IT End user satisfaction Background, tips and tricks

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1 IT End user satisfaction Background, tips and tricks This white paper provides a brief overview of the usefulness of and reasons to measure IT user satisfaction. It indicates what areas you should pay attention to, when and how often you can perform a survey, and what the results can help you achieve. Finally, the top 10 tips & tricks provide an overview of ideas for how to use the results and activate them within the organisation.

2 End user satisfaction: a crucial KPI Every (IT) organisation has access to ample information. The question is whether this information is actually used and contributes to improving the (IT) organisation. Examples of information include reports from financial systems or SLA reports from suppliers. What is often lacking is information from end users who are responsible for the day-to-day operations of the company where they work. The IT department should know how end users use and value IT systems. If done well, an IT end user satisfaction survey can provide the answers. Correct execution is key: the right questions and methods are the only way to obtain the information required to make real improvements. This not only benefits the end user, but the entire IT organisation. KPI s First time right Lead time of a call % system uptime Service desk availability TCO Etc. But certainly also: End user satisfaction

3 What does an IT user satisfaction survey yield? Gauging the mood during the use of IT services is an excellent way to ascertain satisfaction with IT services. The enthusiasm of employees about IT is no longer just a nice-to-have. It is much more than that. Satisfaction with your IT department and services is of enormous value for the organisation. Productivity IT satisfaction is directly related to the functioning of the IT department. In turn, the functioning of the IT department has an impact on the organisation s productivity. Scientific research published in 2012 showed that Dutch employees waste an average of 7.6% of the time spent behind a computer due to poorly functioning IT and a lack of digital skills. Wat are the benefits? Productivity Innovation Better roll-outs Better acceptance of new applications Lower costs Innovation and better roll-outs IT end users who are satisfied - or even enthusiastic - about IT are employees who also actively contribute to thinking about improvements and innovation, provide constructive criticism and can get other employees excited about changes, IT migrations, use of new portals or service catalogues, centralisation of the IT service desk, and so forth.

4 Lower costs Improving the effectiveness of the IT department, for example by avoiding recurring errors and problems, will reduce pressures on the (IT) organisation. Resolving incidents properly the first time directly contributes to lowering costs and pressure within the IT service organisation. The quality of this organisation can be further increased by focusing attention on structural improvement of the IT organisation, instead of putting out brush fires.

5 Important dos and donts in IT end user surveys What is true for management information in general also holds for IT satisfaction: garbage in = garbage out. The value of measuring can be negated by using poorly thought out questionnaires, insufficient preparation and communication, poor methodology and incorrect interpretation. The results are not only worthless, but may even lead to incorrect decisions. Additionally, ensure that any surveys performed by your own IT provider are objective, or there is a risk of the butcher grading his own meat. If you want to perform the survey yourself, look for proven methods. One of the most important aspects remains reporting. The results of the study must clearly indicate the priorities for the organisation as a whole, but also per department, location, user group and subject. It is certainly possible that all end users are affected by an understaffed service desk and cannot work efficiently, but it is equally possible that only the users of the bookkeeping software are running into problems, for example due to the lack of expertise among service desk employees regarding a specific application. Do...keep the survey objective...use proven methods...make sure the reports are meaningful Therefore, priorities may affect the entire organisation or a specific part thereof. The latter in particular provides the responsible department of project group with very specific opportunities to act and sometimes achieve swift, visible results.

6 When and how often to perform end user surveys Changes within the (IT) organisation come quickly and frequently: takeovers, mergers, centralisation or decentralisation, IT insourcing or outsourcing, large migrations, etc. These are typical situations in which it appears measuring IT user satisfaction is impossible. However, it is precisely during such changes that you should want and need to know how the end user views said changes and how he/she continues to do his/her work. The question should not be whether you will perform an IT user satisfaction survey, but rather when and how often. In times of change, frequent surveys are a necessity. Changes tend to take days, weeks or months rather than years. As a changing organisation, you will need to respond swiftly and anticipate what will come. How often you perform surveys also depends on the subject of the survey and the degree of detail in the questionnaire. Here are a few rules of thumb: If the survey encompasses many topics and the questions are not incident related, perform an annual survey among all IT end users. If there are more than 1000 end-users, it is worth considering questioning 25% of the total user population every quarter. This allows quarterly trend analysis without surveying the IT end user more than 1x per year. Of course, the sample should have the same foundation each quarter. If the organisation has more than 5000 end users, the same approach can be used to measure every month: 1/12 of employees are surveyed per month. If the number of topics is limited, e.g. 3-5 questions for topic (such as an application or roll-out), the entire population can be surveyed per quarter, as long as there are not too many other studies being performed. A few rules of thumb Measure as often as possible: better to use compact or thematic questionnaires frequently than perform a major survey 1-2x per year. If there are more than 1000 employees, quarterly or even monthly samples may be taken: measure frequently among different end users. Incident related (service desk): Measure daily by taking a sample. Frequent measurement requires good communication of results.

7 If the survey is incident-related and the question pertains to handling by the service desk, a brief questionnaire sent within 48 hours of handling of the ticket/call is an excellent tool. Naturally, the frequency of measurements will depend on the topics and the rapidity with which changes can be realised. Additionally, it is important to clearly communicate the intentions of the survey in order to increase acceptance, as well as report on what has been done with the results upon completion. Even a single good, noticeable measure is a solid foundation for future surveys.

8 Top 10 tips for activating results Finally, a few brief tips for acting on the results you obtain : 1. Don t make it too complicated. Start by measuring IT satisfaction using clear, simple, easy to answer questions. Also ask open questions. 2. Try to use proven scales or concepts that are commonly used in order to allow comparisons with other organisations. 3. View the first measurement (often called a baseline measurement) as a starting point for improvement and setting goals. Don t aim too high: changes are only observed over time. It is better to take small, focused steps than to set goals not based on evidence, which can lead to frustration if not achieved. 4. Both IT departments and IT end users have a tendency to consider the glass half empty, and mention everything that is not going well. Pay attention to what is going well. This motivates IT staff and provides a more accurate piture of the true perception of the IT end user. Tips (1-5) 1. Simplicity and open questions 2. Proven methods 3. Don t set your goals too high 4. Attention to positive feedback 5. Measure regularly 5. Try to measure regularly. It is better to use brief, thematic questionnaires frequently than to perform a major survey every 2 years. Measuring frequently allows the IT department to maintain a firmer grip on what is happening, particularly considering the rapid changes within organisations.

9 Tips (6-10) 6. Communicate the results with the entire organisation. If available, utilise internal (or external) communication professionals who can share the information with the right target group by creating the right message with the right formatting (e.g. through the use of infographics). 7. Communicate which actions have been taken, both within the IT team and to the end user. Do not create unrealistic expectations, but communicate changes as a continuous improvement process that the IT user survey has contributed to significantly. 8. Use the positive statements or compliments from end users obtained as responses to open questions as evidence for the actions taken. 9. Use improvements and positive feedback to celebrate the improvement with various IT teams, in keeping with the corporate culture. 6. Communicate the results 7. Communicate actions 8. Use the positive feedback 9. Celebrate improvements 10. Start again! 10. Finally: understand that the cycle of measuring and improving never ends, and that once step 9 is complete, you can start with step 1 again. This information is offered to you by Yorizon bv Wijnhaven 65 Post Box HH Rotterdam Telephone: +31-(0) Fax : +31-(0) Internet: More information: info@yorizongroup.com