IT Service Management (ITSM) best practices are designed to ensure businesses can deliver the highest level of IT service in the most efficient way possible.

Every business knows that technology is now the key to scaling their operations for revenue growth and cost savings. But new technology brings new support challenges. Without the right IT service framework in place, that new technology can become a burden that impedes productivity instead of improving it.

By implementing a robust ITSM strategy, businesses can streamline their overall IT services and create the tools to leverage their technology to the fullest without becoming overwhelmed by end-user requests and issues.

To help your business take advantage of its technology to the fullest, we’ve compiled a list of ITSM best practices to help you start building an ITSM strategy that can take your IT services to the next level.

What Is ITSM & Why Does My Business Need It?

ITSM is the designing and implementation of processes to provide IT services to end users within an organization.

This is different from functions such as desktop support. ITSM is an umbrella term that explains IT functions as a service. That service involves the entire technology infrastructure within an organization, from design to implementation, all the way through to service and end-user support.

As technology grows more complex and becomes more vital to every business operation, organizations need a robust framework for implementing and supporting new technology in the most efficient and cost-effective way possible.

In the absence of an ITSM strategy, businesses risk being engulfed by their own technology, resulting in increased expenses, diminished service quality, and an inability to leverage cutting-edge technology for scalable growth.

ITSM Versus Basic IT Assistance

The easiest way to visualize the difference between ITSM and basic IT assistance is to view IT assistance as a task under the broader ITSM umbrella.

ITSM encompasses the entire ecosystem and processes involved in designing, implementing, and supporting IT infrastructure. This entails deploying and maintaining end-user hardware and software as necessary.

Traditional IT assistance or “help desk” support is viewed more as a lifeline. When an end-user has a problem, they call the help desk. The help desk fixes the problem, and that’s the end of the interaction.

ITSM not only dictates the delivery of services but also aims to evolve as an ongoing service rather than being solely reactive when issues occur. This proactive approach ensures continual enhancement and delivery of superior service across all aspects of a business's technology infrastructure.

In this way, ITSM as a concept is more proactive and designed to deliver continually improving service for all facets of a business’s technology infrastructure.

IT Service Management Best Practices Guide

While every business may take a different approach to IT service delivery, the following best practices can help you develop and implement the right ITSM strategy to meet your goals.

Audit Your Current ITSM & IT Service Delivery

The initial step in establishing a robust ITSM strategy involves conducting a thorough audit to assess the current status of IT service delivery within your organization.

This audit encompasses an evaluation of your existing strategy and services. Some businesses may find their IT department primarily focused on a help-desk delivery model, while others may have implemented an ITSM strategy that has become inefficient over time.

The objective is to identify your current strategy and subsequently establish well-defined objectives for what you aim to achieve with your new ITSM strategy.

Engaging in discussions with end-users, managers, and stakeholders can provide valuable insights into areas requiring improvement and those that are currently effective.

Create An IT Culture That Embraces Change

As you progress through the ITSM implementation process, fostering a culture that welcomes change becomes paramount. Continuous improvement stands as a cornerstone of ITSM, and resistance to change can hinder or even thwart this endeavor.

An effective approach to nurturing this positive culture involves involving a diverse range of stakeholders and representatives in the decision-making and implementation phases.

This fosters a team-oriented environment, as opposed to a "top-down" implementation approach, which often breeds resistance.

Choose The Right Framework

ITSM strategies are based on an underlying framework that dictates many of the core goals and processes to be followed.

The most common framework is the Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL). This framework for delivering IT services can be adapted to many different organizations and requirements.

However, other frameworks exist that can be better suited depending on the goals and problems that need to be addressed within an organization.

Focus On Self-Service Solutions

Repetitive minor tasks can significantly burden an IT department, consuming precious time and resources while also draining the energy of team members tasked with them.

Automation and self-service workflows offer a solution by liberating talented team members from these repetitive tasks.

Empowering end users with self-service options such as password resets or device enrollment enables them to address many issues independently, reducing the workload on IT staff and enhancing overall efficiency.

However, it’s key to always maintain service as the number one goal. Automation and self-service should always improve the experience and not detract from it or cause more problems. This means carefully selecting the processes and workflows for automation while reserving your talented team members for more productive tasks that require expertise.

Implement The Right ITSM Software Solution

Central to any ITSM, strategy and implementation will be the ITSM software solution you use. This is the system your entire team will be interacting with daily, so it needs to fit your business perfectly.

Choosing the right ITSM software tool can warrant its own dedicated article. However, you want to return to your goals outlined earlier to help you decide.

Your overall goals after your IT audit will help you decide which features are most important to your organization.

Use Metrics For Tracking Results

ITSM is more than just a framework or a lofty service concept. It’s designed to create measurable improvements that can be felt across an entire organization.

To track and measure these results, you will want to implement specific Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to determine how your ITSM strategy is progressing as well as find new opportunities to improve your overall workflows.

Below are common KPIs used to measure ITSM success.

• Mean Time To Resolve (MTTR)
• Resolution Percentage (related to the Service Level Agreement (SLA) or internal goals)
• Cost per Ticket (CPT)
• Customer (end-user) Satisfaction (CSAT)
• First Contact Resolution Rate (FCR)

Each IT department and organization may use different KPIs and metrics to track success. The KPIs you use will depend heavily on your goals outlined in earlier steps.

How To Integrate ITSM & IT Teams

As we’ve discussed, implementing and refining your ITSM strategy will involve a change at almost every level of your business operations.

To help your teams embrace and flourish with these changes, it’s important to set clearly defined roles across your IT department.

Once the roles are established, keep stakeholders from every department involved in the decision process moving forward. You also want to ensure a process so team members can communicate and voice their opinions freely.

A mistake that is often made is to create these plans and strategies behind closed doors and then suddenly deliver them as an initiative. This creates a type of culture shock and disruption that betrays the overall goal of ITSM best practices.

At Hypershift, we've collaborated with organizations of every scale to identify tailored solutions and develop highly efficient strategies that suit their unique needs. Connect with us, and together, let's pinpoint the optimal starting point to steer your organization toward success.