Demonstrating Service Desk Value Through More Meaningful Metrics

Transcription

1 Demonstrating Service Desk Value Through More Meaningful Metrics Written by Daniel Wood, Head of Research, Service Desk Institute In collaboration with

2 Table of Contents Introduction 3 Key Findings 3 Part One Demonstrating Value 4 1. Which of the following performance metrics do you currently measure? 4 2. What one metric is most important to the Service Desk? 5 3. Who is responsible for producing/measuring Service Desk metrics and reporting on them? 6 4. How often do you produce Service Desk metrics reports? 7 5. Do you communicate/publish your metrics targets? 7 6. To whom do you present your Service Desk metrics? 8 7. Do customers/end users ask to see metrics reports? 8 8. Sharing metrics with the business has helped to improve the Service Desk s relationship with the business 9 9. Does the business make decisions based on the metrics you produce? 9 Part Two Metrics and the Business What metrics/information does your business ask you for? What one metric is most important to the business? What information does your business want to see you produce more of? Which of these cost based metrics do you currently measure? Which, if any, of these 5 business value metrics do you currently measure? 12 Part Three Business Value Metrics 13 Presenting Business Value Metrics 14 Moving Beyond the Basics Delivering True Business Value 15 Part Four Metrics Best Practice 16 The SDI 17 best practice metrics 16 Displaying Metrics Information SDC best practice guidelines 16 Why do Metrics Matter? 22 Conclusion 23 Part Five Interviews 24 2 DEMONSTRATING SERVICE DESK VALUE THROUGH MORE MEANINGFUL METRICS

3 Introduction Welcome to the SITS13 The Service Desk & IT Support Show white paper produced in collaboration with SDI and Cherwell Software. The motivation for this white paper started with an understanding that metrics have always been a vital component of our Service Desks. Since their very genesis, Service Desks have sought ways to understand their performance and set targets. Today, the story of metrics is one of reporting on a wide-range of performance measures, each designed to demonstrate that the Service Desk is delivering value and quality to their organisation. Metrics also provide management with the quantitative data they need to make accurate and reasoned decisions there is widespread adherence to the mantra that you can t manage what you can t measure. However, in the IT world of today it is more than just the ability to manage, it is increasingly about value and providing metrics to substantiate this to your organisation. This is a research report of two halves: the first is a state of nation survey, which offers a view of metrics right here and now. What metrics are important to Service Desks? How are they using metrics in their everyday Service Desk life? Who are they sharing metrics information with and why? It also looks to the future: what should we be looking at now to ensure we stay relevant and meaningful in the years and decades to come? Which business related metrics are offering fresh insights and perspectives? What tools are available now to achieve this? This white paper will reveal the answers and aims to prepare you for the future. The second half provides additional best practice metrics guidance from the Service Desk industry s leading authority, the Service Desk Institute, accompanied by interviews with the respondents to our online survey. Executive Summary This white paper identifies the range and use of metrics today in the Service Desk industry. The results for this survey, which ran in January and February 2013, were obtained from an online survey sent to more than 5,000 ITSM professionals. Additional evidence and opinion was gleaned from personal interviews conducted with Service Desk professionals and consultants by the author - their insights provide valuable context to the quantitative data displayed in this white paper. This research study reveals there is a widespread acceptance and adoption of metrics, and that quantitative information is playing a vital role in the decision making process. It is also shown that many Service Desks have adopted a variety of industry best practice metrics, but there is a wide range of opinion on which metric is the most important. This can be explained by the fact that every Service Desk is different and seeks a range of information to enable it to make important decisions surrounding resourcing, service delivery and customer satisfaction. The interviews reveal that Service Desk professionals are interested in enhancing and broadening the range of metrics they measure and report on and are keen to produce information of interest to the business: there is a clear desire to engage and work with the business to drive performance forward. We also see that metrics are changing the way organisations work by making information available to a wider range of people than ever before. It is becoming clear that adoption of business value metrics will form a key component of the transition from traditional Service Desks towards business service centres. Key Findings The most important metric to both the Service Desk and the Business: resolved within SLA The business wants to see more information on performance against SLAs The most common metric businesses ask for is resolved within SLA For most Service Desks, the Service Desk Manager is responsible for producing metrics reports Service Desk reports are most frequently produced on a monthly basis Metrics reports are usually presented to senior management Only 28 per cent of customers ask to see metrics reports 53 per cent believe sharing metrics reports has improved the Service Desk s relationship with the business 50 per cent of businesses make decisions based on metrics The most common cost based metric is cost of IT operation 40 per cent of respondents do not currently measure any business value metrics DEMONSTRATING SERVICE DESK VALUE THROUGH MORE MEANINGFUL METRICS 3

4 Part One Demonstrating Value 1. Which of the following performance metrics do you currently measure? (Choose all that apply) Metric % Number of incidents and service requests 92 % of incidents resolved within SLA 65 Incident resolution time 63 Average time to respond 54 Backlog/open incidents 53 First contact resolution rate 47 Abandon rate 43 Comparison of SLA goals to actuals 42 Average resolution time by priority 25 Average resolution time by incident category 20 Re-opened incident rate 17 Remote control and self-help usage 14 Hierarchical escalations 13 Functional escalations 10 Cost per incident or service request 10 Total cost of ownership 6 Relative cost per incident per channel 4 None 2 The above 17 measures are taken from SDI s international best practice standard. The standard, created in collaboration with industry experts from across the globe, prescribes the metrics the industry should measure in order to deliver value to the business and drive performance. A comprehensive guide to these 17 measures is included in part four of this white paper. The results to this question reveal that 92 per cent of Service Desks are currently measuring the number of incidents and service requests received. We would expect this metric to be the most ubiquitous as without it, the Service Desk would be unable to resource effectively or ensure it was operating at its correct capacity. The number of incidents and service requests signifies, in very broad terms, the work the Service Desk gets through on a daily basis trended over time this metric will reveal if the Service Desk is becoming busier and if more or less resource is needed to respond to customer interactions in a timely fashion. Second on the list is percentage of incidents resolved within SLA. This metric is the measure of the Service Desk s adherence to the contract that exists between the Service Desk and the business. It is this metric that demonstrates whether the Service Desk is delivering on its contractual agreements, and is of great interest to the Service Desk and the business as both have a vested interest. For many Service Desks, this metric along with customer satisfaction is their key performance indicator. Rounding out the top three is incident resolution time with 63 per cent of respondents choosing this option. As with incidents resolved within SLA, this metric enables Service Desks to understand how long they are taking to resolve incidents and thus can make effective decisions surrounding areas such as resourcing, performance, and service improvement amongst others. In today s competitive economy every Service Desk should know its cost base and seek to make itself more effective and productive. HOWARD KENDALL, FOUNDER, SDI Interestingly, all the cost-based metrics feature in the bottom four, with only 10 per cent measuring the cost per call or service request. This low percentage marries with SDI s own historical research that highlights only a small percentage of Service Desks understand their cost per call or . Many observers find it implausible that so few Service Desks measure these metrics given that spending and costs are constantly under the financial microscope. The answer for this low figure, as supported by the evidence from our interviewees, is that Service Desks find it very difficult to get a firm handle on their costs, although many would like to have a better understanding. A simple formula for calculating cost-based metrics is included in part four of this white paper. 4 DEMONSTRATING SERVICE DESK VALUE THROUGH MORE MEANINGFUL METRICS

5 Part One: Demonstrating Value 2. What one metric is most important to the Service Desk? (Select one only) Metric % Resolved within SLA 24 Customer satisfaction 19 First Time Fix Rate/First Contact Resolution 13 Average Time to Respond 11 Number of incidents 8 Number of open incidents 7 Cost based metrics (cost of operation, cost per call etc.) 6 Average resolution time 5 Availability of services 2 Number of incidents resolved 2 Abandon rate 1 Number of incidents per service 1 Number of incidents escalated to problems 1 As shown, resolved within SLA and customer satisfaction topped the list of the most important metrics for the Service Desk. Some of the comments that accompanied these two metrics are that resolved within SLA was the ultimate assessment of Service Desk performance as it demonstrated the ability to respond effectively and enables users to get back to work quickly and efficiently. For customer satisfaction, it was considered the combination of all other metrics if performance was strong across a range of metrics, customer satisfaction therefore would be good as well. As one respondent noted, it is the customer who passes the overall judgement about the service that is provided. Rounding out the top three is First Time Fix Rate/First Contact Resolution (these are incidents that are resolved whilst speaking to the user and without having to ask for additional help or assistance). One of the comments for this metric is that it was the most important measure for the Service Desk as it depicted the cheapest method of support to the business and is the most cost effective, whilst also ensuring maximum user productivity. DEMONSTRATING SERVICE DESK VALUE THROUGH MORE MEANINGFUL METRICS 5

6 Part One: Demonstrating Value 3. Who is responsible for producing/measuring Service Desk metrics and reporting on them? (Select one only) Job title % Service Desk Manager 29 Multiple individuals 24 Other, please enter role 10 Service Delivery Manager 10 Service Desk Team Leader 9 IT Manager 9 Not one single person 5 Service Desk Analyst 3 Business Relationship Manager 2 The most popular option was Service Desk Manager, which is a result we would expect given it is them who, in many cases, have overall control, visibility and responsibility for the Service Desk operation. However, the results above also show there are often multiple individuals involved in creating metrics reports. This will mostly be where individuals have different areas of responsibility or the reporting function might be too timeconsuming for one person on their own. One of the Service Desk s biggest issues with their Service Desk solution is that it is difficult and laborious to extract the information and data required to produce metrics reports. The results also show that the responsibility for producing metrics reports fall to people not included in the above categories. For those who selected the other option, the job titles include the following: Customer Support Manager Knowledge and Reporting Manager Awareness and Service Improvement Team Knowledge Manager Customer Service Manager Head of IT Problem and Reporting Analyst IT Contractors Service Support Manager Service Delivery Coordinator Operations Manager 6 DEMONSTRATING SERVICE DESK VALUE THROUGH MORE MEANINGFUL METRICS

7 Part One: Demonstrating Value 4. How often do you produce Service Desk metrics reports? (Select one only) Frequency % On an ad-hoc basis 10 Daily 11 Weekly 27 Fortnightly 2 Monthly 46 Quarterly 3 Every 6 months 1 SDI s Service Desk standards recommend that metrics reports are produced on a monthly basis and disseminated as far and wide throughout the business as possible. The results above show that monthly is the most common frequency, although over a quarter of respondents produce metrics reports on a weekly basis. Of course, the variety and range of information may vary in the monthly and weekly report and may be shared amongst different groups. For example, the weekly report may just be used within the Service Desk to highlight that week s performance and where it has hit or missed targets. The monthly report may delve into more detail, include additional and a broader range of metrics, and may be presented to and with a different audience in mind. As with all metrics, the key is to consider how the reports are used and what decisions can be made on the strength of the available data. Many long-term strategic decisions can only be made with a credible amount of historical data trended over time. 5. Do you communicate/publish your metrics targets? Every metric the Service Desk records should have a target or goal attached to it. Without a target, it is difficult to accurately gauge performance and trigger alerts if certain metrics are about to breach targets. Targets should be intelligent they should be reviewed and adjusted in line with Service Desk performance - and aspirational but not to the point that they damage morale if they are consistently missed. Used correctly, targets can be a great motivator and provide something tangible for the whole team to aim for. The results show that just two-thirds of Service Desks communicate and publish their targets. Targets provide an easy way to assess Service Desk performance and are helpful in making sense of data. It is troubling that 32 per cent of Service Desks do not communicate metrics targets. The Service Desk needs to be open and visible if it is to become a trusted business partner. 32% 68% DEMONSTRATING SERVICE DESK VALUE THROUGH MORE MEANINGFUL METRICS 7

8 Part One: Demonstrating Value 6. To whom do you present your Service Desk metrics? (Choose all that apply) Audience % IT Director 46 General senior management 44 Internal customers 30 Just within IT 30 Executive team 28 Just within the Service Desk 27 CIO 21 Internal/external customers 16 External customers 6 It is interesting that just under a third of the overall responses (30 per cent) indicated that metrics reports are only shared within IT and 27 per cent said just within the Service Desk. This raises interesting questions about who the data is produced for and the level of interest audiences have in what is presented. Many Service Desks would say that internal and/or external customers are not interested in seeing Service Desk metrics. This might be true, but Service Desks should consider what information the customer is maybe interested in and how to present that information. Part three of this white paper looks to the future of Service Desk metrics and examines the metrics that will provide the business with a clear understanding of Service Desk performance and how the Service Desk adds value to the business. For metrics to evolve and for the Service Desk to form tighter business relationships, metrics need to offer information the business, its employees and its customers find genuinely interesting and useful. Sharing this information will help to drive engagement levels, and it will be increasingly important for all parties to have visibility of relevant and important Service Desk information. This will move the Service Desk forward and break down the barriers that currently confine it. 7. Do customers/end users ask to see metrics reports? 28% 72% Following on from question six, the majority of customers/end users are not interested in seeing Service Desk reports. The reason for this could be because of a general lack of engagement with the user population, or as explained, perhaps the Service Desk does not currently produce information that is useful and/or of interest to its customers. 8 DEMONSTRATING SERVICE DESK VALUE THROUGH MORE MEANINGFUL METRICS

9 Part One: Demonstrating Value 8. Sharing metrics with the business has helped to improve the Service Desk's relationship with the business 2% 15% 10% 38% 35% In essence, this is the crux of why the Service Desk wants to share information with the business it is keen to improve its relationship and become a trusted business partner. As shown, by sharing information, 53 per cent of Service Desks believe it has helped to improve the Service Desk s relationship with the business. This is an encouraging result and demonstrates the benefits that can be realised through communicating metrics in the correct way. It also shows there is a level of demand and interest for metrics from the business and that the business is keen to obtain insight into the Service Desk s performance. It is vital for Service Desks to constantly and consistently engage to get closer to the business and to create opportunities to share feedback and recommendations. Also of significance is the 35 per cent who said they are unsure. These respondents are not certain that sharing information is having any discernible benefits. For Service Desks in this position, it is worth considering how information is shared and whether there is any support or guidance available to help the business make sense of it is the business asking for certain information or is the Service Desk simply providing information it thinks the business will find useful? This is an important question to answer as real improvements in the business/service Desk relationship will only come when there are clear communication channels and an inherent understanding of the demands from both parties. 9. Does the business make decisions based on the metrics you produce? 50% 50% A clear divide, and an important result as it demonstrates that only half of businesses are using Service Desk metrics as a basis for decision making. However, it is important to note that the information provided by the Service Desk is helping to improve the decision making process. One of the most important business decisions based on metrics is resourcing. Many Service Desks rely on metrics to help make the business case for more staff or further investment. DEMONSTRATING SERVICE DESK VALUE THROUGH MORE MEANINGFUL METRICS 9

10 Part Two Metrics and the Business Part one of this white paper focused on the Service Desk s ability to demonstrate its value and share this information with the business part two moves on to the next step, which is to examine metrics from a business perspective. The business may be interested in the same metrics the Service Desk currently measures or may want measurements to help the business increase its understanding and make key decisions. 1. What metrics/information does your business ask you for? (Please check all that apply) These results show there is a strong business demand for metrics with only 14 per cent stating the business does not ask for any metrics. The chart above identifies that the business is primarily interested in the Service Desk s performance, with 80 per cent of respondents selecting this option. Second on the list is customer satisfaction, a key performance measure for the Service Desk as it is a true litmus test of the service provided to customers. These results show that the business is interested in understanding what customers think of the service delivered by the Service Desk. Often, KPIs will provide a useful accompaniment to customer satisfaction if customer satisfaction is low one month, this may correlate with a corresponding increase in call volumes and/or a lower first contact resolution rate. This will become more and more important as technology is in almost all products and services. Service Desk data shows what outcomes are being implemented and can lead to service improvements. HOWARD KENDALL, FOUNDER, SDI 10 DEMONSTRATING SERVICE DESK VALUE THROUGH MORE MEANINGFUL METRICS

11 Part Two: Metrics and the Business 2. What one metric is most important to the business? (Select one only) Metric % Resolved within SLA 25 Customer satisfaction 19 Cost based metrics (cost of support operation, cost per call etc.) 18 Availability of services 11 Average resolution time 8 Average time to respond 7 Number of incidents/service requests 5 First Time Fix Rate 3 Lost service hours 2 Abandon rate 1 Backlog data 1 This question produced some interesting results. The top two choices are the same the Service Desk chose as the most important metrics to them. Thus, there is a unity and common understanding of the important measures. However, 18 per cent of respondents stated that cost based metrics were the most important measure to the business, whereas for the Service Desk, this was the seventh most popular option. Clearly, the business has a different expectation and looks for different measures to understand the performance of the Service Desk. That being said, it is also true that the business, like the Service Desk, looks at adherence to SLAs and the service delivered to customers as the key measures of Service Desk performance. 3. What information does your business want to see you produce more of? (Please choose the most important option only) Clearly there is a demand from the business for performance based metrics, and it is keen to understand if the Service Desk is meeting its agreed SLAs. Following closely behind is customer satisfaction the business wants to understand if it has a satisfied user population and if there is a good level of service delivered by the Service Desk. Some comments include: Actually, the business is not particularly interested - it is us as a department that are interested in our own performance and define what we believe is good for the business. The business is unsure what they want and what their requirements are. Marketing and sales Balance of workload User tips Can t get them to tell me Breakdown of incidents DEMONSTRATING SERVICE DESK VALUE THROUGH MORE MEANINGFUL METRICS 11

12 Part Two: Metrics and the Business 4. Which of these cost based metrics do you currently measure? (Please check all that apply) It is encouraging that 91 per cent of respondents measure cost based metrics in some form. The cost of the IT operation is the most popular cost based metric as this is where the Service Desk budget is derived from and includes every cost associated with delivering service. For those that do not measure this cost, we can assume the responsibility for this function sits outside of IT, and it could be the case that the Service Desk does not have visibility of its operating budget. Correlating closely with results in part one of this white paper, it is shown that only a small percentage of respondents measure cost per , but many more measure the cost per call. A result of this difference is that it becomes very difficult to assess the most cost effective channel for support. For example, by not measuring cost per channel, the Service Desk would have difficulty justifying investment in new technology such as live chat or social media as would not have a clear understanding if this offered a cheaper way of providing support. This is especially true for Service Desks that look to offer self-service and self-help until you know the cost for each of your contact channels, it becomes very difficult to create a comprehensive business plan. 5. Which, if any, of these 5 business value metrics do you currently measure? (Please check all that apply) The metrics included above move beyond the realm of traditional performance metrics they look at the real value the Service Desk delivers to the business and the cost when IT fails. 37 per cent measure the business impact of IT failure and along with lost IT service hours and lost business hours, these metrics provide a true depiction of the value of the Service Desk operation. It is encouraging that 60 per cent of Service Desks are measuring business value metrics as in the long term, this will help to bridge the gap between the Service Desk and the business as they reach a mutual understanding regarding the metrics that are important and useful to both parties. More discussion of business value metrics is included in part three of this white paper. 12 DEMONSTRATING SERVICE DESK VALUE THROUGH MORE MEANINGFUL METRICS

13 Business Value Metrics Part Three Traditional metrics have focused on telling the business how good the Service Desk is by detailing the number of calls answered, first time fix rate, incidents resolved within SLA, and a diverse array of many other metrics. Business value metrics should be comprised of any measures that will be beneficial to the business and provide a clear idea of performance and value. Introducing business metrics can be a huge leap of faith as they move beyond measures of how well the IT department is doing. Business value metrics place IT s business performance front and centre. Statistics such as how many business hours have been lost due to IT faults can be disconcerting and is perhaps something that most Service Desks are not comfortable sharing. However, it is expected that more and more businesses will want access and visibility to these types of metric as they provide a crucial way to ascertain the value of the Service Desk and its place within the organisation. Business value metrics also provide real benefit for the Service Desk as they offer tangible data to support and augment business decisions. Justifications for extra budget or resource will be much more robust if supported by business value metrics. The idea is not to use the data to hide or disguise but to use these measures as a platform to introduce future improvements and advancements. It is clear there is a need to move beyond us and them: IT acts as a partner to and enabler for the business. Communicating value and metrics in a way that the business understands is a critical step in improving this relationship. Understand what the business needs in terms of information; ask what information would be useful to it. Establishing answers to these questions is a crucial step in building a bond between the business and the Service Desk. What are business value metrics? The metrics below offer some indication of the type of metrics that should be considered when exploring the business value metrics. Lost IT service hours This metric is important because it provides the business with a clear indication of for how long IT services were unavailable to the business. This is an example of a metric that provides real value and insight to the business and will provide clear indications of performance. It will also provoke debate and discussion surrounding why hours were lost and what actions can be taken to prevent lost hours in the future. Lost business hours This provides a fuller picture of the impact of IT failure. Of course, not all businesses are entirely dependent on IT to function and operate. Like lost service hours, this metric provides the business with a clear understanding of the importance IT plays in its organisation. Lost business hours can then be further scrutinised to ascertain exactly how much revenue was lost due to IT failures. DEMONSTRATING SERVICE DESK VALUE THROUGH MORE MEANINGFUL METRICS 13

14 Part Three: Business Value Metrics Business Impact This goes beyond the traditional metrics of saying how good the service provided actually is. By understanding that different areas of the business have different levels of importance and can be affected to a greater or lesser degree by IT failure, the Service Desk starts to create a mature and business focused view on the value it provides to the business. The example table below offers one such way to calculate the relative importance of each area of the business, and in turn, calculates the impact of lost IT availability. Example: Note each IT service is weighted according to its business importance/value. IT Services Weighting Lost minutes Impact Rating Website (external) 20% Server availability 50% % Intranet 10% Telephony 5% As the table shows, the biggest business impact was that the website was unavailable. However, even though the server was only down for 10 minutes across the month, by virtue of it having the highest weighting, it was accountable for an impact of 500. Looking at the business impact of the failure of each service allows you to understand that not all IT services are created equal and some have a much more marked and noticeable impact than others. Risk of missing SLA targets One of the traditional metrics included in SDI s Service Desk Certification performance measures criteria is percentage of incidents fixed within SLA. This is a reactive metric as it looks at past events, and while this hindsight can be useful in planning future improvements, being proactive allows visibility before the event. The risk of missing SLA targets allows the business to prepare for the potential of missed targets and plan accordingly. If SLAs are going to be missed because of change, this can be explained to the business. Some of these changes will be unavoidable, but to strengthen the business and Service Desk relationship, it s important to show that IT is making the business aware. Some targets might be missed because of lack of resource. In this instance, this metric becomes not just about sharing information with the business but actually provides a critical opportunity to ask the business for extra resource to try to prevent targets from being missed. Presenting Business Value Metrics Presenting metrics in isolation can be misleading and can distort the realities of the service being delivered. The example graph below shows a different story when different aspects of service are compared, enabling the Service Desk to better review service quality and amend processes and procedures based on statistical data, which will contribute to an organisation s drive for continual service improvement. 14 DEMONSTRATING SERVICE DESK VALUE THROUGH MORE MEANINGFUL METRICS

15 Moving Beyond the Basics Delivering True Business Value The very first table of this white paper clearly shows the preoccupation of Service Desks to provide information relating to look how good we are! The focus on providing data to demonstrate business value delivered by IT via the Service Desk is negligible. Obviously it is important to show that IT and the Service Desk is effective and consistent, but ultimately, business management and stakeholders are increasingly interested in the business value provided. If the services provided do not help the business to be more efficient and productive, there is no value to them, and the business will look to alternatives. Current Service Desk metrics are almost exclusively focused on how IT and the Service Desk are run, that they are efficient and productive. There are increasing requirements to provide metrics that identify information that can contribute to positive business outcomes as this is what senior business executives care about not how quickly the phone was answered. For example, a leading insurance company has started the journey to deliver business value reporting via the Service Desk, whereby the information they provide clearly shows the monetary implications to specific business units due to systems downtime. Based on agreed business criteria, reports show the impact of lost systems availability and financial implications to the business. With this focus, the company can better analyse how a service is designed and compare how a service is actually operating versus how the business needs it to operate in order for it to meet its business plans. Each organisation will have individual requirements for business value metrics and reporting, but increasingly, more information is becoming available from which to create a framework. A key issue will be the ease with which it is possible for organisations to collate, extract and present this information. However, base recommendations will be to identify three to five core metrics to measure results relating to services, financials and people across the business, and to deliver information via business value dashboards and reporting that can be easily accessed and consumed by business stakeholders and users. This initiative is about ensuring that through the Service Desk, IT is better able to present more balanced information about the value of the IT services provided. DEMONSTRATING SERVICE DESK VALUE THROUGH MORE MEANINGFUL METRICS 15

16 Part Four Metrics Best Practice This section of the white paper contains a description of SDI s 17 best practice metrics. These metrics form a part of the performance measures criteria for SDI s international Service Desk Certification (SDC) standard. This standard, revised every three years, is created by industry professionals from across the globe. It aims to provide Service Desks with a set of standards that will raise the performance of their Service Desk: the performance measures component of the standard highlights the key metrics that should be measured to create a comprehensive analysis of Service Desk activities. The SDI 17 best practice metrics Number of incidents and service requests Average time to respond Abandon Rate Incident resolution time First Contact Resolution Rate (FCR) Percentage of incidents resolved within Service Level Agreement Re-opened incident rate Backlog Management Hierarchic escalations (management) Functional escalations (re-assignment) Average resolution time by priority Average resolution time by incident category Comparison of SLA goals to actual targets Remote control and self-help monitoring measured against goals Total cost of ownership Relative cost per incident by channel Cost per incident or service request What do these metrics mean? 1 Number of incidents and service requests This measures how many incidents or service requests the Service Desk receives. This can also be broken down by channel, i.e. phone, , live chat, in-person etc. Why it s important Measuring the volume of calls enables you to create an effective and robust staffing model; allow you to see when your busy periods are by highlighting peaks and troughs; ensure you have enough resources; and understand through what channels your calls are coming in from. 2 Average time to respond The standard says: The Service Desk routinely and consistently collects and analyses the average time it takes to acknowledge an incident or service request by channel or method (phone, , user-logged, live chat, SMS, fax, etc.) Why it s important Knowing how long it takes to respond is a key indicator of how well your Service Desk is performing. Working with this metric and breaking down time to respond by analyst or channel will enable you to make improvements and identify training needs. 16 DEMONSTRATING SERVICE DESK VALUE THROUGH MORE MEANINGFUL METRICS

17 Part Four: Metrics Best Practice 3 Abandon Rate The Service Desk routinely and consistently collects and analyses data about the percentage of user telephone calls that are terminated prior to establishing contact with an analyst. Why it s important This is one of the most important metrics because this informs you as to the availability of your Service Desk to respond to customers. Understanding the abandon rate will help to inform staffing and resource management, and will allow you to better plan for peaks and troughs. 4 Incident resolution time The Service Desk routinely and consistently collects data about the average time taken to resolve incidents and service requests and compares it to the goals/objectives detailed in the Service Level Agreement(s) (SLAs). This metric looks at how quickly you resolve incidents and compares these resolution figures to the goals in the SLA. Why it s important Understanding the number or percentage of incidents resolved within each priority category offers a clear indication of how your Service Desk is performing against the obligations and agreements you have with your customers. 5 First Contact Resolution Rate (FCR) The Service Desk routinely consistently collects and analyses the percentage of incidents and service requests that are resolved to the customer s satisfaction during the initial call or electronic exchange between end-users and the Service Desk excluding the entitlement procedure. This metrics is fundamentally different to first level (or line) fix rate, which concerns incidents resolved at first level (Service Desk) without being escalated to a resolver team (2nd and 3rd line). Why it s important Knowing the first time fix rate is important as this will give you an understanding of the competency level of your Analysts and the type and difficulty of the incidents they grapple with. 6 Percentage of incidents resolved within Service Level Agreement The Service Desk routinely and consistently collects data about the percentage of incidents and service requests resolved within the timeframes specified in formal service level agreements. This measure allows you to understand how you are performing against the agreements you have with your customers. Service Levels are often classed by priority (P1, P2, P3 etc.) with P1 being the highest priority with the lowest agreed time to fix. Why it s important Measuring this metric allows you to ascertain whether the priority levels are correct or if they re unobtainable. For example, if you are consistently breaching priority levels, it could be the case that the agreed resolution times need to be changed, or that you require more resources to make them achievable. 7 Re-opened incident rate The Service Desk routinely and consistently collects data about the percentage of closed incidents and service requests subsequently re-opened for additional follow-up. This will benefit from some analysis on what incidents have been re-opened to gain a better understanding of why the re-open has occurred. Why it s important Understanding why incidents have been re-opened is important because it identifies if there is a training need to explain why incidents were not closed in a satisfactory way. Examining re-opened incidents also helps to inform the process for closing incidents. If lots of incidents are being re-opened, it suggests they are not being closed correctly if the reverse is true, it suggests the fixes provided are satisfactory or that incidents are not being re-opened when they should be (it s being logged as a new incident) or that customers do not have a large enough window to offer their opinion on whether the fix was adequate. DEMONSTRATING SERVICE DESK VALUE THROUGH MORE MEANINGFUL METRICS 17

18 Part Four: Metrics Best Practice 8 Backlog Management The Service Desk routinely and consistently collects data about the total number of open incidents or service requests compared to their age. It s worth considering assigning someone to monitor the backlog data to see why calls are still outstanding and how they will be resolved. This is called the TRIAGE process. Why it s important Understanding what calls are still open and why is an incredibly useful process as it allows you to identify if calls are being closed correctly; if calls are being escalated correctly; what action needs to be taken to resolve the open incidents; and why these incidents have not been resolved thus far. Backlog data can also identify if there is a lack of resource on the Service Desk. 9 Hierarchic escalations (management) The Service Desk routinely and consistently collects data about the percentage of incidents or service requests escalated to management in order to avoid a developing SLA breach. Why it s important It s important to measure how many incidents are escalated to management as this will help to identify if there are any training issues. It will also allow you to see how much resource is being taken by management fixing incidents and handling customer complaints and feedback. 10 Functional escalations (re-assignment) The Service Desk routinely and consistently collects data about the percentage of incidents, and service or change requests transferred to a technical team with a higher level of expertise in order to avoid an SLA breach developing. Functional escalations are distinctly different from hierarchic escalations in that this type of escalation is to another team, and not management. Functional escalations will be incidents that are passed to resolver teams (2nd and 3rd line). Why it s important Much like hierarchic escalation, functional escalation enables you to understand the number of incidents passed to the resolver teams, and trends during a period of time. It will enable you to see if training courses have had an effect on the number of escalations to resolver teams, and can be useful in identifying future training needs. By manually looking through some of the incidents escalated, you will begin to understand what incidents most commonly require external assistance and whether training for the 1st line team will be beneficial. 11 Average resolution time by priority The Service Desk routinely and consistently collects data about the average length of time taken to resolve incidents analysed by their priority. Why it s important This metric enables you to see if the priority categorisations are correct and if you are meeting your targets on a regular basis. It is important to look carefully at the exceptions to understand why they have breach and what can to done in the future to prevent them from breaching again. 12 Average resolution time by incident category The Service Desk routinely and consistently collects data about the average time required to process/resolve a user incident or service request based on incident or service request type. This metric looks specifically at incidents that are resolved within the set delineations the Service Desk has decided. These might typically include categories for password resets, problems, hardware errors, etc. This metric is distinctly different from resolution by priority type. Why it s important Measuring the resolution time by incident category allows you to identify the most common incidents and how quickly they are resolved. It s important to look at the exceptions to see what incidents have exceeded their goal or target time for resolution. Recording incidents by category also allows you to build a list of the most common incidents your Service Desk attends to. You ll also be able to see what type of incidents take the most time to resolve and which ones are quick fixes. 18 DEMONSTRATING SERVICE DESK VALUE THROUGH MORE MEANINGFUL METRICS

19 Part Four: Metrics Best Practice 13 Comparison of SLA goals to actual targets The Service Desk routinely and consistently collects data about its service level commitments and compares it to its actual performance results. Why it s important Many Service Desks live or die by their performance to SLA targets, and if the wider business is interested in metrics, this is the one it tends to hone in on. From a management perspective, comparing performance against SLA can be invaluable in helping to identify areas for improvement and understanding strengths and weaknesses. 14 Remote control and self-help monitoring measured against goals The Service Desk routinely and consistently collects data about the frequency that remote control tools are used and the number of times that self-help tools assist in incident and service request resolution compared against goals. This can be a difficult metric to record. There are two ways to tackle this problem. Do some development work to include a flag that analysts can tick if they have used remote support. For self help you could have a tick box for users to tick to indicate whether the article/guide/faq was useful or not. Developing this further, a rating system could be adopted, allowing users to make comment on the quality and accuracy of the information. Why it s important Measuring remote control usage is vital as it provides a real insight into the abilities of your analysts. Also, who is using remote support? What incidents is it most successful at fixing? What customers can remote support are there some that refuse to allow analysts to connect to their machine in this way? Measuring who uses remote support identifies any nascent training needs if it s not being used, why not? Do analysts know how to use it? These are revealing findings and will help to train and educate your Service Desk. For self-help, it s important to understand the effectiveness and quality of the information you have made available as this will help to refine and shape future articles and information. Also, you want to be able to identify if this information is being used and whether more marketing needs to be done to help promote the availability of self-help to the user population. 15 Total cost of ownership The Service Desk routinely and consistently collects data about the total support cost of each contact and/or customer. Total cost of ownership refers to the total cost of running the Service Desk. Why it s important Quite simply, it s vital to understand how much the Service Desk costs to run. Only through understanding these figures can you discover whether there is the money available for increasing resources or increasing spending in other areas. Measuring, tracking and trending the cost of ownership will enable you to ascertain if your Service Desk has made any cost or efficiency savings. 16 Relative cost per incident by channel The Service Desk routinely and consistently collects data about the relative cost of Service Desk operations by channel i.e. telephone, , live chat, SMS, fax, walk-ins etc. A simple method for calculating costs: Average Cost per call/per This, along with cost per , is the essential metric to grapple if you want to determine the value of your Service Desk, yet, as revealed in part one of this white paper, only 10 per cent of Service Desks measure this metric. Things to consider: To give an accurate and fair measurement the cost of second and third line support should be included. Determine which measures should be incorporated to give the final figure. For example, some intangible measures should be given a weighting and added to the final total such as call waiting time or informal peer support. You will also need to know your staff costs to get an accurate handle of call costs. DEMONSTRATING SERVICE DESK VALUE THROUGH MORE MEANINGFUL METRICS 19

20 Part Four: Metrics Best Practice A method for calculating cost per call/per Some companies use the actual Service Desk budget to calculate cost per call. In essence, they include every cost involved in running the Service Desk and divide this by the number of calls received. This method is a little too simplistic for what we re really looking for in the cost per call metric, but it does highlight why a comparison of metrics is so difficult. Others will include every cost involved in taking the call. They will include postage costs if hardware needs to be replaced to. They might include the cost of using technicians or field agents. Some will include the cost associated with the loss of productivity created by the user being on the telephone. This is why there is such a high variation in the reporting of this metrics. This is a much more involved way of measuring the metric, but it may also be more informative. If a value can be placed on productivity loss, it will be clear how vital the Service Desk is to the operation of the business. If you can report that your desk saved x amount of productivity, this will place your desk in a very strong position. The Formula There are lots of different ways this metric can be measured, but here is one of the best, all-encompassing ways: The all-encompassing way All costs associated with providing support (including heating, lighting, rent, salaries, hardware, software etc.) Then... Cost per Analyst per minute x = number of Analysts Time taken to resolve and close an incident number of minutes worked = or Cost per call Cost per Analyst per minute Explanation Ultimately, you want to understand your Service Desk staff cost, broken down into as small a unit as possible. Your HR department can tell you all the components you will need to measure this: salary, benefits, heating, lighting, equipment and any other measures that you think should be included. From this data, you can then work out how much an Analyst costs to employ per minute. Add to this figure the lifetime cost of software support including support and maintenance. You can split the costs over three years to give you some idea of what it actually costs to run the systems. You might want to add hardware costs and the cost of using second and third line (although of course, you could have Analyst cost per call, second line cost per call etc.) Adding up the above will give you the cost per call/ per minute, which then needs to be multiplied by the time duration of the call/ . Service Desks must know what we can add to the business potential to enhance and expand further. HOWARD KENDALL, FOUNDER, SDI 20 DEMONSTRATING SERVICE DESK VALUE THROUGH MORE MEANINGFUL METRICS