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azM looks back on an exciting project / Customer seminar days in the UK / Getting acquainted with a new service desk /
Editorial
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TOPdesk Magazine, service management platform, discusses subjects that are topical in the world of professional service desks in IT, facilities and other service providing organizations. TOPdesk Magazine is intended for managers, service desks employees, facilities organizations and electronic city councils - anyone who is involved with supporting customers on a daily basis. This concerns both the processes and the technology behind these services.
COLOPHON
TOPdesk Magazine is a TOPdesk publication tel: +31 15 270 09 00 email: editorial@topdesk.com. Editorial board Gerben Bloemendal, Amanda Dirkse Editors Niek Steenhuis, Henrieke Korten, Clare Donald Translators Carrie Brandt, Clare Donald, Niek Steenhuis Lay-out Debora Reis, Joost Knuit Website Erik Pols, Glen Young This magazine is printed on FSC-certified paper, using an eco press with cadmium-free ink for all colours and distilled water instead of alcohol.
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Contents March 08
4 News 6
News
TOPdesk version 3.8 TOPdesk Belgium
On 1 February this year, TOPdesk opened a new office in Belgium. The office in Antwerp is the fourth TOPdesk office after Delft, London and Kaiserslautern. The establishment of a Belgian office means that TOPdesk can now support its Belgian clients better and more personally. For more information, or for a demonstration on location, please contact TOPdesk Belgium by telephone or email: TOPdesk Belgium BVBA Heilig Hartstraat 14 2600 Antwerp (Berchem) tel: +32 (0) 487 529 321 email: info@TOPdesk.be Version 3.8 of TOPdesk lite and Professional is now available. This new version offers a number of new functionalities to further improve the daily use and user-friendliness TOPdesk. The TOPdesk Web interface is also available in version 3.8. We are continually working on the improvement of our software new modules, more features, enhancing the user-friendliness and broadening our horizons. Do you wish to upgrade to version 3.8 or would you like to receive more information? Contact us on: +44 20 8846 8516 / info@topdesk.com.
4 NEWS
TOPdesk in French
In a bid to venture even deeper into the international market, TOPdesk has added another language to its already multilingual series. The range of TOPdesk products - Enterprise, Professional and lite - is now available in French. This is an important development regarding TOPdesks international presence; a TOPdesk branch recently opened in Antwerp, Belgium and the organization has been active at shows and fairs in Canada over the last few months. But most importantly, the ramifications of a French version of TOPdesk are great for the potential service management market in France. Check out the website at www.topdesk.fr.
NEWS 5
In April 2007, TOPdesk Magazine reported on the ambitious plan to restructure the IT department of the Academic Hospital in Maastricht, the Netherlands. The entire IT department was reorganized and its infrastructure was updated; this included the implementation of a new service management application. Now, almost a year after the official kick-off of the Upgrade Project, we take a look back on the implementation of TOPdesk Enterprise with project leader Ben Sollet.
TEXT: AMANDA DIRKSE
Configuration management. We also had a test phase. We intentionally planned to start using TOPdesk on a Friday because Fridays are usually the least busy day for the service desk. Despite our preparations, it still felt a little like being thrown into the deep end. We used the off-peak hours to log the incidents that we were unable to log during the busier times because of our unfamiliarity with TOPdesk.
6 TOPDESK
handled more efficiently. That promotes teamworkwhich was one of our goals.
simultaneously within the hospital. And many variables automatically mean more uncertainty. But we are very pleased with the progress!
Proud?
The step-by-step implementation of the new application resulted in the new procedures spreading very quickly across the IT department. Ben Sollet: In the meantime, we have reached quite a few milestones. Some colleagues needed to be convinced that the changes would bring about a win-win situation. The sharing of responsibilities has made that possible. I am rather proud of that. The introduction of the Problem management module will follow shortly. After that, the hospital will begin with an evaluation phase in order to further fine-tune the processes. We wish Ben Sollet and his team at the hospital much success with the continuation of the project.
TOPDESK 7
the location of the second seminar in February. The event was held in the serene environment of the Birmingham Botanical Gardens, in Edgbaston. The seminar kicked off with two presentations; customers then split up into intensive workgroups, according to the TOPdesk product they use.
from Smurfit Kappa Group in the UK, thoroughly enjoyed the Birmingham seminar and was particularly pleased with both the venue and the hospitality of the TOPdesk team. He took some time out to answer a couple of questions on his experiences of the day. What did you think of the TOPdesk Birmingham Customer Seminar Day? For the seminar to be held in the Botanical Gardens at Edgbaston was a great idea; its easy to get to by car or train, a very serene and conducive environment with ample facilities and wonderful gardens
8 TOPDESK
4% 4% 4% 4%
2% 2% 2% 26%
Product Developments Learn More Answer Queries Meet Other Users Upgrade Information Other Functions i.e. Facilities
13%
Learn How TOPdesk Fits with ITIL How Best to Implement Extranet Buddy System Meet the TOPdesk Team
22% 17%
What was the main reason for attending the TOPdesk Customer seminar?
to walk around at break times. All TOPdesk staff were very pleasant. A comprehensive introduction to the company and product was a real benefit to understand where the company had come from and it was interesting to hear about the roadmap for the future of TOPdesk. What aspects of the day were most useful to you and why? Firstly, I found familiarization with the UK staff in the London office really useful. Secondly, it was helpful to get a good understanding of the bigger picture with regards to the software in relation to ITIL and facilities management. It was also nice to hear how other customers are using the different modules of TOPdesk to accommodate their requirements. It helped me understand just how flexible the software is and how it can be adopted to the needs of our business. Change Management
for example can be used to publish and track a simple project lifecycle with dependencies, notifications, authorization and full-blown charts and reporting, all published via one central database. What did you like most about the seminar? I really liked the venue and the hospitality. In particular, there was a real sense on camaraderie with other TOPdesk customers who had similar business needs and goals. Do you find that your use of TOPdesk has improved since the seminar? As a relatively new user of TOPdesk, I felt that it was reassuring to find that I was using or planning to use the software as was intended. I got my head around news items and the methodology of the Knowledge base. I am now very confident about the imminent rollout of the software
throughout the UK and am certain that it will be as successful as implementations by my counterparts in the Netherlands at SK Group IT.
Future seminars
Several customers have since responded with a number of suggestions for improvement, while others have shown interest for other applications of TOPdesk such as for Facilities management. TOPdesk UK is keen to organize similar seminars in the future. Not only can users of TOPdesk learn a lot from each other, but TOPdesk can also get a lot out of it. Would you like more information on these seminars? Perhaps you would like to attend something similar in the future? Then feel free to contact us on +44 20 8846 8516 or by email at info@topdesk.co.uk. Your suggestions and comments are more than welcome.
TOPDESK 9
10 THEME
IT service management is based on three pillars: processes, technology and people. Reorganizing service management processes can increase efficiency, while technological improvements can help to process calls more quickly, thereby reducing the costs. Experience shows, however, that these hard factors have less effect on the final result of the implementation than so-called soft factors. Whether the service desk employees have insight into the processes within your organization proves to be more important than how extensively your workflow has been described. The human factor determines the success of an implementation. Processes can be reorganized, advanced applications can be installed, but in the end it is the people who provide the service. The rest is simply support.
implementation is gaining the support of the people involved. A lack of support is the main reason that certain projects fail, says Ivo Kristelijn, Managing Director of TOPdesk Consultancy: An organization has its own goals, values and ideas, but those of the people within the organization are too often overlooked. They have their own interests, opinions and motivations, and these should not be ignored. When the ideas of the organization do not correspond to the personal interests of the employees, they will be met with resistance. In reaction, the employees are sometimes put under more pressure, which in turn gives rise to more resistance. Systems can be configured, models can de adjusted, but the human factor is more complex.
Support
An important condition for a successful
Obstacle
One of the dangers of change processes within an organization is regarding
THEME 11
the people as an obstacle that should be overcome. One example of such a negative approach is given by Brian Johnson, one of the original authors of the first ITIL books. In a column on the service management website SearchCIO. com, Johnson states that people, as well as processes and technology, are an important factor in ITIL. If an employee has had a negative past experience with an ITIL implementation, it is likely that he or she will be sceptical towards another implementation. That is why, Johnson argues, the employees need to understand the use of ITIL. However, the way that Johnson approaches the people within
provided to the customer is foremost. The interests of the people who provide the service are made subordinate. This is less than ideal, because in optimal service delivery, not only is the customer satisfied, but also the service desk employee.
Investments
Investments in employees are therefore necessary, and should balance the investments in new technology and extensive process reorganization. When a service management application is purchased, service desk employees need to be trained in operating it; when company processes are reorganized, it is useful when
the results it yields. When an organization for example decides to train its employees, a problem arises. How much knowledge do the service desk employees need to have in order to function properly in the new organizational structure? How much time and money has to be spent on training them? In other instances, such a question can be answered by a cost-benefit analysis; as long as the benefits exceed the costs, investments are justified. But how does one measure whether the services have improved? There is no objective way to measure the quality of such services, which makes it hard to account for such investments.
In optimal service delivery, not only is the customer satisfied, but also the service desk employee.
an organization could be questioned. He regards the service desk employees as passive factors that need to be convinced of the need for a new process model and if they will not accept it, they must be forced to do so: Ultimately, each team member has three choices: lead, follow, or get out of the way. When an organization wishes to foster support for a new initiative, such an imperative approach may not be the best way to accomplish this. Providing insight into the processes (within the organization) can indeed help employees to warm towards the model that is to be introduced, but in Johnsons case the goal of the organization improving the services that are everyone knows which procedures now apply. Investing in people is the only way to ensure that the changes that have been implemented within an organization will be successful and sustainable. In practice however, these investments are hardly ever made. That is remarkable, especially when you take into account that an organizations staff represents its most substantial overhead cost and therefore requires large investments. So why is it more attractive to invest in technology rather than in people?
Investing in knowledge
In determining to what extent training service desk employees is of additional value for your services, hard figures do not suffice. But in order to make such a decision, you do not need hard figures, argues Kristelijn: The decision whether to hire external expertise, for example, does not have to be based on an extensive Excel spreadsheet of costs and benefits. Some rough estimation works fine just make some notes on a napkin. In most cases that will be enough. Beware of going to extremes though; organizations often call in either not enough external expertise (the service desk employees study the theory themselves), or too much external expertise (they follow an
Measurable
The problem with investing in people is that it is hard to measure
12 THEME
extensive training programme). Both approaches are inefficient in the end; the first approach can lead to incapable employees, the latter to unnecessary expenses. The solution lies somewhere in between. Try to organize the training programme on a step by step basis. The service desk employees study some theory, follow a course for a few days, and then evaluate whether they have sufficient knowledge to get started with the new tasks. If not, they participate in a few more training days. It is important to deal with the need for training in a pragmatic manner. This way you invest in knowledge more conscientiously.
the process are all factors that they feel contribute to an improved service.
People
As the field of service management grows more complex, a pragmatic approach seems to offer an ideal outcome. Extensively described processes and advanced software can certainly help to improve the service delivery, as long as these serve to support the people that have to use them. The more the service desk employees are involved in the introduction of a new application or process organization, the more likely it is that the implementation will be a success. After all, as Wheatcroft states, these are only a prerequisite for building a service proposition but they do not of themselves deliver the goods this is what we employ people for.
Transparency
Transparency in all activities can not only ensure a better relationship with the customer, but can also help to improve a change process within an organization. When service desk employees are actively involved in a change process, the feeling that they are forced into something is taken away. When a tool is purchased, argues Adrian Palmer-Geaves, have the service desk employees try out the application first, before it is implemented. This way they experience what the new system can and cannot do, which might take away any concerns that they may have. Kristelijn also thinks that transparency can generate more support within an organization: Both management and the employees benefit from transparency in communication. It is important that both the goals of the organization and of the individual employees are made known. In a change process, these goals can be attuned to each other. An example: the system manager opposes the service management application that is being introduced, because he does not see the use of registration. He or she can then be retrained to learn something he does not like to do, but it is also possible to adjust his job responsibilities so that he can spend less time on registration. Such a solution can only come about when the goals of both the system manager and management are made known.
Pragmatic
Although the quality of a service is hard to measure, an organization still has to find a way to ensure the quality of the service. Dont they have anything to go by, then? They do. When hard figures and tightly defined targets no longer suffice, a pragmatic approach might bring relief. Peter Wheatcroft, author of World Class IT Service Delivery, suggests that organizations should focus more on guidelines, instead of figures. As a benchmark for good service delivery, Wheatcroft mentions the IT Supplier Code of Best Practice. This is a document containing practical guidelines that has been composed by Intellect, the trade organization for, amongst others, IT organizations in the UK. The aim of this document is to realize a more successful and mature service delivery. It deals with the soft factors of service delivery; an open and forthright relationship with the customers, understanding their wishes, a transparent process and constructive contribution to
SOURCES BRIAN JOHNSON, ITIL PROCESS SUCCESS: GET PEOPLE ON YOUR SIDE, SEARCHCIO. COM, APRIL 2007 PETER WHEATCROFT, GOOD SERVICE REQUIRES MORE THAN ITIL VERSION 3, BSC, AUGUST 2007 PERSONAL FOCUS, SERVICETALK, JULY 2007
THEME 13
A positive twist
Service desk employees of the Benelux Bureau for Intellectual Property in The Hague were used to simply picking up the phone and noting down what the caller had to report. Henritte Soonius, head of the department, admits that not all of the 22 employees were thrilled about following the new telephone script that was introduced along with the new service desk. Soonius: Some of them were concerned that it would be difficult to listen to the caller, follow the script on the computer screen and carefully register the incident all at the same time. With these concerns in mind, she organized an Information Day on 6 December 2007, in collaboration with her colleague Rudolf Wiersinga and TOPdesk consultant Jolanda Simonis. Since this was the day after the Dutch Sinterklaas
holiday, not only did she treat the service desk employees to extensive information, but also to a chocolate letter (a traditional Sinterklaas treat). You can get rid of a lot of concerns by providing the right information. The choco-
also paid close attention when a new system was introduced one year ago. Pepijn de Smet, their network engineer, understood the need for change. Before the transition, things did not run very smoothly and there was little
You can get rid of a lot of concerns by providing the right information.
late letter was a nice extrasomething to give a positive twist to the new situation.
A clean slate
The IT department of the Terneuzen municipality in the Netherlands
confidence in a good outcome. TOPdesk was already in use, but last year the system was set up differently and the back office was reorganized. We started over with a clean slate. In order to introduce the new system
14 TRENDS
to service desk employees and other users in an interesting way, Pepijn and the Communications department designed a bag with the imprint fanTASticfast and clear help (TAS stands for TOPdesk Application Server and tas is also the Dutch word for bag). These bags contained information packages. The bag and the accompanying information were a big hit. It made the transition more attractive.
recording incidents on notepads, or even on their arms. They were extremely busy, but not very efficient, according to Piet Groeneveld from Hilverzorg. On 16 October, Hilverzorg organized a campaign aimed at acquainting all employees with TOPdesk. The reception area was decorated and project employees handed out business cards with the telephone number of the new front office. It turned out very well. People came to ask questions about what was going on and we could immediately inform them.
Cultural change
Consulting agency Eiffel in Arnhem, the Netherlands has seen substantial growth in their 15 year existence. And as the company grew, so did the number of questions about automation. Since there was no service desk, the questions
were directed to the IT department. This was costing the employees so much time that they often did not have time to take care of their own tasks. It was time for a change and that change was TOPdesk. To let everyone know that they should begin reporting incidents to the new service desk, the service desk employees wore special T-shirts and hung up posters. According to Marlies Bruggink-Smeding, the project leader of the implementation, this really helped to alert everyone to the new procedure. It required a cultural change; the IT employees had to consistently give a firm no to the people who continued to come to them to report incidents. Sometimes a reminder was sent via mail. But the T-shirts and posters left a good impression.
TRENDS 15
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2 THEMA