Chances are, over the past few weeks you have heard this phrase: “New year, new me!” The new year is a time to set goals ourselves in a personal sense, but what about in business? What if we could make small resolutions that would have a big impact on creating a digital revolution and transformation? The result might be surprising, no matter how good or bad 2021 turns out to be.
We have made our predictions for the coming year in workplace tech, but we have five simple resolutions for leaders in the workplace to create a meaningful 2021 in the digital landscape.
Resolution 1: Slim Down Processes by Going Lean and Staying Agile
The new year is always a time when people consider slimming down and exercising. So why not do the same for your service desk team?
I don’t mean slimming down your staff – especially with all of the unpredictable disruptions people are more important now than ever. I mean going lean and agile. There is much to be said of agile, which we shared in detail in a recent post, but the most important thing to understand is that it is a mindset that focuses on flexibility and adaptability.
Agile works well with lean because the lean methodology encourages teams to deliver fast by eliminating that which does not add value. This means that your team can not only adapt but work efficiently. This is not at war with ITIL or ITSM processes, but complimentary to them.
You can learn more about these methodologies in detail by downloading the Gartner report: 3 Steps to Agile Service Management.
Resolution 2: Expand Horizons by Taking Service Management Beyond IT
2021 will be the year of expanding horizons – not necessarily geographically (although that would be wonderful), rather an expansion of tools beyond their original business unit for greater ROI and uses. One tool that you can consider expanding in the new year is your service management software.
There are several reasons to consider exploring service management beyond IT, which we discussed in detail in our recent guide, 3 Ways to Take Service Management Beyond IT and infographic. However, the greatest reason is to streamline processes across departments (not to mention, improving cost optimization and ROI on existing software).
For example, Creighton University, featured in our recent case study, put EV Service Manager and Service Apps to work to create a streamlined way for employees and students to access campus during Covid shutdowns. They also currently use EV Service Manager to track and manage PPE gear to mitigate risk during the pandemic. This is just one of a number of examples of service manager expanding beyond IT to create immense impacts.
Resolution 3: Invest a Few Hours a Month on Employee Betterment
The best tools empower and augment humans, but the best tools will fail if the people using them are not invested in as well. For this reason, the single best resolution you can make for a digital workplace is to invest in humans.
The investment does not necessarily have to be a major financial one (although finances are an important consideration). This type of investment is in providing employees the tools they need, education they want, and appreciation they crave to keep everyone working together toward success in the new year.
For example: offer a few fringe benefits including the ability to spend a few hours a month taking new courses, learning new skills, or even just mentally recharging. This will have a high return on investment, as turnover can be reduced, and employees will be overall more satisfied with their personal and professional development.
Resolution 4: Commit to a Culture of Collaboration
In the new year, set a goal to better the collaborative efforts of your teams. Especially for remote employees, we tend to fall into an easy pattern of working independently, and true self-service technology makes this even easier than ever before. However, it can be helpful to commit to a culture of collaboration.
There are so many benefits to using collaborative technology. For example, when there is a culture of collaboration employees report greater feelings of connection despite vast geographical distances. Further tech that fosters collaboration can help streamline processes and make it easier to work toward common goals.
Resolution 5: Challenge Your Team to Embrace New Tech
We all need to open up to someone – why not a chatbot? On a serious note, this year is perfect to challenge your team to embrace new tech that can help them gain efficiency while also enabling machine learning to learn from them. For example, encourage your team to try using a chatbot or virtual service desk agent in new ways. Challenge them to think of tech they may not inherently gravitate too.
Remember, this goes beyond employee betterment and is more an invitation to employees to suggest new technology, challenging management to listen, and challenging everyone to use the technology available.
Resolutions in Action
Success in 2021 will require an investment in employees and their overall wellbeing. This will be more important now than in past years because the team holding things together may be feeling increased pressure. By creating resolutions and goals to further digital transformation, your business can embrace the new era and move forward.
To learn more about how EasyVista can help your business achieve these resolutions, request a demo with an EasyVista expert!
