Self-Service Survey

Smart Devices are the Future of the Service Desk

2015 Self-Service Survey

Smart Devices are the Future of the Service DeskFindings from Sunrise Software’s

2015 Self-Service Survey

2

Self-Service Survey

Key facts:

• ProvisionofSelf-Servicehasreachedatipping pointofover50%,butthereisstillmuchtodo

• SocialMediaisgainingasignificant foothold,particularlywherethereisno Self-Serviceprovision

• Useofconsumergradetechnologyhas proliferated,supportedbySelf-Service optionsinbusinessapplications,such asServiceDesk

• ThebusinesscaseforintroducingSelf-Service hasmovedawayfromsimplecostsavingsto morefocusonimprovedcustomerservice

• AfterbeingearlyadoptersofSelf-Service provisionthepublicsectorhasnowstalled, possiblyduetoausteritymeasures

• Despiterapiddevelopmentsintechnologyin thelastfiveyears,challengesremainsimilar forServiceDesksinthatpeoplestillpreferto speaktopeople,andarereluctanttochange

Background

SunriseSoftware’s2015Self-ServiceSurveywasconductedduringMarchandApril.TheSurveywascompletedbyarangeoforganisationaltypesacrosspublic,privateandnot-for-profitsectors,bystrategicdecisionmakers,departmentalmanagersandoperationalstaff.

ThesurveyresultsrepresentsabroadcrosssectionoforganisationsthatprovideServiceDeskfunctionstointernalstaff,externalcustomers,andin50%ofcases,amixofbothinternalandexternalsupport.

SunriseconductedasimilarsurveyintotheprovisionofSelf-ServicefunctionsbytheServiceDeskfiveyearsagoin2010.Inthispaperwecomparetheresults,anddiscussfurtherdevelopmentswithintheServiceDeskindustry.

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Organisations providing a Self-Service portal

2015

2010

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

Increasenotashighasexpected,buttippingpointof50%exceeded

In201047.8%ofServiceDesksprovidedaSelfServiceoptiontocustomers.In2015thatfigurehasincreasedto56.7%.Whileanincreaseisgoodandisnowexceedingthetippingpointof50%,itisnotasdramaticasmighthavebeenexpectedgiventhatoverhalf(55%)ofthosequestionedthatdonotcurrentlyhaveSelfService,saidthattheyplannedtoimplementitwithinthenext12months.

Challengingeconomiccircumstancessince2008maybeonereasonwhythenumbersoforganisationsprovidingaSelf-Serviceoptionhasn’tbeenhigher,however,indicatorsnowarethatthisissettorise,particularlywiththeconsumerisationofIT.Asmoreandmorepeopleexpecttousetheirsmartphonesandtabletstoaccessworksystems,ortologaproblemorcall.

YES NO

Use of Self-Service across different types of Desk

DrillingdownintomoredetailshowsthatServiceDesksdealingwithexternalcustomersareleastlikelytoprovideaSelf-Serviceoption,whereasServiceDesksdealingwithbothinternalandexternalcustomersarewellaheadoftheaverageat58%.

Thisresultissomewhatpredictableasitismuchhardertotrainexternalcustomersthanstaffwhoareessentiallyacaptiveaudience.Operationsprovidingservicestobothexternalandinternalcustomersarenecessarilymoresophisticatedandlikelytohavetheresourcestopromoteadoptionbyallusers.

Self-Service Survey

Externalonly

Internalonly

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

YES NO

Bothdesks

SocialMediaisfastbecomingapopularoption.

CustomerspreferredmethodsofcontactingtheServiceDeskin2015remainbroadlyinlinewithpreferencesin2010,whichonemajordifference.Socialmediaisfastbecomingapopularchoice,withover10%ofpeopleusingServiceDeskswithoutaSelf-Serviceportalloggingcallsviasocialmedia.

TheconclusionhereisthatifnoSelf-Serviceportalisprovided,peoplemaywellfindtheirownalternativemethodsofcontactingtheServiceDesk.FortheITdepartmentthatdoesn’talreadyprovideaSelf-Serviceportalbutislookingtotryandkeepsomesemblanceofcontrol,itmaybewellworthconsidering,becauseahighlyfunctionalportalitiseasiertocontrol,andarguablyeasiertousethansocialmedia.

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Email

Personalvisit

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%

2015 2010

Phone

Socialmedia

SelfServicePortal

Preferred method of contacting the Service Desk

Customers’ preferred methods for logging an issue

Feedbackregardingtheuserexperiencewaspredominantlygoodwith77%reportingapositiveresponsefromusersofSelf-Service,upfrom68%in2010.ItseemsthatcustomersthatuseSelf-Serviceloveit,butittakesabitofworkandpromotiontogetthemtoengageinitially.

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Self-Service Survey

Easeofuseandaccessibilitymostimportanttoendusers

UnsurprisinglyeaseofusefortheenduserwasthehighestpriorityforSelf-Servicefunctions,followedbyaccessibility,andlookandfeel.Interestinglytheabilitytopersonalisewastheleastratedpriority(althoughstillratedat7outof10),whereasin2010akeyfindingwasthatit

wasextremelyimportanttohavesoftwarethatwaseasytoreconfigure,sothatthesystemcouldmapbusinessrequirements,ratherthanorganisationschangingthewaytheyworkedtofitthesoftware.

Thisisperhapsareflectionthatwithmoremodernsoftware,beingabletocustomiseaSelf-Servicemoduletomeetbusinessrequirementsisnowagiven.

What are the most important features for a Self-Service Portal?

Accessibility

Easeofuse

Abilitytopersonalise

Lookandfeel

Important features within Self-Service

22%27%

25%

26%

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The most popular aspects with customersThemostpopularaspectsoftheSelf-Serviceportalin2015showthemovetowardsthe‘alwaysconnected’culture,with24/7accessthemostpopularfeature(52.8%).

Improvedresolutiontime

Improvedincidentresponse

Publishingofmajorincidents

Knowledgebase

Other

24/7access

27%

26%

16%

16%

7%

8%

Self-Service Survey

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Reasons for not using the portal

ThereasonsgivenfornotusingSelf-Servicearethattheuserbelievesitwillbequickeriftheyphone,theyprefertospeaktoaperson,andtheyaren’tconfidenttousethesystem.

In2015overathird(35%)preferredtosendanemail,somewhatatoddswiththepeopleapproach,butperhapsasymptomoftheincreaseduseoftechnology,longerworkhours,remoteworkinganduseofmoremobiledevices.

Believequickerbyphone

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

2015 2010

Prefertospeaktoaperson

Preferemail

Notconfidenttouseit

Challenges faced by Service Desk

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Good communication and training remain the best ways to promote Self-Service

Thesurveyfoundthatamixofcommunicationmethodsandgoodtrainingarekeytogettinguserbuy-inforSelf-Serviceportals.Themainmethodsofpromotionbeingemailtoallstaff,intranetfeature,presentationtostaffremainbroadlyinlinenowwith2010.However,overhalfofcompaniesnowsaythattheyalsousenewslettersorposterstopromoteSelf-Service.

Ways of promoting the portal to users

Emailtoallstaff

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

2015 2010

Intranetarticle

Newsletter/Poster

Presentationtostaff

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Self-Service Survey

Unattractiveinterface

ITILProcessissues

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%

2015 2010

Technicalproblems

Lackofconfidence/abilityofusers

Resistancetochange

60% 70% 80%

Challenges faced by Self-Service operations

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Use of smartphones and tablets

UseofmobiledevicestoaccessbusinessapplicationssuchasSelf-Serviceportalsisincreasing,aswouldbeexpected.Now53%ofusersaccessSelf-Servicefromtheirsmartphoneortablet,inadditiontousingtheirdesktop/laptopcomputer.

Peoplecanberesistanttochangeandstillliketodealwithotherpeople.

ThesurveyindicatesthatimplementationsofSelf-Servicenowtendtobemorecomplex,whichhastranslatedintomoreissueswithdeploymentandusertakeup.Byfarthelargestissueisresistancetochange(67.9%)andthesecondlargestislackofconfidenceand/orabilityofusers,whichis52.8%.

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25%

Tablet Smartphone

BothDesks

InternalDesks

ExternalDesks

30% 35% 40%

Self-Service Survey

HalfoftherespondentstothesurveyhadbeenrunningaSelfServiceportalforbetween1and5years,however,nearlyaquarter(23.9%)hadtheirsforover5years.

How long have organisations offered Self-Service

WithinthecohortthathadbeenrunningSelf-Serviceforoverfiveyears,63.6%werefromthepublicsector.

1-5years

Lessthanayear

5+years

Longevity and early adopters

26%

50%

24%

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Breakdown of Service Desks offering Self-Service for over 5 years

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%

Publicsector

Privatesector

60% 70%

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Self-Service Survey

WhilesomeorganisationswereabletohandlecallscoveringthedifferentdepartmentsfromwithinthesameSelf-Serviceportal,insomeotherorganisationsthepreferencewasforseparateportals,withHRbeingthemostlikelytohaveitsownportal(25%)

Beyond IT Other departments are jumping on the bandwagon

Facilities

ITonly

Finance

HR

Other

Types of incidents handled by central Self-Service

11%

55%

8%8%

18%

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Departments with their own Self-Service portal

Facilities

None

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%

Finance

HR

Other

60%

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Self-Service Survey

It’snotjustaboutthemoney

About30%ofServiceDeskssaytheyhavesavedmoney,byrollingoutSelf-Service,andthishasn’tchangedreallysincetheoriginalsurvey.

However,whenitcomestomeasuringsuccessforprojectsabouttostart,thereisalotlessemphasisonsavingmoneyandmoreonincreasedcustomersatisfaction(50%)andquickercallresolution(37.5%).Thedrive

toquickercallresolutionisupfrom20.8%in2010to37.5%in2015,this17%movementisoneofthesignificantdifferencesbetweenthetwosetsofsurveyresponses.

WhenaskedaboutthebiggestbenefittotheServiceDeskofintroducingSelf-Service,betteruseofresourceswasthewinneron62.2%,followedclosebyreducedphonecalls(60%),theimprovedcustomersatisfaction(31.1%)andcostsavings(22.2%)

Highercustomersatisfaction

Quickerincidentresolution

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%

Costsaving

60%

Measuring Success

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Benefits of providing Self-Service to the Service Desk

Betteruseofresources

Reducedphonecalls

Costsavings

Improvedcustomersatisfaction

34%

13%

35%

18%

Self-Service Survey

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Moreplanning

Respondentsstatethatwithhindsighttherewereafewthingstheywoulddodifferently,theseincludedbettertrainingforstaffandcustomers,bettercommunicationswithstaff,improvedusability,moreplanningandaphasedapproachtorollout.

Only5.7%wishedtheyhaddonemoretestingofthesystem.IncommonwithmanyITprojects,thisallpointstomorepreparationandplanning.TrainingandgoodcommunicationsremainthemostimportantelementstoensuringstronguseradoptionoftheSelf-ServicePortal.

Phasedapproach

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%

2015 2010

Moreplanning

Bettercommunications

Moretesting

Betterusability

Bettercustomertraining

Other

60%

Improvements for the future

Comparingthedatasetsbetweenthesurveyscarriedoutin2010and2015showsthatonthefaceofit,muchhasremainedthesame.AbouthalfofServiceDesksprovideSelf-Serviceportals.Peoplearepeopleandtheylikedealingwithotherpeople.Theywouldrathertalktosomeoneandareresistanttochange.

However,inanalysingthedetailweseemanyinterestingtrends.Theloveaffairwithnewconsumertechnologylikesmartphones,tablets,andsocialmediacontinuesapaceandisgainingasignificantfootholdinhowweworktoday.Peoplearenowfarmorelikelytoaccessworksystems,includingSelf-Serviceportalsfromamobiledevice,andevenusesocialmediatoposeaquestionoraskforhelp.Socialmediaisthebigstory,withover10%ofpeopleinorganisationswherethereisnoSelf-Serviceoption,usingsocialinstead.IfITdepartmentswanttoavoidmanagingsocialchannelstheycoulddoworsethanintroduceaneasytouseportal,thathaslinksfromsocial–it’saloteasiertocontrol.

Whilethetippingpointof50%oforganisationsnowprovidingaSelf-Serviceoptionhasbeenbreached,therearestillplentyofServiceDesksthatcouldbenefitfromthismorecustomercentricapproach.

AnothersignificantfindingisthatwhileaboutathirdofServiceDesksreportcostsavingsduetotheintroductionofSelf-Servicethatisnolongertheover-ridingbusinesscase.

ITdepartmentsarenowmorefocusedonprovidingabettercustomerexperiencebydealingwithcallsmorequicklyleadingtobettercustomersatisfaction.Dealingwithcallsmoreefficientlydoesmeanthatthedepartmentcanachievemorewiththesameresource,whichcouldbearguedasacostsavingtoo.

Unsurprisingly,thesurveyseemstofindthatthepublicsectorisnotundertakinganynewprojects,havingbeenanearlyadopterofSelf-Servicetechnologythesectorhasseenlittlechangeduringthelastfiveyears.

TherapidincreaseintheuseofconsumerdevicesandmobiletechnologycouldmeanoneoftwothingsfortheServiceDesk.Well-designedSelf-Serviceportalswillcontinuetogrowinpopularitywithusers,whocanaccessthemfromtheirtabletorsmartphone.Ensuringthattheportaliseasytofindandeasytoaccesswilldeterusersfromtryingtologissuesviasocialmedia.However,wherethereisnoSelf-Serviceoption,usershaveawayofsubvertingthesystemandcontactingtheServiceDeskintheirownpreferredway,andweareseeingalready,thatthisissocialmedia.

ThemessageisasimpleoneforITDepartments,lookathowyouinteractwithyourcustomers–ifyoudon’tprovideaSelf-Serviceportal,bepreparedtomanageaplethoraofsocialmediachannels.

Conclusions

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