Lakeland Bank

When I started in IT, working for a regional telecommunications company, IT Service Management as we know it today did not exist. We used a homegrown tool for logging help desk tickets and a mainframe-based tool for documenting change requests. We had not moved to the concept of an overall IT Service suite or structure. However, we did have standardized processes that our agents were expected to follow when answering an IT issue, documenting a ticket, resolving the ticket, and following up with the end user. A rudimentary knowledge base system existed on the mainframe to aid the agents in trouble shooting. Although callbacks were performed to users to gauge satisfaction, automated surveys were not yet on our radar either.

As the years progressed, our organization brought in new talent with larger visions of standardization. We went through ISO 9000:2000 certification. We further refined our processes, developing process owners, reviewing guidelines, etc. We became process focused, and then we became tool focused. So much so that our tool's sole purpose became documenting the process using as much automation as possible. We no longer wanted to let the agent make the decisions around ticket coding, trouble identification, and when to use knowledge. We became obsessed with continuous action, metrics derived from a systematic approach to ticket coding and not necessarily reflective of the situation. We automated anything we could, customer satisfaction surveys, metrics/reports, and we focused heavily on call handle time. Don't get me wrong, what we were doing was working. We were leaders in the Gartner Magic Quadrant as an outsource provider which led to providing support for large companies and taking on their internal IT help desk support. We were efficient and effective.

Fast forward to the mid-2000s, and we start looking to move away from customization and extensive automation. Instead, we want to embrace industry standards. We are no longer a regional company, but a large international company providing many services for our customers. Therefore, it made sense that we would want to focus on IT Service Management as a whole instead of individual areas and processes. We want to provide a support process focused on the user experience. To take the expectations of customer service typically reserved for the paying customer and focus that same effort and energy on providing that level of service to support our internal staff. I feel that getting IT to make this shift was a challenge during this time in the industry. Yet, we did as many others did, shifting towards a better way to provide our services.

At the time of this push to IT Service Management, I was privileged enough to be part of the selection committee to determine which industry-standard tool we would migrate to. After a thorough review, the decision to move to ServiceNow and out-of-the-box IT Service Management was made. This is when the difficult part of the effort started. The dismantling of customizations in a homegrown system to move towards an industry standard process. A change from automation within a tool for critical functions that years of metrics were built upon; to a system whereby the individual makes a choice. Service desk management, the metrics teams and even agents were apprehensive of the change.  There was a fear of sorts related to what removing all the automation would do and if the individual documenting the record could do so correctly, uniformly and in a way that could continue to drive service improvements.  At the same time this organizational change was full of opportunities to learn and embrace the idea of IT Service Management.

“We became process focused, and then we became tool focused.”

After leaving this role I started a new position in a smaller organization where I was implementing IT Service Management at an IT organization that was possibly as far away from any industry standard as possible. I was not just the process owner and the organizational change champion in this role. I was the development manager. I was responsible for not just creating the change to bring this organization into industry standards; I had to back these processes up with a tool to make the organization more efficient and effective. In this opportunity, I looked closer at the service we provided and less at the process and tool. I knew using ServiceNow would get the industry standard processes in the tool. Still, my long pole in the tent was organizational change management. The most significant change we could make was addressing why switching from an IT team in the shadows to one that was upfront and part of the business. A team with complete understanding and engagement in the customer experience. Ultimately, we had to compromise in some areas of the business. We flourished with the ideas of service management and ITIL frameworks in some areas; in others, we went through the motions because we were instructed to do that but little actual change occurred.

My most recent IT Service Management opportunity involved putting ServiceNow back into the box. Multiple support partners highly customized the system without a holistic approach and over-site being applied to the occurring changes. I came into a system functioning very well in some areas whereas not so much in others. Over the last year, we have worked to put ServiceNow back in the box, to force standards that meet industry best practices, and to eliminate customizations except for in must-have situations. We now have a functioning tool, standard processes and a path forward, but we are still not there. We have a great system, executive buy-in, ITIL trained staff, yet we are not there. We're not far off, but there is still more work to get too what ITIL says is just plain services management. And even when we get to ITIL Service Management, we will not be done, because service management is a journey, not a destination, you must continually improve.

So why did I tell you about all these experiences? I wanted to set the stage for what I've learned in my service management journey and see if you have encountered the same things.

First and foremost, I have learned that organizational change cannot effectively happen without leadership sponsorship. Not the buy-in after a call with an analysis that says your company should be looking to make this change. Instead, genuine buy-in is understanding what this change will entail and how to keep it on track and not lose sight of the outcomes. I've had Service Management organizational changes thrust upon organizations that were doing what they were told. Still, at the lowest level in the organization, the changes were not understood, and the value was not visualized. Of course, the value must be understood for a measurable return on investment, especially when dealing with smaller companies. Still, I'd argue that larger companies face this same challenge.

Pick a methodology and stick with it. ITIL is not necessarily for everyone. I think that has been acknowledged now as we look at ITIL v4, where we move away from the prescriptive aspects towards almost a pick-and-choose model to your company's needs. Standard, repeatable, and understandable processes are what is crucial to success. With a robust process, the tool becomes irrelevant in a sense. But with your process, make sure the details are understood. Everyone needs to understand the significance of why you are choosing and documenting specific values in a ticket.

Standardize in a tool. I am partial to ServiceNow because I have been involved in and led organizational changes with this tool set. Integrating a Service Management platform that can span from procurement through service lifecycles to trouble resolutions and managing the risk and impact of production changes makes ServiceNow stand out to me. A large part of organizational change management is meeting your service fulfiller where they are at. ServiceNow allows you to do that easily on their platform.  And don’t overly customize your system, stay true to what the tool provides, configure where needed and customize only when absolutely necessary to meet a business, audit, regulatory requirement.

Train, train, and then train some more. All the changes you make at an origination when you are standardizing and moving to a services organization must be continually shared and refreshed. Too often, training is a done and one that leaves those fulfilling and delivering the service in a tight position. They must balance the delivery with the need to document what is happening. When the time comes to cut corners, the delivery will not suffer. It's the documentation and the ability to get the necessary picture of what is happening with your services.

Find a partner who is a true partner, not just a vendor, who can help you realize the value of the change you are making. Whether you are using ServiceNow or some other system, you need those experts to help at some point. When you find that you need that assistance, look hard to find a partner who is going to help make you successful. Implementing a system, is not easy and doing it alone can result in a long implementation period where the return on investment isn’t seen immediately and executive support for the change will decrease the longer it takes to see results.

Finally, never stop improving on what you have built. Look at continuous service improvement, and drive change in your organization. Push for a center of excellence, never stop asking why we do it this way. The next trend in Service Management is starting now. The expectations of service and support are evolving just as we think we know and understand them. Be the change that moves your organization forward.