Did you know? Industry data shows that organizations that conduct benchmarking at least once a year are far more likely to achieve world-class performance. In fact, there is a virtual 1:1 correspondence between organizations that perform benchmarking on an annual basis, and those that achieve world-class performance.
The One Year Path to World-Class Performance, a Continuous Improvement Program, is designed for Service Desks, Desktop Support organizations and Call Centers. This proven MetricNet Certified solution includes annual benchmarking, an annual ROI calculation (return on investment), training sessions on metrics and key performance indicators, and the development of standardized reports that convey a simple yet compelling story of performance. The overall initiative is summarized below.
The initial benchmark and ROI calculation will establish a performance baseline, and identify improvement opportunities. The initial benchmark will be followed by a 6-9 month improvement phase where the benchmarking recommendations will be implemented. Finally, a second benchmark and ROI calculation will be conducted approximately one year after the first benchmark to solidify the performance gains, and to objectively demonstrate the progress that has been made since the start of the program. Download the full summary.
Continuous improvement is a noble goal that many IT service and support managers aspire to. But despite all the rhetoric about continuous improvement and maturation, very few support organizations effectively embark upon this journey, let alone fulfill its promise of achieving world-class service and support.
People, process, and technology are considered the fundamental building blocks of IT service and support. In fact, this refrain has become the default paradigm for organizations that are in the business of delivering technical service and support to end users. The idea is to invest first in human resources, through effective recruiting, training, coaching, and career management. Then build standardized, repeatable processes, presumably within an ITIL framework, that permit the human resources to carry out their jobs in an efficient and effective manner. Finally, technology is an enabler to automate key processes, reduce cycle times, facilitate user self-help, and maximize the percentage of incidents resolved remotely.
This simple paradigm has intuitive appeal, and most who work in the IT service and support industry buy into it. But what has emerged in the industry in recent years is an even more fundamental building block than people, process, and technology. That building block is metrics, or more accurately, the discipline of performance measurement and management. Without an effective metrics discipline continuous improvement and maturation is virtually impossible.
The simple fact is this: benchmarking is the most effective, proven methodology for bridging the gap to world-class performance for service desks, desktop support organizations and call centers that are serious about improving their performance.
