1. Improve IT-End User Relations
Ease the pain caused by end-user dissatisfaction with IT

2. Introduction
End-user dissatisfaction with IT – caused by the general impression that IT cannot adequately meet end-user needs – creeps up and has a negative effect on IT strategy and overall operational effectiveness.
Why You Should Read This Solution Set:
This Solution Set Is For IT Leaders Who:
Understand how end users’ negative perceptions become IT's reality.
Identify the areas where end-user satisfaction is low and the relationship between IT and the user community has become strained.
Learn quick, low-cost tactics to smooth away the friction, improve end-user satisfaction, and repair the relationship.
Restore operational effectiveness by removing the roadblocks to productive IT/end-user interactions.
Constantly struggle with end-user complaints about services, communications, or both.
Are left out of the decision-making process due to lack of trust in IT capability.
Struggle with their department’s reputation for being unhelpful and causing problems.
Contend with misperceptions of what IT should be doing.
Encounter funding and approval roadblocks due to lack of end-user satisfaction with IT’s ability to deliver services.

3. Executive Summary
The nature of the end user-IT relationship has an organization-wide impact. A less than ideal relationship results in a breakdown of trust and confidence, negatively impacting IT’s ability to deliver what the organization needs. Like a marriage, this failed relationship eventually leads to a parting of ways.
End-user satisfaction can be measured by the perception of IT in two broad categories. We classify the relationship type based on survey satisfaction scores in:
IT services provided to the end user (support, capacity, availability, reliability).
IT communications with the end user (communications, projects, changes).
Most IT organizations have difficulty in one of these two categories, but some will struggle with both. In all cases, there is a need to prioritize for immediate, cost effective improvement to save the relationship and allow time for longer term repairs.
Focus your efforts in the following IT areas to maximize relationship improvements:
Availability
Support
Change
Projects
Info-Tech’s End-User Engagement and Assessment Tool will enable you to improve your end-user relationship by:
Surveying end users.
Identifying the areas where the user population is most dissatisfied.
Providing custom recommendations for the primary areas of dissatisfaction and fast, cost-effective ways to begin making improvements.

4. Recognize the impact of end user-IT relationships
What’s in this Section:
Sections
The four end user-IT relationship types
The impact of poor relations on IT
The impact of poor relations on the business
How to identify your end user-IT relationship type
Recognize the Impact
Companionate Relationship
Rescuing Relationship
Romantic Relationship
Traditional Relationship
Summary

5. IT Department Relations
IT’s relationship with end users drives employee engagement and the quality of overall working conditions
The relationship between end users and IT has a direct effect on the entire organization
Employee engagement surveys show that improved working conditions mean higher levels of job satisfaction, less employee turnover, and savings on recruiting and training costs.
IT’s relationship with the end user directly impacts the level of end-user productivity and the quality of the end-user work experience.
Employees who are happy with their ability to do their work – enabled by good IT capability or service – are more likely to be productive and stay in the organization.
Good relationships between IT and other departments correspond to better working conditions throughout the organization and higher employee engagement.
High
Working Conditions
Low
Low
IT Department Relations
High
Source: Info-Tech Research Group
N = 31
. End-user satisfaction levels in the areas of IT service and IT communications will drive end user-IT relations and directly impact overall working conditions and employee engagement within the organization.

6. End-user frustration leads to ... …impact on the organization
End-user frustrations have a negative impact across the organization affecting productivity & employee retention
End-user frustration leads to ...
…impact on the organization
IT input is not trusted or sought
Poor decisions are made because of incomplete information
End users are unwilling to work proactively with IT
Negatively impacts workforce efficiency levels across the organization, which leads to employee turnover
Too many end users trying to fix problems themselves
Delayed or inadequate problem resolution that affects organizational performance
A high volume of complaints to management about IT
Senior management hesitant to allow IT to implement potentially beneficial innovations
Business and IT are separate silos with little or no communication and information sharing
Little dialog between IT and other departments that results in missed opportunities for valuable IT services

7. End-user dissatisfaction leads to….
Poor end-user satisfaction affects IT staff morale and the ability to deliver IT strategy
End-user dissatisfaction leads to….
…impact on IT
Lack of confidence from senior management
Difficulty in getting funding for new projects or lack of interest in IT input
Distrust for IT ideas and service
Unable to get business support for IT strategy and initiatives
IT is used as a scapegoat when projects don’t deliver on time
End users don’t consult with IT on new project ideas; no desire for collaboration
Lack of understanding between IT and end users in terms of what is doable
End users’ frustrations escalate due to unmet expectations
Constant complaints about IT staff and services
Low IT staff morale leading to burnout and turnover
IT departments need to stop being seen as a roadblock to the end user.
~ Brett Beaubouef, IT Director

8. The four areas where end users interact with IT fall into two major categories: IT Services and IT Communications
Your services and communications to end users are made up of four key areas of IT.
1. Availability
Service – the ability to avoid outages and to properly control them when they must occur.
Communication – end users are aware of when, why, and how long they will occur.
Service – resolutions provided by IT are effective and efficiently delivered.
Communication – the status of support issues are conveyed clearly.
Service – ensure changes occur that improve end-user efficiency and limit downtime.
Communication – make the end user aware of upcoming changes and their impact.
Service – end users are provided with quality deliverables from IT projects.
Communication – end users are kept up to date with the status of projects that pertain to them and their ability to do their job.
IT Services
2. Support
3. Change
IT Communications
4. Projects

9. Failure to keep users satisfied with IT services results in loss of business productivity & effectiveness
Listen for the signals of growing dissatisfaction with the actions behind the words.
I don’t get problems fixed because IT doesn’t have the “know how” to provide proper support.
It takes forever to solve my problem, so I can’t get back to normal.
I get passed around several people before I get results. What a bunch of incompetents.
The advice I get or the repairs they do don't fix my problem, they just create a new one.
End users who aren’t satisfied with IT services will cost the organization time and money. Time is spent fixing problems created by end users trying to self-solve and money is lost because end users fail to get the proper tools to do their jobs efficiently.

10. Don’t let IT be relegated to the role of “repair
Don’t let IT be relegated to the role of “repair.” Assess IT’s communications and make sure end users are happy
Actions speak louder than words. Recognize the signs that the end user is frustrated with IT communications.
End users are only contacting IT for help desk support. Beyond that, they avoid communicating with IT completely.
End users are not communicating with IT and not collaborating due to a lack of faith in IT’s communication abilities.
End users stop replying to s sent out from IT because they no longer read them, can’t understand them, or don’t feel they are relevant.
IT staff are treated like repair staff who are only there to fix things when they break.
If anything goes wrong, it is IT’s fault because they are just a service center and nobody knows what they really do anyway.
End users who are fed up with IT communications will cost the organization time, revenue, and competitiveness: time spent fixing avoidable issues, revenue due to lost productivity, and falling behind competition due to lack of IT innovation.

11. Info-Tech Research Group Helps IT Professionals To:
Quickly get up to speed with new technologies
Make the right technology purchasing decisions – fast
Deliver critical IT projects, on time and within budget
Manage business expectations
Justify IT spending and prove the value of IT
Train IT staff and effectively manage an IT department
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