If you are tasked with cooking your holiday family meals, chances are you know the value of a great recipe. One dash of cinnamon here, or a pinch of extra salt there can create a dish that guests will talk about (and attempt to recreate) for years to come. The same idea can apply outside of the kitchen, in the most unlikely of places: the IT service desk.
As we prepare for the holidays and family recipes are being traded, it is a good idea to think about the ingredients needed for service desk success for the season and beyond. This recipe will not only give your service desk the upper hand going into the new year but might inspire other business units in the enterprise to try to create their own similar recipe for success with service management.
4 Ingredients to Deliver Exceptional Support This Seaso
A recipe for service desk success can create more streamlined processes, better efficiency and productivity, reduced ticket volume, and shorter ticket handling times. The following ingredients can be adjusted to taste (and need).
Ingredient 1: A Heaping Scoop of Agile Methodology
The first ingredient into your ITSM service desk recipe for success is a heaping scoop of agile methodology.
Agile refers to more than just your dance moves or ability to avoid being burned in the kitchen this holiday season. Agile is a relatively new ideology that allows the service desk to think on their feet without overly cumbersome processes.
In recent reports, 71% of organizations say that agile approaches are allowing them to better manage changing priorities. Likewise, 65% of organizations with an agile mindset feel that the approach helps them come into overall business alignment and another 62% say that the agile methodology means they’re able to increase the delivery speed of their software products.
But what exactly is the agile methodology?
Agile is a philosophy or a set of guidelines for your work. These principles don’t necessarily tell you how to complete specific tasks but does help guide you in making decisions.
In 2001, the Agile Manifesto was developed and is comprised of the following four values:
- Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
- Working software over comprehensive documentation
- Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
- Responding to change over following a plan
Since agile is such a large topic, you can start with understanding simple steps to going agile in this Gartner report.
We could spend hours discussing how, when, and where to incorporate agile into your ITSM processes, but it is important to note that agile and ITIL are not at odds with each other (despite sometimes seeming to be). Rather, agile and ITIL can work together and can be implemented with fairly simple steps.
Ingredient 2: 1 Cup of Cloud-Based ITSM Software
In any good recipe, there is at least one ingredient that helps elevate the whole dish. In this case, you can think of cloud-based ITSM software as the yeast causing the bread to rise – meaning, it is the tool that brings the service desk together without allowing the rest of the ingredients to fall flat.
An ITSM software organizes and streamlines activities directed by policies, organized and structured in processes and supporting procedures. Capabilities can range from simple ticket creation and tracking to change and release management, incident and problem management, and more.
There are several features in an ITSM tool that can make life easier for the service desk. Check out this short demo video to learn how an ITSM tool, like EasyVista Service Manager, functions.
Ingredient 3: A Dash of ITIL Processes
No recipe would be complete without proper seasoning and guidance on how to combine the flavors in an effective way. In this way, ITIL processes fit into the recipe for service desk success and provide the flavor and guidelines and processes for how to get the most out of a cloud-based ITSM software.
ITIL is defined as: “A set of best-practice publications for IT service management. ITIL gives guidance on the provision of quality IT services and the processes, functions and other capabilities needed to support them.”
These best practices define the service lifecycle (ITIL v3) and the Service Value System and Service Value Chain (ITIL 4). These processes help the service desk deliver value from concept through production on a variety of tasks and procedures.
There are a lot of processes and practices in ITIL – too many to fully dive into in this post – however it is important to note that these processes can streamline the service desk and are a key ingredient in the recipe for success.
Ingredient 4: A Steaming Side of Professional Development
Of course, like any delectable holiday meal there are several sides at the table to create the full meal – after all, you wouldn’t have a turkey without the dressing or the potatoes! In the IT service desk, the best sides are those that offer both personal and professional development.
Giving your IT support agents space to develop professionally will help them feel appreciated and will help them grow, which ultimately benefits the organization. Empowering agents with knowledge to succeed in new ways will foster a positive environment and will allow agents to take ownership of their projects.
A simple way to do this is to put into place a few employee incentive programs, like offering to send employees to conferences (even if they are virtual for now), providing mentorship programs, and helping them develop soft-skills. This will add more flavor to your holiday service desk table, so to speak.
Attitude of Gratitude: Give Thanks for the Support Desk Team
The holiday season is a time to reflect and give thanks for those around you. This applies to the service desk as well. The best recipe for a perfect service desk will fall flat if you aren’t grateful for those who make it possible. Never underestimate the power of gratitude when it comes to supporting your team.
There are a few simple ways to show your service desk team an attitude of gratitude during the holidays and beyond. Professionally, you can thank them by boosting morale and making their jobs easier with the right tools. Personally, you can thank them by working to achieve greater “work-life balance”.
And, of course, a simple “Thank you” can go a long way with showing your gratitude and creating a beautiful holiday season.
To learn more about EasyVista’s ITSM Platform, click here.
