Build An Internal Team of Servicenow Experts and Train Users

Build an internal team of
ServiceNow experts and train users

Build an internal team of ServiceNow experts and train users
Training and skill development should not just be “one and done” for meeting initial implementation requirements. Rather, training and skill development for your ServiceNow ® team,
process users, and customer base should be ongoing, and it should build a comprehensive set of skills and knowledge to help make your transformation happen.

To take a holistic view of training, organizations must understand the skills required to manage ServiceNow as a program of action and transformation. This improves your talent
pipeline for ServiceNow roles (like your platform team and process users) and increases organizational engagement around the value of service delivery.
Insight: Build an internal team of ServiceNow experts and train users

Building and training an internal team of ServiceNow experts involves targeting three populations:
• The ServiceNow platform team – This team needs training to design, support, and maintain the Now Platform ®.
• Process users – These primary users of the platform fulfill employee requests, and they need to be fully trained to support the services you offer.
• Users – Your users need to be aware of how service management can help them, and they need to be trained to be comfortable with the tools and services you offer through
ServiceNow so they’re sure to adopt those tools and services.
Key implementation steps

Start Improve Optimize
1. Determine the expert 3. Develop a product training 4. Extend service management
2. Develop a training plan to 5. Build career development and
resources needed on a plan for ServiceNow process training to the broader
build up ServiceNow expertise learning
ServiceNow team users organization
2 © 2021 ServiceNow, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Step 1a: Determine your needs for internal ServiceNow
expertise
Begin implementing ServiceNow by thoroughly assessing and identifying the expert roles you need to support the platform.
Understand the roles and knowledge you need on the ServiceNow platform team to  ServiceNow business analyst – Has expertise in working with key project stakeholders
provide platform design, support, configuration, and maintenance to capture business and user requirements and in communicating those requirements to
the platform team
 Define the roles and expertise you need to comprise your ServiceNow platform team.  ServiceNow trainer – Has expertise in creating materials and delivering user training
 Now Platform owner – A senior leader who leads the decision-making for the platform that ensures effective and efficient application use
with expertise in governance, business, and platform strategy  ServiceNow project manager/scrum master – Has expertise in planning, managing,
 Now Platform architect – A senior technical leader who creates and maintains a and delivering software releases
detailed view of the existing platform and who has expertise in consultative leadership,
business strategy, and governance, along with strong technical abilities
 ServiceNow application developer – A senior technical resource who is able to design,
build, and customize applications and services and who has expertise in advanced
system administration, systems design, requirements gathering, and scripting Practitioner insight: The size of your ServiceNow team and the expertise it requires
 ServiceNow system administrator – Assures stability and performance of the Now will vary based on the scope of your ServiceNow deployment. For example, your team
Platform and has expertise in application maintenance, user management, and managing construction depends on whether you’re supporting multiple products or need to build
support incidents, along with strong technical abilities custom apps. Initially, you may only have a few resources, and those resources will take
 ServiceNow quality assurance engineer – Ensures the quality of the platform and has on multiple roles. Typically, there are two to three members on the team, and they wear
expertise in reviewing requirements and technical designs and in software quality multiple hats. For example, the platform owner and system administrator (maybe the
assurance methodology same person), and application developer are roles mentioned, and they may not even be
fully dedicated to the role. You can borrow project management from your program
management team.
3. Develop a product
1. Determine the expert 2. Develop a training plan 4. Extend service 5. Build career
training plan for
Steps resources needed on a to build up ServiceNow management training to development and
ServiceNow process
ServiceNow team expertise the broader organization learning
users
Step 1a: Determine your needs for internal ServiceNow
expertise (Continued)
Understand the roles and knowledge you need on the ServiceNow platform team to provide platform design, support, configuration, and maintenance (Continued)
 Create a chart that documents each roles’ responsibilities and accountabilities (a RACI) to ensure your platform needs are addressed.
 Assess the number of expert staff you need on your ServiceNow platform team.
 Review your implementation roadmap to determine which products you’re implementing and when and how they’re phased out. This will help you gain insight into the level of
expertise your team will need to provide and when.
 Work with your implementation partner to determine if they can handle the initial support for some of this expertise and then transition it back over time.
training plan for
ServiceNow process
users
Step 1b: Document the needed training, certifications,
and skills
Training needs to be a key component of enterprise service transformation and fully funded across the program lifecycle. To support this, the training budget needs to be owned by a
senior executive who can protect funding as organizational priorities and needs evolve.
Research the ServiceNow technical product training course and certification Assemble a mission critical skill list and a wish list of skills your ServiceNow
options and calculate the training costs needed to train your ServiceNow platform team should possess or develop
platform team
 Top skills should include:
 Research local or online providers of ITIL training and certifications.
 Technical skills, especially with cloud-based products
 Review the ServiceNow training and certification guide for available paths by  Communication and collaboration skills
role and by product.  People skills
 Review the training paths applicable to the ServiceNow products your company is
implementing, such as ITSM, ITOM, ITBM, CSM, HR, Security, or Now  Some top capabilities would include:
Platform.
 An understanding of what outcomes you want to achieve and how to measure the value
realized
 Estimate the costs for training and certifications.
 An understanding of artificial intelligence (AI) and analytics
 Review the ServiceNow training and certification courses and the ServiceNow
training catalog to obtain costs.  A focus on innovation for better business outcomes
 Incorporate other training opportunities such as industry and ServiceNow events
like Knowledge and NowForum/NowSummit.
Practitioner insight: Training needs to be integrated with the organization’s overall skills
 Partner with your finance team to build out a model of the associated costs to use
and training roadmap for transformation, ensuring that soft skills such as collaboration,
to determine the overall budget you need for compensation, training, and
certifications. negotiation, and influence are included as well as more structured service management and
operational skills.
 Work with your executive sponsor to get budget approval.
training plan for
ServiceNow process
users
Step 2: Develop a training plan to build up ServiceNow
expertise
ServiceNow and service management training should include formalized training activities and on-the-job learning opportunities to build key skills. Training needs to be integrated
with the organization’s overall skills and training roadmap for transformation, ensuring that soft skills such as collaboration, negotiation, and influence are included as well as more
structured service management and operational expertise.
Document training requirements for the ServiceNow platform team by role, (see Step 1) which will be used to help build training plans for your team
 Create a matrix of training requirements that will include a row for each role and a column for key learning opportunities, including:
 ServiceNow-related training
 ServiceNow certifications
 Service management concepts
 Other related certifications (like ITIL or PMP)
 Industry-related expertise
 Product area expertise (like HR, Customer Service, Security, etc.)
 Skill development (technical, soft, etc.)
1. Determine the expert 2. Develop a training 4. Extend service 5. Build career
training plan for
Steps resources needed on a plan to build up management training to development and
ServiceNow process
ServiceNow team ServiceNow expertise the broader organization learning
users
Step 2: Develop a training plan to build up ServiceNow expertise
(Continued)
Create training plans for each member of the ServiceNow platform team
 Perform a training needs assessment with each member of the team using the training matrix to determine where expertise gaps exist for each person in each role.
 Assign training plans for each member of the team and address any gaps from the training needs assessment.
 Define training and certification paths for team members based on the ServiceNow products you’re implementing and your role-based needs assessment.
 Set training deadlines to finish before implementation starts.
If you’re using a partner for implementation, use the partner to train your ServiceNow platform team in new skills
 Work with you partner to determine opportunities for group and individual training.
 Ensure your partner is supporting ServiceNow implementation knowledge transfer by providing technical and development materials.
Practitioner insight: ServiceNow provides access to tools and resources on the

Customer Success Center site, including best practice guidance and templates.
Incorporate these resources into your training plan.
1. Determine the expert 2. Develop a training 4. Extend service 5. Build career
training plan for
Steps resources needed on a plan to build up management training to development and
ServiceNow process
ServiceNow team ServiceNow expertise the broader organization learning
users
Step 3a: Identify who will train your process users
Process user training is critical. Process users (like your service desk agents, change managers, HR analysts, field service agents, project managers, security team support agents,
customer service representatives, etc.) are the front line for most services offered on your Now Platform—they interface with your users and make sure users get the services they
need. To be successful, you need to make sure these process users understand what they need to do in ServiceNow and how. Remember—not all training is created equally. It’s
worth it to seriously consider how to best train your process users, and to make sure that your trainers completely understand your specific ServiceNow implementation so they can
apply that knowledge in their work.
Determine what resources you will use to provide training to your process users—through ServiceNow, your partner, internally through your Now Platform team, or a
combination
 Assess where ServiceNow can develop and deliver customized training to your process users according to your specific implementation. Training packages scale from a small group of
process users or trainers to thousands of process users.
 Consider a train-the-trainer approach by having ServiceNow train selected process user trainers who will learn from the ServiceNow trainer and then pass that knowledge along to
train the rest of your team.
 Work with your partner to determine what types of process user training they offer.
 Develop training through your team.

 If you filled a ServiceNow trainer role on your platform team (defined in Step 1), investigate what that person can support in terms of training development and delivery. However,
you will still likely need assistance from the team (and your partner) for curriculum development.
 If you didn’t hire a ServiceNow trainer yet, identify and assign trainers from the ServiceNow platform team or from your learning and development team who will build and conduct
training for process users.
training plan for
ServiceNow process
users
Step 3b: Create a training curriculum plan for process
users
The key in creating a services-led organization is empowering process users. It’s essential to identify and train the staff who will be the initial process users. This will ensure they
understand and feel empowered with the tools to drive adoption.
Create a curriculum plan to determine the learning activities process users need to  Determine the methods you’ll use to deliver training.
know about ServiceNow to deliver world-class services  LMS – Connect with your HR or learning and development team to determine if your
company has a learning management system (LMS) you can use to deliver training.
 Work with process user management (the service desk manager, for example)
to determine the training goals you would like to achieve.  Virtual, instructor-led training
 Define entry-level courses for first-time users.  Instructor-led training in person
 Define advanced-level training to provide more in-depth knowledge for advanced users  Self-paced virtual training available through on-demand training opportunities
(that is, your power users who handle a high number of service transactions).
 Define train-the-trainer classes to enable process user leaders to provide training to
their extended teams.
 Define skill development training to promote performance-specific goals such as Practitioner insight: Ensure training materials are multi-modal. Classroom training for key
increasing NPS through soft skill training. staff can be augmented by videos, quizzes, and social media and gamification campaigns.
 Based on your training goals, develop a list of courses to be developed and
delivered.
 Consider using levels for courses that have a lot of content and presenting them by
level of advancement, such as level 1 – basic; level 2 – medium, and level 3 –
advanced.
training plan for
ServiceNow process
users
Step 3b: Create a training curriculum plan for process users
(Continued)
Create a curriculum plan to determine the learning activities process users need to know about ServiceNow to deliver world-class services (Continued)
 Assign trainers to develop materials for each training course they’ll offer.
 Build out course descriptions, instructor and student workbooks, slides to deliver content, step-by-step product demonstrations, labs, etc.
 Develop post-training quizzes to validate that users retained and understood the learning content.
 Develop a post-training survey to gain feedback on the training content and the instructor.
Create a calendar that lists upcoming and future training opportunities including enrollment deadlines
 Create a calendar with courses, dates courses will be delivered, the delivery method, and student size limits.
 Select a subset of process users to complete training before the pilot so they can test the solution.
 Set training deadlines to finish before your go-live. Start training two to three months before go-live to ensure timely completion.
 Select the delivery method for each of your courses, such as LMS or other tools.
 Work with process user team leaders to determine the method to communicate the availability of training.
 If training will be delivered by a partner or ServiceNow, use their method of enrollment.
training plan for
ServiceNow process
users
Step 3c: Build ongoing support for training and
measure outcomes
The organization needs to ensure that line managers are aware of their coaching responsibilities, so training is not a one-time event.
Meet with senior management to build ongoing support for training and service adoption by end users
 Meet with senior leaders of process user teams (service desk leaders, for example) to educate, gain buy-in, and stress the importance of training.
Develop a training scorecard that tracks process user training performance and completion for managers to review
 Determine how training has impacted employee and team job performance by tracking before and after metrics like satisfaction survey scores, first call resolution, and
time to resolution.
Practitioner insight: The biggest cause for failure to learn is insufficient managerial support
for changing work activities after training. Senior management must make sure that line
managers understand the need for training, and that they support the staff who are trying out
new ways of working as they apply new concepts and ideas to the organization. To promote
training opportunities, managers should reward those who take training seriously.
training plan for
ServiceNow process
users
Step 4: Extend service management training to the
broader organization
Extend your training beyond the immediate service process users and ServiceNow platform team so you can familiarize the entire organization with what ServiceNow offers. Make
users aware of how they can get value by adopting ServiceNow services and working with process users.
Introduce the Now Platform to the broader community
 Conduct sessions targeted at users (in other words, the employees submitting service requests to process users) and the greater community of your organization to
educate and promote awareness of service management, increase adoption of the Now Platform, and build a community of champions.
 Schedule webinars or lunch-and-learns, or talk about service management at company or team meetings.
 Promote sessions through various methods such as internal social tools or posters in the breakrooms, elevators, etc. (Partner with your internal communications and marketing
teams to assist.)
 Provide a baseline education of what service management is and the benefits of using it to provide a context for why the organization adopted ServiceNow.
 Perform short product demos to demonstrate use cases applicable to the audience, such as examples of the service requests they’ll be using.
 Work with your ServiceNow account team to help prepare content and help prepare or perform product demonstrations.
 Provide examples of the business units in your organization that are already using ServiceNow along with any success stories with metrics, such as time and money saved,
increased automation, higher NPS, etc. If your implementation is new, work with your ServiceNow account team to get examples of similar organizations and their results.
Make user training and tools available to users to promote adoption and reduce the ambiguity felt by non-IT employees
 Create and provide access to short videos, infographics, and other tools to provide insight into the service and process being offered.
training plan for
ServiceNow process
users
Step 5a: Connect the Now Platform to career
development
To reliably deliver value and support enterprise transformation goals using the Now Platform over time, it’s important to deepen your ServiceNow “talent bench.” Don’t stop
expanding ServiceNow expertise in your organization once you have a core team in place. Consider this: If one of your experts leaves the team, how will you quickly backfill their
role without having developed similar expertise in others?
Create career development paths for your Now Platform and process user team Build a talent pool for the ServiceNow platform team
 Develop your ServiceNow platform team.  Use process users as an expanded resource to support the platform team. This is also a
 Document and communicate career opportunities within the ServiceNow platform way to evaluate and expose process users to potential careers paths on the platform
team and in other areas of the organization, like IT, Security, etc. team. Here are some of those opportunities:
 Incorporate training requirements into team goals, individual performance reviews,  Involve process users in development, design, and testing opportunities. This will not
and as components to merit raises. only benefit the team as extended resources, but it also allows access and insight into
potential future candidates for the platform team.
 Consider paying out bonuses and/or level promotions—like associate, senior, or
principal—based on training and certification attainment and maintenance.  Identify heavy process users who are high performers and get feedback on design,
enhancements, and innovation opportunities.
 Encourage process user managers to link ServiceNow and service management  Allow top-performing process users to shadow the ServiceNow platform team.
training to process user performance and growth opportunities.  Use top-performing process users to test upgrades and new applications.
 Include training as part of team goals and career development.
 Extend certification opportunities to process users.
 As use of the Now Platform expands, so will the pool of potential platform team
candidates, including external employee referrals.
training plan for
ServiceNow process
users
Step 5b: Refresh and enhance training ongoing
As the services journey develops, training, and development needs will shift rapidly. It’s important that the organization actively tracks new developments in service delivery and in
ServiceNow functionality. Continually evaluate training based on what’s required to make new approaches work across the enterprise.
Provide ongoing training opportunities
 Consider browsing the ServiceNow Training options, which includes courses and certifications.
 Incorporate other training and networking opportunities including industry and ServiceNow events, like Knowledge, NOW Forums, SNUGs, and CreatorCon.
 Other ServiceNow learning resources include ServiceNow Developers and Demo Center.
 Align your training plan with your ServiceNow roadmap.

 Review updated roadmaps that come out of governance meetings.
 Prior to ServiceNow upgrades, enroll your ServiceNow platform team into release-focused training webinars.
 Refresh ServiceNow training and certifications for the team at least once a year. ServiceNow updates training courses and certifications every other release.
 Create non-classroom training activities such as:

 Working with mentors across the enterprise on soft skills
 Contributing to the ServiceNow Community by monitoring Q&A and contributing answers to other customers
 Joining the ServiceNow Developer Program, which provides resources to learn, build, and deploy applications on the Now Platform, and offers resources (for example, the technical
library, developer community, online training, etc.) to ensure a successful application-building experience
 Populating your knowledge base to grow organizational knowledge
training plan for
ServiceNow process
users
Step 5b: Refresh and enhance training ongoing
(Continued)
Provide training to the ServiceNow platform team on topics beyond standard product and skills training
 Incorporate education on your organization’s vision, strategy, and goals so the team can understand and deliver better business outcomes. Include topics on:
 The importance of digital transformation
 Ways to reimagine workflow processes
 The next generation of innovation tools, such as artificial intelligence
 Incorporate training on human-centered design (HCM) to arm the team with enhanced skills to provide better employee and customer experiences.
Create a feedback loop to extract lessons learned from training and then incorporate them into enhanced training and product design
 Review post-training satisfaction surveys and follow up on opportunities for improvement.
 Incorporate training feedback into the development of enhanced user support with the product, baked in FAQs, guided messaging for the user, etc.
training plan for
ServiceNow process
users
KPIs and stakeholders
Key performance indicators Essential KPIs Nice-to-have KPIs

• # of certified staff for key ServiceNow roles • Pipeline of potential internal candidates for
• # of staff that completed soft skills training service management positions
• Impact of training on job performance • % of users who have completed training
• Availability and scope of the training budget
Stakeholder map Responsible/accountable Consulted/informed

• Now Platform owner • Service owners
• Learning and development • IT developers
• Service owners • Process owners
• Human resources • Service process users
• Senior management • Case agents
• Adoption champions

Customer Success Best Practices
ServiceNow’s Best Practice Center of Excellence provides prescriptive, actionable advice to help you
maximize the value of your ServiceNow investment.
Definitive guidance on a Created and vetted Proven to help you transform

breadth of topics by experts with confidence
Strategic
Best practice insights
from customers, partners,
Critical and ServiceNow teams
processes
Practical Actionable
Expert
Management insights Technical Based on thousands of
successful implementations
Common across the globe
pitfalls and
challenges
Tactical Distilled through a

rigorous process to enhance Value- Expert-
Designed for: your success added validated
Executive Platform Service

sponsors owners and process
and teams owners
Contact your ServiceNow team

Get started today. Visit Customer Success Center. 17
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© 2021 ServiceNow, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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Build An Internal Team of Servicenow Experts and Train Users

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Build an internal team of

ServiceNow experts and train users

Insight: Build an internal team of ServiceNow experts and train users

Key implementation steps

2 © 2021 ServiceNow, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Practitioner insight: ServiceNow provides access to tools and resources on the

 Develop training through your team.

Introduce the Now Platform to the broader community

Provide ongoing training opportunities

 Align your training plan with your ServiceNow roadmap.

 Create non-classroom training activities such as:

 Review post-training satisfaction surveys and follow up on opportunities for improvement.

Key performance indicators Essential KPIs Nice-to-have KPIs

Stakeholder map Responsible/accountable Consulted/informed

16 © 2021 ServiceNow, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Definitive guidance on a Created and vetted Proven to help you transform

Tactical Distilled through a

Executive Platform Service

Contact your ServiceNow team

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