers and other service partners
Identify the costs of the services you currently provide
Review your team structure, the processes and procedures currently in place, the technology in use (and how it is
used) and the resources required plus any efficiencies or inefficiencies and review the historical successes and failures
of your team
Identify and make recommendations for improvements such as:
High value services that customers recognise
IT service overlaps
IT services improvement
Customer satisfaction
Employee satisfaction
We recommend strongly that you obtain buy-in and support for your proposals from management. These should be
based on your findings.

Current State Analysis (CSA)

• Data must be relevant or appropriate
• We need to know
What is wrong
What is good
What we do not know that would be beneficial to know before we begi n pl ann ing
• Validate the accuracy research
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An important part of any analysis of your current state is the collection of data to validate concerns as to what may not be
working well, as well as what is working well.
It is possible to collect a multitude of data -and to spend a disproportionate amount of time doing so. Sensible selection
of relevant or appropriate data is therefore most important in order not to waste unnecessary time.
We need to know:
• What is negative?
• What is positive?
• What we do not know that would be beneficial to know before we begin planning
It is also essential to validate the accuracy of the research we have undertaken.

GAP Analysis
• The difference between what we are and what we should be delivering
• Develop a service improvement programme from the output
• What must be in place or must happen so that the desired state can exist?
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A gap analysis is a straightforward technique we can use to understand whether or not our services are meeting the
defined business needs, and where any shortfalls may be. This means that we are identifying the difference between
what we are delivering and what we should be delivering. From the output of this activity we can develop a service
improvement programme to address any gaps.
An important question to ask following performance of a GAP analysis: "What must be in place, or must have happened
before this desired state can exist?"

Benchmarking
• Evaluate or check something by comparison with a standard
• Comparing our performance against external criteria
• Sometimes w ith similar industries or organisations
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Benchmarking measures the quality of an organisation's policies, products, programmes and strategies, and compares
them with standard measurements, or similar measurements of its peers.
The objectives of benchmarking are to determine what and where improvements are called for, to analyse how other
organisations achieve their high performance levels, and to use this information to improve performance.

Sourcing Models
• Internally retained
• lnsourced
Re-establishment of a service in-house following previous outsourcing
Increasing the scope of the i nternally resourced service desk
• Outsourced
• Co-sou reed
• Service Integration and Management {SIAM}
Sr"*-•'' ' JJJ
Fortunately for us there are many options available to us for staffing our service desks, allowing us to decide on the best
way to provide service to our customers. We can go it alone or we can recruit the services of others. There are benefits
and considerations to each of these- and any decision made should be taken only after careful consideration of your
specific situation and the organisation's needs and requirements.
There are several sourcing models that are in regular use, the most common of which are:
Internally retained- A service delivered entirely by an internally retained IT organisation.
lnsourced- Re-establishing a service desk in-house following previous outsourcing. Increasing the scope of the
internally resourced service desk. For example, the administration of an ancillary business activity using resources
that already exist within an organisation
Outsourced- Many service desks are outsourced in part or wholly. This means that a third party manages the
function. However, this should not be apparent to the customer when calling in. Support staff should always sound,
act and behave as if they were part of the organisation they are representing. A service delivered entirely by an
externally contracted organisation e.g. Managed Services Provider (MSP).
• Co-sourced- A service delivered as a joint venture between two separate organisations
• Service Integration and Management (SIAM)- is an approach for managing and integrating multi-sourced and co-
sourced services.' The SIAM 'layer' of management and governance ensures that all services and providers operate as
a single accountable supply chain by assisting an organisation to manage its service providers in a consistent and
efficient way, making sure that performance across a portfolio of multi-sourced goods and services meets user needs
© Syzygal Limited 2017 I Page lOS

Outsourcing in a Service Desk

• Off-sit e
Cont ract ing with a 3 rd part y su pplier
Delivered on the provider's premises
May be delivered from an off-shore location
Close geographica l proxi mity is near-shoring
Geographically d istant is far-shoring
• On-site
Contracting with a 3rd party su pplier
Del ivered on the organisation's premises
The SDM standard defines off-site outsourcing as: 'Off-site outsourcing is contracting with a third party supplier to
provide support services on the provider's premises that an organisation might otherwise have employed its own staff to
provide. The service could be delivered from an off-shore location in close geographical proximity (near-shoring) or more
geographically distant (far-shoring).' In other words, off-site outsourcing is the procurement of appropriately skilled
people from an external source to perform the task as defined.
The SDM standard defines on-site outsourcing as: 'On-site outsourcing is when an organisation contracts with another
organisation to provide support services on its own premises that it might otherwise have employed its own staff to
provide.' In other words, on-site outsourcing is the procurement of appropriately skilled people from an external source
to perform the task as defined, and assist you in meeting your objectives. On-site outsourcing is a fee-based service
provided by a 3rd party whereby they provide the people and you provide the office space and equipment needed to
perform the job or function.

Issues to Consider When Sourcing

• Due diligence
• The transition process
• Establish clear and measurable objectives
• Financial considerations
• The service supply chain
• Contractual requirements and obligations
• Availability of relevant in-house commercial skills
• Risk and relationship management
• The cost of monitoring and managing risks
There are a number of important considerations we must take into account when planning to insource or outsource.
These include:
• Due diligence to establish:
• Stability of the service provider
• Sustainability of the services provided
• Capability to deliver required services
• The transition process
• Transfer of intellectual property and ownership
• Knowledge transfer
• Management of customer expectations and experience
• Establish clear and measurable objectives
• Financial considerations
• Cost of implementation
• Cost of on-going management
• Cost of integration
• Productivity improvements
• The service supply chain
• Contractual requirements and obligations
• Availability of relevant in-house commercial skills

Issues to Consider When Sourcing

• Impact on internal resources
• Impact on business as usual
• Impact on staff morale
• Legal requirements
• Geographica l location of data and its security
• Sourcing fatigue caused by continued change
• Diversity, inclusion and social responsibility policy
• Exit strategy
• Transfer of employees upon termination
• Service Level Management (SLM) issues
There are a number of important considerations we must take into account when planning to insource or outsource.
These include:
• Impact on internal resources
• Impact on business as usual
• Impact on staff morale
• Legal requirements
• Geographical location of data and its security
• Sourcing fatigue caused by continued change
• Diversity, inclusion and social responsibility policies
• Exit strategy
• Transfer of employees upon termination
• Service Level Management issues

The Benefits of Outsourcing

• Management focus on competencies and quality
• Processes and procedures are defined
• Eliminates day-to-day supervision costs
• Moves costs to ope rating expenses
• Drives efficiencies
• Optimises resources
• Facilitates improved staffing flexibility
• Potentially delivers improved quality
• Allows existing staff to focus on other initiatives
• Opens up new opportunities for existing staff
Outsourcing is not necessa rily always a bad thing, and most of us are familiar with the concept of outsourcing certain
elements of our support organisation.
Some of the main advantages of outsourcing are that it:

• Focuses management resources on core competencies and the quality of the services provided
• Eliminates day-to-day supervision costs of the outsourced group
• Processes and procedures are defined and documented for inclusion in the contract
• Drives efficiencies and optimises resources
• Reduces capital expenditure and headcount because it moves those costs to operating expenses
• Facilitates improved staffing flexibility
• Potentially delivers improved quality of customer service
• Allows your existing staff to focus on other initiatives
• Opens up new initiatives for existing staff

The Benefits of lnsourcing

• Operational business control
• Transparency of operations and costs
• Expands the remit of the service desk
• Focus from in-house staff for delivery
• Potential for reduced levels of management
• Potential for less contractual obligation
• Potential agility in supply chain, operations and development
• No restriction on scope of contracted services
• Business strategy, vision and mission alignment
Sr"'*-•'' ' J..H
The benefits of insourcing include:

• Operational business control
• Transparency of operations and costs
• Expands the remit of the service desk
• Focus from committed and dedicated in-house staff for delivery
• Potential for reduced levels of management
• Potential for less contractual obligation when managing customer needs
• Potential agility around supply chain, operations and development
• Able to work outside the scope of contracted outsourced services
• Closer alignment with the strategy, vision and mission of the organisation

Risks to Consider When In/Outsourcing

• Resources might be inadequate
• Loss of direct day-to-day control in operations
• Efficiency might be impacted if costs are fixed
• Profit/cost might impact service delivery staff
• Informal contacts and information might be lost
• Contractual agreements might inhibit flexibility
• Differences in ITSM systems and processes
• Potential for higher cost and poorer service
• Business vision and service desk vision alignment
• Service consistency, quality and perception
However, there are some possible risks associated with outsourcing, and it is a wise manager who is aware of these when
making decisions regarding outsourcing options. Some points that you should bear in mind include:
• Resources might be inadequate to oversee the outsourcing relationship, contractual compliance, change management
• Outsourcing requires well-defined and well documented processes and procedures to be included in the contract
• There could be a reduction in the direct control of day-to-day operations, including out-sourced staff
• It might reduce infrastructure efficiency if costs are fixed
• Profit/cost centre expectations might affect service delivery staff
• Informal contacts and sources of information might be lost
• If there is insufficient integration, contractual procedures may inhibit previously available flexibility
• The organisations involved might use different, multiple service management and knowledge management systems
without sufficient integration to be effective
• Potential for higher cost and poorer service if the service supply chain is not adequately defined
• Service consistency might suffer
• Business vision and service desk mission and vision are difficult to align
• Customer service and engagement might be affected due to communication issues or lack of advertising and
promotion
• The perception that inferior service quality is negatively impacting the customer experience and satisfaction
Re-establishing a service in-house that has previously been outsourced or increasing the scope of an existing internal
service desk needs careful consideration. We must bear in mind the cost of insourcing- will it bring the expected benefits
and w ill it be reflected accurately in reality? Are the expected implementation costs clearly documented and
appropriately allocated, and will they be reflected accurately in reality? We must also carefully consider the impact it will
have on your existing internal resources and the effect it will have on 'business as usual'.

Outsourcing and SLM

• Define
Business objectives and service deliverables
Expected performance standards
Monitoring, review and reporting mechanisms
Interfaces between sourcing organisations
• Ensure
Documented agreements (UCs, SLAs and OLAs)
Documented policies, process and procedures
Remediation and exit mechanisms
Risk and continuity are reviewed and managed
S, "*-•''' JJI
The success or failure of outsourcing can hinge on the granularity (detail} of the service deliverables specified in the
contract with the outsourcer. At a minimum we need to:
Define the business objectives to be achieved by the services provided
Describe the service deliverables in detail
Define the expected performance standards
Define an on-going reporting mechanism to measure and monitor expected performance
Evaluate the value received from the relationship
Provide a mechanism for review and change to the service levels over the course of the contract
Retain the right to terminate the contract where performance standards fall consistently below an acceptable level
Regularly measure and monitor risk
Define and agree underpinning contracts (UCs} with external suppliers
Explicitly state the accountabilities, roles and responsibilities of both the service provider and the customer
Define and document related policies, processes and procedures
Define the interfaces between outsourcers, the customer and other partners
Define performance levels that support those in the SLA, for example, response times, resolve times, status updates
Provide a remedial mechanism and compensation regime for when performance standards are not achieved, while
incentivising the service provider to maintain a high level of performance
Ensure business continuity plans are in place
Ensure that positive and negative service credits are included

Multi-sourcing
• Identifying a ba lance of out sourcing and other sourci ng options
• Ensures financial and operational effectiveness for
Facilities
Outsourced staff
Perma nent staff
Contract staff
Tem porary st aff
Srl'lah•'' ' JJI
Multi-sourcing requires us to be able to correctly identify the proper and most effective balance of outsourcing and other
sourcing options, to ensure financial and operational effectiveness. For example, it could comprise a combination of:
• Facilities
• Outsourced staff
• Permanent staff
• Contract staff
• Temporary staff

The Benefits of Multi-sourcing

• Maintains operational control while enabling the utilisation of effective
external options
• Provides an optimum mix of resources
• Balances service and quality with corporate ROI
• Offers greater flexibility and control for the buying organisation
There are three main benefits of multi-sourcing and they are:

• It enables us to maintain operational control while using effective external options
• It should provide an optimum mix of resources in order to balance customer service and engagement quality with
corporate return on investment (ROI)
• And it offers greater flexibility and control for the buying organisation


• Educate customers about our value
• Improve its business influence
• Communicate our mission
• Communicate the available services
• Manage customer expectations
s,rw..,,, ••J
Planning and implementing a programme that promotes the service desk is something that every service desk manager
should be doing on a regular and on-going basis.
By promoting our service desk we:

Raise awareness of the service desk's contribution (value) in meeting business goals to customers and the
organisation
Improve the service desk's strategic position and business influence
Communicate the mission
Communicate the IT services that are available
Manage customer expectations
Increase the visibility of the service desk
Improve customer satisfaction
Increase customer loyalty
Clarify our customer's responsibilities when using the service desk, and the benefits they get from using it
Increase the perception of the service desk' s credibility and professionalism
Improve morale on the service desk (the staff feel more valued)
© Syzygal Limited 2017 I Page llS


• Increase our visibility
• Improve customer satisfaction
• Increase customer loyalty
• Clarify customer responsibilities and benefits
• Increase credibility and professionalism
• Improve team morale
Clearly, promoting (or marketing) the service desk can serve many purposes, such as communicating priorities and how
they are being met, raising awareness of new service offerings from your team and ensuring that customers are aware of
the value of your team and how it is contributing towards meeting business goals.
We can use our promotion strategies to tell our customers about our mission and about the services available as well as
soliciting information as to what other services they would like from support.
Promoting our service desk helps us to manage customer expectations and increase customer satisfaction with our
services and quality of delivery- which should also build greater customer loyalty.
An outcome of effective and positive promotional activities should be that our team members will feel more valued and
appreciated for the work they do, which will create a more motivated and satisfied team.

Promotion Considerations
• Considerations when developing promotions
Budget and resources
Volum e and quality of init iatives
Customer requirements and feedback
Perform ance measurem ents
The types of customers receiving service
There are certain factors that we should not overlook when developing and implementing our promotion activities and
strategies:
Budget and resources- Promoting your service desk should have a positive return on investment, so don't get carried
away with either the cost or the amount of resource (staff and technology) required. You may have to modify your
plans accordingly
• The volume and quality of IT change/improvement initiatives- make sure your marketing is in line and in step with
these, and that IT does not become guilty of 'overkill' in these areas unless they are clearly for business benefit and all
associated risks have been carefully assessed
Customer requirements and feedback should be addressed as part of our promotion campaign
Performance measurements- these should be available and up to date, with clear measurables that customers can
understand
Understand the different types of customers you provide services to

Promotion Channels
• IT services scorecard/dashboard
• Newsletters
• 'Lunch and learn~ sessions
·Shadowing
• Social collaboration tools
• Spending time in different areas of the business
Srl'lah•''' 11
Not all promotion activities need to be costly. All your activities should to be carefully planned however, and you must be
sure to co-ordinate your promotion activities around the business cycle. Failure to do this can result in the loss of impact
and effectiveness of all your carefully developed plans. It can also be the cause of great de-motivation within your team.
The following provides some of the many options and channels for activities that you can use when developing your
promotion strategy or plan.
Key items to publish could include:

Customer satisfaction measurements
• Service level management performance
Other items to be included could cover:

Number of calls answered by the service desk
• Average speed of answer
Number of calls abandoned without being answered by the service desk
• Average number of abandoned calls, and average time to abandon
Percentage of calls resolved during first contact
Number of calls open, closed or still pending- possibly by type or customer
Number of calls by call type/customer type/problem type
Peak call periods and related staffing requirements
Unresolved incidents (by type, by channel)
Regular promotion activities should be established for your team that will highlight its service offerings, achievements
and initiatives.

Promotion Channels
• Social media
• Meet with customers
• Set up a booth in key areas
• Enter industry awards
• Distribute service desk flyers
• Promote the service desk via an Intranet
There are many things you can do to promote your team. Some may have high associated costs, others could be free but
time-intensive. Examine your budgets and consider the value of expense against the potential return on investment.
Further channels for promoting your team:

Conduct 'lunch-and-learn' sessions (also know as 'brown-bag')
Shadowing
Spend time in different areas of the business
Social media
Social collaboration tools
Meet with customers one-to-one and ask them what they need from the service desk
Set up a kiosk or stand at the organisation's and/or customer meetings or in key areas like the cafeteria (i.e., in-person
promotion)
Distribute fliers or brochures that provide information about the service desk, e.g. hours of operation, FAQs
Promote the service desk via your organisations and/or service desk's Intranet
Hold an 'Open House' -let your customers meet the people who solve their issues
Organise 'Road Shows' -go to your customers
Schedule times for service desk staff to be available to customers ("floor walking'): they 'walk the floor' in key
customer areas
Hold induction sessions for new starters in the organisation
Demonstrate to business areas how to use new services we are offering
Enter for industry awards
Video the desk in action and use the video in promotion programs
You could also consider the following activities:

Promote your vision, mission and/or value statements in your email signature blocks, on letterheads, business cards,
bulletins, newsletters, and even clothing.
Create a logo/slogan to display proudly throughout the organisation.
E-mail updates/tips and hints
Wall posters
Business unit visits (desk-side support)
Whatever you decide to undertake, you must exercise consistency in your promotion program if you are to be effective in
getting your message heard and understood.

Road Shows Giveaways
Open House
Starter Induction Floor Walking
Sr"'*-•"''' J JJ
Other more creative approaches to promotion:

Hold an 'Open House' - let your customers meet the people who solve their issues
Organise 'Road Shows' -go to your customers
Schedule times for service desk staff to be available to customers ('floor w alking'): they 'walk the floor' in key
customer areas
Hold induction sessions for new starte rs in the organisation
Providing 'giveaways' with the Service Desk contact details on is always a good way to get the SPOC message out to all
users


• Clearly define the objectives and messages
• Identify the target audience and the appropriate channel to use
• Consider budget and resource requirements
• Consider the number of communications
·Obtain feedback to check for delivery and understanding
• Understand the communications requirements within the organisation
Srl'lah•'' ' _JJ
There are a number of basic requirements you need to think about when planning your promotion program. Failure to
give these requirements appropriate consideration could doom your campaign to failure.
• Clearly define the objectives and messages of the communication
• Identify who the target audience is and which will be the most appropriate and effective channel for communication
• What is your budget and what resources do you need to achieve your objectives?
• Consideration should be given as to whether there should be multiple, specific, targeted communications or one
communication for all audiences.
• Ensure that feedback is received to confi rm that the message was delivered and understood

Approaching Service Desk Promotion

• Promotions must be
Planned
Schedu led
Regular
Understand the various channels of communication available to you, and know which are the most effective with your
different customers. We need to have a good understanding of requirements that the business and the various
departments have for receiving promotion communications from our team. There is little point in using email as a key
strategy if one department has only a few staff with access to email; likewise, there is little point using in-person
presentations as your principal form of promotion if your organisation is widespread across the country or around the
world.
Finally - we have been talking about a promotion program, and that is what you require. A planned and carefully
scheduled program to ensure that promotion of the service desk is undertaken on a regular basis and using a variety of
channels.
Note: Promotion activities should be planned, regularly scheduled and on-going.

Managing Stakeholder Expectations

• Evaluate current levels of performance
• Contributing to and promoting a service catalogue
• Define service levels that balance resources and capability with business
requirements
• Offer multiple channels to provide information about the service desk
• Survey customers often to understand needs
• Link service desk KPis to business objectives and KPis
Since we have already highlighted the fact that promotion is an effective way to manage customer expectations, here is a
checklist of items you should bear in mind.
How to manage stakeholder expectations - methods to use to set expectation levels appropriately and realistically:
• Evaluate current levels of performance and seek feedback
• Contribute to, use and promote the service catalogue
• Define service levels that balance resources and capability with business requirements
• Offer multiple channels to provide information about service desk services
• Survey customers frequently, to determine their needs
• Link service desk key performance indicators (KPis) with the organisation's business objectives and KPis


Section 5
IT Service Management

Section 5- IT Service Management
IT Service Management
• ITSM is the implementation and management of quality IT services that meet
the needs of the business
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IT service management {ITSM) is the implementation and management of quality IT services that meet the needs of the
business. IT service management is performed by IT service providers through an appropriate mix of people, process and
information technology.
ITSM is process-focused and in this sense has ties and common interests with process improvement movement (e.g.,
TQM, Six Sigma, business process management, CMMI) frameworks and methodologies. The discipline is not concerned
with the details of how to use a particular vendor's product, or necessarily with the technical details of the systems under
management. Instead, it focuses upon providing a framework to structure IT-related activities and the interactions of IT
technical personnel with business customers.

Objectives of ITSM
• Create, design, deliver, manage and optimise IT services from beginning to
end
• Integration with business process
• Cost reduction and resource optimisation
• Increased IT infrastructure and service reliability
• Investment protection and risk reduction
• Improved customer experience
• Increased business value and visibility of the service provider
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The objectives for ITSM are:

• Creating, designing, delivering, managing and optimising IT business services from beginning to end (service life-cycle)
• For IT services to be integrated with business processes and not separate from them
• To optimise resource and reduce costs (this should NOT have the effect of reducing quality however)
• To increase the reliability of the IT Infrastructure and IT services
• To protect investments made, and to reduce risks to the organisation
• To improve the whole customer experience and to improve communication throughout the organisation
• To increase the business value and visibility of the service provider
To achieve all this, it is important that the mechanisms to deliver quality IT services at all levels (strategic, tactical and
operational) are in place, are workable in practice not just in theory, and are available for use by the appropriate people.
ITSM is designed to achieve greater control over IT services, and to ensure that those services have greater visibility
within the business.
Adoption of robust ITSM best practice enables the development of an approach that will demonstrate the value of IT to
the business it supports.
While ITSM is not specific to any particular framework or best practice model, one framework increasingly referred to, in
addition to SDI's best practice standards model, is ITIL. Both SDI standards and ITIL were developed with the intention of
providing a consistent framework and standards within which to achieve ITSM using best practice guidelines.

Section 5 - IT Service M anagement
IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL ®)

• Worldwide IT service management
best practice
• Guidance for IT services
Design
Planning
Delivery and management
• Aligned with 150/IEC 20000 the
international standard for ITSM
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ITIL is a worldwide IT service management best practice framework and offers guidance for the design, planning, delivery
and management of IT services and support infrastructure. It aligns with and underpins 150/ IEC 20000 the worldwide
ITSM standard. It encourages a logical flow of service management practices but does not restrict us to following a
straight-line path . ITIL is a set of core guides that are designed for the real world of ITSM.

IT Infrastructure Library® (ITIL}

• Consists of five books
Service Strat egy
Service Design
Service Transition
Service Operation
Continual Service Improvement
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ITIL® is a set of core guides that are designed for the real world of ITSM. ITIL®consists of five books:
• Service Strategy: Demand, Financial and Service Catalogue Management processes
• Service Design: Service Catalogue, Information Security, Supplier, IT Service Continuity, Availability and Capacity
Management processes
• Service Transition: Service Asset and Configuration, Release and Deployment and Change Management processes
• Service Operations: Incident, Problem, Request Fulfilment, Event and Access Management processes
Continual Service Improvement: ITIL also encompasses a continual service improvement phase and a 7-step
improvement process.
It is worth noting that the service desk is viewed as a function that is crucial to the success of service management and
that it is vital element for the effectiveness of all the other processes.

Section 5 - IT Service Management
Incident Management
• Responsibi lity
To manage incidents throughout their lifecycle and to ensure that following an incident,
normal service operation is restored as quickly as possible and that business impact is
minimised
• Primary Objectives
Restore normal service operation as quickly as possible
M inimise adverse impact on the business
Ensure the best possible service quality and availability are maintained
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Incident management is one of t he key activit ies for the servi ce desk.
The incident management process is responsible for managing the lifecycle of all incidents.
Since we have already highlighted the fact that promotion is an effect ive way t o manage cust omer expectations, here is a
checklist of it ems you should bear in mind.
The primary objectives of incident management are t o rest ore normal service operat ion as quickly as possible w hilst
minimising the adverse impact of incidents on business operat ions, and ensuring that the best possible levels of service
quality and availability are maintained.
Incident management can include the activities offirst, second and third line teams; it is not necessarily rest rict ed to f irst
line support only.

Incident Management
• The service desk sits at the centre of the incident management process
The service desk is considered to be an extremely important element of the IT organisation and sits at the centre of the
incident management process.
Incident management seeks to restore normal service operation by resolving incidents as quickly as possible in order to
minimise any adverse impact on business operations and to ensure that the best possible levels of service are maintained.

Incident Management
• Service desk responsibilities
Provide a singl e point of contact {SPOC)
Own incidents
Resolve incidents at first point of contact
Escalat e incidents when required
Facilitate fa st reso lutions
Track, monitor and chase incident progress
Provid e ti mely st atus updat es
Provide service performance information
Provide data for problem management
In the incident management process, the service desk is responsible for:

• Providing a single point of contact for support
• Owning incidents
Resolving as many incidents as possible at the first point of contact
• Escalating incidents to other teams as stated in the service level agreement or operational level agreement
• Facilitating fast incident resolution
• Tracking, monitoring and chasing incident progress
• Maintaining timely, positive updates and communications with customers
• Providing information and updates on performance
• Providing data for, and feeding it into, the problem management process

Incident Management - Basic Activities

• Identification
• Logging and documenting
• Categorisation
• Prioritisation
• Initial diagnosis
• Incident matching
• Investigation and diagnosis
The principal activities of incident management are defined as follows:

• Identification
• Logging
• Categorisation
• Prioritisation (based on business impact and urgency)
• Initial diagnosis
• Incident matching (to known errors or problems)
• Investigation and diagnosis

Incident Management - Basic Activities

• Functional and hierarchic escalation
• Passing on accurate information when required
• Providing status updates
• Resolution and recovery
• Owning and monitoring
• Closure
• Notifying problem management
• Tracking and reporting
The principal activities of incident management are defined as follows:

• Functional and hierarchic escalation
• Pass appropriate and accurate information to other support teams
• Communicate status updates to customers
• Resolution and recovery
• The service desk retains ownership incidents and is responsible for monitoring them throughout their lifecycle
• Communication
• Closing incidents
• Notify problem management of potential problems
• Tracking and reporting

Incident Management -The Benefits

• Reduced business impact
• Improved staff utilisation
• Improved resolution times
• Category and priority logged consistently
·System-wide view
• Managed from beginning to end
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The benefits of the incident management process include:

• A reduction of the impact of incidents on the business
• Improved resolution times; less down time for the business
• Consistency in categorising and prioritising incidents
• It provides a system wide view of Incidents encountered
• It manages an incident from beginning to end

Incident Management -The Benefits

• Points of failure identified
• Facilitates proactive communication
• Helps prevent future incidents
• Facilitates continual service improvement
• Assists accurate management reporting
• Assists to identify trends and workflows
• A data source for problem solving 0
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The benefits of the incident management process include:

• It is an information source for identifying points of failure
• It facilitates proactive communication
• It is an information source for helping to prevent future incidents
• It facilitates continual service improvement
• It assists in the provision of accurate management information
• It assists in the identification of incident trends and work-flows

Request Fulfilment
• Request Fulfilment
- The process responsible for managing t he lifecycle of all service request s
• Service Request
- A forma l request from a customer for information, advice, a standard change or for
access to an IT service
• Usually handled by the service desk
• Does not requi re a request for change
• Might be linked to a request for change
Request fulfilment is the process responsible for managing the life-cycle of all service requests.
A service request is a formal request from a customer for information, advice, a standard change, or for access to an IT
service, for example, to reset a password, or to provide standard IT services for a new customer. The request fulfilment
process, usually in conjunction with the service desk, manages service requests. Service requests may be linked to a
request for change as part of fulfilling the request.

Request Fulfilment Primary Objectives

• Provides a channel to request and receive services
• Offers standard services that have pre-defined approval and qualification
• Provides information about availability of services and how to obtain them
• Sources and deliver standard services
• Assists with information/suggestions/complaints/comments
The objectives of request fulfilment are:

• Provide a channel for customers to request and receive standard services for which a pre-defined approval and
qualification process exists
• Provide information to customers about the availability of services and the procedure for obtaining them
• Source and deliver the components of requested standard services (e.g. licenses and software media
• Assist with general information, complaints or comments

Problem Management
• Managing problems throughout their lifecycle
• Responsible for further investigation
• A Problem
- The cause of one or more incident s the cause of which is not usually known at the t ime
a problem record is created
• Problem Management object ives
M inimise adverse impact of incidents and problems caused by IT infrastructure errors
Prevent th e recurrence of incidents related to those errors
M inimise the impact of incidents that cannot be prevented
Determine the root cause of Incidents and initiate actions to Improve or correct them
Sr"*-•'' ' 44J
Problem management is the process responsible for managing problems throughout their lifecycle.
The primary objectives of problem management are to:

• Minimise the adverse impact of incidents and problems to the business caused by errors within the IT infrastructure,
and to prevent the recurrence of incidents related to these errors
• Minimise the impact of incidents that cannot be prevented
• Establish the root cause of incidents and then initiate actions to improve or correct the situation
Thus w e could say problem management ensures that :

• Long-ter m errors are identified, documented and tracked
• Symptoms and permanent or t emporary solutions for errors are documented
• New incidents are prevented
• Requests for changes (RFCs) are raised for any modifications to the infrastructure

Incident vs. Problem Management

• Incident management strives to restore normal service operation by resolving
incidents as quickly as possible
• Problem management strives to find the underlying cause(s) of incidents and

eliminate them
Incident management strives to restore normal service operation by resolving incidents as quickly as possible.
Problem management strives to find the underlying cause(s) of incidents and eliminate them.

Relationship with the Service Desk

• Should not be responsible for problem management
• It should have close links with the process
Generally speaking, the service desk is not responsible for problem management but it has a close relationship with the
process and/or team .

Problem Management
Highlight recurring incidents
Work on diagnosis with technical teams when appropriate
Accurately log incidents with all appropriate information and the steps taken
Use knowledge base entries to aid for fast resolution of recurring or routine incidents
In the problem management process, the service desk has supporting responsibilities, which are:
• Highlighting to problem management any recurring incidents for which there is no long-term fix
• Working with other technical teams, when appropriate, to assist with problem diagnosis
• Ensuring that incidents are logged correctly and that all appropriate information from the customer, and the steps
taken so far, are recorded accurately
• Using knowledge base entries (workarounds) created by the problem management team for fa st resolution of
recurring or routine incidents

Reactive vs. Proactive

• Reactive Problem Management
- Concerned w ith solving problems in response to one or more incidents
• Proactive Problem Management

Identify problems that m ight otherwise be missed
Analyses incident records and data to identify trends or significant problems
Reactive Problem Management:

Reactive problem management is concerned with resolving problems in response to one or more incidents
Proactive Problem Management:

• The objective of proactive problem management is to identify underlying problems that might otherwise be missed
• Analyses incident records and uses the data collected by other IT service management processes to identify trends or
significant problems
• The proactive element focuses on preventative action; identifying potential problems before they occur

Benefits of Problem Management

• Optimised quality of IT services
• Improves availability of IT services
• Reduced down-time
• Enhanced reputation of IT
• Reduced volume of incidents
• Improved business and IT productivity
• Reduced time to resolution
• Increased first contact resolutions
• Error correction to service enhancement
• Continual improvement
There are many benefits that we should see as a result of having a good problem management process in place, including:
• Optimised quality of IT services by increasing the availability of IT services
• Reducing downtime
• Improving the reputation of IT
• Reducing the number of Incidents
• Improved business and IT productivity
• Reduced incidents resolution time
• Increased the first contact resolution rate for the service desk
• The attitude and approach of IT support moves from error correction to service enhancement (from a reactive to a
proactive attitude)
• Contributes to continual service improvement

IT Change Management
• Manages changes throughout their lifecycle
• Key objectives
Enable beneficial, approved changes to be made with minimum disruption to IT
Services
Control changes to all aspects of IT services
Create and maintain a change schedule
Ensure changes are tested, planned, scheduled, coordinated and communicated
Identify resources, cost, risk and impact
M inimises business risk
IT change management is the process responsible for managing changes throughout their life-cycle. There will always be
either a proactive or reactive reason for any change. For example, cost reductions or service improvements are proactive
reasons; solving a disruption to a service or adapting a service to meet a changing environment is a reactive reason.
The primary objectives of IT change management are as follows:

• Enable beneficial, approved changes to be made, with minimum disruption to IT services
• Control changes to the infrastructure, or any aspect of services
• Create and maintain a change schedule
• Ensure changes to IT services and infrastructure are tested, planned, scheduled, coordinated and communicated
• Identify what resources are required, when they are required, the cost involved, and the risk and impact of any
proposed change
• Minimise business risk
It is important to ensure that standard processes and procedures are used for efficient and effective handling of all
changes to minimise the impact of change and any related issues on the services provided. Change management aims to
manage the process of change and as a result to limit any incidents that are related to changes.

IT Change Management
Logchangesas re qu e~e d
Participat e in ri sk assessment as requ ested
Keep aware of when changes are schedu led to identify if they might be the cause of
incidents
Escalate incidents that may be caused by changes
Halt changes that might negatively impact service delivery
Communicat e planned syst em downtim e and interruptions to cu stom ers
The service desk's responsibilities in the IT change management process are to ensure that it:
• Logs changes as requested
• Participates in the assessment of risk as requested
• Maintains full awareness of when changes that are scheduled, in order to identify whether or not they might be the
cause of incidents or problems
• Escalate as appropriate any incidents that might have been caused by changes
• Halt changes that might negatively impact service delivery
• Communicates planned syst em downtime and interruptions to customers

Benefits of IT Change Management

• Improved stability and availability of services
• Minimised disruption of the business environment
• Unauthorised changes prevented
• Visibility and communication of changes increased
If the IT change management process is implemented in a well thought out and well structured manner, we should see
(as should our customers) some clear improvements:
• A reduction in failed changes means an improvement in the stability and availability of services and systems
Fewer changes means greater protection to the business environment and minimised disruption
• A change management process ensures that only approved and authorised changes are made
It also increases the visibility of changes and provides greatly improved communication regarding changes
We recommend that there should be a representative from the service desk sitting on the CAB (Change Advisory Board),
since the service desk is in the best position to provide valuable input into possible support issues with any proposed
changes. The service desk should be involved in the change management process to ensure that it is made aware of, and
consulted on, any proposed changes.
Also, the service desk is probably the most appropriate team to communicate to customers the details of any planned
changes or required maintenance/downtime.
If a change should fail, the service desk could initiate and manage customer communications. Their skills in customer
management and liaison, and the relationships they have built up with the customer base, are very valuable in such
situations.

Release and Deployment Management

• Responsibilities
Successfu l roll-out of new or changed services
Early life support
• Objectives
Ensure changes are traceable and secure
Ensure only correct, aut horised and tested versions are installed
Agree a roll-out plan w ith ch ange management
Ensure t hat the desk is involved in the roll -out plan
Release and deployment management is concerned with the building, testing and deployment of services specified in the
service design book to meet the requirements and objectives of the stakeholders; it is also concerned with ensuring that
customers are able to utilise the service effectively.
The process is responsible for the successful roll-out of new or changed services, hardware, software, related
documentation or process, that may affect the delivery of underpinning IT services to the business and its customers
safely and with minimum risk
It is also responsible for early life support. It is often believed that early life support starts when a service has actually
been transitioned into operational use. This is not the case. Early life support should be considered as an integral role
within the release and deployment phase.
During this period the service desk is often expanded to include staff who have experience w ith testing and running the
servi ce. The IT service provider may also revi ew the KPis, service levels and monitoring thresholds, and provide additional
resources for incident and problem management.
The primary objectives of release and deployment management are to:

Ensure that the hardware, software or service being changed is traceable and secure, and that only correct,
authorised and t ested versions are installed
• Agree the exact content and plan for the release, through liaison with change management
Ensure that the servi ce desk is involved in the roll-out plan so that it can provide appropriate support for new relea ses

Release and Deployment Management

Work with development teams to ensure that the service can be properly supported
Support the launch process w ith flexibl e levels of support
Provide suitable formats and templ ates to ensure that information is provided in an
appro pr iate fo rm
Participate in customer commu nicat ion and expectation management during roll-outs
The service desk's responsibilities in the release and deployment management process incl udes the following:
• Working with development teams to ensure that the service can be properly supported at and beyond launch
• Supporting the launch process; this support should be as flexible as possible in order to accommodate various levels of
support as required
• Providing information in suitable formats and t emplates - this should ensure that information is provided in a suitable
form for service desk support
• Participating in customer communication and expectation management during roll-outs

The Benefits of Release and Deployment

• Increased success rate in the release of applications
• Improved quality of service delivered to the business
• Minimised disruption of service to the business
• Minimised regression-testing requirements
• Robust implementation reduces the support burden on the service desk
• An audit trail of released service is maintained
The primary benefits of the release and deployment management process include:
• Increased success rate in the release of applications and improved quality of service delivered to the business
• Minimised disruption of service to the business
• Minimised regression-testing requirements
• Robust system implementation reduces the support burden on the service desk
• An audit trail of released service is maintained

Service Asset and Configuration Management

Ensure service assets are properly controlled
That information about assets is accurate and available when and where it is needed
• Objectives
Account for, manage and protect integrity of Cis
Ensure only authorised components are used authorised changes are made
M inimise qual ity and compliance issues
Maintain accurate configuration information
Service asset and configuration management (SACM) is the process responsible for ensuring that the assets required to
deliver services are properly controlled and that accurate and reliable information about those assets is available when
and where it is needed. It provides a logical model of the IT infrastructure.
Configuration Management: Configuration management is the process responsible for maintaining information about
configuration items {CI) required to deliver an IT service, including their relationships. This information is managed
throughout the life-cycle of the Cl.
Asset Management: Asset management is the process responsible for tracking and reporting the value and ownership of
financial assets throughout their life-cycle.
The primary objectives of service asset and configuration management are to:
• Account for, manage and protect the integrity of configuration items throughout the service life-cycle
• Work with change management to ensure that only authorised components are used and only authorised changes are
made
Minimise the number of quality and compliance issues caused by incorrect or inaccurate configuration of services and
assets
Maintain accurate configuration information on the historical, planned and current state of the services and
infrastructure

Service Asset and Configuration Management

To use information contained in the CMS to aid fast and accurate incident logging
To update configuration information to support accurate incident diagnosis
To notify the person responsible for the SACM process of any discrepancies
It is the service desk's responsibility to:

• Use the information contained in the configuration management system to aid fast and accurate incident logging
• Update configuration information to support accurate incident diagnosis
Notify the person responsible for the SACM process of any discrepancies based on information received during
incident logging so that a permanent change can be made

Benefits of Service Asset and Configuration Management

• Properly managed and maintained
Se rvices
Assets
Resources
Processes
• Relationships and dependencies are recorded
Physica l assets
Components
Software
Services
• Relationships are maintained to produce an intelligent/ integrated inventory
The primary benefits of the service asset and configuration management process are:
• Services, assets, resources and processes are properly managed and maintained. This requires the process to ask the
following questions for each configuration item detailed in the CMS {configuration management system):
• What it is
• Where it is
• Who owns it; who uses it
• How many there are; how many versions there are
• How much did it cost at new; how much is spent on maintaining it; depreciation; expected life-cycle; what is
the level of usage for this Cl
• Relationships and dependencies between physical assets, components, software and services within an organisation
are maintained, to enable the production of an intelligent, integrated inventory

Knowledge Management
• Responsibility
- Gathering, analysing, storing and sharing knowledge and information within an
organisation
• Objectives
Improve efficiency by reducing the need to rediscover knowledge
Generate value from its intellectual and knowledge-based assets
Knowledge management is the process responsible for gathering, analysing, storing and sharing knowledge and
information within an organisation.
The primary objectives of knowledge management are to:

• Improve efficiency by reducing the need to rediscover knowledge
• Generate value from its intellectual and knowledge-based assets
Knowledge management could be described as the capture and re-use of business and technical information in an
organisation.

Categories of Knowledge
• Value is generated from intellectual and knowledge-based assets
• Generally fall into one of three categories
Explicit - Anyth ing that can be documented, archived or codified
Tacit- The know-how contained in people's heads
Intuitive - The probability of success of several relevant solutions
Generally intellectual and knowledge-based assets fall into one of three categories: explicit, tacit or intuitive:
• Explicit- includes assets such as business plans, policies, processes, procedures, solutions and customer advice,
research material or anything that can be documented, archived or codified
• Tacit- is the know-how contained in people's heads
• Intuitive - predicts the probability of the success of several relevant knowledge solutions
The concept of knowledge management was developed by organisations in order to manage some or all of the
knowledge within the organisation as a resource, in the same way that they manage land and properties, inventory, or
human resources.

Knowledge Management
To use information and resolution data to effect a high f irst contact resolution rate
To feedback on the relative value of knowledge items and other available information
To provide templates for the optimum format needed for first time f ixes
To lead by example and encoura ge w ider use of knowledge management
All staff who work on the service desk should understand their responsibilities in the knowledge management process.
The service desk should:

Use all information and resolution data available to effect a high f irst contact resolution rate for the customers they
support
• To feedback on the relative value of knowledge items and other available information
• Provide templates for the optimum format and level of information required to provide first contact resolutions (first
time fixes)
• Lead by example and encourage wider use of knowledge management systems

The Knowledge Base

• A set of t ools and databases
• Provides knowledge and information
• Supports t he managem ent of t he full life-cycle of IT services
Information manageme nt
- Upd ating informat ion
- Present ing information
• Effective knowledge management systems are
Integrated w ith ot her tools and systems
Contemporary
Concise
Accessi ble
Trustworthy
owned and managed
A knowledge base can be described in basic t erm s as a set of tools and databases that are used to manage knowledge and
information.
The knowledge base stores, manages, updates and presents all the information that an IT service provider requires in
order to manage the full life-cycle of IT services.
Typically, the knowledge base w ould include the configuration management system (CMS) as well as other tools and
databases.
To be effective, a know ledge management system must be:

• Contemporary
• Concise
• Accessible
• Trustworthy
• Integrated w ith other tools and systems
• Owned and managed

The Benefits of a Knowledge Base

• Enables service desk and customers to work more effectively and efficiently
• Reduces training time for new staff
• Helps to provide a more professional view to the business
• Solves a problem once and uses the solution many times
• Allows for incremental solution building
• Sharing knowledge builds rapport and establishes credibility
• Facilitates more effective support processes
• Reduces costs for the organisation
• Ensures that knowledge is consistent and complete
• Reduces the number of escalated incidents
An effective knowledge base enables service desk staff and customers to work more effectively and efficiently. It reduces
training time for new starters and enables staff to solve a problem once and then use the solution many times which
leads to greater efficiencies in service provision.
A well-managed knowledge base helps in providing a more professional view of the service desk to the business which
gives customers confidence in the capability of the desk.
It allows for incremental solution building, it develops rapport and establishes credibility between the various teams
within support through the sharing of knowledge.
It facilitates the development of more effective support processes, which in turn should lead to a reduction in the cost of
support for the organisation. It reduces the number of escalated incidents and ensures that the knowledge being used by
support staff is both consistent and complete.

Steps for Maintaining Knowledge

• Define templates/layouts for knowledge articles
• Capture tacit knowledge
• Review and evaluate information and solutions to improve accuracy and
conformance
• Store information in a structured, centralised repository
• Ensure content is searchable
• Make content available when and where it's needed
Knowledge bases use technology to provide us with information. These tools allow support staff (and customers) to
creatively and effectively resolve incidents or answer questions. They can provide high-speed access to
information/reference libraries, expert projections of knowledge or solutions based on customer input, and they can be
made available to all who need the information.
Get creative and offer incentives to your team for effective and innovative solutions and input. They are after all the ones
who see the information the most. They will be the first to know that a solution or an answer is incomplete, inaccurate or
missing.
Develop a process that allows team members to directly enter new or updated information into a 'holding' area for your
designated knowledge management owner(s) to format, validate and approve:
• Define templates and layouts for knowledge articles in order to optimise the speed with which an article can be
reviewed during a call
• Establish a procedure for capturing tacit knowledge
• Existing data should be reviewed and evaluated for conformance to standards and to improve the accuracy of the
content. New information must be accurate and up to date
• Store the information in a structured, centralised repository
• Content should be controlled, approved and searchable and made available for customers when and where they need
it

Information Security Management

• Ensures the organisation's assets, information, data and IT services are
Confidential
Have integrity
Provide appropriate availability
• Forms part of the organisation's overarching security management process
• Includes ensuring correct access to
Data
Build ings and location s
Telephone calls
Sr"*-•'' ' lfJ
Information security management is the process responsible for ensuring the confidentiality, integrity and availability of
an organisation's assets, information, data and IT services. It usually forms part of the organisation' s overarching business
security which includes areas such as access to data, buildings and telephone calls for the entire organisation.

Information Access Management

• Responsible for the operational actions of the policies defined in information
security management
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Access management is the process responsible for the operational actions of the policies defined in information security
management.

Information Security and Access Management

• Objectives
Reduce and minimise business risk
Ensure IT service continuity fo r th e busi ness
Meet SLA security requ irements
M eet security requirements of underp inning contracts, legislat ion and security policies
Maintain regulatory and compliance evidence
Provide basic data security
Ensure IT operates adequate and proportionate security contro ls
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The first and most important objective of the process is to provide the organisation with basic data security services.
Additionally, it also aims to reduce and minimise business risk, assure continuity of IT services for the business, meet
agreed service level agreement secur ity requirements, including requirements drawn from underpinning contracts,
legislation and any imposed security policies. It should maintain compliance and regulatory evidence and ensure t hat IT
operates adequate and cost-effective security controls.

Information Security and Access Management

Confirm identification of customers
Provide fast resolution to access incidents as appropriate
Follow all relevant IT security policies
Ensure good and consistent advice on the proper use of security and IT policies is given
Quickly escalate any incidents or issues where security might be compromised
Although the service desk may not be directly responsible for management of the organisations information security, it
does have inherent responsibilities in the information security and access management process. It should:
• Confirm the identification of customers
Provide rapid resolution to access incidents as appropriate
• Follow all relevant IT security policies
• Ensure that good and consistent advice on the proper use of security and IT policies is given
• Quickly escalate any issues where security might be compromised
Information security comes in many forms. For example:

• Protecting the integrity of data
Protecting customer and/or corporate assets
• Restricting sensitive document/information access
• Reducing and minimising business risk
It is important to secure the customers' and the organisations assets. The organisation provides customers with a
plethora of tools (computers, laptops, printers, print cartridges, CDs, Blackberries, etc.) that are very easy to remove from
the workplace.
Part of your new staff training program, and your standard operating procedures (SOPs), should include topics on security
policy and administration. It is extremely important that your team understands what is and is not acceptable in the use
of information and technology tools.

Section 5 - IT Service Management
Potentials Service Desk Security Threats

• Phishing • Manipulation
• Vishing • Scam mail
• Social engineering • Fraudulent gathering of information
• Malicious software
• Bogus callers
• Identity fraud
Potential security threats include:

• Phishing
• Vishing
• Social engineering
• Malicious software
• Bogus callers
• Identity fraud
• Manipulation
• Scam mail
• Fraudulent gathering of information

Benefits of Security and Access Management

• Clear and unambiguous security policy available which everyone must fo llow
• Personal and organisational data is protected
• Risk of physical security breach is minimised
• Organisation has appreciation of resources and costs required to ensure the
security of information
• Enables better understanding of the risks and vulnerabilities
The benefits of having security policies include the following:

• A clear and unambiguous security policy is available for everyone to follow
• Personal and organisational data is better protected
• The risk of physical security breaches is minimised
• The business has an appreciation of the resources and costs required to ensure the security of information, thus
enabling a better understanding of the risks and vulnerabilities

IT Service Continuity Management

• Manage risks that could seriously impact IT services
• Ensure service provider can deliver required minimum agreed service levels
• Supports Business Continuity Management
The IT service continuity management (ITSCM) process is responsible for managing risks that could seriously impact IT
services. IT ensures that the IT service provider is able to provide the required minimum agreed service levels, by
reducing the risk to an acceptable level and planning for the recovery of IT services. It also supports business continuity
management.
Support for the overall business continuity management process must be inherent in the design of the IT service
continuity management process. In order to achieve this, we must ensure that the required IT facilities (computer
systems, networks etc.) can be resumed within the agreed time-frame.
ITSCM focuses on those events that could be considered a disaster. The incident management process handles less
significant events.


• Objectives
Maintain critical customer services with minimal disruptions
Eliminate single points of failure
Provide short and long-term continuity options
Plan and maintain infrastructure resources deemed critical to survival of the business
Support business continuity management
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The primary objectives of the IT service continuity management process are to:
• M aintain critical customer services w ith minimal disruptions
• Eliminat e si ngle points of failure for delivering services
Provide both short and long-term cont inuity options
• Plan f or and maintain infrastructure resources that are deemed critical t o the survival of the business
• Support the ove rall business or orga nisational continuit y management process


Part icipates in development of a business cont inu ity pla n
Assists in developing service desk disast er recovery plan
Nominates a process owner and collaborates with other plan owners
Encourage IT t ea ms to contribute resolutions t o t he service desk in order to reduce
single-point -of-failu re issues
The service desk' s responsibilities in the IT service continuity management process are to:
• Participate in the development of a business continuity plan
• Develop a service desk continuity plan in order to provide post emergency support for critical services and develop a
long term plan for restoring all services to business as usual
• Nominate a process owner to be responsible and accountable for the plan
• Collaborate with other service continuity plan owners to ensure that the service desk plan integrates with the wider
plan
• Encourage IT t eams to contribute resolutions to the service desk in order to reduce single-point-of-failure issues


Provides support to test, review and amend the plan to ensure fitness for purpose
Identifies critical service desk activities and software/hardware applications
Provides up-to-date service desk staff contact list
Provides details of a secondary service desk facility or home-working arrangements
Provides deta ils of hard copy key service desk and support processes and procedures
The service desk's responsibilities in the IT service continuity management process are to:
• Provide support to regularly test, review and amend the plan to ensure that it continues to be fit for purpose
• Identify the critical service desk activities and software/hardware applications, including SMS, and ACD
telephony/email services
• Provide an up-to-date service desk staff contact list
• Provide details of a secondary service desk facility or home-working arrangements and any special transport measures
• Provide details of where to find to hard copy key service desk and support processes and procedures

The Benefits of IT Service Continuity Management

• Improved risk management
• Decrease in potential lost revenue
• Potential lower insurance premiums
• Meeting regulatory requirements
• Effective recovery of business services and systems
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Some of the benefits of ITSCM are as follows:

• Risk management is improved
• Potential lost revenue is decreased
• Potential lower insurance premiums
• Regulatory requirements are met for the industries where this is a requirement
• Effective recovery of business services and systems following a disaster or major outage

Service Catalogue Management

Manage the information in the service catalogue
Ensure it is accurate
Ensure it is made available to those who are approved to access it
Ensure that it supports the evolving needs of all other service management processes
Every support organisation should have a service catalogue. It is extremely difficult and time-consuming to provide
accurate data or accurate support without one. If we don't know what we currently have available, and what we are
supposed to provide support for, how can we ever be effective? And how can we ever be proactive, for example, in
identifying an existing service or product that would be suitable to satisfy another part of the organisation's needs, if we
have no real aw areness of exactly what w e've got?
The service catalogue management process is responsible for ensuring that:

• The information it contains is managed effectively
• The information it contains is accurate
It is made available t o those approved to access it
It supports the evolving needs of all other se rvice management processes

Service Catalogue Management

• The service desk communicates
What th e service provider can do for th e customer
How to interact with the service provider
How to place service requests
The cost of t he servi ce
How to access to service information
How services underpin business capability
The impact of service fai lures
Inaccuracies to the service catalogue manager
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The service desk's responsibilities in the service catalogue management process are to communicate:
• What the service provider can do for the customer
• How to interact with the service provider
• How to place service requests
• The cost of the service
• How to gain access to service information
• How supporting services underpin business capability
• The impact of service failures
• Inaccuracies to the service catalogue manager

Benefits of Service Catalogue Management

• Provides a sales and communications tool
• Ensures common understanding of IT services
• The service cata logue improves
Relationships
Service Provider focus on customer outcomes
Knowledge
Al ignment and focus on business value
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The benefits of the service catalogue management process are:

• The service desk is able to use the service catalogue as a marketing and communication tool
• A common understanding of IT services is ensured
• The relationship between the customer and service provider is improved
• Service provider focus on customer outcomes is improved by correlating internal service provider activities to business
processes and outcomes
• Improved knowledge, alignment and focus on the 'business value' of each service throughout the service provider's
organisation and its activities

The Service Catalogue -Two Views
Support Hardware Software Applications Data
The service catalogue is a database or structured document with information about all live IT services, including those
available for deployment. It contains information about customer-facing IT services and the supporting services required
by the service provider to deliver them. The information can be displayed in multiple views to suit the requirements of
different stakeholders, For example:
Customer-facing - contains details of all live IT services delivered to customers together with their relationships to the
business units and the business processes that rely on them. Multiple customer facing views might be used to address
the requirements of different areas of the business.
Supporting services- contains details of all supporting IT services, together with their relationships to the customer-
facing services they underpin, and the components, configuration items and other supporting services that are
necessary to support the provision of each service.

Service Level Management

• Responsibility
Optimising and providing cost effective delivery and support of IT se rvi ces
Al ignment to business requ irements
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Service level management (SLM) is a process for the optimisation and provision of cost-effective delivery and support of
IT services aligned to business requirements. It should ensure that the agreed levels of service provision are attained for
both current and future services/products.


• Ensure that aiiiTSM processes, SLAs, OLAs and UCs are appropriate
• Negotiate service level agreements (SLAs)
• Negotiate operational level agreements (OLAs)
·Support supplier management to ensure underpinning contracts support SLAs
• Define, document, agree, monitor, measure, report and review service levels
• Hold regular customer reviews
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The primary objectives of service level management are:

• To ensure that IT service management processes, service level agreements, operational level agreements and
underpinning contracts are appropriate for the agreed service level targets
• To negotiate service level agreements (SLAs) and operational level agreements (OLAs)
• Link with supplier management to ensure that underpinning contracts support the agreed service level targets defined
in the SLA
• Define, document, agree, monitor, measure, report and review the level of IT services provided
• To hold regular customer reviews
The service level management process involves both IT service providers and customers. The intention of SLM is to
develop strategies and approaches that will make best use of IT services that are cost effective and clearly aligned to
business requirements. Service level management requires customers and IT service providers to define, negotiate, agree
on and monitor service levels.
The intention of service level management is to get the balance right between supply and demand, the cost of IT,
customer focus and customer usability of the services.
This would typically be formalised by the introduction and on-going maintenance of service level agreements, operational
level agreements and underpinning contracts.


Deliver services in accordance with agreed SLAs
Encourage and support other IT areas to follow SLA and OLA requirements
Review performance and identify areas for improvement
Part icipate in t he servi ce reporting process
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The service desk's responsibilities in the service level management process include the following:
• To deliver services in accordance with agreed service level agreements
• To encourage and support other IT teams to observe and follow of the requirements of service level agreements,
operational level agreements and the service deliverables agreed in underpinning contracts
• To revi ew performance and identify areas of improvement
• To participate in the service reporting process

Service Level Management Components

• Service Level Requirements (SLR)
• Service Catalogue (SC)
• Service Improvement Programme (SIP)
• Service Level Agreements (SLA)
• Operational Level Agreements (OLA)
• Underpinning Contracts (UC)
• Service level reviews and reports
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The principle components of the service level management process comprise:

• Service Level Requirements (SLR)- a list of customers' service requirements. SLRs should be an integral part of the
criteria for designing the appropriate services.
• Service Catalogue (SC)- defines the services provided, and includes a summary of their characteristics and details of
the customers who use them and who is responsible for their maintenance. It can be quite challenging to produce this
document accurately if communication between all areas is not working effectively, and if defined processes are not
adhered to.
• Service Improvement Program (SIP)- this is typically a formal program undertaken to monitor and improve
satisfaction levels of both the customer base and the IT staff.
• Service Level Agreements (SLAs)- written agreements between IT service providers and IT customers that define key
service targets and the responsibilities of both parties. These documents are not legally binding.
• Operational Level Agreements (OLAs)- written agreements between two internal IT departments or teams that
support the requirements of the SLA. They should define the responsibilities, roles and expectations of each team
required to achieve the SLA. These documents are not legally binding.
• Underpinning Contracts (UCs)- a contract with an external supplier that supports IT in the delivery of the required
services. An Underpinning Contract (UC) is a contractual legally binding document that details the agreed service
deliverables.
• Service Level Contract (SLC)- if a service is wholly outsourced to an external supplier then an SLC is required. An SLC is
a legally binding contract directly negotiated between the customer and the outsourced service provider.
• Service Level Reviews and Reporting- regular reviews of performance against documented and expected levels of
service are undertaken, and reports produced, typically on a monthly basis.
NOTE: Ideally the requirements for these components are identified and defined when new operational IT services are
designed.

Service Level Management Activities

• Design SLA frameworks
• Establish, document and agree service requirements
• Scope, review and revise OLAs and UCs
• Negotiate, agree and document SLAs
• Monitor services against SLAs
• Measure and improve customer satisfaction
• Produce service reports
• Conduct service reviews and instigate improvements
• Develop contacts and relationships
• Handle complaints and compliments
The principal service level management activities are to:

• Design service level agreement (SLA) frameworks
• Establish, document and agree service level requirements
• Scope, review and revise operational level agreements (OLAs) and underpinning contracts (UCs)
• Negotiate, agree and document service level agreements (SLAs)
• Monitor services against service level agreements (SLAs)
• Measure and improve customer satisfaction
• Produce service reports
• Conduct service reviews and instigate improvements
• Develop contacts and relationships
Handle complaints and compliments
The service level management process has responsibility for ensuring that service level agreement, operational level
agreement, underpinning contract and service level contract targets are met. It also has responsibility for ensuring that
any adverse impact on service quality is kept to a minimum.
Service level management defines requirements and expectations clearly for the customer and the service provider, the
baseline requirements and the methods used to measure performance.
Service level management requires the appropriate tools to monitor compliance with service level agreements and
operational level agreements, and it may decide to establish an incentive system of rewards and penalties for compliance
and non-compliance with the service level agreements. However, this can be difficult to enforce in an internal operation.
A key part of the service level management process is to review and report on both performance and customer
requirements. Are the service levels being met consistently? And if not- why not? What are the customers' needs, both
now and in the future? Will we be able to provide for these or do we need additional resource, skills, capacity?

Service Level Agreement (SLA)

• Sets expectations, minimises conflicts and improves satisfaction
Agreement between service provider and customer
Describes the service and service level targets
Specifies responsibi lities of both parties
May cover multiple services or multiple customers
It is not a legally binding document
• Should be reviewed regularly
• Include only measureable targets
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The purpose of a service level agreement (SLA) is to document the service targets agreed between the customer and the
service provider in order to ensure that they both understand their responsibilities. A service level agreement is not a
legally binding contract but might form part of a service deliverables schedule attached to an underpinning contract.
Service level agreements are mechanisms we can use to determine our customers' service needs and, perhaps more
importantly, manage our customers' expectations relative to the level of support we are able to provide.
A service level agreement is an agreement between the customer and the service/product provider that documents the
agreed responsibilities of both parties.
"If you aim at nothing, then that is what you will usually hit." Service level agreements provide a methodology for
introducing defined and agreed levels of service to be provided by IT in order to manage the expectations of both parties.
Service level agreements should be reviewed regularly- preferably every six months, but more typically this is undertaken
on a twelve-monthly cycle. They should also be reviewed after any roll-outs, major changes or contingencies to ensure
that the targets set are still achievable.
Service level agreements between service desks and their customers should include specific and measurable targets.
Service level agreements are unique to every operation, but should include:
• The service desk mission statement
• Promises of speed and quality
• After hours support procedures
• Hours of support provided to customers
• Scope of services (services and products)
Definitions of priority levels and response times for each

Typical Content of a Service Level Agreement

• A description of the service
• The types and quality of services provided
• The level of services
• Planned maintenance schedules
• Cost of providing services
• Methods for measuring and reporting compliance
• The process for dealing with conflicts
• The period between agreed formal SLA reviews
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A service level agreement (SLA) is an agreement between the customer and the service provider that documents:
• The types and quality of services provided
• The level of services (for example, response time and hours of operation)
• The required and agreed maintenance schedules for IT services
• The relevant details about charging and/or costing for IT services provision if appropriate
• The methods used for measuring and reporting compliance with the agreement
• The process for dealing with conflict between the customer and the service provider
• The period between the agreed formal service level agreement reviews.

Possible Problems with Service Level Agreements

• Targets not verified as appropriate before agreement
• Monitoring, measuring and reporting not defined
• Insufficient negotiation authority
• Inadequate underpinning contracts
• Too lengthy, not concise or not business focused
• Resistance to change and lack of commitment
• SLRs dictated to customer by IT
• Unrealistic customer perception or expectation
• Poor maintenance of the SLA
• Poor presentation -of the concept the document
• Poor implementation planning
There are a number of problems associated with introducing service level agreements that we should be aware of, and
they are:
• The targets are not verified and determined as achievable before agreeing and committing to them
• The criteria for monitoring, measuring and reporting of actual achievements are not identified
• Insufficient seniority or authority given to enable satisfactory outcome to negotiations
• Inadequate or inappropriate underpinning contracts
• If they are too lengthy, not concise and not business focused they will not be used
• Resistance to change
• Lack of commitment
• The service levels to be provided are dictated to customer by IT
• Customer perception and expectation may be unrealistic
• Poor maintenance of the SLA (it should be regarded as a 'living document', not set in stone).
• Poor presentation -of the concept, the document
• Poor implementation planning of- time and resources required, business calendar

Operational Level Agreements (OLA)

• An agreement between an IT service provider and another part of the same
organisation
• Supports the IT service provider's delivery of services to customers
• Defines goods or services to be provided and responsibilities of both parties
• It is not a legally binding document
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An operational level agreement (OLA) is a documented agreement between internal service providers that define the
responsibilities, roles and expectations of each team involved to ensure that all have a clear understanding of what their
team must do to support and meet the service level agreement.

Underpinning Contract (UC)

• Between IT organisation and external supplier
• Specifies delivery of services that support the IT organisation in delivering its
services
• Details the service deliverables and their overriding performance crit eria
• A legally binding contract
An Underpinning contract (UCs) is a legally defined and binding contractual agreement made with external suppliers who
provide elements of the IT support service. The negotiation of underpinning contracts (UCs) would typically be carried out
in conjunction with supplier management.

The Benefits of Service Level Management

• Customers agree priorities and costs
• Expectations of both sides are set
• Minimised conflict builds trust and satisfaction
• Increased customer loyalty
• Improved relationships
• Defined and measured IT success metrics
• Allows for proactive planning
• Customers buy-in to the plan
• Aids resource planning
By implementing a service level management process, we are able to:

• Clarify the quantity/quality balance- customers should know and agree the priorities and the costs involved in
meeting the agreed levels of service
• Set the expectations of both the customer and service provider, with the intention of minimising conflicts, building
trust and improving satisfaction levels
• Increase customer loyalty
• Improve relationships between customers and the IT service provider
• Measure IT success from the metrics defined
• Proactively plan
• Obtain customer buy-in to the plan
• Prioritise and plan resources to meet specific customer needs

Section 6
Quality Assurance

Section 6- Quality Assurance
Quality Assurance Programmes

• BSI defin ition
- Fit for the purpose f or which it is intended
• OED definition
- A degree or standard of excellence
• The purpose of a qual ity assurance program is to

develop and mainta in appropriate improvements in
the qui:!l ity of t he services provided
There are many tools and techniques available to us today, and in this lesson we will discuss some of the most commonly
used. First, let's agree on what 'quality' actually is.
BSI's definition of quality: "Fit for the purpose for which it was intended", although 'Quality' can be defined in as many
ways as the number of customers you support. Oxford English Dictionary definition of quality: "A degree or standard of
excellence."
Wild (2002) defines quality as: "The quality of a product or service is the degree to which it satisfies customer
requirements. It is influenced by: Design quality: the degree to which the specification of the product/service satisfies
customer's requirements. Process quality: the degree to which the product or service, which is made available to the
customer, conforms to specification."
Quality reporting shows the level of maturity within your support organisation. When you first start up a support team
you may have little established in the way of formal reporting. As you mature in your support processes you will see an
expanding need to report on, and understand, your call history and work-loads, and the delivery of service and support as
provided by your team(s).
Quality is a promise that support organisations make to their customers. Your service level agreements will define quality
standards and your analysts will deliver on those standards. Some of the best ways to assess the level of quality delivered
by your support organisation are listed over-leaf. It is essential that we continually assess, modify, and improve the
services we deliver in order to meet and exceed customer expectations. Quality monitoring or assurance will enable us to
do this.
It is important that managers ensure that the quality of se rvice and support provided by their staff, the processes they
work within and the procedures they follow remain at a high level and do not deteriorate. To assist you with this you
should implement a quality assurance programme.
The purpose of a quality assurance program is to develop and maintain appropriate improvements in the quality of the
services provided.

Quality Assurance Programme

• Objectives
Document on-going IT service quality programs
Agree w ith custom ers the quality initiatives used as part of IT service delivery
Continually improve the qual ity and cost effectiveness of IT services
Ad dress IT service perform ance failures
Produce options and recommendations for improvement and implement and review
them
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The objectives of a quality assurance program would include:

• The documenting of ongoing IT service quality programs
• To gain agreement with the customer base on quality initiatives to be used as part of IT service delivery
• To continually make improvements in the quality and cost-effectiveness of IT service delivery
• To address any aspect of IT service performance that is failing to meet expectations
• To provide solutions, options and recommendations for quality improvements, and then to im plement and review
them

Section 6 - Qual ity Assurance
Quality Assurance Programme Practices

• Customer feedback • Focus groups
• Benchmarking • Skill testing
• Incident monitoring • Knowledge use monitoring
• Call monitoring • Account management reviews
• Interaction monitoring ·Coaching
• Employee surveys • Mentoring
• E-mail/Chat monitoring • Mystery shopping
• KPI monitoring • One-to-Ones
• Round-tables
There are various practices or activities we can use to monitor quality. The most common ones include:
• Customer feedback
• Benchmarking
• Incident monitoring
• Call monitoring
• Interaction monitoring
• Employee surveys
• E-mail/Chat monitoring
• KPI monitoring
• Round tables
• Focus groups
• Skill testing
• Knowledge usage monitoring
• Account management reviews
• Coaching
• Mentoring
• Regular mystery shopping
• One-to-ones

Customer Feedback
• Opportunities for obtaining feedback
• Responding to feedback
Customer complaints Focus groups
Customer surveys Floor walking
Compliments Soci al media
Suggestions Organisation initiatives
Account management Exchange visits
Service review meetings
Round -tables
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The purpose of obtaining and recording feedback is to understand the customer's perception of the IT organisation's
products and services and to address any negative issues identified so that customer confidence is restored.
Before you set up a focus group, launch an email or on-line customer survey, you need to understand what your business
goals are in gathering this data. Why are you gathering customer feedback? What will you do with it? Are you going to act
on what you hear? When is the best time to approach your customers for feedback?
There are a variety of ways to gather feedback from customers these days, but you can essentially focus on those detailed
here: customer complaints; customer surveys; compliments; suggestions; account management/service review
meetings; round tables; focus groups; floor walking; social media; service desk participation in the organisation's
initiatives; and, exchange visits.
Use customer feedback to improve your services and focus on the needs of your customers. Treat your customer just as
not cold statistics. We are all human beings who deserve to be treated with dignity and respect.
When we solicit feedback from customers we must translate that feedback into meaning and then take appropriate
action to let them know their voice was heard. If you handle it well, the dialogue between you and your customers can
become a lifeline to organisation. To establish and maintain a healthy flow, customer feedback must result in change that
your customers can see. In order to achieve this we need to ensure that all feedback, from whatever source, is recorded.
And then to ensure that the feedback is acted on, we must assign ownership to someone who will identify any action
required and who has the authority to take the appropriate action. To complete the circle we must trend and report our
results.
Customer feedback can help you to uncover flaws in your service delivery. Keep in mind that customers want to be heard
and respected and to have their guidance incorporated into your vision and strategic plan .

Customer Satisfaction Surveys

• Customer's perception of products and services
Are customer expectations being met?
What does the customer feel is important?
What areas do we need to improve?
New products and services needed?
Baseline and trend customer satisfaction
Identify negative feedback for investigation
Validate the effect of improvements
Service desks can learn about customer perceptions extremely effectively by using customer satisfaction surveys. The
purpose of conducting a customer satisfaction survey is to discover customer perception of the products and services that
the IT organisation and the service desk deliver, and in order to establish whether customer expectations are being met.
The objectives of customer satisfaction surveys are:

• To find out what customers' feel is important
• To identify and prioritise areas for improvement
• To baseline and trend customer satisfaction
• To assist in developing new services and products based on data we have collected that determine our customers'
current and future needs
Identify negative feedback as potential complaints and ensure they are recorded in the formal complaint log for
investigation
• Validate the effect of service improvements

Types of Customer Satisfaction Survey

• On-going (event)
• Annual or periodic
• One-time or one-off
• Common methodologies
Weighted surveys
Net Promoter Score (NPS)
Qualitative surveys
Quantitative surveys
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The most common types of customer satisfaction surveys conducted by the service desk are:
On-going (event) surveys allow you to track trends in satisfaction with current services and therefore they are regular,
continual surveys. However, you should make sure that your delivery options are carefully designed to avoid over-
surveying your customer base. You can deliver these surveys randomly, or by selecting a percentage of issues
received. You may decide to deliver a survey after every issue logged, although customers often find this irritating. An
ongoing survey should be distributed or conducted as soon after an issue is closed as possible. They should be short
and easy to complete quickly. A maximum of 4-6 questions is plenty. This type of survey measures the quality of a
single call or incident, and the data generated from running an on-going survey can be used to trend customer
satisfaction between your annual surveys. They are also used to measure the impact of changes in processes,
products or services. Make sure that you cover ALL analysts when using this method, not just the same few. This type
of survey is one of the most effective ways to 'keep a finger on the pulse' of customer perception.
• Annual or periodic surveys are planned and scheduled on a periodic basis- at least annually and usually as part of the
annual budget cycle- a once a year event, although sometimes they are undertaken 6-monthly or even quarterly.
Annual surveys tend to be lengthier than the other types of survey and very often get a poor response. They can be
quite complex for the respondent to answer, and can be fairly detailed. They are also sometimes seen as too time
consuming for many people to be interested in or willing to participate. They are used to evaluate overall customer
satisfaction levels with products and services offered by the service desk and the IT organisation, and for identifying
changes to services, processes and products that customers feel would better meet their needs and that would
improve their relationship with both the service desk and the IT organisation. They are generally based on customer
perception of the IT organisation and the service desk over the previous period.
One-off or one-time surveys are not scheduled but are undertaken for specific reasons such as: Satisfaction with
current service offerings- evaluating current satisfaction levels or for identifying changes that customers feel are
important. They are also very valuable after an outage or implementation of a new service, because they enable us to
gauge our customers' feelings. They can also be used for one-off events to acquire a snapshot view if we need to
establish our customers' perception of our services, and also after a major roll-out to establish its success or
otherwise.

Service Desk Benchmarking

• Two types of benchmarking
Industry benchmarking (dissimilar demogra phics)
- Peer group benchm arking (simi lar demograph ics)
• Demonstrates differences and similarities
• Source for meaningful improvement init iatives
• Benefits of benchmarking include
Awareness of service desk best practices
An understanding of alternative servi ce offerings
Identifies areas requiring service improvement
Improvement and value can be demonst rated
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The role of benchmarking in a service desk environment:

• Provides an understanding of the relative differences and similarities between participating service desks in order to
acquire a comparative evaluation of service desk performance
Used to provide meaningful and readily implemented improvement recommendations
Issues to be considered when benchmarking include:

• The use of collaborative approaches and reliable metrics that enable consistent data collection and true peer group
comparisons
• That there are two types of benchmarking
Industry benchmarking (dissimilar demographics)
Peer group benchmarking (similar demographics)
• How questions are interpreted or answered by other participants of the exercise
• The differing goals and objectives of participating organisations
• The differing skill sets based on business needs
• The different technology/tools used by the participating organisations
• Benchmarking might be considered as a panacea
• Relevant data must be accurately captured and viewed in context
Benchmarking will facilitate the implementation of continual improvement initiatives that we may have identified,
facilitate best practices within the service desk, and develop our understanding of alternative service offerings that we
should perhaps give consideration to. The benefits of benchmarking include:
• Creates awareness of service desk best practices
• Develops an understanding of alternative service offerings
• Identifies areas requiring service improvement
Enables improvement and value to be demonstrated

Monitoring Interactions
• Monitoring all communications with the service desk from every
communications channel used
• Examples
Regular reviews of incident and request logs
Regular reviews of all the audit trails
By undertaking monitoring in a consistent manner, we are able to provide a seamless and end-to-end monitoring process.
If we don't monitor calls, incidents, customer satisfaction, remote support activity and self-service etc. then we will have
an incomplete picture of what is really happening.
Only by understanding the full picture can we accurately identify those areas in need of improvement and any gaps in
training that should be addressed. It provides us with the opportunity to take corrective action before any service level
breaches occur, giving us the opportunity to review the existing processes and procedures and correct them where
necessary.
In order to obtain a complete picture of our service desk's activities we should monitor all communications with the
service desk from every communications channel used such as; e-mail, phone, on-line portal, forums, on-line chat and
social media. This is called interaction monitoring.
Some examples of methods we could use to monitor our service desk interactions include :
Regularly reviewing our incident and service request logs
Regularly reviewing the audit trails from every communication channel we use on our service desk

Monitoring Benefits
• An important activity for the service desk
Provides a seamless end-to-end incident and service request man agement procedure
Provides quality and service assurance
Al lows the service desk to proactive ly address situations
An alyst reviews help self-im provement
Identifies opportunities for improvement
Identifies t raining needs
By undertaking monitoring in a consistent manner, we are able to deliver a seamless and end-to-end incident and service
request management process.
If we don't monitor incidents and service requests, then we will have an incomplete picture of what is really happening
and w e will not be able to maintain quality and service assurance for our customers and the service desk.
Only by understanding the full picture can we accurately identify those areas in need of improvement, proactively
address situations rather than just reacting to them, and fill any gaps in training that should be addressed. It provides us
with the opportunity to take corrective action before any service level breaches occur, giving us the opportunity to review
the existing processes and procedures and correct them where necessary.
It also provides us with an opportunity to review the incident or service request with our analysts to further develop their
skill-set.

Incident and Request Monitoring

• Review documentation for completeness and accuracy
• Conduct on-line reviews with the analysts
• Follow-up calls
• Customer satisfaction surveys
• Incident/service request tracking
• SLA tracking
• Automatic ITSM system escalation
Sr"'*-•'' ' •u 11
We can monitor incidents and service requests in a number of ways. For example:
• By reviewing the documentation to verify that it is accurate and that the data in the record is complete
• We can conduct an on-line review with the analyst after the incident has been closed
• We can also use follow-up calls with the customer or conduct customer satisfaction surveys
These actions will all monitor the quality of the service delivery.
We can use tracking systems to monitor incidents, service requests and service levels. We can also make use of automatic
escalation within our IT service management system.
These actions will assist us in identifying whether or not analysts are meeting the stipulations for speed and type of
delivery.

The Benefits of Call Monitoring

• Identifies procedures that don't meet expectation or are not being followed
• Identifies opportunities for improvement
• Improves the quality of service
• Identifies training opportunities
• Ensures that the call handling procedure is followed
• Provides feedback to staff about job performance
• Identifies individual strengths and weaknesses
• Provides coaching opportunities
• Verifies consistency in call management
Call monitoring verifies whether or not we have a consistent approach to call handling (are procedures being followed?)
and it provides feedback to staff regarding their job performance.
It identifies the strengths and weaknesses of individuals and the service desk and it can provide coaching and training
opportunities.
It verifies that our call management process is consistent and identifies areas where procedures are not meeting
expectations or are not being followed. It also improves the quality of the service provided.
Monitoring service desk calls is a good way to validate information given to customers. It ensures that customers are
receiving courteous, professional service, and it provides feedback to the analyst on job performance.
It is a good point from which to identify service improvement ideas early on, before we receive negative criticism or
adverse customer satisfaction surveys. The result should be improved quality of service for customers, resulting in better
rapport between the customer base and the service desk.

Call Monitoring Methods

• Live service observations
• Remote service observations
• Call recording and evaluation
• Follow-up calls
• Customer satisfaction surveys
There are different methods we can use for call monitoring. With each there are some advantages and some
disadvantages:
Live service observation- the reviewer is sitting side-by-side with the analyst, listening in on the calls as they are made
Remote observation -the reviewer listens in to live calls but the reviewed person will be unaware that the call is being
evaluated
Call recording for playback and evaluation
Making a follow up call or conducting a customer satisfaction survey after a call is completed.
Monitoring your employees is one way to determine if they are continually demonstrating the desired skills, and if they
have the required knowledge. However, there are legal issues around monitoring employees. You MUST obtain the
advice of your legal department before you use this method. We recommend that you use it with great sensitivity, and
only as an aid to skills development and quality assurance.
Informal support is best defined as peer-to-peer support. Informal support, if not managed properly, is a hidden cost that
makes owning technology very expensive. You will never be able to totally do away with informal support, nor do you
want to. What you need to do is to optimise the amount of this type of support. If there is too much informal support
going on within your organisation it is a clear indication that your process is at worst broken, or at best ineffective. The
path of least resistance is no longer to the service desk. It is probable that there is also a major misalignment between
what your customers expect and what they are receiving.

Service Delivery Structure Models

• Local
• Centralised
• Virtua l
Follow-t he-sun
- Specialised (by channel or techno logy)
- Worki ng remotely
• Blended- a mix of structure models
• Single or mult i-tiered
There various structure models that we may use for delivering service to our customers the most common of which are:
• Local
• Centralised
• Virtual
• Follow-the-sun
• Specialised (by channel or technology)
• Working remotely
• Blended- a mix of structure models
• Single or multi-tiered
Note: The sourcing model used for the above delivery models is defined by management and may vary from organisation
to organisation.

Support Delivery Model Variables

• Cost
• Range and complexity of the services offered
• Sourcing strategy
• The stipulations in the SLA
• The location of the customer
·Time zones
• Business requirements for hours of operation
• The effectiveness of remote support tools
• The effectiveness of knowledge management
• Cultural factors
Certain variables come into play when decisions are made about the most appropriate way to deliver support.
The variables used to establish which support delivery structure model(s) are most appropriate include:
• Cost
• Range and complexity of the services offered
• Sourcing strategy
• Stipulations in service level agreements, operational level agreements or underpinning contracts
• Location of the customer
• Time zones of the customer and the service desk
• Business requirements for hours of operation
• Effectiveness of remote support tools
• Effectiveness of knowledge management
• Cultural factors

CSFs, KPis and Metrics

• Critical success factors
- Elements that are vital for a strategy to be successful or for an objective to be achieved
• Key performance indicators
Used to quantify management objectives
Accompanied with a target or threshold
• Useful metrics are: customer, staff and business
'I/ you can't measure it, you can't manage it'
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Regular, objective measurement is a crucial component of service desk management.
By identifying your service desk's critical success factors and key performance indicators and by analysing a
comprehensive set of operational metrics, you to ascertain the resources you require to meet your staffing and
scheduling obligations, to work out your schedule, to measure the performance of your analysts and to gain
understanding of the overall performance of your service desk.
Critical success factors determine the strategic elements necessary for an organisation, project or process to achieve its
mission.
Key performance indicators are commonly used to help an organisation control and evaluate its progress toward
achieving its critical success factors and goals.
Metrics are standards of measurement by which improvements in efficiency, performance, progress, or quality of a plan,
process, or product can be assessed.

Example Critical Success Factors

• Correctly skilled analysts to meet demand
• Effective and integrated service management processes
• The right level of resources in place to keep the organisation productive
·The right level of resources in place to meet support needs quickly and
effectively
• Able to operate within budget
Some of the critical success factors we could consider for our service desk are:
• Having correctly skilled analysts to meet demand
• Having effective and integrated service management processes
• Having the appropriate level of resources in place to keep the organisation productive and to enable us to meet
support needs quickly and effectively
• Operating within our budget

Example Key Performance Indicators

• First contact resolution • Staff turnover
• First level resolution • Customer satisfaction
• Abandon rate • Employee satisfaction
• Cost per incident • Knowledge usage
• Cost per service request
• Incidents resolved within SLA
• Correctly assigned escalations
• Open interactions
Some of the key performance indicators we should consider include:

• First contact resolutions
• First level resolutions
• Abandon rate
• Cost per incident
• Cost per service request
• Incidents resolved within SLA
• Correctly assigned escalations
• Percentage of correct priority assignments
• Open interactions
• Staff turnover
• Customer satisfaction
• Employee satisfaction
• Knowledge usage

Why we use Service Desk Metrics

• Identify resources for staffing and scheduling
• Measure analyst performance
• Measure service desk performance
• Assess the level of customer satisfaction
• Establish operational effectiveness
• To evidence strategic value
• Support for business cases
• Demonstrate that business outcomes are achieved
• Identify areas for improvement
• Support management decision making
There are two truisms and they are 'you are what you measure' and 'what gets measured gets managed'. Without a way
to establish an internal benchmark for continual improvement, it becomes harder to innovate, advance and proactively
respond to customer expectations.
Metrics can do one of two things: they can tell you what you should do, or they can tell you what you should have done. If
you use them to tell you what to do, you'll be using them to measure your successes. But if you use them to tell you what
you should have done, you'll be using them to measure your failures. So it's the first approach, not the latter, that
forward-thinking companies should focus on.
Service desk metrics are used to:

• Identify required resources for staffing and scheduling
• Measure analyst performance
• Measure service desk performance
• Assess the level of customer satisfaction
• Establish operational effectiveness
• Evidence strategic value
• Support business cases
• Demonstrate that business outcomes are achieved
• Identify areas for inclusion in the continual improvement plan
• Support management decision making

Example Service Management Metrics

• #of interactions • %of hierarchic escalations
• #and %of interactions by channel • % of functional escalations
• %of first contact resolution • %of interactions resolved within SLA
• Incident resolution time • Comparison of goals to actual results
• Average time to respond • %of remote support interactions
• %of abandoned calls/interactions • % of interactions using self-help
• Average time to resolve by priority • Total cost of ownership
• Average time to resolve by category • Average cost per interaction by type
• %of open incidents by age • Average cost per interaction by
• %of reopened incidents channel
Some of the more common service management metrics captured and measured by the service desk are:
• Number of interactions
• Number and percentage of interactions by channel
• Percentage of first contact resolution
• Incident resolution time
• Average time to respond
• Percentage of abandoned calls and interactions not responded to
• Average time to resolve by priority
• Average time to resolve by category
• Percentage of open incidents by age
• Percentage of reopened incidents
• Percentage of interactions resolved within the service level agreement (SLA)
• Comparison of service level agreement goals to actual results
• Percentage of remote control interactions
• Percentage of interactions using self-help
• Total cost of ownership
• Average cost per interaction by type
• Average cost per interaction by channel

Example Customer Satisfaction Metrics

• #and %of complaints/negative comments received and outstanding per
month
• #of compliments
• #of suggestions received each month
• Overall score of event (on-going) satisfaction surveys returned each month
• Overall score of periodic satisfaction surveys
Some of the more common customer satisfaction metrics measured and analysed by the service desk include:
• Number and percentage of complaints/negative comments received and outstanding per month
• Number of compliments
• Number of suggestions received each month
• Overall score of event (on-going) satisfaction surveys returned each month
• Overall score of periodic (annual) satisfaction surveys

Example People Satisfaction Metrics

• Overall score of the employee satisfaction surveys returned
• Staff turnover
• Unplanned absence days
Some of the more common people satisfaction metrics measured and analysed by the service desk include:
• Overall score of the people satisfaction surveys returned
• Staff turnover
• Employee unplanned absence days

Resource Management
• Establishing resource requirements necessary to meet business demands in
order to achieve goals
• Provides a consistent approach to resourcing
• Resource planning quantifies
Staffing and scheduling based on accepted operational management models
Staffing requ ired to meet the SLA and business needs
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The objective of Resource Management is to establish the resources requirements necessary to meet demand, in order to
achieve goals.
The differences between staffing and scheduling are as follows:

• Staffing is determining (and recruiting) the correct number of people to enable support to meet the agreed levels of
service as specified in a service level agreement or service commitment.
• Scheduling is the specific assignment of people, time required and tasks to be completed, in order to meet the
requirements and stipulations of the service level agreement or service commitments to the business, whilst taking
into account any peaks and troughs.
It is worth stating here that use of a staffing model, will enable you to staff your team with greater accuracy and
according to the needs of the business. It will enable you to quantify your staffing and scheduling using accepted
operational management models and to quantify the number of staff required to meet the requirements of the service
level agreement.
The value of resource planning models is that they:

• Quantify the staffing and scheduling based on accepted operational management models
• Quantify the staffing required to meet the service level agreement and business needs
• Provide a consistent approach

Resource Management
• The steps to scheduling resource
Forecast call volume
Establish staffing requ irements
Develop a schedule
Evaluate and monitor perf ormance
Adjust plans and expectations as necessary
• Always consider
Service level commitm ents
- Employees requi red for peak periods
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Once you know how many people are needed to manage the service desk's workload you must spread these resources
over your hours of operation. This may require additional adjustments to the total number of people included in your
gross staffing level.
The principal steps involved in resource scheduling include the following:

Forecast call volume using historical and current data and information about future requirements
Establish staffing requirements based on projected volume and service levels
Develop a schedule
Evaluate and monitor performance in comparison to projections
• Adjust plans and expectations as necessary
There are other important factors to keep in mind when creating your resource schedules:
• Service level commitments
Number of employees needed to cover peak periods or specific times
Whilst you may well consider this to be yet another time-consuming task, it is worth persevering with it. Your team will
become more efficient and effective if you spend the time to do the research to gain a better understanding of your
specific environment.


Section 7
Effective Management of
Tools and Technology

Section 7 - Effective Management of Tools and Technology
Service Desk Infrastructure

• Successful support organisations have technologies that enable
People
Processes
The vision of the entire organisation
Successful support organisations have technologies in place to enable the people, the processes, and the mission of the
entire organisation . Support teams must have access to the tools and technologies necessary to achieve the performance
levels established in their mission statement, service level agreements and business objectives. These may be
infrastructure related or service desk specific. They may include hardware, software, telephony or third-party products.

Common Service Desk Technologies

• IT Service Management systems and tool sets
• Telecommunication systems
• Workforce management optimisation systems
• Reporting systems
• Knowledge management system
• Self-service and self-help
• Self-healing
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If we are to provide the quality of service that the organisation requires from us, then we must ensure that the
technologies we use are robust, easy for the customer base to access and use, are relevant, and that we have well
defined processes and procedures to support their use.
The technologies presently utilised for delivery of support are:

• Service management systems supporting key processes
• Telecommunication systems
• Automated call distribution (ACD)
• Computer telephony integration (CTI)
• Interactive voice response (IVR)
• VoiP
• Work-force optimisation systems
• Reporting systems
• Knowledge management systems
• Self-service
• Self help
• Self-healing

Common Service Desk Technologies

• Electronic communications
• Voice biometrics
• Speech analytics
• Process analytics
• Wireless devices
• Network discovery/monitoring tools
• lntcrnct/intranet technology
The technologies presently utilised for delivery of support are:

• Electronic communications
• Voice biometrics
• Speech analytics
• Process analytics
• Wireless devices
• Network discovery/ monitoring tools
• lnternet/lntranet technology
• Remote support
• Social media tools
• Collaboration tools
• Video conferencing tools

SOt• Service Desk & Support Manager (SDM) Study Guide
IT Service Management Systems

• Provide consistent and integrated service operations and service delivery to
the organisation
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The purpose of an IT service management system is to provide consistent and integrated service operations and delivery
to the organisation.
They also help to facilitate improved control and management reporting.

Section 7- Effective Management of Tools and Technology
The Objectives of ITSM Tools

• Record, track and manage different tickets
• Link different ticket types to each other and Cis
• Process reporting and metrics from a single tool
• Modular process implementation
• Integration with monitoring and alerting tools
• Support SLM and service reporting
• Service asset and configuration management
• Integration with knowledge tools
The primary objectives for using IT service management tools in a service desk environment are to:
Record, track and manage incidents, problems and changes separately
Link incidents, problems and changes together and also link to configuration items
Provide process reporting and metrics from a single tool
Have the capability to add on or activate modules as processes are implemented.
Integrate with system monitoring tools and alert systems
Provide service level agreement management and service reporting
Provide service asset and configuration management with the functionality to store and maintain configuration item
records
Provide and/or integrate with knowledge tools

The Benefits of ITSM Systems

• Supports delivery of integrated processes
• Provides an accountable and traceable tool-set
• Delivers consistent performance metrics reports
• Supports continual service improvement
Using a professional IT service management tools in the provision of IT services should:

• Support the delivery of integrated processes
• Provide an accountable and traceable supporting tool-set
• Deliver consistent service management performance metrics and reports
• Support continual service improvement

Automated Call Distribution (ACD}

• The purpose of an ACD is to provide a consistent and manageable telephone
response operation
• 0 bj ectives
Manage the distribution of calls
Manage analyst workload and performance
Automate rapid telephone responses
Provide callers with options and information when on hold
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The purpose of an automatic call distributor is to provide a consistent and manageable telephone response operation.
The primary objectives for implementing an ACD system are to:

Manage the distribution of calls to analysts
• Manage analysts' workload and performance
• Automate rapid telephone responses
• Provide callers with options and information when on hold

The Benefits of ACD Systems

• Skills-based routing
• First-available analyst, longest available analyst
• Advanced metrics and reporting
• Call queuing
An automatic call distribution system provides advanced reporting and call routing options; for example: skills based
routing, routing a call to the first analyst available, or longest available, plus advanced reporting on service desk
performance metrics. It will also provide call-queuing options.
Very often our customers will be extremely resistant to the implementation of an ACD; it is therefore essential that you
are aware of your customer-base and its perception regarding an ACD in order to develop plans to overcome their
resistance.
Too much focus on operational statistics and targets. The temptation to play 'big brother' in an effort to get people to
work harder should be avoided at all cost. Statistics and targets should NOT be the primary reason for implementing an
ACD.

Computer Telephony Integration (CTI)

• Intelligently integrate telephony equipment with other technologies to
facilitate the efficient processing of customer contacts
Computer telephone integration is an enabling technology for the intelligent linking of computers and telephony
equipment with other technologies in order to facilitate the efficient processing of customer contacts.

The Objectives of CTI

• Rapidly match service requestors with the appropriate service providers
Identifying callers t o analysts
Display customer-specific data automatically
Managers can view customer/management statistics and reporting data across
multiple platforms
Apply business rules for personalised service
The objective is to streamline the service process by more rapidly matching service requesters with appropriate service
providers, and trimming the time needed to prepare to resolve the customer's incident or provide the needed service.
This is done by:
• Identifying callers to analysts (e.g., the screen is populated ('pop') with the caller's name, and other relevant details
• Displaying customer specific data to support staff automatically
• Managers viewing customer/management statistics and reporting data across multiple platforms
• Applying business rules for delivering personalised service (i.e. routing calls to specific individuals or teams)

Common Challenges of CTI

• Potentially complex and costly
• Screen pop might increase ASA
• Maintain ing the accuracy of databases
Common challenges encountered when implementing CTI include:

• The potential complexity and cost
• The screen population facility might delay the time it takes the service desk to answer calls causing average speed to
answer (ASA) to increase
• Accurate databases are required to support screen population and call routing
Some of the common issues encountered when integrating computer telephony integrated systems with IT service
management systems include:
CTI is a systems integration project, not an off-the-shelf application and projects to integrate CTI with other systems
may be complex and costly
Callers may be required to input data to facilitate routing of their calls
• The organisation's telephone switch may not support external software integration

The Benefits of CTI

• Improved efficiency
• Automated responses and resolutions
• Analysts have rap id and dynamic access to customer details without asking
customers
• Delivers a professional customer service experience
Some of the most significant benefits of computer telephony integration is that it:
• Improves efficiency
• Can automate fast responses and resolutions
Provides analysts with rapid and dynamic access to customer details without needing to spend time asking customers
for the information
• It provides a slick and professional customer service experience
Generally speaking, a rapid return on investment is possible following the implementation of CTI. The higher the volume
of calls received by a service desk, the higher the potential return on investment (ROI)

Support Tools and Methodologies

• Assisted Service • Incident and request tracking
• Telephone • Self-help
• Desk side • Knowledge bases
• Electronic • Interactive Voice Response (IVR)
Remote suppo rt • On-line documentation and tutorials
E-mail
Collaboration tool s
Socia l media
• Self-service
• Self-logging
There are a wide variety of tools and methodologies that we can utilise for delivering support services. These include:
• Assisted service
• Telephone
• Desk side
• Electronic- for example
• Remote support
• E-mail
• Collaboration tools
• Social media
• Self-service
• Self-logging
• Incident and service desk request tracking
• Self-help applications
• Knowledge bases
• Interactive voice response (IVR)
• On-line documentation and tutorials

Telephone Support
• The most common, and certai nly the most t radit ional form of providing
support
• Purpose
Provide pt line support (someti mes 2nd line)
Bui ld relationsh ips t hrough di rect interaction
• Benefits
Rapid access to service desk staff
Interactive t wo-w ay comm unicati on
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This is the traditional and most common method of delivering support services. Its purpose is to provide quick access to
service desk staff and escalate calls to other support teams if the issue cannot be resolved over the telephone.
It typically provides first-line support, although it is increa singly common today t o see both first-line and second-line
t eams providing t elephone support in this manner, and it might be used in conjunction with remote support t echnologies
to assist in service restoration.
Telephone support reduces the resolution time and builds relationships with ou r customer through direct interaction.

Desk Side Support

• Purpose
When the interacti on cannot be resolved remote ly
Expertise at th e customer's physical location
• Benefits
Can establish better customer rapport
Environment viewed from customer's perspective
A better understanding of the customer's situation/environment is achieved
On-site (desk-side) support is typically used when the incident or service request cannot be resolved remotely. Its
purpose is to provide a support professional to visit a customer's physical location to respond to an incident or service
request.
One-to-one or face-to-face communication with customers should establish a greater rapport and understanding.
The analyst is able to see the situation from the customer's perspective; this should facilitate better understanding of the
customer's situation and/ or environment.

Electronic Support Tools

• Purpose
Restore technology to a function ing state
Overcome communication ba rriers
Enhance the customer relationship
• Objectives
Improve first contact resolution rate
Reduce t he number of esca lated cal ls
Reduce lost custom er p roduct ivity
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The purpose of using electronic support tools are:

• To restore customers (or rather, their technology, to enable them to get on with doing their work) to a functioning
state
• To overcome communication barriers
• To enhance the relationship between the customer and the service desk - electronic support tools encompass many
alternatives for support that, when used and supported well, prove beneficial and popular with customers
The objective of using electronic support tools are:

• To improve the first contact resolution rate
Reduce the number of escalated calls
Reduce lost customer productivity by reducing the time to resolution

Electronic Support Tools

• Benefits
Increased resolution rate per analyst
Analysts see what custom ers see
Provides an opportunity fo r analysts to educate customers to be more self-sufficient
The potent ial to restore servi ces f aster
The potentia l to improve customer satisfaction
Provides an element of governance
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The primary benefits to the service desk of using electronic support tools include the following:
• It reduces the unit cost (cost per incident or service request)
• It increases the number of incidents and service requests an analyst can handle
It allows analyst's to see what the customer sees (remote support only)
• Provides an opportunity for analysts to educate customers to be more self-sufficient
• Provides an element of governance
• The potential to restore services faster
• The potential to improve customer satisfaction

IT Self-service
• Allows customers t o m anage their IT inte ractions
• Reduces the cost of support
• Ext end s su pport beyond normal operating hours
• Customers get t he abi lit y to
Log and track t he status of t heir interactions
Updat e information for their interactions
Obt ai n notif icatio n about out ages and upcoming scheduled cha nges and maintenance
IT self-service provides customers with the facilities they need to manage their service desk interactions.
The purpose of IT self-service is to reduce the cost of support whilst exten ding support beyond the service desk's
operating hours.
The primary objectives of self-service are to provide customers with the ability to:
• Log and track the status of their incidents and requests for change
• Update their contact details
• Obtain notification of outages and upcoming scheduled changes and maintenance

The Benefits of IT Self-service

• Available 24x7
• Relieves pressure on the service desk
• Satisfies customer that prefer self-sufficiency
• Provides easy access for customers
• Lowers the cost of support
• Provides automatic information updates
• Customers can check the status of interactions
• Support resources can focus on other issues
Self-service offers considerably more than just incident and service request resolution options. Other benefits for both
analysts and customers include the following:
Is available 24x7, regardless of the service desk's operating hours
Relieves pressure on the service desk
Offers an alternative channel for obtaining support
Lowers the cost of support
Provides easy access for customers
Automatically updates customers with information about their current incidents or service requests
Allows customers to log and check the status of their current incidents or service requests
• Support resources can focus on other issues
Common issues encountered when introducing self-service tools could include:

• Customer resistance, depending on levels of IT maturity
• IT needs to be highly professional in its use of tools for logging updates
• Some customers may not call IT when they really need to
• Systems need to be carefully monitored and levels of use checked for relevance

Self-help Technology
• Customers can resolve simple issues themselves
• Delivered 24x7, regardless of operating hours
• Customers can get access to
Basic support tools
Service documentation
Trainin g and on-line tut orials
On-li ne knowledge bases
Techni cal instru ction s
Self-help provides customers with the facility to resolve simple issues themselves. It is available 24x7 regardless of service
desk operating hours.
The purpose of self-help is to reduce the number of inbound interactions for simple incidents and service requests in
order to free up support resources to deal with more complex issues and to enhance the customer experience.
The primary objectives of self-help are to provide customers with access to service without the assistance of an analyst,
for example:
• Access to basic support tools, such as:
• Simple incident resolution
• Automated password resets
• Access to documentation, for example, self-help manuals policies and procedures, SLAs
• Access to training and on-line tutorials to improve customers' IT knowledge
• Access to on-line knowledge bases
• Access to technical instructions, such as software usage and installations

The Benefits of Self-help Technology

• Faster incident or request resolution
• Assistance with the need of an analyst
• Enables independence and self-sufficiency
• Cost effective and consistent responses
• Improved customer satisfaction and productivity
• Empowers customers and improves their experience
The benefits of using self-help as a service delivery method include:

• Offers faster incident or service request resolution
• Enables customers to resolve simple incidents without the assistance of an analyst, for example, password resets,
adding printers
• Enables independence and self-sufficiency
• Provides cost effective and consistent responses to repetitive service requests
• Has the potential to improve customer satisfaction and productivity
• Empowers customers and improves their experience

Self-healing Tools
• No need for customers to report incidents
• System based error detection and correction
• Dynamic and automatic resolution
• Human intervention not required
• Provides proactive monitoring and alerting of service outages
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The purpose of self-healing tools is to resolve incidents and problems dynamically and automatically without customers
needing to report them to us.
Self-healing tools provide systems that can identify their own errors and can correct them without the need for human
intervention and they also provide proactive monitoring and alerting of service outages.
For self-healing tools to work effectively they require the tool supplier to ensure that all product profiles are up-to-date.

The Objectives of Self-healing Tools

• Self-healing tools recognise
Events and initiate predetermined responses
Failure conditions and initiate corrective actions
Corruption and restore the system from a backup
·They can automatically
Reset applications and key files
- Update registry settings
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The primary objectives of self-healing tools are to:

• Recognise when an event has occurred and initiate pre-determined actions and responses
• Recognise system failure conditions and initiate corrective actions to restore a system to a functioning state
Recognise corruption and restore the system from a backup
• Automatically reset applications
• Automatically run anti-virus applications
• Automatically update registry settings
• Automatically reset key files every time a customer executes an application

The Benefits of Self-healing Tools

• Increased productivity and service availability
• Reduced cost and need for reactive support
• Improved utilisation of IT staff
• Automated system recovery or workarounds
• Reduced resolution time for some incidents
• Seamless service provision
• Improved customer experience
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The benefits of self-healing as a service delivery method are these: it can increase productivity, reduce the cost of
support, improve the effective utilisation of support staff, reduce incident resolution time and reduce the need for
reactive support staff. It can also improve the customer experience.
There are however, some common issues such as:

• The lack of a single standard
• Reducing the need for reactive staff could result in a reduction in customer satisfaction levels and produce negative
attitudes within IT
• Integration of self-healing tools with existing systems may not work as well as expected

Cloud Computing
• Internet based access to technology enabled services
Infrastructure-as-a-Service (Ia aS)

Platform-as-a-Service {PaaS)
Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)
Business Process-as-a-Service (BPaaS)
Cloud computing is the delivery of computing as a service rather than a product, whereby shared resources, software,
and information are provided to computers and other devices as a metered service over a network (typically the
Internet). Cloud computing provides computation, software, data access, and storage resources without requiring cloud
users to know the location and other details of the computing infrastructure. End users access cloud based applications
through a web browser or a light weight desktop (thin client) or mobile app while the business software and data are
stored on servers at a remote location.
Infrastructure-as-a-Service (laaS) Cloud infrastructure services, also known as 'infrastructure as a service' (laaS),
deliver computer infrastructure- typically a platform virtualization environment- as a service, along with raw (block)
storage and networking. Rather than purchasing servers, software, data-center space or network equipment, clients
instead buy those resources as a fully outsourced service. Suppliers typically bill such services on a utility computing
basis; the amount of resources consumed (and therefore the cost) will typically reflect the level of activity.
Platform-as-a-Service Cloud platform services, also known as platform as a service (PaaS), deliver a computing
platform and/or solution stack as a service, often consuming cloud infrastructure and sustaining cloud applications. It
facilitates deployment of applications without the cost and complexity of buying and managing the underlying
hardware and software layers.
• Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), sometimes referred to as 'on-demand software,' is a software delivery model in which
software and its associated data are hosted centrally (typically in the Internet cloud) and are typically accessed by
people using a thin client, normally using a web browser over the Internet.
Business Process-as-a-service BPaaS is business process outsourcing run as a cloud service. For example, human
resources as a service. Business process outsourcing is a form of outsourcing that involves the contracting the
operations and responsibility of a specific business function or process to as third party service provider.

Social Media
• Social interaction based technology to create on-line communities
• Share knowledge and connect people to information faster
Comprises internet and mobile
Build communities
Develops collaborative relation ships
Content consumers to producers
Because of the exponential growth of social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, our customers now expect us
to offer the same level of effective and convenient communication.
Social media is the use of technology combined with social interaction to create on-line communities, share knowledge
and connect people to information faster, for example, forums, on-line communities, blogs, podcasts.
Social media primarily comprises Internet and mobile tools using words, pictures, audio and video. Its aim is to transform
people from content consumers into content producers and to enable organisations to build on-line communities in order
to develop stronger relationships with their customers and markets.

Social Collaboration
• Digital tools and processes allowing multiple people to interact and share
information
• Working towards a common goal, participants
Share mutual understanding
Respect each other
Represent communities affected by its activities
Believe they will benefit from being involved
Believe the advantage gained from collaborating will offset costs
Social collaboration refers to tools and processes that help multiple people interact and share information to achieve any
common goal, commonly using digital technologies.
• Participants share a mutual understanding and respect for each other
• The group includes representatives from each segment of the community who will be affected by its activities
• Participants believe they will benefit from their involvement and that the advantages of the collaboration will offset
costs

Social Media- Improved Productivity

• Breaks down knowledge silos in the IT community
• Leads to greater innovation
• Incident identification using real-time monitoring
• Improved IT/business collaboration
• Can empower the customer community
• Reduces calls or requests to the service desk
• Faster dissemination of updates and news
Productivity improvements associated with social media and collaboration tools include:
• Breaks down silos of knowledge in the IT community
• Collaboration, knowledge and sharing ideas leads to innovation
• Faster incident identification using real-time monitoring and customer call logging
• Improved IT/business collaboration, for example, virtual change advisory board (CAB)
• Immediate access to knowledge empowers the customer community
• Knowledge sharing reduces calls or requests to the service desk
• Faster dissemination of service updates and relevant news

Social Media - Policy Development

• Must support organisational policy
• Represent the service desk in development
• Consider the following implications
Training requ irements
Current processes and procedures
Risk factors
Data secu ritv
To assist in developing a social media and social collaboration policy:

• Represent the service desk in organisational social media and social collaboration policy development initiatives
• Consider the training requirements for service desk staff
• Consider the effect of the policy on current service desk processes and procedures
• Consider risk factors such as to brand and reputation
• Consider the effect of the policy on data security

Social Media - Risks and Security

• Risk factors and security issues may include
Malicious code and virus distribution
Spam, phishing, vishing hacking
Fraud
Negative comments in th e public domain
Employee productivity
Sharing of confidentia l information
Use of sites that might be blocked by fi rewalls
Confidence and ski ll of employees
Using the right tools for the audience
The risk fa ctors and security issues encountered when using social media tools include:
• Malicious code and virus distribution
• Spam, phishing, vishing hacking
• Fraud
• Negative comments or feedback in the public domain
• Employee productivity
• Sharing of confidential information
• Use of sites that might be blocked by the organisation's firewall s
• Confidence and skill of employees
• Not using the right tool for the customers/audience

Section 8
Staff Recruitment, Retention

and Development

Section 8- Staff Recruitment, Retention and Development
Recruitment, Retention Development

• In any organisation people are the ultimate success factor
• People are our most valuable and most expensive asset
• We need to help staff obtain and refine the skills that will help them be
successful
As with any organisation or business unit, people are the ultimate success factor. They form the most valuable and most
expensive asset base. We need to focus time, effort and resources to help our staff obtain and refine the skills that will
help them be successful an in return help to delivery our objectives and the organisational goals.

Recruitment -The First Steps

• Identify competencies necessary for the position
• Job descriptions and role profiles should be
Up to date
- Properly reflect the activities required
• Perform a skills gap analysis
• Identify the appropriate salary for the position
• Follow the organisation's recruitment processes and procedures
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Firstly, before you start recruiting you must know what skills your team has at the moment, and what skills are needed
both now and for the future. You must understand the culture of your organisation and of your support environment-
otherwise you will not successfully match candidates to jobs. It is important that you place the right people in the right
job.
The requirements for effective service desk recruitment include:

• Identify the competencies necessary for the position
• Ensure job descriptions and role profiles are up to date and properly reflect the activities the candidate will be
required to perform
• Perform a skills gap analysis
• Identify the appropriate salary for the position
• Follow the organisation's recruitment processes and procedures
But most importantly, you must ensure that you follow your organisation's recruitment processes and procedures. We
also need to be aware of the elements of a effective and structured recruitment process.

The Interview Process

• Use a structured process for interviews
• Conduct an application review
• Create your short list for interview
• Consider involving team members in interviews
• Undertake telephone interviews
• Verify references
• Consider other evaluation techniques
We also need to be aware of the elements included in an effective and structured recruitment process:
• Use a carefully structured and defined process for your interviews
• Conduct an application review
• Create your short list for interview- based on objective criteria
• You may wish to involve your model team members in the interview and selection process
• Undertake telephone interviews- this is particularly important if your new recruits will be working primarily on the
telephone
• Verify references
• Consider the use of relevant evaluation techniques such as psychometric testing to ensure suitability of the candidate
Have the expectation that the candidate will stay working on the service desk for at least 18 months to 2 years and will
receive ample and worth-while training during that time.

Recruitment Attributes (Qualities}

• Accepts change and adapts easily • Personal accountability
• Learns quickly • Self-motivated
• Multi-tasks • Team player
• Problem-solver • Continually improves
• Customer service ethos
• Calm under pressure
• Good temperament (patient, empathetic)
• Follows processes, policies, procedures and guidelines
Profiling your most successful team members in order to understand what attributes and skills make them successful in
delivering excellent customer support will help you define exactly what you're looking for when you recruit additional
team members. By analysing in detail each position in your operation, you'll be able to identify the necessary qualities
and skills you ideal candidate must possess.
The following list contains the most frequently cited attribute requirements, but there are many more:
• Accepts change and adapts easily
• Learns quickly
• Multi-tasks
• Good temperament (patient, empathetic)
• Problem-solver
• Demonstrates a clear customer service ethos
• Self-motivated
• Team player
• Follows processes, policies, procedures and guidelines
• Continually improves their performance
• Stays calm when under pressure
• Accepts personal accountability

Recruitment Skills (Abilities)

• Communication
• Knowledge
• Customer service
·Troubleshooting
• Problem solving
• Time management
• Organisational skills
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The following list contains the most frequently cited skill requirements, but there are many more:
• Communication:
• Listening
• Writing
• Questioning
• Verbal
• Non verbal
• Questioning
• Knowledge
• Technical
• Business
• ITSM (useful)
• Customer service
• Trouble shooting
• Problem solving
• Time management/personal organisational skills

Structured Induction and Training

• Induction and training should be
Thoroughly planned
Properly thought-out
Documented and structured
It is essential that you should have a documented, well-thought-out and well structured induction plan for your new team
members.
Being the newcomer to a team or to an organisation is a very stressful time (and possibly for existing team members too);
don't add to this by not planning the activities required to bring them on board and up-to-speed.

A Structured Approach to Induction

• A task list of key pre-induction activities
• A standard agenda of key points to cover
• Define milestones and schedule regular process reviews
• Agree on the key individuals to be involved
• Review the mechanism and the ownership of the process
We recommend that the following areas should be addressed in the structured induction planning process for all IT and
service desk staff:
• A task list of key pre-induction activities:
• Login set up and staffing rota plan -and make sure they have a desk, computer, stationery
• A standard agenda of key points to cover:
• The organisation's goals, structure and key contacts
• Human resources and employment issues- these will very often be addressed by your HR department;
however, ensure it is covered appropriately, and ensure YOU know what has been covered
• IT goals, the services delivered and their associated SLAs
• IT security and the organisation's policies
• Processes and procedures
• Customers and IT contacts
• Technical data
• Define milestones and scheduling regular process reviews
• Agree the key individuals to be involved in the process
• Review the mechanism of the process and the ownership of the content

The Benefits of a Structured Induction

• Reduces
Time to get new staff working effectively
Risk of basic errors and misunderstandings
Risk of adopting bad habits
• A focus on coordinated activities improves communications across
departments
lffor no other reason than the items listed below, you should have a properly planned and structured induction plan in
operation for your service desk.
The primary benefits of a structured approach to induction include:

• Reduces the time to get new staff working effectively
• Reduces the risk of basic errors and misunderstandings
• Reduces the risk of adopting bad habits
• A focus on coordinated activities improves communications across departments

A Structured Approach to Training

• A structured training plan for all staff
• A skills matrix for all staff
• A training budget with a set allocation of training days
• A train ing plan linked to role, KPis, career goals
• The plan is reviewed regularly by staff and managers
• Feedback is used to develop training programmes
• Feedback from reviews and appraisals is held in HR records and reviewed
annually
• There is a review mechanism for the training process
• Training content ownership is identified
In any organisation people are the ultimate success factor. People are both your most valuable and most expensive asset,
and you must invest in them to be successful. How to find, and keep, good people is a constant source of discussion.
One way is to help staff obtain and refine the skills that will help them be successful. It won't solve everything, but to
ignore this worthwhile investment in your staff would be foolish. Your staff must have the skill sets necessary to perform
their roles effectively; you cannot expect them to do this successfully without training them so that they can achieve a
certain mastery of the required skills.
A structured approach to training should ensure that:

• A structured training plan for all IT staff, at all levels, is in place
• A skills matrix that contains both soft and technical skills is in place for all staff
• You need to know what you have got; what you need; the strengths and weaknesses of individuals as well as
the whole team
• A training budget is in place with a set allocation for staff training days
• The training plan is linked to the job role and KPis, plus career goals
• The training plan is reviewed by staff and manager at least annually to ensure that it is working effectively for all
parties
• Feedback from reviews and appraisals is used to develop practical training programs for both individuals and the team
• All feedback from reviews and appraisals is held in human resource records and is reviewed annually
• There is a clear review mechanism for the induction process, and ownership of the content is identified
There are some additional considerations that will help you to do the best you can for your team:
• Make the job worthwhile for the employee
• Put in place a career path
• Develop reward and recognition programs
• Ensure timely and open communication
• Provide continual training for both technical and non-technical skills

The Benefits of Structured Training

• Up-to-date knowledge and skills
• Improved staff productivity and consistency
• Reduced risk of errors and failures
• Reduced cost of failures
• More effective use of training budget
• Improved morale
• Improved job satisfaction
The primary benefits of a structured approach to training are:

• Improved staff productivity and consistency
• Up to date knowledge and skills
• Reduced risk of errors and failure
• Reduced cost of failure
• More effective use of the training budget
• Improved morale
• Improved job satisfaction

Skills and Knowledge

• Technical
• Business
• Infrastructure
• Soft Skills
Competence
As you can see there are 4 broad categories- technical, business, infrastructure skills (not just technical infrastructure,
but also how things get done within the organisation) and soft skills that SDI recommend you include in your training and
development plans.
• Technical skills- Does the employee have enough technical, product or service knowledge to be competent? Since
this is a quality measurement and should be in alignment with both personal goals and the goals of the organisation,
how are you measuring whether or not your employees have the required knowledge? There are different methods
available:
• Testing can be used for technical knowledge. Most tests need to be a validated test
Certification can be a useful method and provide some assurance of competence. But, be aware that because
someone may be certified in something, they still may not be able to exhibit and use the skills effectively
Resolution rates are another indication of technical competence. Resolution rates that are continually below
average indicate a need for additional technical training
Customer satisfaction surveys will also point out areas for improvement
(Issues; one of the quickest ways to de-motivate an employee is to tell them they need to support product X
beginning on Monday, and there is no training available- good luck. Most support professionals thrive on being
able to solve customer's issues, but without appropriate training there will inevitably be a shortfall in the number
of issues that can be resolved at the first level. Staff will become more stressed if they continually have to
attempt to learn how to use and/or support new technology without the benefit of any training. As a result of
this patchy knowledge, fewer incidents will be resolved at the first level. This will have a direct impact on your
entire support organisation and it is probable that customer perception and expectation gaps will continue to
widen.)
Technical training may include the following:
Standard software used in your organisation
Proprietary software used in your organisation
How to use the phone system
Networks
• Telecommunications
Business knowledge- It is easy to underestimate or even ignore the importance of business knowledge. Business
knowledge also refers to understanding the impact on the customer when a product, service, or technology you are
supporting fails. This knowledge is critically important to the customer's perception of service quality. The most
technically competent support person will not be able to provide the appropriate assurance to the customer that they
understand the issue, unless they demonstrate an understanding of the issue's impact from the perspective of the

customer. Managers may lack this critical understanding, as may members of their team. When providing
support or managing the support process, understanding the impact of the failure of a product or service on
your customer's business or life-style will help you make decisions that are appropriate for all concerned.
Understanding your business helps you to determine what type of person you need to recruit. Be careful about
establishing recruitment requirements that may prohibit you from being able to fill the position.
Infrastructure skills- There is generally very little formal training available to train employees in infrastructure
skills. The main method for acquiring these skills is experience and mentoring within the organisation.
• Soft skills- These are the intangibles, which surround support. The requirement for service desk staff is that
they should be able to address a customer's psychological AND business (technical) needs. Failure to do so will
result in an unsatisfactory perception of the quality of your support staff. Soft skills are what customers
ultimately tend to remember about support interactions, and it is a wise manager who looks to recruit staff that
have the right qualities or attributes: the customer service attitude. You can teach them technical skills, you
cannot teach them the interpersonal qualities that are required.

Retain Staff with A Positive Environment

• Respect
• Recognition
• Communicate team goals
• Celebrate success
• Competitive benefits package
• Involve employees in decision making
• Seek feedback
• Create learning opportunities
• Create a sense of belonging
• Share information
• Consider offering flexible work schedules
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We recommend that the following actions, attitudes and activities are part of your management approach to creating a
positive working environment for all your staff:
• Treat everyone with respect- always
• Recognise team and individual accomplishments whether it is for an exceptional level of performance, or consistent
maintenance of a defined level
• Communicate team goals; you cannot expect your team members to work effectively and productively as part of the
team if they don't know or don't understand the goals of the team
• Communicate and celebrate success- do not emphasise or concentrate on failures; make sure that any successes are
applauded appropriately
• Offer a competitive benefits package- do everything you can to ensure that your pay scales are at least in line with
regional and/or national averages
• Involve employees in decision making- this encourages participation and demonstrates that they are valued
• Seek feedback from your staff about the job they do, they are the ones doing it and therefore have the most accurate
and meaningful feedback about it. They can tell you what works, what doesn't work and what could be improved
• Create learning opportunities and a sense of belonging, share information and consider flexible work schedules

Retain Staff with Long-term Relationships

• Treat team members fairly and with respect
• Review your team structure
• Provide opportunities to use a variety of skills
• Delegate authority for decision making
• Be consistent
• Be supportive
• Evaluate and develop team members
• Build a skills matrix to help develop training plans
• Provide career and personal development opportunities
• Encourage feedback and new ideas
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If you wish to achieve long-term working relationships with your team members then you must ensure that you are
consistent in the way you treat them and you must treat them fairly and with respect and delegate decision-making when
appropriate.
Review the structure of your team to ensure that everyone has an opportunity to use their skills to best effect, and to use
a variety of skills. You also need to make sure that you provide appropriate support for your team members in order to
help them reach and maintain their optimum level of performance.
You need to evaluate the performance of team members on a regular basis, and develop a skills matrix of that shows
their actual skills level and the target to achieve- this can be used to develop the most appropriate training plan for each
member of the team .
Provide every member of your team with the career and personal development opportunities that they strive for, and
always be supportive of each individual to facilitate optimum performance from them and to encourage feedback and
new ideas.
When developed and run effectively a team can be used to pool the ideas and experiences of its members. An effective
team should be able to share experiences and ideas and provide each other feedback. By sharing experiences, teams can
generate insight and become effective problem solvers through a collaborated effort

Retain Staff by Managing Performance

• Ensure the policies are followed
• Handle issues in a timely manner
• Be specific and not general in your discussions
• Discuss the causes of the issue before the solution
• Keep your focus on the specific issue/behaviour
• Explain the importance of change
• Discuss potential growth opportunities
• Focus on changing the behaviour not the person
• Communicate the desired outcome of the change
• Document follow-up actions
You work hard to achieve high levels of customer and employee satisfaction. You have done all the right things and you
have provided for all of the employee's needs. You are successful, right? Well not always!
Unfortunately, we cannot always recruit the perfect employee nor can we create an environment that is ideal for
everyone. We cannot anticipate the situations that can influence our employee's personal lives and affect their
professional well-being.
All of us have to, or will have to, deal with performance deficiencies among our staff. The best approach is to be
prepared, and to be consistent in what you do and how you do it. This is usually a difficult process for both parties and
must be handled constructively and with care. Your organisation will have a policy for addressing these situations, which
you must always follow. Here are some important tips for success in handling deficiencies in performance:
• It is important that you do not allow any performance issues to drift, they should be addressed promptly and not put
off until a later date or time, and be specific: this is not, or should not be, a general discussion
• Discuss the cause(s) of the issue before offering a solution. The solution will often become apparent to your employee
themselves during the discussion
• Maintain a focus on the specific performance issue during your session- and do not allow the employee to redirect
responsibility for their actions
Explain why it is important for them to change, not only for themselves but also for the team, and discuss the
potential growth opportunities the change will open up for them.
• Focus on changing the behaviour rather than changing the person while ensuring that you communicate the desired
outcome.
• Communicate the desired state and the desired outcome clearly and not ambiguously (what you expect the employee
to do, the expected results)
• Ensure the employee understands the performance or behavioral issues, and be sure to listen to what he or she says,
both verbally and non-verbally.
• Document all follow-up actions, and make sure the employee has a copy.
Most businesses today use formal review systems and detailed job descriptions. These are extremely effective tools in
delivering your message regarding your expectations and the deliverables you require from your team.
You should explain to all your staff exactly what the performance evaluation process is, the purpose of it and the benefits
that support it.

Performance evaluations typically include rating scales and measurement criteria for capturing an individual's
performance against expectations. An individual's performance is usually measured against rating scales for poor or
below average performance through to exceptional or above average performance. It is not unusual to expect most
of your staff to fall in the acceptable or good range with smaller numbers of them falling into the poor or
exceptional ranges.
The formal performance review process should be administered at least annually, should cite specific incidents of
performance and provide detailed suggestions for the individual to attain higher performance ratings during
subsequent appraisals. A copy of the final document must always be filed with your HR department.

Measuring Satisfaction and Engagement

• Structured feedback mechanisms
• Regular 'one-to-ones' with staff and managers
• Feedback from team discussions
• Informal and social interaction
• Observing changes in performance
• Staff morale a regular item at management meetings
• Regular reviews of absenteeism data
• Exit interviews
It is very easy for a service desk working under pressure to find itself with a de motivated workforce and excessive
employee turnover. Left unattended we run the risk of alienating our employees and of allowing employee frustrations to
boil over resulting in us being faced with a problem that can't be ignored. Satisfied staff tend to be more willing and more
productive. They enjoy being at work; they feel that they are cared about; that their opinions are listened to and
respected . Whilst you may have a 'gut feeling' about how satisfied or otherwise your staff may be, and it may well be an
accurate feeling, you cannot know in detail what they are feeling less than happy about (or, of course, very happy!) unless
you ask carefully thought-out and revealing questions; nor will you obtain this information if they don't trust you, or if you
don't really know the individuals in your team very well. Until you know, you cannot act.
The following are common barriers to attaining productivity:

Insufficient coaching
• Out of touch management
• Old-fashioned working methods
• Lack of correct tools and equipment
So how do we go about finding out where the problem lies?
If we make communication between ourselves and our staff difficult we can delude ourselves into thinking our workforce
is content when it's not. It only takes one small problem and one unhappy employee to feel aggrieved, for a whole
workforce to develop a damaging 'them and us' attitude.
There are a number of tried and tested methods that we can adopt for gathering employee satisfaction information.
These include:
• Structured feedback mechanisms (internal surveys, appraisal process)
Regular 'one-to-ones' with staff and managers
• Feedback from team discussions
• Informal and social interaction
• Observing changes in team and individual performance
• Keeping staff morale as a regular item at management meetings
• Regular reviews of absenteeism data
• Exit interviews

Staffing Strategy
• Complex and often difficult to establish
• Staff are often 60-70% of the budget
• A forma l staffing model is needed
Identifies basic requirements to function
- Supports staffing requests to management
• Three main staffing level models
Guesswork
Ratios
Service level models
Staffing strategy is one of the hottest topics in the support industry. With the changing role of support, increased
responsibilities, increased volumes and issue complexity, the questions " how many staff do I need?", "when do I need
them?", "where do I need them?" and "what type of staff do I need?" are continually being asked by support managers.
Staffing is often a subject that service desk and support managers and call center managers struggle with. A formal
staffing model is needed to establish basic requirements, as well as to support staffing requests to management.
Staffing typically takes up between 60-70% of most budgets. Since staff take up such a large percentage of the budget, it
is an important part of your strategy to make sure that your desk has the right amount of staff without going over budget.
Managers must determine how many people are needed to handle the workload and maintain the service levels that
have been agreed with its customers.
There are three main techniques commonly used to determine staffing levels for a service desk:
• Guesswork - The simplest technique. This may be of interest to those starting up a service desk and who have no
history of workload, or calls received and made, available to them. It is also a useful method to use if you have a desk
that has been in operation for some time but do not have any data regarding call volume or type recorded .
• Ratios- This method can be used if we determine the following types of ratios, for example: analysts per workstation;
calls per person. The advantages of this method are: it is very simple, most managers already understand ratios, it is
reasonably easy to construct.
• Service level model- This is a step above the ratio model. Service criteria such as average wait time and average
speed of answer are included in this model. Based on such criteria, the model will enable us to work out how many
staff we need. Service level models relate how many people we have to what kind of performance we can expect.

Section 8 - Staff Recruitment, Retention and Development
Common Staffing Pitfalls

• Relationships between staffing needs and desired service levels often difficult
to establish
• Staffing to shortfalls rather than to demand
• Failing to account for indirect activities
• Little coordination service level objectives
There are some common pitfalls to staffing models:

• Even though organisations may talk about wanting to provide excellent customer service, all too often there is no
relationship between staffing needs and the desired service levels.
• Most organisations don't staff to meet demand, but staff in response to capacity shortfalls.
• Staffing methods often fail to account for necessary indirect activities such as training or project work.
• Staffing levels are not coordinated with service level objectives often enough.

The Advantage of Using a Staffing Model

• Models can be used in reverse
• The number of people and their capacity can help to demonstrate achievable
service levels
• Useful in a resource constraint situation
• Can help make management aware of the consequences of resourcing
decisions
Some of these models can be used in reverse. If we know how many people we will have, we can set an expectation as to
what level of service we will be able to provide. This can be useful if we are in a resource constraint situation. For
example, if management tells us that whilst they understand our argument, we can only have 15 people instead of the 20
needed, using a service level model, or a ratio model, we can explain to them that if we only have 15 people instead of
20, the average speed of answer will not be 30 seconds, but 45 seconds. This at least will make management aware of the
consequences of their decisions.

Section 9
Leadership and Management

Section 9 - Leadership and Management
Characteristics of Effective Management

• Implements the mission
• Has tactical and strategic views of the business
• Develops and produces plans
• Ensures work performed by staff is done correctly
• Encourages others to take on additional responsibilities
• Develops and implements effective procedures
• Promotes the service desk and organisation
The characteristics of effective management include:

• The mission is successfully implemented
• Tactical and strategic views are evident and planning takes place
• Work is performed correctly
• People are encouraged to take on additional responsibility
• Effective procedures are developed and implemented
• The service desk and the organisation's business is effectively promoted

Major Activities of Effective Management

• Planning
• Organising resources
• Directing, controlling and co-ordinating
As a manager, in addition to everything else that you are tasked with, you must never- ever- let go of the critical
activities that are expected of the best managers. These activities are:
• Planning
• Organising resources
• Directing, controlling and coordinating the activities of the team

Section 9 - Leadership and M anagement
Planning
• The types of planning are
Strategic planning (3-5 years)
Tactical planning (1-2 years)
Operational planning (short-term to 1 year)
• Consider contingency planning
The types of planning that we have mentioned previously are planning at strategic, tactical and operational (or day-to-
day) levels. You will need to be capable of creating and seeing through plans at all three levels whilst also being able to
change/amend/abandon your plans in line with changing business requirements. The keywords for successful planning
are adaptability and flexibility.
• Strategic - long-term plans, commonly 3-5 years, sometimes longer will depend on your organisation. In order to
remain in line with the way organisation does things you should work the same way and be comfortable doing so. A
strategic plan is the long-term vision of what an organisation needs to achieve to meets its objectives.
• Tactical - medium t erm plans, commonly 1-2 years. These are the detailed plans that define how we will achieve the
objectives set in the strategic plans.
Operational- short-term plans from right now up to maybe one year ahead. These are the short-term day-to-day w ork
routine and activities that focus on operational tasks and long-term projects.
The final type of planning that a service desk and support manager must undertake is contingency planning. This relates
to the 'what ifs' that we must ask in order to anticipate issues and problems and be able to deal with them in a proactive
manner.

Planning for Success

• Define mission objectives
• Develop short, medium and long term tactical objectives to help meet
strategic goals
• Assess and manage risks
• Set goals and objectives
• Set budgets
• Review and develop new policies, processes and service improvement plans
The elements required for developing successful plans include:

• Defining the objective of the mission
• Develop short, medium and long term objectives designed to help meet strategic goals
• Assessing and managing risks
• Setting goals and objectives
• Setting budgets
• Reviewing and developing new processes and service improvement plans

Successfully Organising Resources

• Define appropriate structure
• Identify resource requirements
• Align resources to projects/activities
• Identify required skills
• Resources are in the right place at the right time
With the correct skills
Wit h the correct attitude
It is extremely important that you organise your resources the effectively to enable the success of your plans. These are
the activities that you should undertake:
• Define the most effective structure for your team, in line with business requirements
Identify resource requirements accurately
• Align the correct resources to projects and activities
• Identify the required skills for the projects and activities
• Make sure you have the requisite resources in the right place, with the correct skills and the right attitude and
approach, at the right time

Direct, Control and Co-ordinate

• Set the direction of team and individuals
• Delegate and empower
• Prioritise of tasks
• Provide guidance when required
• Obtain feedback, monitor, analyse and recommend
Processes
Procedures
Systems
Resources
• Review und report
As already highlighted, you should be 'hands off' not 'hands on' as a manager. You cannot be hands on, involved in taking
calls or fixing technical issues and be a truly successful and effective manager.
You need to set the direction of your team and the individuals, and be able to influence them so that they want to
contribute to the team's success. You need to be effective at delegation and empowerment where it is appropriate. You
must be extremely good at prioritising tasks and activities appropriately (as we've already discussed, part of your planning
function is to be extremely adaptable and flexible). You should provide guidance when required but ensure that you do
not end up micro-managing people or worse, doing their job for them. As the service desk and support manager you are
very well placed to have an overall view of the effectiveness of the IT support environment. You should obtain feedback,
monitor, analyse and make recommendations for improvements on your:
Processes
Procedures
Systems
Resources
You can then produce clear and concise management reports that are written in business language. These reports should
clearly indicate areas that require addressing, and your recommendations for how to achieve the changes.
Failure to undertake these activities will mean that your team will inevitably be working in reactive mode, and that any
weaknesses in either your operations or systems, or those of the business and/or the support function overall, may not
be noticed.
Weaknesses in processes will slow you down and make your team less than effective, as will inappropriately designed
systems. Weaknesses in your resources (your team) will, again, hinder your efforts to be an effective and valuable part of
the business.

Characteristics of Effective Leadership

• Separate leadership and management
• Communicate the vision and strategic direction
• Create a trusting environment and displays trust
• Lead by example
• Delegate appropriately and effectively
• Share information appropriately
• Have a positive attitude
• Inspire staff to be successful
• Motivate and mentor
• Encourage participation
Good leaders can be defined as how a person influences others to accomplish an objective. Leaders do this by using their
leadership qualities- their beliefs, ethics, values, skills, character and knowledge.
The manager's job is to plan, organise and coordinate. Good leaders inspire, motivate and set new directions or visions
and:
• Recognise the difference between leadership and management
• Define and communicate the vision and strategic direction to staff
• Create an environment in which staff feel confident to make decisions and take ownership
• Lead by example
• Delegate appropriately
• Display trust
• Share information appropriately
• Maintain a positive perspective
• Inspire service desk staff to undertake activities to achieve success
• Motivate and mentor
© Syzygal Limited 2017 I Page 27S

Characteristics of Effective Leadership

• Discourage domination
• Practice and encourage fairness
• Encourage creativity and initiative
• Makes decisions, even unpopular ones
• Recognise differing needs and abilities of staff
• Provide effective incentives
• Successfully execute plans
• Demand more of yourself
• Encourage personal development
• Practice communication skills
The manager's job is to plan, organise and coordinate. Good leaders inspire, motivate and set new directions or visions
and:
• Discourage one person from dominating the team
• Provide effective incentives
• Delegate effectively
• Encourage creativity and initiative in others
• Practice and encourage fairness
• Make decisions, even when they might be unpopular
• Execute plans successfully
• Demand more from themselves than from others
• Practice and encourage continual personal development
• Assess and work with differing needs and abilities of their staff
• Demonstrate effective, clear and concise communication skills

Motivations for Effective Leadership

• Motivation
- An interna l desire or urge t hat cau ses people to do th ings
• Leadership and motivation

Leadership is the ability to get a person to do what you want, when you want it done, in
a way you want it done, because the person wants to do it
Dwight D Eisenhower
Because most organisations today are operating as 'leanly' as possible, your team needs to be motivated to enable them
to perform at a consistently high level. Motivation happens when the team believes that what they are doing is important
and when processes are in place that allow them to be successful.
The people providing support must be motivated to perform their function well. They must understand why their
function is important, receive satisfaction from their work, and feel supported by management and peers for their efforts.
Recruiting, retaining and motivating your staff is critical to the success of your team. One of the greatest challenges you
will face is the continual motivation of your employees. The good news is that motivation is possible. The bad news is that
you cannot motivate your employees.
Motivation is an internal urge that causes people to do things. As a manager or leader you can create an environment
that permits motivation to take place and remove demotivating factors. Leadership and motivation are best described by
Dwight D. Eisenhower, " Leadership is the ability to get a person to do what you want, when you want it done, in a way
you w ant it done, because the person wants to do it".

The Benefits of Motivation

• Innovation is encouraged
• People are inspired to achieve new visions
• Inspires delivery of consistent, high-quality service
• Commitment to the aspirations of the service desk
• Staff retention is improved
The benefits of motivation are many, but some of the key benefits are these:
Innovation is encouraged, not frowned upon
Responsible risk taking is encouraged
People are inspired to achieve new visions
It inspires delivery of consistent high - quality service
It encourages commitment to the service desk's aspirations
It improves staff retention

Motivational Factors
• Sense of achievement
• Recognition
• Work itself
• Responsibility
• Advancement
·Growth
• Benefit package, if above average
The following are all areas that motivate employees. As a manager, it is your job to determine which of these factors are
more important to each of your employees:
Achievement: A feeling of accomplishment: 'What value did I add to the organisation?'
Recognition: People like to be told thank you, great job; reward them for future behaviour.
The work itself: If you want someone to do a good job, give him or her a good job to do.
Responsibility: Make their job worthwhile. Make sure they do more than answer the phone and log Incidents.
Advancement: What are the career opportunities within your organisation?
Growth: Continual training and development for both job and non-job-related functions provides on-going growth and
development for an employee.

Maintaining a Positive Environment

• Daily 5-minute meetings
• Scheduled team meetings
• Provide timely recognition
• Scheduled department team meetings
• Focus on the positive, not the negative
1
p
An open, communicative and positive environment is one of the keys to a successful, productive and healthy service desk.
Your staff will be more positive and will work better as a team when there is open, honest, and timely communication.
Satisfied and productive staff generally means motivated staff.
Maintaining a positive environment can be challenging at times, and you have to remember that your team will take their
lead from you, so it really is important that you set the behavioral example. We recommend you incorporate some of
these activities to help you with this task:
• Hold daily 5-minute meetings to ensure information is shared promptly.
• Hold frequent and consistently scheduled staff meetings that provide an opportunity for downward, upward and
horizontal communication to take place .
Provide timely recognition for a job well done.
• Hold regularly scheduled meetings with other support teams/departments.
• Keep your focus on the positive and not the negative.

Improving Performance
• Review and analyse past successes
• Implement continual improvement programmes
• Develop programmes that reward initiative
• Test staff on what is required to fulfil their role
• Set challenging but achievable goals
• Benchmark with best practice and other service desks
As a manager, it is important for you to understand the ways in which you can maintain and further enhance the
development of your staff and the performance of your desk. Some of the methods we recommend include:
• Reviewing and analysing past successes (of the team and the individual) in order to identify strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities and threats (SWOT). This enables us to identify areas for growth and improvement
• Implementing continual improvement programmes
• Developing programmes that reward initiative
• Testing your staff on their usage and understanding of the activities, policies, processes and procedures that are
needed in order for them to fulfil their rol e effectively
• Setting challenging but achievable goals
• Benchmarking with best practices and/ or other service desks

Reward and Recognition

• Highlight individual and team contributions
• Recognise in a manner meaningful to recipient
• Reinforce and recognise desired behaviours in a timely manner
• Have consistent fair and equitable recognition and reward programmes
• Work creatively within the organisations gu idelines
Ways in which you can use recognition and reward to create energy and enthusiasm within your team for reaching
defined goals include:
• Highlighting individual and team contributions both privately (individually) and publicly
• Give recognition in a way that is meaningful to the recipient
• Be timely - reinforce and recognise the behaviours desired promptly, not some days or weeks later
• Always be consistent fair and equitable when giving rewards and recognition to your team members (for example in
24/7 operations, where it can be quite easy to overlook the twilight shift staff)
• Be as creative as you can when developing your reward and recognition strategy, but do not break the organisation's
rules or exceed the organisation's guidelines for what can or cannot be done

Commonly used Rewards

• Internal rewards
• External rewards
Promotion Customer service awards
Bonuses Group or team awards
Monetary -Training
Gift certificates Merchandise
Achievement awards Apparel, food, etc.
Employee suggestion awards - Trophies and plaques
-Time off
There are two different types of reward:

• External Reward: This reward comes from the organisation, peers, and customers or from you as the manager.
• Internal Reward: This reward comes from within the organisation, feeling good about your own goals, achievements
and objectives.
Here are some examples of some of the most popular and commonly used rewards:
• Promotion
• Bonuses
• Monetary
• Gift certificates
• Outstanding achievement awards
• Customer service awards
• Group or team awards
• Time off
• Training away from the office
• Merchandise I Apparel I Food
• Trophies I Plaques Employee suggestion awards

Commonly used Recognition

• Employee of the month
• Public recognition
• Private recognition
• Publicising and sharing praise from customers
With the Service Desk and other ITSM teams
With management
• Publicising Service Desk successes via the Intranet
• Newsletter articles
• A simple thank you!
Here are some examples of some of the most popular and commonly used types of recognition:
• Employee of the month
• Public recognition
• Private recognition
• Publicising praise from customers in your teams work environment
• Sharing praise from customers with management
• Newsletter articles
• Publicising activities, achievements, successes of your team (and/or individuals) via the Intranet
• A simple thank you
If you are interested in additional reward and recognition ideas, the book " 1001 Ways to Reward Employees" is a source
of further ideas.

Providing Direction and Focus

• In challenging circumstances
Create an information communication hub
Empathise
Use your presence to provide clarity
Create an environment of continuity and control
There will inevitably be times when life is difficult or uncertain for you and your staff, such as during major incidents or
periods of stress. During these times it is essential that you, as the manager, remain calm and effective. In such times,
when there are ambiguous or chaotic circumstances during which your team still have to deliver excellent service, it is
essential that you provide direction and focu s for them. We recommend that you do this by:
Creating a communication hub so that people can get accurate and up-to-date information quickly
Empathising with team members and making effective use of your personal presence to help provide clarity and
direction
Creating an environment in which team members still experience a sense of continuity and control in their work lives
(for example: maintain clear and fair schedules, provide good office furniture for them, ensure they have ample
personal space)

Objective and Components of Teamwork

• Working together to achieve common goals
• Components of teamwork
Work t oget her t o share ideas
Actively listen to each other
Share the wo rkload fairly
A great deal of information exists on the topic of teams and, as we have experienced in various customer service
scenarios, it often takes teamwork to fully meet customer requirements.
In order to have a successful team, managers need to be aware of the actions and behaviours that effective team
members demonstrate on a daily basis.
The objective of teamwork is to work together to achieve common goals. The components of teamwork which must all
be present to achieve the objective, include:
• Working together to accomplish common goals
• Working together to share ideas
Listening actively to one another and being receptive to others' ideas
• Sharing the workload fairly

Characteristics of Effective Team Players

• Participates in team activities
• Displays courtesy and respect for others
• Collaborates with team members
• Open-minded to the ideas of others
• Contributes to and solicits the ideas of others
• Has effective communication skills
• Maintains a positive attitude
• Dependable and shares knowledge
• Offers encouragement to others
• Takes their sha re of the workload
Sr"*-•"'' ' ... ,
When recruiting staff, you will be looking for people who will be effective team players. Some of the key characteristics
you should look for are as listed below:
• Participates in the team's activities
• Shows and has courtesy and respect for others
• Collaborates with other members ofthe team
• Is open-minded and remains objective to others ideas and actively seeks to understand their opinions
• Has a willingness to share their knowledge and ideas, and to solicit ideas from others
• Maintains a positive attitude and is enthusiastic and flexible
• Is dependable and trusts others
• Offers encouragement to others and follow s through on tasks
• Takes their full share of the workload willingly and resolves conflict effectively

Effective Teams
• Clear goals and objectives
• Plans that support business and IT strategies
• Empowered to make decisions
• Multi-skilled (technology and non-technology)
• Effective teams display
A sense of participation
High productivity
Good morale and motivation
Commitment
Target ach ievements
An effective team will display certain characteristics and traits. These will include:
• Clear team goals and objectives that support the strategies of the business and IT
• Effective communication skills
• Empowered to make decisions- participate in and input to team decisions
• Demonstrate a clear sense of participation in the activities of the desk and the organisation
• Has a high productivity level
• Has good morale and motivation
• Multi-skilled both technically and non-technically
• Has effective conflict resolution policies
• A clearly demonstrated and unified commitment
• Meets agreed objectives and targets

The Benefits of Effective Teamwork

• A sense of belonging
• Willingness to collaborate and help
• Improved productivity
• A friendly and supportive workplace
• Higher levels of customer satisfaction
• An environment of mutual trust and accountability
An effective team is a good place in which to work, even in the bad times. There are many benefits of having effective
teams such as:
• There is an increased sense of belonging between members
• There is a clear willingness to collaborate with and help each other
• The team is more productive and there is quality and consistency to their service provision
• Increased customer satisfaction with the quality of service provided by the team
• An environment of mutual trust, respect and accountability

Friendly and Supportive Workplaces

• Demonstrate team rapport
• Are empowered by management
• Display a willingness to collaborate
• Responsible and trustworthy team members
• Have a diverse blend of people
• Team members help to develop others
All the activities we have been discussing regarding teamwork, and the attitude and approach of management will help to
create a friendly and supportive environment in which to work.
In such an environment you would expect to see the following:

• Rapport demonstrated among the members of the team
• Evidence of empowerment from management
• A clear willingness within the team to collaborate with and assist other team members
• Responsible and trustworthy team members
• A diverse blend of team members
• Interest in each other's development is demonstrated

Section 10
Professional Development

Section 10- Professional Development
Professional Development Assessment

• Skills gap analysis
• Role profiling
• One-to-ones
• Individual assessment
• SWOT analysis
• Informal feedback from others
• 360-degree or peer assessment
As the manager, you are responsible for recognising the development needs of your team and the individuals within it,
and for ensuring that you are staffing to the required skill level and skill variety needed to deliver effective service to your
customers.
Developing your team members to their full potential has a very positive impact on customer satisfaction and loyalty.
The following is a list of some popular assessment methods:

• Skills gap analysis - enables the identification of required development areas
• Role profiling- defining the required skills
• Individual assessment- appraisals; one-to-ones
• SWOT analysis
• Informal feedback from other teams
• Peer assessment {360-degree assessment)

Professional Development Methods

• On-the-job, CBT and inst ructor- led train ing
• Virtua l training
• Access to formal and informal training resources
·Coaching
• Mentoring
• Secondment to other teams
• Continual improvement programme
• Achieving relevant industry qualifications
• Attending relevant industry events
Providing staff with access to good training resources, be they classroom, real-time or computer based training (CBT), is
essential if they are to develop effectively and successfully within their role and within their career. It is of no benefit to
anyone (including you) if required individual OR team training is delayed.
Some commonly-used methods that you should consider in order to ensure the on-going development of staff include:
• On-the-job, computer-based training and instructor-led training
• Individual assessment (appraisal)
• Provide staff with access to formal and informal training resources
• Coaching
• Mentoring
• E-learning
• Secondment to other teams/departments
• Continual improvement programme
• Achievement of industry qualifications that are relevant to the individual for career development
• Attending relevant conferences and seminars

Personal Development
• Create a personal network of advisors
• Concentrate on common goals
• Take on projects outside your comfort zone
• Read management/motivation books and industry publications
• Join professional organisations
• Attend relevant conferences and seminars
Maintain and enhance your own personal development by:

• Creating a personal network of trusted advisors with whom you can share problems and concerns.
• Concentrating on common goals during times of disagreement (whether this is with your team, your boss, other
support teams, customers)
• Take on projects that are outside your comfort zone - you will learn and understand more than you may think - about
yourself as well as the new area of knowledge
• Read management/motivation books and industry publications
• Join professional organisations such as:
• SDI
• itSMF
• BCS
• CIPD
• Attend relevant conferences and seminars

Coaching
• A process of learning and devel oping
Establish specif ic, short -term objectives and o utcomes
Develop pot ential or change behaviou r
It helps establish individual pe rformance goals
Helps defi ne current position in re lati on to goals
Identifies opportunities to achieve goals and the will to achi eve them
Coaching is a process of learning and developing competent performance in the workplace- usually in the form of regular
structured sessions between a suitable coach and a 'coachee' (the term for the person being coached) - to explore
current competency levels, issues, attainments, ideas and possibilities. It is performance and task related and aims to:
Establish specific, short-term objectives and outcomes and is performance and t ask-rel ated.
• Develop the coachee's potential or to change behaviour.
• Establish individual perform ance goals
• It helps to define the current position in relation to the goals (where they are vs. where they need/ want to be)
• It id entifies opportunities whereby the goals can be achieved
• It establishes the will and desire to undertake the required actions to achieve the goals

The Benefits of Coaching

• Improved professionalism and morale
• Improved quality of customer service and engagement
• Helps the team to grow and excel
• Focus on skills and competencies to improve productivity
The benefits of coaching, at a basic level, include:

• Improved professionalism and morale of the person being coached
• Improved customer service quality (in the support environment)
Helps the team to grow and excel in all they do
• Improved performance leading to increased productivity through focussing on skills and core competencies at or
above the standard required by the organisation

Coaching Preparation
• Assess the person's
Abilities
Competencies
level of commitment
• Identify the intended goals and issues
• Define your coach ing plan
Sr"*-•"''' IIJ
Your first step when preparing to coach an analyst is to undertake an assessment of their abilities, competencies and the
level of their commitment to both the job and the coaching process.
You must then define the intended goal and be sure you understand any issues that must be addressed.
And finally you need to define your coaching plan- make sure that it is what will work best for the person being coached.
Coaching cannot be a 'same every time' process- you are dealing with unique individuals.

The Process of Coaching

• Create an environment of trust
• Communicate the reason for coaching
• Begin a dialogue on ways to improve or excel
• Listen with empathy
·Test understanding
• Usc their suggestions whenever possible
• Agree on an action plan
• Schedule a follow-up meeting
Sr"'*-•"''' •••
The coaching process:

Create an environment of trust: your analyst must feel comfortable and at ease with you. If they do not, the coaching
process will not work well, if at all
Define and communicate the reason for the coaching session
Begin a (non-threatening) dialogue on ways to improve or excel; remember that you are trying to help the analyst, not
intimidate them
Listen with empathy- let them know that you appreciate the way they feel, or difficulties they may be experiencing
Encourage participation in the process by asking open questions. Get them talking to you
Test understanding- by careful and
skilful questioning that does NOT feel like an interrogation to them
Use the analysts suggestions whenever possible
Agree on an action plan : who will do what and when
Schedule a follow-up meeting for no longer than 5-10 days after the coaching session

The Effective Coach

• Take the time to learn about the coachee
Career goals
Strengths and weaknesses
Career timetable
Opinion of own and ability
• Understand the coach, trainer and manager roles
• Do not impose your values on the coachee
• The coachee should make their own conclusions
• Create an action plan with each individual
• Follow-up on progress to help fulfil potential
The characteristics that an effective coach will demonstrate include:

• They take the time develop a good work relationship with their colleague and understand:
• Their life goals and what they envisage as their career path
• The individual's strengths and weaknesses- an effective coach will work with the coachee to determine the most
effective course of action to take, whether it is identifying the most appropriate training course or re-assessing their
career plans or career path
• Their career timetable -the time lines or targets the coachee has set for themselves
• They recognise the difference between coach, trainer and manager
• They resist forcing the competence required by imposing their values on the coachee
• They allow the coachee to arrive at conclusions the coach already knows
• They create an action plan with each individual
• They follow up to discuss progress and help fulfil the coachee's potential

Mentoring
• A long-term approach, requiring mutual trust
• A supportive learning experience
• A mentor
Is a more experienced person who shares the benefits of their knowledge, experience
and wisdom
They might act as role model, guide, tutor, confidante, supporter or friend
Mentoring is a supportive learning experience in which an experienced person shares the benefits of their knowledge,
experience and wisdom. They may act as a role model, guide, tutor, confidante, supporter or friend. Mentoring is a long
term approach, requiring mutual trust.
In the work environment mentoring may be between two people working at the same level, one of whom is more
experienced (peer mentoring), or between employees at different grades and levels. In some peer relationships,
individuals may mentor each other.
A mentor may well be mentoring more than one individual, and in some situations a team of mentors may be available. It
is not uncommon to see the manager of the team also acting as a mentor.
Whoever the mentor is, the expected outcome of mentoring is that the mentee will grow and learn from the mentors
knowledge and experience.
As a manager, if you are the mentor for your team, you need to ensure that you find time to talk to each of them on a
daily basis and to list en carefully to them (read the body language too) and you must make sure that you follow through
on any commitments you make to them .

The Benefits of Mentoring

• People learn more quickly
• Strengthens self-development
• Provides help for the mentee's immediate challenges
• Develops inter-personal skills
• Helps people cope with their role
• A safe environment for discussion
The benefits of mentoring are:

• The people being mentored will learn more rapidly than if they were left to their own devices
• It strengthens self-development
• It provides help at the right moment for the immediate challenges that the mentee may be facing
• It develops inter-personal skills
• It helps people to cope with their role
• It offers a safe environment for discussion and advice

The Benefits of Peer Mentoring

• Builds a sense of community
• Reduces time to reach competency
• Increases trust and respect
• Supports professional development and growth
• Facilitates mutual learning
• Provides functional cross-training
• Maintains a good balance of skills
• Simplifies team integration
• Focusses on skills to increase productivity
Peer mentoring is also called buddying and is widely used in our industry:
• It helps to build a sense of community, belonging and rapport for the mentored person
• It enables a new team member to reach competency more speedily than if they were left to their own devices
• It increases trust and respect within the team
• Buddying supports colleagues in their professional development and growth
• It facilitates mutual learning, provides functional cross training and helps to maintain a good balance of skills within
the team
• It simplifies integration into a team
• It improves performance which leads to increased productivity by focusing on skills and competencies at a personal
level
• A peer mentor's role brings with it certain responsibilities, and anyone who aspires to become a peer mentor should
understand this.

Stress Management
• Stress is a state of mental or emotional strain
A result of adverse or demanding circum stances
Can affect both your body and your mind
• Stress is natural and might have either a positive or negative impact
Stress is a state of mental or emotional strain resulting from adverse or demanding circumstances and can affect both
your body and your mind.
Stress is a natural reaction and a part of everyone's life; it might have either a positive or negative impact.
For many people the term stress has a negative meaning. Most of us are unaware that stress can also affect us positively.
This positive type of stress, or eustress as it is known, is surprisingly healthy for our body; it increases motivation and
inspiration, enhances our creative thinking and stops us becoming bored.
It is only when people are overloaded with negative stress that problems occur and they can become tired, sick, and
unable to concentrate or think clearly.
In the busy and often pressurised environment of the service desk stressful situations can and do arise. It is important
that we recognise signs of negative stress in ourselves and others, understand what causes it, and what actions we can
take to minimise it. We also need to understand how to stimulate positive stress and how w e can harness it to the benefit
of individuals and the service desk.

Section 10 - Professional Development
The Physical Effects of Stress

• Negative stress
Increased respiration and perspiration
Redness of face
Anxious behaviour
Changes in appearance
Vulnerability to illness
• Positive stress
Smi li ng faces
Friendly chat
Sr"'*-•"'' ' 6101
Some common physical symptoms and effects are:
Negative
• Increased respiration and perspiration
• Redness of face
• Anxious behaviour
• Change in appearance
• Vulnerability to illness
Positive
• Smiling faces
• Friendly chat

The Psychological Effects of Stress

• Negative stress
An inability t o concentrat e
Over-reaction
Mood swings
Short tempered or irritable
Negative or sarcastic/cynical attitude
• Positive stress
Energy
Enthusiasm
Sr"'*-•"'' ' 6101
Some common psychological symptoms and effects are:
Negative
• An inability to concentrate on anything
• Over-reacting to situations, people, events etc.
• Mood swings
• Being irritable and short-tempered
• An extremely negative sarcastic or cynical approach to everything
• Behaving defensively
• Attitude
Positive
• Energy
• Enthusiasm

Common Causes of Stress

• Change
• Too much work for available resources
• Insufficient time or ineffective use
• Lack of skills, knowledge or training
• Ineffective management
• Unreasonable schedules
• Lack of confidence
• Insufficient rest
This is just a small selection of some of the most common reasons for people becoming stressed:
• Change
• Too much work to do with insufficient time in which to accomplish it
• Insufficient resources for the amount of work to be done
• Lack of skills to complete an activity, perhaps no training given or no support documentation available
• Poorly organised or skilled management
• Unreasonably tight schedules to adhere to
• Lack of confidence in performing an activity
• Lack of adequate rest

Stress-busting Techniques
• Prioritise and organise your work
• Identify sources of stress
• Recognise signs of stress
• (in yourself and others)
• Share your concerns
• Accept what you can't change
• Take adequate breaks
• Make time for fun and relaxation
• Healthy work-life balance
• Diverse activities outside work •
Sr"*-•"'' ' ,,.
If (when) stress threatens to overcome you or one of your team, we recommend the following as some techniques that
have proved to be effective in reducing or eliminating stress:
• Identify sources of stress and know what they are, but be ready for when the stress is likely to become negative
• Learn to recognise the signs of stress in yourself- and in others- so that you can address them early on
• Prioritise and organise your work but accept what you cannot change
• Share your concerns with someone you trust
• Do everything you can to ensure that you have sufficient, breaks, rest AND exercise
• Make time for yourself - don't become so immersed in work or being a Mum or Dad or partner or son or daughter that
you never have 'me time'. You won't be helping anyone
• Manage your time so that you are able to maintain a healthy work-life balance
• Find time for a variety of activities and interests outside work

Some Positive Effects of Stress

• Motivation, en e rgy and e nthusiasm
• Increased productivity
• Optim ised performance levels
• Increased drive to get work done
All is not doom and gloom however. There are some very important positive effects of stress, including:
• Feelings of motivation, energy and enthusiasm
• Increased levels of productivity (both individually and collectively)
Performance levels are optimised
• There is an increased momentum to want to work and to get things done
How important is it therefore, that we do everything in our power to reduce the effects of negative stress for our team
and ourselves, so that we may benefit from the effects of positive stress?


Section 11
Group Activities

Section 11- Grou p Activit ies
Exercise 1- The Strategic Role of Support
Exercise Scenario
Developing a common vision for the service desk permits everyone to work as an effective team toward long-term
goals without constant management intervention and supervision. The vision statement should provide a longer-
term view of what the service desk wish es to become.
The service desk mission statement defines the service desk' s reason for existing, clearly and simply. Appropriate
critical success factors (CSFs) and key performance indicators (KPis) should support it.
Activity
In your group consider the service desk of an external service provider organisation that delivers technology
services.
Step 1: Develop a vision and mission statement for the service desk
Step 2: Develop high-level CSFs for the service desk that support the vision and mission
Step 3: Develop at least one example KPI per CSF and demonstrate how the KPI supports the CSF
Once you have completed your vision, mission, CSFs and KPi s, write them up on to a flip chart and then feedback
your finding to the rest of the group.
Timings for this exercise are:

• 25 minutes to develop the vision, mission, CSFs and KPis
• 5 minutes to present
• 5 minutes for feedback

Exercise 2 - Essential Management Skills
Exercise Scenario
The ability to effectively present information to your peers, business unit leaders and key stakeholders is of the
utmost importance. Everything in your presentation should be delivered to give your message the maximum impact
and effect on the audience.
Activity
In your group consider an average Service Desk and consider what you are likely to want to present to the different
areas of the business. Considering specifically the strategic, tactical and operational layers of the business, what
should be presented to whom, how and when?
Within your group, brainstorm your approach for reporting to these levels within the business. Define the following
in your presentation:
• What information should be presented?

• What is the likely audience at each level?
• What formats should be used?
• How often should the reporting activity take place?
Consider that it is likely that there may be a mix and match approach to performance reporting.

• 15 minutes to brainstorm your reporting approach

Section 11- Group Activities
Exercise 3- Developing and Promoting the Service Desk
Exercise Scenario
Ensuring the service desk is adequately resourced is critical to the smooth delivery of service overall. There are
many service activities that need to be considered, and depending upon the business being supported there are
likely to be events and activities outside the control of IT Services that need to be addressed.
Activity
In your teams, brainstorm a framework for developing a resourcing model for the service desk. What needs to be
considered and why? Consider the service chain and how the service desk can have an impact on the overall
perception of IT services delivery.
Identify techniques you might use to develop your resourcing model and explain how they will benefit your
investigation and help to identify the correct model.

• 20 minutes to brainstorm your resourcing model and techniques
• 10 minutes to build your presentation

Exercise 4- IT Service Management
Exercise Scenario
Ensuring a consistent and repeatable service experience for customers relies heavily on good process management.
Consider the Incident Management process; it is commonly run through the service desk in most organisations, and
is a highly visible, high impact process for the customer base.
Activity
Step 1: In your groups, brainstorm what is required to deliver effective and efficient Incident Management
Step 2: Once you have completed the brainstorm start to select the important aspects you feel necessary for good
process management
Step 3: Write your group' s ideas on a flip chart, separating them into the following categories:
a) People aspects
b) Process aspects
c) Technology aspects
d) 3'd party supplier aspects
Present your findings back to the group for discussion.

• 10 minutes brainstorm incident management
• 10 minutes to categorise each aspect

Exercise 5- Quality Assurance
Exercise Scenario
Throughout all facets of Service Desk and service delivery, there are multiple aspects that should be regularly
monitored for quality. However, measuring quality can often be a challenge. For example, how can we actually
confirm that an analyst has completed a telephone interaction successfully and generated the best possible
outcome for the customer? Some aspects of the telephone interaction will require objective actions to complete
the transaction (such as filling in the base information on a ticket form to generate a support ticket), and subjective
actions to support a successful outcome for the customer (such as using appropriate and thorough questioning to
gain accurate and appropriate amounts of information to put into the support ticket form).
Activity
Step 1: Consider a telephone interaction for an incident

Step 2: In your group, discuss the objective activities that need to be undertaken to complete the transaction
Step 3: Then consider the subjective actions necessary to deliver a successful outcome for the customer
Step 4: Using a flip-chart, generate a quality monitoring check-list for incident interactions covering both objective
and subjective aspects
Present your findings back to the group for discussion.

• 10 minutes for discussion
• 10 minutes to write-up the quality monitoring check-list

Exercise 6- Effective Management of Tools and Technology
Exercise Scenario
Ticketing systems are a basic, fundamental requirement for most modern Service Desks to manage incident and
service request interactions. Larger desks in large organisations may have their ticketing done in enterprise ITSM
systems that also manage other ITSM processes such as Event Management, Change Management, Availability
Management, etc. However, regardless of the system there are basic requirements that each service desk will need
to be as effective and efficient as possible.
Activity
Consider what factors are required to have an effective ticketing system . If you were going to procure a new
system, you would need to establish some focus areas. These focus areas will ensure that you get the correct
system. Brainstorm the following factors:
• Objectives (What do you want to achieve as a service desk with a ticketing system?)
• Requirements (What deliverables are required from your system to support effective ticket and customer
management?)
• Dependencies (What has to happen beforehand to allow your system to be effective?)
• Risks (What may cause your system to not deliver what you require?)
Use a flip chart to build a feedback list separated into the four factors above.
Present your findings to the rest of the group.

• 10 minutes for discussion

Exercise 7- Staff Recruitment, Retention and Development
Exercise Scenario
Constructively giving feedback to members of the service desk team is a critical skill. It's often necessary to
communicate negative issues in a positive manner to ensure personal development and team success.
Activity
This exercise is role-play based and you will need at least three people in each group; your instructor will identify
the groups for this exercise.
• Participant one: You will play the part of the service desk manager; your task is to convey some feedback to a
service desk analyst. The first item to feed back is their performance stats, which are consistently one of the
best performers in the service desk. The second item is that you have received several complaints from other
service desk team members that this analyst has a strong, unpleasant body odour, frequently causing other
team members to request to be moved when seated close by.
• Participant two: You will play the part of the service desk analyst.
• Participant three: You will play the part of the observer. Your role is to observe both of the other participants.
You should observe the feedback session and make notes on what the service desk manager does positively
and negatively in this situation. Try to note what is said, how it is said and the accompanying body language.
The roles should be rotated at least once throughout the exercise.
Once you have completed the activity give feedback to your co-participants on their performance as the manager.
Remember this is an artificial situation and can often lead to difficulty in behaving as you normally would.
The instructor will then hold a wa sh-up and review session to bring out the important points you have found in your
exercise.

• 20 minutes to complete your role plays
• 10 minutes to feedback to the analyst roles
• 10 minutes for wash-up and feedback from the instructor

Exercise 8- Leadership and Management
Exercise Scenario
Building a successful service desk team is one of the most important tasks of a service desk manager. Generating
strong morale, a service ethic and a strong sense of team-belonging is critical to ensuring successful service to
customers.
Activity
Imagine you have just been recruited as a service desk manager for a team of 50 people; the desk is 06:00-18:00,
five days per week. The organisation is new to you and you have been given a brief that the service desk has
recently undergone significant change:
• They have recently had a new ticketing system installed; there's still some confusion over its use
• In the last year the team has had an employee turnover of 45%
• A new role of 'team leader' has been introduced, of which there are five (previously everyone reported directly
to the service desk manager)
In your team, build an action plan to address these issues and include additional items that you think should be
done to create a successful service desk team.

• 15 minutes to brainstorm your strategic outline

Exercise 9 - Professional Development
Exercise Scenario
Mentoring is a supportive learning experience in which an experienced person shares the benefits of their
knowledge, experience and wisdom. The mentor may act as a role model, guide, tutor, confidante, supporter or
friend. Mentoring is a long-term approach, requiring mutual trust. A mentor may well be mentoring more than one
individual, and in some situations a team of mentors may be available.
Activity
The structure and approach of a mentoring programme is just as important as the mentoring activity. Consider
what steps are required to develop mentoring in an average organisation.
Using a flip chart, develop the step required to implement mentoring programme. Once completed present your
ideas to the rest of the group for discussion.

• 15 minutes to brainstorm your mentoring programme

SDJ• Service Desk & Support Manager (SDM) Study Gu ide
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Service Desk Institute

Service Desk & Support Manager

Developed by John Greenwood; cover photo/illustration ©shutterstock

Study Guide Contents

1 Course Overview and Introduction 7

Page 4 I © Syzyga l Limited 2017

Page 6 I © Syzyga l Limited 2017

© Syzygal Limited 2017 I Page 7

Page 8 I © Syzyga l Limited 2017

© Syzygal Limited 2017 I Page 9

Service Desk Manager's Standard and Course Objectives:

Page 10 I © Syzygal Li mited 2017

© Syzygal Limited 2017 I Page 11

SDI Service Desk and Support Manager Certification (SDM)

• The exam consists of sixty (60) multiple-choice questions

Page 12 I © Syzygal Limited 2017

SDI® Qualification Scheme

Service Desk and

Service Desk and

© Syzygal Limited 2017 I Page 13

The Service Desk Institute Mission

Page 14 I © Syzygal Limited 2017

© Syzygal Limited 2017 I Page l S

Service Desk & Support Manager (SDM)

Page 16 I © Syzygal Limited 2017

Who is SDM Designed for?

• All industry sectors

© Syzygal Limited 2017 I Page 17

Page 18 I © Syzygal Limited 2017

Page 20 I © Syzygal Limited 2017

The Role of The Service Desk

© Syzygal Limited 2017 I Page 21

The Activities of The Service Desk

• Manage customer expect at ions

Page 22 I © Syzygal Limited 2017

The Activities of The Service Desk

© Syzygal Limited 2017 I Page 23

Successful Service Desk Characteristics

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© Syzygal Limited 2017 I Page 25

Page 26 I © Syzygal Limited 2017

• The objectives include

When developing a vision statement:

© Syzygal Limited 2017 I Page 27

The Mission Statement Purpose

Page 28 I © Syzygal Li mited 2017

The Mission Statement Contents

A mission statement typically includes:

© Syzygal Limited 2017 I Page 29

The Mission Statement Objectives

The objectives of a service desk mission statement are as follows:

Page 30 I © Syzygal Limited 2017

Good Practice and Best Practice

© Syzygal Limited 2017 I Page 31

The Service Desk and Best Practice

Sources of good and best practice include:

Page 32 I © Syzygal Limited 2017

Formal IT governance and audit assessment standards such as:

Industry good/best practice guidance such as:

Formal business best practice quality models such as:

© Syzygal Limited 2017 I Page 33

The Purpose of Industry Standards

Achieving certification demonstrates tangible evidence offollowing best