Evolving Your Service Desk: summing up

In this short series of blogs, I’ve been pondering issues discussed in more detail – with practical suggestions – in Evolving Your Service Desk, a report we’ve recently published with the Service Desk Institute (SDI). (I’m delighted to see how many of you have downloaded the report already – if you haven’t yet I’d urge you to get it now.)

I’ve homed in on three interconnected challenges that the service desk faces: shadow IT, making the most of knowledge and staff recruitment and retention. Each of these challenges, I’ve argued, necessitates a different type of evolution on the part of the service desk – and the SDI report provides pointers on making the necessary changes with minimal disruption to business as usual.

Burying your head in the sand about all these challenges isn’t an option. Today’s end-users, accustomed to consumer products and the associated support, aren’t sympathetic to lengthy ITSM processes. If the service desk, and IT generally, doesn’t flex to accommodate them, they will be even more inclined to find solutions for themselves, which could ultimately put the future customer satisfaction levels of the service desk and IT function in doubt.

Like the SDI, however, I’m confident that most service desk teams will successfully evolve to meet these challenges, just as they have coped with past changes. In the process, they will forge closer links with their customers, the end-users, than ever before, and enhance their standing within the organization. The urge to bypass the IT function to obtain services and support will decrease as users discover that they can get what they want in-house, in the timescale that they need it, from people with the right skills and knowledge.

I know that many Hornbill customers are already making big strides in this direction. Naturally, we’re working hard to make sure that our product provides the capabilities and tools that service desk teams will need for their evolution, while safeguarding traditional ITSM disciplines. Our innovative solutions are designed to lighten IT’s workload and deliver a better user experience. If there’s a specific feature that you believe would help you, please get in touch.