if you want everyone in the boat rowing at the same speed, you must get the first oar in the water, then the next, and so on until everyone is contributing to the boat’s forward momentum. This is the essence of collective responsibility. Simulations can provide you with the game film, practice,...
Tag(s): business of support, service management, supportworld
Supporting Office 365 is no easy task, especially in a university setting with a diverse audience of end users. But the University of New Mexico Information Technologies (UNM IT) is doing just that—and achieving exceptionally high first contact resolution rates, as well as huge growth in the use...
Tag(s): case study, desktop support, first call resolution, infrastructure change management, knowledge management, KM, release management, service desk
Major incidents resulting from change is one of the most effective metrics in your collection because it shows the service level impact of the changes being executed. It isn’t a measure of system failures; it’s a measure of departmental failures. It holds teams accountable for the impact they...
Tag(s): change management, metrics and measurements
Some of the most effective techniques for doing more with less come from lean management. Using these techniques, I’ve been able to mobilize my teams while maintaining or improving morale and customer satisfaction. But where do you start? How do you identify the areas that will have the biggest...
Tag(s): continual service improvement, leadership, organizational change management, process-improvement, support center
Today’s technical service and support organizations are constantly challenged to do more with less while remaining cost-efficient, maintaining service level agreements, and dealing with an ever-changing business and technological landscape. These changes create disruption and frustration for...
Tag(s): knowledge management, knowledge-management-systems, KM, Knowledge Management Systems, collaboration
Service providers have come to the realization that their departments simply are not sharing information as well as they could. There are just too many silos, which inhibit the free exchange of shared knowledge, ideas, and experience. The result? Poor decision making, agility, and knowledge...
Tag(s): knowledge management, KCS, KM
Without clear objectives, metrics are just a pile of numbers. The good is when we beat our targets, the bad is when we fail to hit those targets, and the ugly is when we fail to set challenging objectives. Remember, like baseball, the only thing that really matters in the end is whether or not...
Tag(s): metrics and measurements, performance management, service desk, service delivery
TECO Energy’s vision for its enterprise resource planning (ERP) project was to consolidate its existing financial, materials management (supply chain management), and human resource management applications and systems onto a single integrated platform across TECO Energy’s businesses. This...
Tag(s): case study, business alignment, process management, support center
L.L.Bean, a leading clothing and outdoor recreation equipment retailer, was built on a legacy of high-quality products and impeccable customer service. Founded in 1912, today the company generates about $1.5 billion in sales worldwide, thanks to the efforts of 5,000 year-round employees. After...
Tag(s): business of support, infrastructure change management, IT-business alignment, support operations, case study
Total contact ownership is a mark of business maturity for technical service and support organizations. It takes the best practices of ITSM and strengthens them with customer service resolve. TCO has always depended on the “one team, customer first” approach, as it requires the assignment groups...
Tag(s): customer experience, customer satisfaction, customer service, ITSM, practices and processes