While the Covid-19 pandemic accelerated the need for digital workflows, some would argue we were headed in this direction anyway. The pandemic merely highlighted plans that were already being created.
Although new technology is playing a big role, people are the real drivers of successful digital transformation. They’re the foundational structure for organizations to achieve business resilience, fuel innovation, and excellent customer experiences.
Rather than implementing technology based on what it can do, the smarter move is to approach tech through the lens of your employees. By developing an employee-focused IT service management (ITSM) strategy, IT becomes an enabler for people to work seamlessly and without friction across departments.
Remote Work is Still a Challenge
The pandemic forced many organizations to implement a hybrid or remote work strategy. Many employees appreciated the efforts from their company leaders; about four in five (81%) believed their employers demonstrated commitment to their safety during the first days of the pandemic, per the ServiceNow 2021 Employee Experience Initiative.
We’ve now been working remotely for more than two years. Yet many companies are still struggling to find a good balance for their workers. Only 53% of employees agree their organization has taken sufficient steps to help manage the stress that comes with working remotely. Beyond working more hours and a tenuous work/life balance, employees are using tools that don’t prioritize effective workflows, which can lead to operational issues.
All these obstacles can be addressed in similar ways: by ensuring employee experience is your primary focus.
Putting Employees First
Even just 10 or 20 years ago, the main goals of ITSM were managing a customer management database and addressing service issues. While those still factor in, ITSM has become an integral part of daily activities among users, sometimes without them even knowing it.
A strong ITSM plan bridges the division between IT and users. It addresses recurring obstacles and challenges and seeks to eliminate them through an approach that combines tech and employee feedback.
When implemented correctly, ITSM not only improves the employee experience, but it also leads to better results for customers. Per Gallup, organizations with engaged employees see an 18% increase in productivity and a 23% increase in profitability compared to organizations with disengaged workers.
How Employee-Focused IT Service Management Boosts Business Operations
Think how frustrating it is to use technology that feels like it’s stuck in the past. It’s cumbersome, inefficient, and a great way to run employees out the door.
Rather than stifling business information, an employee-focused IT Service Management approach provides the positive employee experiences that generate business results and digital transformation success.
Below are some key ways organizations can begin implementing employee-focused IT Service Management (ITSM):
- Chatbots: Using AI and automation, chatbots can answer commonly asked user questions. As these chatbots offer quick responses with the pertinent info or links to additional resources, employees solve their issues and get back to work more quickly, while IT staff focus on more pressing tasks.
- Consistent Service Workflows: Experiencing internal IT issues is as commonplace as explosions in an action movie, but how you handle them matters. Ideally, you’ll create a single portal for all service tickets and offer transparency into IT requests. Even if an employee has to wait a little longer for the solution, the reassurance that they’re being heard will keep morale up.
- Mental and Physical Well-Being: The past couple of years have highlighted the importance of well-being initiatives throughout a company. An online portal can provide resources and training, companies can send out automated weekly or monthly fitness challenges, and chatbots can encourage walking meetings.
- Continuous Measurement: Employees want to be able to shape their experience, so give them the opportunity to offer feedback. There may be an easy fix that helps them be more effective. Provide opportunities for comments through AI surveys or mailbags, then pair that data with performance measurement to improve your internal digital offerings, enhance workflow operations, or even give raises.
We’ve only scratched the surface of how companies will work in the future, but one thing is obvious: Digital workflows are essential for work.
By keeping your ITSM efforts focused on employees, organizations can reach new levels of internal efficiency, in turn delivering better results to their customers. As automation and AI technologies advance, let your employees serve as a guide to best implement them.
