Why the service desk must build business relationships if it wants to prosper? Get insights on Business Relationship Management and the Service Desk.

1. Business Relationship Management &
the Service Desk
Why the service desk must build business relationships if
it wants to prosper
Copyright © 2014 Tata Consultancy Services Limited

2. Agenda
Business Relationship Management and ITIL
Personal Relationships
Service Interactions
Rather being punched than call customer services?
BRM is like being in a relationship
The Service Desk’s role in BRM
Real life examples
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3. Content
‘At some point in our lives we can all be both customers
and service providers.’
Andrea Kis
Takeaways
•Understand business relationship management from a non-process
structured point of view
•How to improve customer satisfaction by building relationships
•Advice for empowering service desk staff so they build relationships
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4. Business Relationship Management
“Business Relationship Management aims to maintain a
positive relationship with customers. ITIL Business
Relationship Management identifies the needs of existing
and potential customers and ensures that appropriate
services are developed to meet those needs. “
ITIL v2011
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5. The Theory of Personal Relationships
The categories of personal relationships:
What ties us together?
What’s in it for me?
The focus must be on the relationship from the viewpoint
of the customer rather than the service supplier or
supporter.
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6. The Two Types of Service Interaction
Traditional: Service Relationship
People went to the same
butcher, the same barber,
the same doctor and the
Newer form: Service Encounter
same bank teller when
Takes places between two
they needed service.
strangers who do not expect
to interact in the future.
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7. The Hybrid Service Interaction
Hybrid model: Pseudo relationship
Don’t fall into the trap of ‘fake relationships’
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8. Rather being punched than call customer services?
Result of a ‘fake relationship’
http://theoatmeal.com/comics/customer_service
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9. BRM is like being in a relationship
Take
responsib
ility,
regardles
s of the
outcome
Treat your
customer
s right
Be fair
and
honest
with
them, buil
d their
trust
Be open
about
your
mistakes
Listen to
your
customer
s
Show
them their
feedback
& opinion
matters.
Show
them you
care
Help them
to
understand
life on the
Service
Desk
Treat
them like
a valued
partner
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10. The Service Desk’s role in BRM
Empower the SD
Define their role
in the BRM
process
The Service Desk
Manager should
lead by example –
influence BRM
Make them help
the business to
understand life on
the Service Desk
Good BRM requires
understanding and effort
from both parties (the
Service Desk and
customers/the business).
Provide them
with the right
tools for their
trade
Prepare them for
encounters
anywhere at
anytime
Prepare the team
to become the
ambassadors of a
service provider
Prepare the SD for
the changing
customer
needs/business
requirements
Provide them
training on
customer/business
awareness
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11. The Evolving BRM and the Service Desk
Customer relationships can evolve and change over
time, just as the Service Desk can change and evolve
too.
The Service Desk plays a vital role in this change
An Individual or team‟s behaviour
determines the relationship
Service Desk = IT (Support Provider)
in the eyes of the Business
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12. Summary - The Service Desk plays a vital role in BRM
TRAIN
GIVE THEM THE RIGHT
TOOLS
COAC
EMPOWER
H
LET THEM LEAVE THEIR
DESKS
LET THE TEAM BUILD REAL
RELATIONSHIPS
BRM is easy, it is a natural behaviour we practice without thinking
about it in our personal lives.
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13. BRM examples from those working on the Service Desk
“There is nothing quite like ensuring that the team is aware of what the business does to
ensure that our customers know we understand what they do. Recently I have sent
Service Desk Technicians out to our mobile information units (buses) for the day. This
gives us a real insight into the issues experienced by them and the customers value being
„listened to‟ by the Service Desk.”
“Building that relationship with the customer starts from the time a
Service Desk Technician picks up the phone. Yet it seems to be one of the
areas that is not always addressed.
Listening/silent monitoring calls identified that some technicians were very good at
engaging with customers. It became clear that comprehensive training was required for all
technicians to ensure that the customer experience when contacting the Service desk
was always of a high standard now referred to „Customer Etiquette‟. One of the
examples is that we don‟t always assume that the customer is available to talk to us when
we call. I truly believe you can get more out of the customer if you have made the effort to
understand your customer and your customer needs.”
Lena Gaston, Service Desk Manager – Macmillan Cancer Support
http://www.macmillan.org.uk
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14. BRM examples from those working on the Service Desk
“When I worked for a major New Zealand broadcaster, I initiated a new Service Desk
team, replacing the existing team with people from a non-technical background with
people with customer facing skills. They ranged from an ex-desktop support engineer,
through to an ex-Vodafone CSR to an ex-repo man.
The repo man was excellent in the fact that he was able, through his training and
experience, to diffuse difficult situations and bring irate customers back "onside". The
new team were also good at keeping customers / users (if Rob England is watching, then
he will have a view on whether these are customers or users :-) ) informed and updated.
Visibility and communication are more important in a way than speedy resolution times.
Although the latter is important too.”
“The other example was with a NZ energy provider where I mentored the SD manager,
and explained to her the benefits of getting out and talking to the business more.
I encouraged her to go to the power station, go and talk to the trading
teams and build relationships, and get to understand what they wanted
from the SD.
One thing I didn't mention was the fact that by building these relationships, when things
did go wrong, they knew that the SD understood and cared, so they were more tolerant.”
James Gander , Gander Service Management Ltd. www.gander.co.nz
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15. Thank you
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