IT service management going social

Social networking is emerging as a killer app for knowledge retention and sharing

Generation Next’s native language

As the IT-focused and broader work-force begins to induct the next generation which is highly attached to the concept of social media, the value proposition of using it as a service delivery enhancement tool is multiplied.

Busch said that social media already represents “the native language of help desk staff” who are generally young graduates. He espoused some examples of how core ITSM processes are enhanced by the use of social tools.

“In Incident Management there can be a faster response which creates less friction between the service provider and the consumer,” Busch said. “It adds a channel that customers are already familiar with and allows for better filtering of inbox noise that is not directly relevant to their given tasks.

“Customers only have to follow the information channels that affect them most such as outages, upgrade notices, innovations and new services, etc. Gamification is another social media trend emerging in ITSM because it can be effective in reinforcing valued customer and IT Staff behaviour.

“For Problem Management there is improved access to specialist resources. Think of systems such as LinkedIn’s skill profiles. Such systems can be utilised to place retained, self-help knowledge from discussions and a clear understanding of who to go to for more detailed expertise.

“Where Change Management is concerned, there is almost unlimited potential to provide better, broader and more human communication to the enterprise about IT changes.”

The collaborative tipping point

ServiceNow’s Dancy said that many of the organisations he speaks to at conferences, through webinars and in customer engagements are at the stage where “collaboration, feedback and engagement have reached a critical tipping point”.

“Most have started with internal collaboration within an activity stream while organisations which are more mature in social IT are looking to unify the customer experience regardless of an individual knowledge worker’s relationship to the company,” Dancy said. “Irrespective of whether they are communicating with internal or external staff, a customer, a vendor or a partner, in each channel they have come to understand the value of socialised tools and are looking to push the envelope even further.

“I would suggest that it is one of the fastest growing areas of IT service delivery and there is still tremendous opportunity to innovate here at all levels of the IT service delivery supply chain.”

Communication has changed

Adapting to the new landscape is a challenge for IT departments according to itSMF Australia’s Busch. He said that they have to “primarily realise that communication has fundamentally changed”.

“The old push communication is shifting to a pull dynamic where users seek out the channels and updates that are of interest or relevance to them,” Busch said. “Controlling the message becomes guiding the message with transparency and authenticity of conversations becoming the key element.

“There needs to be a realisation that in some cases the user may be more tech savvy than the IT support person. Customers want choice in how they consume the data that is important to them. The concept of BYO device and ‘appification’ demonstrates a mentality amongst users that ‘You own the data but I own how I consume it’.

“The boundaries between the organisation and the world are continuing to blur as we speak and we are increasingly seeing hyper specialised contractors who work for many employers at the same time often from offshore locations. This is making communication skills as well as workload management and co-ordination more important than ever. Social Media allows people to collaborate effectively across location, time and organisation boundaries to deliver seamless and valuable customer outcomes.”

Where there’s smoke, there’s fire

It is not all beer and skittles however in adopting social IT platforms in the IT service delivery workplace. There are challenges and risks involved but most can be successfully negotiated if managed correctly at the service design stage.

In the broader social media space, it is almost a daily occurrence to hear of the latest social media faux pas and any individual activity has the potential to be taken out of context and then go viral.

“People seem to speak their mind and disclose more than they should in social media which is not always appropriate for the workplace,” Busch said. “To mitigate against this, organisations need to have clear policies, plans and training in place. As well they need leaders who are active in corporate social media setting the tone for what is acceptable behaviour.

“There is also the risk of over-promising and under-delivering when it comes to social media initiatives within IT departments. It doesn’t have to be a stated project to implement social IT elements. Rather it should be an organic process where functionalities are tested, added and continually improved upon as clients join in the conversation. Real time social media metrics such as sentiment, follows, likes and shares can be used to measure the success of the communication strategy.

“It should also never be a means by which existing processes and structures are allowed to breakdown. Most organisations have made significant strides on their journeys to IT service improvement, so social tools need to be a complement to the following of traditional procedures and governance around incidents, problems and changes.”

So what’s the rub?

Dancy believes there are clear benefits afforded to IT departments that embrace the social media phenomenon as part of the way they deliver and improve services to the business.

“Benefits derived from the introduction of social elements in any enterprise system including ITSM are usually realised in stages,” Dancy said. “The first stage is the emergence of improved time to resolution for common questions and fixes. This is closely followed by the benefits for new employees who onboard with social systems such as activity streams that allow an unprecedented level of cultural, operational and acquired knowledge transparency.

“There is also a cleared pathway to dynamic real time support including better engagement with customers and better tools for finding, managing and measuring conversations and feedback. These improved interactions with customers will inevitably lead to higher customer satisfaction levels.”

Chris Dancy, Bradley Busch and itSMF Australia’s social media policy co-ordinator, Kathryn Howard will participate in a keynote discussion panel on social media and ITSM as part of itSMF Australia’s LEADit 2012 National Conference and Expo event to be held at the Gold Coast Conference and Exhibition Centre from 19-22 August.

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