1. Info-Tech Research Group1 Improve the Service Orientation of IT Staff Create a Culture of Customer Service in IT

2. Info-Tech Research Group2 Introduction Should IT staff demonstrate a customer service orientation? Yes, they should. Improving the service orientation of your IT staff will reduce wasted time and effort, maintain reasonable expectations with customers*, and improve overall company satisfaction with IT service. This Research Is Designed For: This Research Will Help You: Senior IT management and/or C-level IT executives Front-line IT managers/supervisors with direct reports. Understand the six competencies that optimize service orientation and how they apply to IT staff. Distinguish the importance of the competencies in accordance to specific job families within IT. Evaluate the service orientation of your IT staff to determine which actions are required. Improve the service orientation of your IT department through advice that is tailored to the staff evaluations. The Situation Info-Tech’s research has shown that a customer service orientation is a key component of a successful, efficient, and well- run IT department. Unfortunately, many IT leaders either do not understand what it takes to become customer-service-oriented, or they are unwilling to foster a customer service mindset because of perceived obstacles. * For the context of this research report, a “customer” is defined as any internal end user, project stakeholder, business unit, etc. It does not refer to external customers of the business itself.

3. Info-Tech Research Group3 Executive Summary The Finding A culture of customer service in IT is achieved by fulfilling six core competencies. Without these key ingredients, IT leaders won’t know where to start in implementing a customer-focused culture. IT leaders who already know how to this are often unable to do so because of real or perceived obstacles posed by the business (e.g. stigma of failed projects, etc.). The Solution By assessing staff’s level of maturity in each of the six competencies, IT leaders can determine where gaps exist, identify appropriate actions, and begin to create a culture of customer service in IT. The Recommendation IT leaders must first realize that culture shifts occur at the top and then filter down. Developing a customer service orientation in IT must follow the same path. CIO involvement is imperative. The next step is to assess how the various customer-facing IT roles align with the six competencies. This will help IT leaders highlight gaps that exist between how IT is performing its customer service function versus the level it should be at for each competency. Once the gaps have been identified, the CIO will have a roadmap for filling the gaps and will be better able to serve the business by developing a culture of service orientation.

4. Info-Tech Research Group4 What’s in this Section:Sections: Making the Case for Service Orientation in IT Defining the Six Competencies Evaluating Current Staff Behavior Making Changes to Balance the Core Competencies in Staff Understand the benefits of a service-oriented IT department. Recognize the obstacles to service orientation in your IT department. Know the costs of failing to adopt a service orientation within your IT department. A brief introduction to the six core competencies that enable a culture of customer service

5. Info-Tech Research Group5 Is your IT department lacking a service orientation mindset? As an IT leader, can you relate to any of these statements? 1.My people are in IT; they don’t need to focus on customer service. 2.My IT people are way too busy to worry about customer service orientation! We have tickets to fill and project deadlines to meet. 3.Who is going to spearhead the culture change? Me? I’m swamped! There are many other things that are a better use of my time. 4.No matter what I do, the business is never completely satisfied. Why should we keep trying to make them happy? 5.My problem is that I’m understaffed, so improved service orientation won’t help at all. As a member of IT who interacts with customers, you need to be proficient in several core competencies related to customer service. If you are interacting with people you need to have a service-oriented mindset. If so, it’s time to change your thinking.

6. Info-Tech Research Group6 A service-oriented culture in IT brings benefits to everyone Reliability: IT staff become more adept at their work. Improved Reputation: Business unit perception of IT improves. Higher Efficiency: IT will perform consistently well in a repeatable fashion. IT staff benefits: Improved Communication: End user/stakeholder requests will be better understood and less likely to be mistranslated. Appropriate Resolution: The majority of projects, tickets, and issues will be completed on time and on budget. Increased Productivity and Efficiency: Resolution of requests mean that employees have what they need to do their job. End-user/stakeholder benefits: Profitability: High efficiency and productivity positively impact the bottom line. Competitive Advantage: A stable IT discipline allows staff to focus on helping achieve success in the marketplace. Improved Efficiency: Repeatable, service-oriented IT processes result in a smoother-running business. Organization benefits: Procter & Gamble’s investment in adopting IT service orientation resulted in: 7% reduction in operating costs 10% cut in help desk calls and resolution times ($125 million annually). When Birlasoft implemented measures to improve IT service orientation, they achieved: 22% decrease in service tickets 80% decrease in daily calls 10% decrease in time to resolve problems. Source: Lewis, Krista and Lisa Schwartz. “A case for ITIL Return on Investment (ROI) White Paper,” ITSM Academy. Real-world benefits

7. Info-Tech Research Group7 IT says the most difficult part of keeping customers satisfied is prioritization, while end users say it’s communication Prioritization of tasks and projects is resoundingly the most difficult aspect of service orientation. In fact, most IT leaders would agree that prioritization is one of the most difficult aspect of IT in general. With demand nearly always exceeding supply, IT must determine which tasks are essential and which can wait. Surprisingly, customers often understand that IT is under pressure to keep things running and resolve issues. All they want is to be kept up-to-date on progress and informed if there are delays. Service orientation is key to customer satisfaction because its chief concern is about helping the right people at the right time, not costs or ROI. Source: Info-Tech Research Group n=151 36% of end users do not think that IT exhibits a service-oriented mindset

8. Info-Tech Research Group8 Poor service orientation in the IT department affects IT staff and significantly impacts customers WHY Not seeking further clarification about the problem. Failing to confirm relative ticket priority. Shifting focus from their current work to the higher priority tasks. Neglecting to keep end users informed about the status of their request. Not obtaining assistance from a team member. THE RESULT Increased and more frequent downtime. Increased volume of escalations. Consistently missed deadlines. End-users seeking out alternate and more costly solutions (e.g. buy replacement equipment rather than wait until the problem is fixed). Symptoms of poor service orientation include, but are not limited to: Tension between IT and other departments Lack of communication between IT and customers Strained relations between teams within IT Incorrect business requirements gathered Poor quality projects and budget overruns Prolonged wait times for ticket resolution Missed project deadlines and/or milestones. Only 23% of IT departments consider themselves to be service-oriented. Source: Info-Tech Research Group n=151

9. Info-Tech Research Group9 IT staff proficiency in six core competencies leads to high-quality customer service Problem Solving: Understand all possible solutions for a problem and picking the most effective one. Teamwork: Harness the resources of all members while thinking of clients and colleagues as one team. Adaptability: Adapt and adjust to changing circumstances and problems. Client Management: Understand the wants and needs of the client. Self-Management: Schedule tasks and duties to ensure timely delivery. Facilitation: Communicate and liaise between different business units. The Core Competencies of Service Orientation Facilitation Self- Management Teamwork Problem Solving Client Management Adaptability While each of the competencies is important for overall service orientation, the significance of each individual competency differs depending on which job family the IT position is in. The next section, “Defining an Ideal State and Competency Significance By Job Family” has more details.

10. Info-Tech Research Group10 IT staff attitude is the most important factor when it comes to good customer service All six core competencies are driven by attitude. Without the right attitude, IT staff cannot develop the behaviors required for good customer service. Facilitation Self- Management Teamwork Problem Solving Client Management Adaptability What is the most important element for customer service? Source: Info-Tech Research Group n=53

11. Info-Tech Research Group11 Enable change to your IT service orientation by targeting key areas that need improvement...the ideal state for each competency...the current service orientation of IT staff...processes and support to improve service orientation in IT...varying competency significance by job family 2. Evaluate 3. Change 1. Define

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