Cranford solutions white paper part 2

@cranfordsol 0113 251 2208 info@cranford-solutions.com
www.cranford-solutions.com
LEEDS OFFICE: Building 3, City West One, Office Park, Gelderd Road,
Leeds, West Yorkshire LS12 6LX
LONDON OFFICE: Building 3 Chiswick Park, 566 Chiswick High Road
Chiswick, London W4 5YA
WithSpecialthankstotheindividualsfromtheorganisationsbelowthattookthetimetocontributeandsharetheirideas.
Allnamedcontributorsarelistedattheendofthepaper.
Service Desk Excellence - Part 2
White Paper – February 2014

Introduction
ServiceDesksarethefaceoftheITdepartment.Nolongerprovidingsimpletechnical
support,theynowofferanarrayofservicestothecustomer,managingexpectations
andmeetingtheireveryneed.
About Our Survey
The questions asked by Cranford Solutions were aimed at identifying what makes an effective and excellent Service Desk
and the challenges they face each day.
They were targeted at both private and public sector, with an aim of focusing on the Leadership, People and Culture side of
Service Desks.
We particularly targeted:
»» Individuality & Uniqueness
»» Motivation & Reward
»» Appraisal & Staff Satisfaction
»» Development and Progression
»» Culture & Environment
»» Communication & Customer Satisfaction
Our first White Paper concentrated on the great people that make up the Service Desk. This paper is centred on ways of
promoting your Service Desk to ensure its value is recognised across your organisation.
This includes the culture on the desk, how it is used by the customer for support, ways of engaging & communicating
with customers, how integrated the Service Desk is with the business and finally some personal anecdotes from our
contributors.

“Brand is more than a font or logo – it’s our promise and this takes time”
Robin Goldsbro, DLA Piper
Branding the Service Desk can strengthen its place within the organisation by enabling customers to have a clear path
to support. Knowing who to contact, how to contact them and where support is based will ensure that the desk is easily
accessible and readily used. Additionally it can help to build a team mentality on the desk and provide a feeling of belonging
and support.
Aside from formal branding the Service Desk can be promoted in other ways too. A key point is keeping customers updated
and included in any changes on the desk or with the service is provides. Alerting users to change and getting the message
across appears to be a challenge that if not done effectively can cause confusion and annoyance. Missed tickets are a
common output of this. If tickets are registered incorrectly, customers will then become frustrated when they are navigated
back to re-register their ticket before they can get their problem resolved.
Getting the Service Desk noticed and utilised is vital to the success of the Desk and is integral to the role of Service Desk
Manager. Some common themes of achieving this are regular newsletters, intranet updates, floor walking, posters and open
days on the Service Desk. Success in this naturally increases utilisation, some ideas used to raise awareness of the Service
Desk include:
»» Monthly IT Clinics
»» IT Service Desk business cards
»» “How to” guides and training videos available to customers
»» 1-2-1 sessions with all new starters
»» Social Media
»» Road shows
»» Forums
“I believe that the product is the marketing. If we champion our customers experience,
deliver simple and powerful technologies that enable our customers to do their best work
our reputation will spread” Robin Goldsbro, DLA Piper
Service Desk Branding & Promotion
BrandingyourServiceDeskisanemergingideathatcamethroughinresponseto
oursurveywithafewcompaniesestablishingastrongbrandfortheirdesk.Ideas
rangingfromwearingbrandedpoloshirtsforeasyidentificationwhilstinthebusiness
community,tohavingsignsaboveandaroundthedeskallcontributetocreatinga
brandfortheServiceDesk.

“Through the message of us being the first point of contact for IT and that our objective is
to “Fix, first time and fast” Keith Barber, Severn Trent Water
...business BUT only 10% of these use it for IT Support too. With the emergence of Social Media as one of the most
popular mediums of communication in the modern world it seems a clear path for IT Support to follow, as customers
demand a faster, easier way of reaching their support teams.
It is now common for Service Desks to have their own designated space and it seems that an open plan, welcoming
environment is the way forward. It appears from responses that gone are the days of shutting away support teams in a
small side office. Service Desks are now open plan, often within the same space as other IT functions and invite customers
to come in and ask for support. Practical face-to-face support is becoming one of the most popular methods of support as
customers look for a personal touch that cannot be obtained via other methods of communication. Getting to know their
support teams makes customers feel more valued but in turn also makes them more flexible in their demands. Once they
know the person providing their support personally they are more likely to understand when they are told they may have
to wait a short while as they have faith their issue is being dealt with. Visibility seems to help greatly with building trust
with the user community.
98% ofrespondentsinoursurveyreportedusingSocialMediawithintheir...

Human behaviour dictates that people engage less when all is going well and there will always be an element of complaint
directed at the Service Desk. Nobody wants to need the Service Desk so when they do they can be frustrated and impatient.
By personally dealing with the issues and then studying the problem a positive spin can be taken on complaints. The more
knowledge you have of what is going wrong the more opportunity you have to make positive changes. All feedback is positive
as long as it is dealt with constructively. It can be used in training sessions and added to problem/incident management if a
recurring theme is noticed.
“Ensuring staff moral within the team is paramount to us. We capture feedback in 1:1¹s,
appraisals, and we have recently introduced a staff survey to capture the levels of staff
morale and satisfaction ”
Karen Taylor, Cheshire Shared Services ICT
Recording customer calls into the Service Desk is another great way of learning more about your customers. The majority
of responses that have this technology in place use it as a way to measure their Analyst’s performance and feed into their
appraisals and reviews.
“A selection [of calls] per person are checked on a regualr basis and outcomes feed in to
their 1-2-1” Russell Noblett, O2
But even without the technology you can still make a point of listening in to live calls in order to spot check service.
“Quality is reviewed through listening into calls when they are live ”
Geraint Jones, Callcredit
The opportunity should not be missed to learn more about the customers that call into the service desk. Are there particular
teams which call in regularly? Are there more issues from a certain office? This data can be analysed and used to create
service improvement plans targeted at the individual groups that need it most. Whether it is extra training on the systems,
better induction processes or a deep-rooted technical problem that needs addressing.
Working With The Business
Itisimportanttoknowwhatthebusinessandcustomerswantandexpectfrom
theServiceDesk.Gettingtoknowwhatcustomersexpectisvitalandmethods
ofobtainingthisinformationrangefromregularsatisfactionsurveys,reviewing
commentsandcomplaintsandface-to-facemeetings.Allofwhichcanallbeusedto
feedintoserviceimprovementplans.

Ideally the Service Desk should be a part of all new employees induction process into your company. Knowing how to get IT
support is useful to make them feel supported in their early days and will instil the value of the desk into colleagues from the
very beginning.
Another important tool highlighted is that the Service Desk has representatives within the business to champion their
work and make sure that all business changes and communications are filtered down. Attending business meetings is
useful in understanding the direction the business is taking. Therefore ensuring that the Service Desk can keep up to date
with the changes and maintain high levels of support and service during those changes. This also helps with future budget
considerations, e.g. resource planning, training and shift patterns.
Understanding the business and the people within it enables the Service Desk to provide the best support possible. It is clear
from our survey that not all customers get a replicable service from the desk, some respondents did report that all customers
were treated the same but the majority said not and the reason for this is simple, not all customers are the same. With
answers ranging from:
»» The need for differing support due to differing time zones and cultures
»» Enhanced support during business critical projects
»» VIP policies set by the organisation
»» SLA agreements with certain clients
»» Levels of IT literacy vary across any organisation as does complexity of issues
»» Client facing users and executives may get priority due to the enhanced impact of downtime on the business
Only by working closely with the business is it possible to be aware of the many different factors that affect the way calls are
dealt with.
Other organisations take a less formal approach to why customers get treated differently.
“Everyone is different. Some are OK with an informal approach, some are more IT literate,
some need more TLC and others just want their incident resolved”
Dean Archer, Zodiak Media
“It is important to engage with the customer on their level”
Louise Upton, Triumph Motorcycles

Funny moments on the desk:
“I think I have a rat in my drawers….turned out to be shredding ”
Karen Washburn, IMD Media
“The team being showered in milk after someone bought milk in to the office in an ice cream
container ”
Geraint Jones, Call credit
“Practical jokes on the Service Desk…if you leave your machine unlocked & unattended for too
long you will learn a harsh security lesson, courtesy of an emotional email to your team from
your email account. ”
Sally Comley, Arqiva
Unique challenges:
“Losing 7 staff in a 12 month period and still achieving SLA targets”
Yvonne Batchelor, Service Birmingham
“Setting up a team of 36 and training them to take over from an outsourced desk in 2 months ”
Hayely Worsley, Audatex
“With 71 offices in 31 countries the people who contact the desk are diverse. The needs and
expectations are different and the details on the form are complicated. ”
Robin Goldsbro, DLA Piper
Anecdotes from the Front Line:
LifeasaServiceDeskManagercanbeequallyrewardingasitischallenging.Weasked
participantsinoursurveytosharesomeoftheirmostmemorablemomentsonthe
ServiceDeskandhereisaselectionofthestoriesthatcamebacktous.

Proudest moment:
“A service desk team member winning the prestigious ‘employee of the year’ award”
Basim Zaidi, Vaultex
“Getting to the final of UK Service Desk of the year awards”
Damian Bowen, NTT Data
“Turning the Service Desk round from being a failing Service Desk when I started to a successful
and well recognised Service Desk. It is now seen as the best in the market place – something I
am very proud of”
Jason Lloyd, iSAMS
Conclusion
The responses from this paper have highlighted the importance of visibility within
the organisation and working closely with the business. Being seen as an integral
and positive part of the overall team is key to success and utilisation. There is
no magic formula for any individual or company but many of the Service Desk
Managers who responded have come up with innovative and well-received ways
to establish their desk.

Index of Contributors:
Arqiva
Arvato
Audatex
Callcredit
CSS
DLAPiper
Elior
IMDMedia
iSAMS
NetworkRail
NTTData
O2
On365
RankGroup
ServiceBirmingham
SevernTrentWater
TriumphMotorcycles
Vaultex
ZodiakMedia
SallyComley
NickyStanley
HayleyWorsley
GeraintJones
KarenTaylor
RobinGoldsbro
PaulBrockbank
KarenWashburn
JasonLloyd
MattTurner
DamianBowen
RussellNoblett
AlisaGill
YvonneBatchelor
FriedaMorton-Evans
KeithBarber
LouiseUpton
BasimZaidi
DeanArcher
ServiceDeskManager
ServiceDeskManager
ServiceDeskManager
ITSupportServicesManager
WorkplaceServicesManager
ServiceDeskManager
ITServiceDeskManager
HeadofServiceDelivery
ServiceDeskManager
ServiceDeskManager
ClientServiceDeliveryDirector
SeniorServiceDeskManager
ServiceDeskManager
ServiceSupportManager
HeadofServiceDelivery
ISServiceDeskManager
ITOperationsSupportManager
ServiceDesk&ChangeManager
ITServiceDeliveryManager

Cranford Solutions
CranfordSolutionsareaspecialistServiceDeskprovidercoveringthefull360degrees
oftheServiceDeskneeds,People,ProcessesandTools.
»» Tool Selection & set up
»» Best Practice
»» Resource Provision
»» Bespoke Recruitment Solutions
SOLUTION PLUS SUPPORT PLUS
SERVICE PLUS KNOWLEDGE PLUS
Achieve Service Desk Excellence Flexible On-Demand Resource
Bespoke Recruitment Solutions Shared Experience
Reviews & Health checks
Tool selection, implementation &
configuration
Fully Project Managed Solutions
Resource & Recruitment strategy
Bench of high quality Service Desk Resource
1st, 2nd, 3rd line, Team Leaders & Managers
Fully Managed by Client Services Director
Short and long term solutions
Flexible, reliable & responsive
Cost effective
No more hassle reviewing CV’s and
shortlisting
All face to face interviews
Secondary interview with our Client
Services Director
FREE Replacements for 6 months
All Service Desk Resource covered
White Papers generated from industry
leading Service Desks
Networking events to share experiences
and ideas
Knowledge base of articles
Complete Service Desk Solutions
YOUR SERVICE DESK
•Are
we as good
as we could be?
• Where can
improvements
be made?
• How do we
achieve Service
Excellence?
• How
do I manage
risk when
hiring resource?
• Time spent with
poor recruitment
companies
• Unreliable
contract staff
•Recruitment is time
consuming & frustrating
•High rates of
attrition
•High costs
with minimal
guarantee
• What are other
companies doing?
• Share experience
and learn
• Meet up & Network
Improvem
ent Re
sourceEduc
ation
Recrui
tm
ent
The face of IT
Improve – Support – Recruit – Educate

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