Optimize the Service Desk With a Shift-Left Strategy
The best type of service desk ticket is the one that doesn’t exist.
- Tier 2 and 3 specialists lose time and resources working on tickets instead of more complex projects.
- The service desk finds themselves resolving the same incidents over and over, wasting manual work on tasks that could be automated.
- Employees expect modern, consumer-like experiences when they need help; they want to access information and resources from wherever they are and have the tools to solve their problems themselves without waiting for help.
Our Advice
Critical Insight
- It can be difficult to overcome the mindset that difficult functions need to be escalated. Shift left involves a cultural change to the way the service desk works, and overcoming objections and getting buy-in up front is critical.
- Many organizations have built a great knowledgebase but fail to see the value of it over time as it becomes overburdened with overlapping and out-of-date information. Knowledge capture, updating, and review must be embedded into your processes if you want to keep the knowledgebase useful.
- Similarly, the self-service portal is often deployed out of the box with little input from end users and fails to deliver its intended benefits. The portal needs to be designed from the end user’s point of view with the goal of self-resolution if it will serve its purpose of deflecting tickets.
Impact and Result
- Embrace a shift-left strategy by moving repeatable service desk tasks and requests into lower-cost delivery channels such as self-help tools and automation.
- Shift work from Tier 2 and 3 support to Tier 1 through good knowledge management practices that empower the first level of support with documented solutions to recurring issues and free up more specialized resources for project work and higher value tasks.
- Shift knowledge from the service desk to the end user by enabling them to find their own solutions. A well-designed and implemented self-service portal will result in fewer logged tickets to the service desk and empowered, satisfied end users.
- Shift away manual repetitive work through the use of AI and automation.
- Successfully shifting this work left can reduce time to resolve, decrease support costs, and increase end-user satisfaction.
Member Testimonials
After each Info-Tech experience, we ask our members to quantify the real-time savings, monetary impact, and project improvements our research helped them achieve. See our top member experiences for this blueprint and what our clients have to say.
9.2/10
Overall Impact
$19,739
Average $ Saved
14
Average Days Saved
Client
Experience
Impact
$ Saved
Days Saved
Maples Service Company Limited
Guided Implementation
8/10
$2,599
18
Mascoutah Community Unit School District 19
Guided Implementation
10/10
$32,499
20
Mohawk Medbuy Corporation
Guided Implementation
10/10
$10,000
5
Mahmoud is extremely knowledgeable and helpful. We very much appreciated his help with this project.
MUFG Investor Services
Workshop
8/10
$41,000
20
Feedback very positive from all attendees, expect more savings and improve service to be made following change on mindset
Kansas City Chiefs Football Club
Guided Implementation
10/10
$12,599
7
Great insights, definitely will make our project more successful.
Department of Justice Canada
Guided Implementation
10/10
N/A
N/A
This feedback relates to a meeting held with Natalie Sansone on Feb 18, 2021. We discussed the Justice plan for implementing a self-service portal... Read More
University of St. Thomas
Guided Implementation
8/10
$8,679
5
We received a lot of great ideas and suggestions on next steps that we can take on our journey. It wasn't always clear exactly what our next steps ... Read More
Workshop: Optimize the Service Desk With a Shift-Left Strategy
Workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.
Module 1: Prepare to Shift Left
The Purpose
- Define how shift left would apply in your organization, get buy-in for the initiative, and define metrics to measure success.
Key Benefits Achieved
- Defined scope and objectives for the shift-left initiative
- Buy-in for the program
- Metrics to keep the project on track and evaluate success
Activities
Outputs
Review current service desk structure
Discuss challenges
Review shift-left model and discuss how it would apply in your organization
- Shift-left scope
Complete the Shift-Left Prerequisites Assessment
- Completed shift-left prerequisites assessment
Complete a RACI chart for the project
- RACI chart
Define and document objectives
- Defined objectives
Review the stakeholder buy-in presentation
- Stakeholder buy-in presentation
Document critical success factors
- Critical success factors
Define KPIs and metrics
- Metrics to measure success
Module 2: Plan to Shift to Level 1
The Purpose
- Build strategy and identify specific opportunities to shift service support left to Level 1 through knowledge sharing and other methods.
Key Benefits Achieved
- Identified initiatives to shift work to Level 1
- Documented knowledge management process workflows and strategy
Activities
Outputs
Identify barriers to Level 1 resolution
Discuss knowledgebase challenges and areas for improvement
Optimize KB input process
- KB input workflow
Optimize KB usage process
- KB usage workflow
Optimize KB review process
- KB review workflow
Discuss and document KCS strategy and roles
- KCS strategy and roles
Document knowledge success metrics
- Knowledge management metrics
Brainstorm additional methods of increasing FLR
- Identified opportunities to shift to Level 1
Module 3: Plan to Shift to End User and Automation
The Purpose
- Build strategy and identify specific opportunities to shift service support left to the end user through self-service and to automation and AI.
Key Benefits Achieved
- Identified initiatives to shift work to self-service and automation
- Evaluation of self-service portal and identified opportunities for improvement
Activities
Outputs
Review existing self-service portal and discuss vision
Identify opportunities to improve portal accessibility, UI, and features
- Identified opportunities to improve portal
Evaluate the user-facing knowledgebase
- Improvements to knowledgebase
Optimize the ticket intake form
- Improved ticket intake form
Document plan to improve, communicate, and evaluate portal
- Strategy to communicate and measure success of portal
Map the user experience with a workflow
- Self-service resolution workflow
Document your AI strategy
- Strategy to apply AI and automation
Identify candidates for automation
- Identified opportunities to shift tasks to automation
Module 4: Build Implementation and Communication Plan
The Purpose
- Build an action plan to implement shift left, including a communications strategy.
Key Benefits Achieved
- Action plan to track and implement shift-left opportunities
- Communications plan to increase adoption
Activities
Outputs
Examine process workflows for shift-left opportunities
- Incident management workflow with shift-left opportunities
Document shift-left-specific responsibilities for each role
- Shift left responsibilities for key roles
Identify and track shift-left opportunities in the action plan
- Shift-left action plan
Brainstorm objections and responses
- Objection handling responses
Document communications plan
- Communications plan
About Info-Tech
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We produce unbiased and highly relevant research to help CIOs and IT leaders make strategic, timely, and well-informed decisions. We partner closely with IT teams to provide everything they need, from actionable tools to analyst guidance, ensuring they deliver measurable results for their organizations.
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A blueprint is designed to be a roadmap, containing a methodology and the tools and templates you need to solve your IT problems.
Each blueprint can be accompanied by a Guided Implementation that provides you access to our world-class analysts to help you get through the project.
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Get the help you need in this 5-phase advisory process. You'll receive 6 touchpoints with our researchers, all included in your membership.
Guided Implementation 1: Prepare
- Call 1: Discuss shift left and determine readiness
- Call 2: Complete buy-in presentation and define metrics
Guided Implementation 2: Shift to Level 1
- Call 1: Identify opportunities to shift resolution to Level 1 and optimize knowledge sharing
Guided Implementation 3: Shift to end user
- Call 1: Identify opportunities to shift resolution to the end user and optimize self-service portal
Guided Implementation 4: Shift to automation
- Call 1: Identify opportunities to shift resolution to automation and AI
Guided Implementation 5: Implement
- Call 1: Build implementation and communication plan
Contributors
15 Anonymous Interviews
Standardize the Service Desk
Optimize the Service Desk With a Shift-Left Strategy
Reduce Shadow IT With a Service Request Catalog
Build a Service Desk Consolidation Strategy
Design a VIP Experience for Your Service Desk
Improve Service Desk Ticket Intake
Improve IT-Business Alignment Through an Internal SLA
Implement Systems Management to Improve Availability and Visibility
Build a Chatbot Proof of Concept
Incident Management for Small Enterprise
Analyze Your Service Desk Ticket Data
Deliver a Customer Service Training Program to Your IT Department
Accelerate Your Automation Processes
Build an ITSM Tool Implementation Plan
Right-Size the Service Desk for Small Enterprise
IT Service Management Selection Guide
Manage the Active Directory in the Service Desk
Staff the Service Desk to Meet Demand
Define Service Desk Metrics That Matter
Improve Service Desk Ticket Queue Management
Transform Your Field Technical Support Services
Define Requirements for Outsourcing the Service Desk
Take Action on Service Desk Customer Feedback
Transition Projects Over to the Service Desk
Build Better Workflows