Self-Service Survey. Smart Devices are the Future of the Service Desk 2015 Self-Service Survey

Transcription

1 Self-Service Survey Smart Devices are the Future of the Service Desk 2015 Self-Service Survey

2 Self-Service Survey Smart Devices are the Future of the Service Desk Findings from Sunrise Software s 2015 Self-Service Survey Key facts: Provision of Self-Service has reached a tipping point of over 50%, but there is still much to do Social Media is gaining a significant foothold, particularly where there is no Self-Service provision Use of consumer grade technology has proliferated, supported by Self-Service options in business applications, such as Service Desk The business case for introducing Self-Service has moved away from simple cost savings to more focus on improved customer service After being early adopters of Self-Service provision the public sector has now stalled, possibly due to austerity measures Background Sunrise Software s 2015 Self-Service Survey was conducted during March and April. The Survey was completed by a range of organisational types across public, private and not-forprofit sectors, by strategic decision makers, departmental managers and operational staff. The survey results represents a broad cross section of organisations that provide Service Desk functions to internal staff, external customers, and in 50% of cases, a mix of both internal and external support. Sunrise conducted a similar survey into the provision of Self-Service functions by the Service Desk five years ago in In this paper we compare the results, and discuss further developments within the Service Desk industry. Despite rapid developments in technology in the last five years, challenges remain similar for Service Desks in that people still prefer to speak to people, and are reluctant to change 2

3 Organisations providing a Self-Service portal Increase not as high as expected, but tipping point of 50% exceeded In % of Service Desks provided a Self Service option to customers. In 2015 that figure has increased to 56.7%. While an increase is good and is now exceeding the tipping point of 50%, it is not as dramatic as might have been expected given that over half (55%) of those questioned that do not currently have Self Service, said that they planned to implement it within the next 12 months % 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% YES NO Challenging economic circumstances since 2008 may be one reason why the numbers of organisations providing a Self-Service option hasn t been higher, however, indicators now are that this is set to rise, particularly with the consumerisation of IT. As more and more people expect to use their smart phones and tablets to access work systems, or to log a problem or call. 3

4 Self-Service Survey Use of Self-Service across different types of Desk Drilling down into more detail shows that Service Desks dealing with external customers are least likely to provide a Self-Service option, whereas Service Desks dealing with both internal and external customers are well ahead of the average at 58%. This result is somewhat predictable as it is much harder to train external customers than staff who are essentially a captive audience. Operations providing services to both external and internal customers are necessarily more sophisticated and likely to have the resources to promote adoption by all users. Both desks External only Internal only 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% YES NO

5 Preferred method of contacting the Service Desk Social Media is fast becoming a popular option. Customers preferred methods of contacting the Service Desk in 2015 remain broadly in line with preferences in 2010, which one major difference. Social media is fast becoming a popular choice, with over 10% of people using Service Desks without a Self-Service portal logging calls via social media. The conclusion here is that if no Self-Service portal is provided, people may well find their own alternative methods of contacting the Service Desk. For the IT department that doesn t already provide a Self-Service portal but is looking to try and keep some semblance of control, it maybe well worth considering, because a highly functional portal it is easier to control, and arguably easier to use than social media. Customers preferred methods for logging an issue Social media Self Service Portal Phone Personal visit 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% Feedback regarding the user experience was predominantly good with 77% reporting a positive response from users of Self-Service, up from 68% in It seems that customers that use Self-Service love it, but it takes a bit of work and promotion to get them to engage initially. 5

6 Self-Service Survey Important features within Self-Service Ease of use and accessibility most important to end users Unsurprisingly ease of use for the end user was the highest priority for Self-Service functions, followed by accessibility, and look and feel. Interestingly the ability to personalise was the least rated priority (although still rated at 7 out of 10), whereas in 2010 a key finding was that it was extremely important to have software that was easy to reconfigure, so that the system could map business requirements, rather than organisations changing the way they worked to fit the software. This is perhaps a reflection that with more modern software, being able to customise a Self-Service module to meet business requirements is now a given. What are the most important features for a Self-Service Portal? 22% 27% Ease of use Accessibility Look and feel Ability to personalise 25% 26% 6

7 The most popular aspects with customers The most popular aspects of the Self-Service portal in 2015 show the move towards the always connected culture, with 24/7 access the most popular feature (52.8%). 7% 26% 27% Improved incident response Improved resolution time 8% 16% Knowledge base Publishing of major incidents 24/7 access Other 16% 7

8 Self-Service Survey Challenges faced by Service Desk Reasons for not using the portal The reasons given for not using Self-Service are that the user believes it will be quicker if they phone, they prefer to speak to a person, and they aren t confident to use the system. In 2015 over a third (35%) preferred to send an , somewhat at odds with the people approach, but perhaps a symptom of the increased use of technology, longer work hours, remote working and use of more mobile devices. Prefer Not confident to use it Prefer to speak to a person Believe quicker by phone 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

9 Good communication and training remain the best ways to promote Self-Service The survey found that a mix of communication methods and good training are key to getting user buy-in for Self-Service portals. The main methods of promotion being to all staff, intranet feature, presentation to staff remain broadly inline now with However, over half of companies now say that they also use newsletters or posters to promote Self-Service. Ways of promoting the portal to users Newsletter / Poster Presentation to staff Intranet article to all staff 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

10 Self-Service Survey Challenges faced by Self-Service operations Lack of confidence / ability of users Resistance to change Technical problems Unattractive interface ITIL Process issues 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

11 Use of smartphones and tablets Use of mobile devices to access business applications such as Self-Service portals is increasing, as would be expected. Now 53% of users access Self-Service from their smartphone or tablet, in addition to using their desktop/laptop computer. Internal Desks External Desks Both Desks 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% Tablet Smartphone People can be resistant to change and still like to deal with other people. The survey indicates that implementations of Self-Service now tend to be more complex, which has translated into more issues with deployment and user take up. By far the largest issue is resistance to change (67.9%) and the second largest is lack of confidence and/or ability of users, which is 52.8%. 9

12 Self-Service Survey Longevity and early adopters Half of the respondents to the survey had been running a Self Service portal for between 1 and 5 years, however, nearly a quarter (23.9%) had theirs for over 5 years. Within the cohort that had been running Self-Service for over five years, 63.6% were from the public sector. How long have organisations offered Self-Service 24% 26% Less than a year 1-5 years 5+ years 50%

13 Breakdown of Service Desks offering Self-Service for over 5 years Private sector Public sector 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 13

14 Self-Service Survey Beyond IT Other departments are jumping on the bandwagon While some organisations were able to handle calls covering the different departments from within the same Self-Service portal, in some other organisations the preference was for separate portals, with HR being the most likely to have its own portal (25%) Types of incidents handled by central Self-Service 8% 8% IT only 11% Facilities 55% HR Finance Other 18% 14

15 Departments with their own Self-Service portal Other Finance HR Facilities None 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 15

16 Self-Service Survey Measuring Success It s not just about the money About 30% of Service Desks say they have saved money, by rolling out Self-Service, and this hasn t changed really since the original survey. However, when it comes to measuring success for projects about to start, there is a lot less emphasis on saving money and more on increased customer satisfaction (50%) and quicker call resolution (37.5%). The drive to quicker call resolution is up from 20.8% in 2010 to 37.5% in 2015, this 17% movement is one of the significant differences between the two sets of survey responses. When asked about the biggest benefit to the Service Desk of introducing Self-Service, better use of resources was the winner on 62.2%, followed close by reduced phone calls (60%), the improved customer satisfaction (31.1%) and cost savings (22.2%) Cost saving Higher customer satisfaction Quicker incident resolution 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 16

17 Benefits of providing Self-Service to the Service Desk 13% 34% 18% Reduced phone calls Better use of resources Improved customer satisfaction Cost savings 35% 17

18 Self-Service Survey Improvements for the future More planning Respondents state that with hindsight there were a few things they would do differently, these included better training for staff and customers, better communications with staff, improved usability, more planning and a phased approach to roll out. Only 5.7% wished they had done more testing of the system. In common with many IT projects, this all points to more preparation and planning. Training and good communications remain the most important elements to ensuring strong user adoption of the Self-Service Portal. Other Better customer training Better usability Better communications More testing More planning Phased approach 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

19 Conclusions Comparing the data sets between the surveys carried out in 2010 and 2015 shows that on the face of it, much has remained the same. About half of Service Desks provide Self-Service portals. People are people and they like dealing with other people. They would rather talk to someone and are resistant to change. However, in analysing the detail we see many interesting trends. The love affair with new consumer technology like smart phones, tablets, and social media continues apace and is gaining a significant foothold in how we work today. People are now far more likely to access work systems, including Self-Service portals from a mobile device, and even use social media to pose a question or ask for help. Social media is the big story, with over 10% of people in organisations where there is no Self-Service option, using social instead. If IT departments want to avoid managing social channels they could do worse than introduce an easy to use portal, that has links from social it s a lot easier to control. While the tipping point of 50% of organisations now providing a Self-Service option has been breached, there are still plenty of Service Desks that could benefit from this more customer centric approach. Another significant finding is that while about a third of Service Desks report cost savings due to the introduction of Self-Service that is no longer the over-riding business case. IT departments are now more focused on providing a better customer experience by dealing with calls more quickly leading to better customer satisfaction. Dealing with calls more efficiently does mean that the department can achieve more with the same resource, which could be argued as a cost saving too. Unsurprisingly, the survey seems to find that the public sector is not undertaking any new projects, having been an early adopter of Self-Service technology the sector has seen little change during the last five years. The rapid increase in the use of consumer devices and mobile technology could mean one of two things for the Service Desk. Welldesigned Self-Service portals will continue to grow in popularity with users, who can access them from their tablet or smartphone. Ensuring that the portal is easy to find and easy to access will deter users from trying to log issues via social media. However, where there is no Self- Service option, users have a way of subverting the system and contacting the Service Desk in their own preferred way, and we are seeing already, that this is social media. The message is a simple one for IT Departments, look at how you interact with your customers if you don t provide a Self-Service portal, be prepared to manage a plethora of social media channels. 17

20 Get in touch Sunrise Software 50 Barwell Business Park Leatherhead Road, Chessington Surrey KT9 2NY, United Kingdom T +44 (0) F +44 (0) E enquiries@sunrisesoftware.com Follow us on Find us on Facebook sunrisesoftwareuk linkedin.com/company/sunrise-software_