Enterprise service management: the importance of a one-stop shop

Article by TOPdesk managing director Robert van der Gulik.

The online world has become more intuitive and accessible than ever. For the past few years, many have become accustomed to the ease of working and communicating on the internet. In particular, the modern workforce increasingly expects easy-to-use technological-based solutions to issues.

This means for organisations, out-of-the-box IT solutions that provide a simple and cohesive experience for staff and end-users will only become more important moving into the future.

The Google effect

In a world where information is more readily available than ever, most people's first instinct is to search online for an answer.

But what about queries from within an organisation?

Too often, a query can't be resolved by just one person or one department with a form – a seemingly simple request can leave employees and end-users trying to navigate a time-consuming process that eats up resources. Employees and end-users want to resolve issues for themselves. Self-service portals empower them with the tools and support they need.

One centralised port of call

Like a search engine, it makes sense for employees and end-users to have one place to go to action all their questions and requests. Intranet technology and self-service portals are useful tools that help serve this purpose.

Some organisations are going even further to collaborate and provide quality service – this is where enterprise service management (ESM) comes in. By using an integrated system across departments, enterprise service management makes internal processes consistent. This creates less ambiguity for staff, providing better service for end-users.

The increased takeup of hybrid workplaces and work from home has only underscored how siloed, disparate departments could be more efficient when providing service.

Of course, it's important to create institutional buy-in across departments. Often departments will have worked to their own strategies and frameworks as well as processes established over the years – this experience and expertise needs to be recognised.

Choosing collaboration

Implementing ESM takes leadership. Managers and operators must recognise and embrace organisational synergy and adjust internal strategy accordingly.

Collaboration between service departments starts with a shared service management tool, which reduces licence and management costs and creates a common language amongst the organisation. From there, organisations can set up a centralised service desk that serves as the first port of call for the entire organisation, reducing costs by sharing resources among departments.

When areas of service overlap between departments have been identified, departments like IT, finance and human resources can come together to produce a single set of shared processes and procedures, streamlining service delivery and combining the strengths of each department.

Service quality success

It's important to remember that while ESM can decrease costs, improving service quality has to be the main goal – this is how organisations continue to retain employees and end-users.

Establishing a cohesive enterprise service management system transforms workplaces, providing a common framework to collaborate, share expertise and, importantly, deliver great service.

Ultimately, happy employees and end-users bolster the reputation of companies – to be known as an organisation that delivers service management excellence.