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Simplicity – a quality that every employee yearns for in their interactions with internal IT support teams, yet one that's frequently left unfulfilled.
The ideal IT service management process should be straightforward, empowering employees to focus on meaningful tasks instead of drowning in unnecessary and mundane assignments. In the present era, you might expect this to be a simple problem to solve, but the statistics paint a different picture.
Surprisingly, more than 52% of employees feel that their employee experience technology is outdated and challenging to navigate.
On the flip side, IT support teams find themselves continually putting out fires and swamped with a never-ending stream of service requests, many of which could be easily automated with the right technology and tools.
In sum, most organizations struggle with frustrated IT support teams, dissatisfied employees, and an inefficiently managed IT service help desk.
IT support leaders hold the key to bridging this gap by implementing straightforward ITSM best practices. This guide is your roadmap to achieving just that.
What is IT service management?
Internal IT service management, also known as internal help desk management, provides technical support and assistance to employees within an organization. It involves addressing internal IT-related issues, resolving hardware and software problems, troubleshooting network connectivity, and providing guidance on software applications and tools.
The main goal of internal IT service management is to ensure that employees have the necessary resources and tools to perform their jobs efficiently without interruptions caused by technical issues.
7 best practices to manage internal IT service desks smoothly
Here are the best practices for internal or IT service management that businesses can consider adopting:
Create a systematic process
A systematic process is crucial for the smooth operation of an internal IT service desk.
Suppose Jane joins your company and needs access to all platforms and applications used internally. However, to her surprise, she doesn’t know whom to ask for what. This will result in unnecessary stress for Jane.
Alternatively, if you have a pre-defined workflow shared with Jane in her onboarding mail, she knows that for hardware-related support - David is the go-to person, for software and IT-related issues - Maya is the go-to person, and so on.
The question is how to create a systematic process:
- Start with implementing an ITSM framework, such as ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library), to guide the service desk's operations. ITSM frameworks provide a set of best practices and processes for managing IT services and aligning them with business objectives.
- Focus on improving communication. Share your IT service management workflow with the employees via email, create dedicated Slack channels to communicate with them about their queries, and conduct tutorial sessions frequently to help them get the hang of the process.
- Set up Service Level Agreements (SLAs). For each type of task, create pre-defined timeframes so that employees can have a clear expectation of when to expect a response from the IT support team. This way, your support team won’t receive overflowing follow-up messages, and they can focus on resolving the issues.
Build a comprehensive knowledge base
A knowledge base is a valuable asset for an internal IT service desk. It serves as a repository of information, solutions, and best practices that can help employees resolve common IT issues on their own.
By creating a comprehensive knowledge base, you empower employees to find answers to their questions quickly and reduce the number of support tickets. The knowledge base should be regularly updated with new solutions and easily accessible to employees through a self-service portal.
Here are some quick tips to build an adequate knowledge base:
- Start with the right tool. Gone are the days when you pasted large chunks of text in a Google Doc file and called it a “knowledge base”. Use tools like Notion to create an in-depth knowledge base, organize it as per use cases, and keep it concise for employees to find quick solutions.
- Add visuals wherever possible. No one likes to read long texts without any interactive elements. Adding relevant screenshots, flowcharts, and video tutorials can empower the employees to address routine issues on their own.
- Keep your knowledge base up to date. Outdated knowledge bases can mislead employees. Assign a dedicated person to update the knowledge base every week so everyone can access the latest data.
Track analytics to keep improving
There is nothing called a “perfect” IT service management process. It evolves occasionally based on new use cases, issues, and experiences. Hence, for IT support leaders, it is imperative not to sit back and relax once they develop an interactive internal ITSM. It requires regular updates.
By monitoring key performance indicators (KPIs) such as:
- Response time
- Resolution time
- Employee satisfaction
- Ticket volume
The service desk can identify areas for improvement and take proactive measures to enhance service delivery. Analytics provide valuable insights into the effectiveness of the service desk's operations, enabling data-driven decisions for optimizing workflows, resource allocation, and overall service delivery.
Conduct anonymous employee surveys
To ensure that the internal IT service desk is meeting the needs of employees, it is essential to gather feedback through employee surveys. Make these surveys anonymous so that employees can share their honest opinion of the ITSM process and their challenges.
Surveys provide:
- Valuable insights into the satisfaction level of employees
- Identify areas for improvement
- Uncover any underlying issues that need to be addressed.
The service desk can enhance employee satisfaction and improve the overall employee experience by acting on the feedback received.
You can use tools like Google Form, Typeform, Survey Sparrow, etc., to automate the surveys and response collection.
Build an advanced environment with automation and integrations
Automation and integrations are crucial in streamlining internal IT service desk operations. The service desk can save time and improve efficiency by automating routine tasks, such as ticket routing, initial responses, and standard issue resolutions.
Integrations with other ITSM tools, such as asset management and knowledge management systems, help create a seamless workflow and provide a holistic view of IT operations.
Some of the common third-party integrations that can make your support team’s lives easier include:
- Ticketing systems like Zendesk, Freshdesk, Zoho Desk, etc.
- Knowledge management platforms like Notion
- Project management tools ClickUp, Trello
- Conversational assistance platforms like OpenAI
Use conversational support to empower users
Conversational support, such as chatbots and virtual assistants, can significantly enhance the user experience and empower employees to solve their IT issues quickly. These GenAI-powered tools can empathize with common inquiries and provide actionable solutions to their issues.
The fame of ChatGPT establishes one thing - internet users love it when they get relevant solutions without much of the heavy lifting. In fact, in the coming days, we will witness GenAI dominating the high-tech industry with expected revenue growth between 4.8% to 9.3%. And evidently, conversational AI will make a massive difference in internal ITSM, too.
By offering conversational and interactive support, the service desks can reduce the workload on support agents, improve response times, and enable employees to resolve simple issues independently.
Tools like Atomicwork are highly effective in simplifying internal support with ChatGPT-like instant assistance.
Encourage training and upskilling for your IT support team
Investing in training and upskilling for the IT support team is essential for maintaining a high level of expertise and keeping up with the latest technology trends.
Continuous training programs help the team stay updated on new ITSM software, emerging technologies, and best practices in IT service management. By fostering a culture of learning and development, the service desk can better support employees and handle complex IT issues more effectively.
Final thoughts
Effective internal IT service management is crucial for organizations to ensure smooth operations, enhance productivity, and meet employee expectations. By implementing the best practices mentioned above, organizations can streamline their internal IT service desks and empower employees to perform their jobs efficiently.