Standardize the Service Desk

Provide timely and effective responses to user requests and resolutions of all incidents.

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Your Challenge

Immature or non-standardized service desk process causes:

Low business satisfaction
High cost to solve issues
Confused and unhappy end users
No root cause analysis leading to frequent workarounds and few resolutions
Wasted IT time and wages resolving the same issues time and again
Ineffective demand planning

View Outline

Infographic

Onsite Workshop

Our service desk research is designed to enable you to make yourself world class. We do this by:

Breaking down everything your Service Desk needs to do into digestible steps.
Providing actionable instructions on how to complete and triage all requests.
Building a solid foundation for future IT service improvements.

The Purpose

Assess the current state by identifying problems and setting goals for improvement.
Define support goals and responsibilities.
Identify issues with ticket categorization and revise the categorization scheme.

Key Benefits Achieved

A preferred future state for the service desk.
Clear delineation of roles for ticket escalations and knowledge transfer.
Improved ticket management and reporting though categorization.

Activities:		Outputs:
1.1	Assess the current state	Documented goals for improvement
1.2	Perform a maturity assessment and gap analysis	Maturity assessment and target state
1.3	Define service desk roles and responsibilities	RACI chart, and roles and responsibilities matrix
1.4	Improve ticket categorizations	Documented and tested classification schema

Included Resources

Align Roles and Data for Success

Service Desk Maturity Assessment

IT Skills Inventory and Gap Assessment Tool

Service Desk Ticket Classification and Dashboard Tool

Service Desk Action Plan Roadmap

Service Management Standard Operating Procedure

The Purpose

Ensure stakeholders receive appropriate service desk metrics.
Set standards to define and record incidents.
Prioritize incidents to minimize business disruptions.
Define escalation rules and processes.

Key Benefits Achieved

Establish SLAs as required by stakeholders.
Establish incident management procedures.
Incident prioritization based on impact and urgency.
Improved response times and improved technician satisfaction.

Activities:		Outputs:
2.1	Improve IT services through better reports	Service Desk Dashboard Action items/target goals List of required reports
2.2	Improve incident management to increase customer service	Intake process improvement plan Decision guide Recurring issues for root cause analysis
2.3	Prioritize incidents to minimize business disruptions	Prioritization matrix
2.4	Define escalation rules and processes	Escalation rules matrix Workflow diagrams

Included Resources

Improve Reporting and Managing of Incidents

Recurring Issues Template

Service Desk Triage Workflow Samples - Visio

Service Desk Triage Workflow Samples - PDF

The Purpose

Define standards for a knowledgebase.
Introduce the creation of knowledgebase articles.
Standardize processes to verify, approve, and fulfill service requests.
Assign priority to service requests based on business criticality and service agreements.

Key Benefits Achieved

Increased incident resolution times.
Changed culture to one of knowledge sharing and cross training.
Better ways to manage service requests to better serve the business.

Activities:		Outputs:
3.1	Use a knowledgebase to improve service team strength	Knowledgebase requirements list Knowledgebase article template Several draft knowledgebase articles
3.2	Improve services with better request management	Roadmap to service catalog Workflow diagrams, SLAs, process critiques

Included Resources

Use Knowledge Sharing and Build Service Request Workflows

Knowledgebase Article Template

The Purpose

Evaluate the service desk tools for effectiveness.
Ensure policies are in place to guide user behavior and direct technicians.
Build a communication plan for service desk improvement.
Finalize the project roadmap with outstanding tasks.

Key Benefits Achieved

Determine whether a replacement is needed for current service desk tools.
Streamlined decision making for technicians.

Activities:		Outputs:
4.1	Review service desk tools for effectiveness	Tool features list Plan for improvement
4.2	Evaluate and perform policies gap analysis	Templates for missing policies
4.3	Build communications plan to ensure success	Communications plan Project roadmap Next steps

Included Resources

Evaluate Tools and Plan Communications

IT Service Management Demo Script Template

Service Desk Software and RFP Evaluation Tool

The Purpose

Create a plan for project handovers.
Consolidate many help desks into a Service Desk.
Improve customer service at the Service Desk.
Build a knowledgebase to improve service team strength.

Key Benefits Achieved

Ensure a smooth transition for service desk support.
Consolidate help desks without compromising customer service.
Hone your team’s customer service skills

Activities:		Outputs:
5.1	Project handover to support team	Project Handover Meeting Agenda Project template
5.2	Consolidate multiple help desks into a service desk	Organizational Chart
5.3	Improve customer service at the Service Desk	Client management best practices List of customer service competencies
5.4	Build a knowledgebase to improve service team strength

Included Resources

Additional Service Desk Scenarios

Project Handover Template

Service Desk Support Call Worksheet

Competency Template

Case Studies and Deliverables

Service Desk SOP for an Energy Company

With a new service desk tool coming in the following week, the organization wanted to formalize their service desk processes to ensure all requirements were met, and create a formal document to move forward with.

Service Desk SOP for a Public Sector Organization

Increasing staff and an organizational need to improve the maturity of the service desk meant IT had to rebuild its service desk to ensure all requests were handled efficiently and effectively.

Service Desk Case Study of Olmsted Medical Center

Over the years, 16 groups had emerged within Olmsted Medical Center that provided IT service desk support to employees, visitors, and patients. Info-Tech Research Group delivered a five-day Service Desk Optimization workshop to design an optimum structure for the target state service desk, consolidating the 16 disparate entities into a single organization.