Is this you?
So you spend all day managing issues, worrying about issues, trying to resolve issues and trying to describe issues. Oh, and of course fielding issue based questions from your boss and your client. Call yourself a Service Manager??? Here are a few simple reasons why your life may have become consumed by Issues (and probably stress!) (Don’t worry I have a solution…. :>)
| Issues are easy to document and describe: | : Most Service Providers have clearer and better information on issues that they have on service quality. So no matter how serious an issue is at least you can usually describe it. |
| You have ‘issue management’ technology | Service Providers have the case management technology to manage issues – this means they can track them, produce nice reports, give them statuses etc. |
| People (client and boss!) shout when there are issues | Issues have a direct causative link to availability of a service (or network etc.) |
| The Big One | You know the Service Level. But nobody else does. So where is the point in talking about it? |
So what’s the problem? The problem is that if you manage issues all day and communicate to clients in the language of issues then you will never be successful. Why? Because issues will never go away. You will never stop them all happening. If you continue to use Issues as the primary criteria for success with your clients then you will ALWAYS FAIL. This is why service levels are never set at 100%. Because service levels accept the reality that there will always be issues. If you manage and communicate performance based on Service you dramatically increase the chances of having a healthy and successful relationship with your clients. How?
Well start by taking Service Level Measurement seriously. That means use something robust and rigorous to gather information on service KPIs on an ongoing basis. (And I don’t mean a spreadsheet that gets sent around once a week and pasted onto PowerPoint). Serious Service Managers always know how issues are impacting their service levels. They understand what level of performance is needed to get back with the service levels. The really clever ones use a service measurement tool or a managed service governance tool to tell them. The system might even send them alerts when they dip below acceptable service levels. But most importantly they always steer client conversations in the direction of service quality rather than issues.
Does it work? YES. Example: If you don’t measure service consistently and you have a loud noisy issue then the client will scream at you. Your approach: Try to fix the thing as fast as you can. Worst case scenario: You cannot fix it quickly. Client Screams at you. Boss screams at you.
Now take the case where you do measure service. You say to client – this is the impact this having on service. We are fixing it as fast as we can and we know what we need to do to meet the service levels we have committed to. You fix the problem – client still screaming at you. You see that you are actually still within Service Level. Answer: Client needs a higher level of Service. Hey presto Boss loves you. You sell a higher level of service.
Bottom line on why you should be managing Service Levels and not just issues;
| Reduce Delivery Costs |
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| Reduce Management Costs |
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| Avoid regulatory penalties |
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| Increase Client Satisfaction |
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Tell me I am wrong. Please.
