The Keys to Successful IT Service Management – ITPS

Organizations have become dependent on IT to fulfill their business objectives. This dependency has resulted in the need for IT to deliver quality services that align with the needs of the business. IT services must be of high quality, dependable, consistent and at an acceptable cost.

This is why IT Service Management has become a key part of a world class IT organization. But what are the keys to successful IT Service Management? I can tell you it is not to throw in the latest best practice framework and expect miracles to happen. It is not throwing money at the problem with new technologies.

The most important part of a world class IT organization and successful IT Service Management is the people who run it and the leaders who guide them. When searching for the best way to implement successful IT Service Management, look for the best people and the best leadership.

People

You can install every best practice and technology known to man, but without the right people to run it you will not get the full benefits of the technology or frameworks. Always remember that people run an IT department, not technologies, and not frameworks.

You must have people who understand the technology, the processes and the frameworks. They need to know why we implement a best practice or technology and what it means to them and the business. You must have people who know how to use them to provide the level of IT services the business requires.

You must have people who are engaged and understand they are they the key to successful IT Service Management. Take these people and train them, build them, make them successful in their jobs. These people are the foundation on which successful IT Service Management is built.

So how do you get your people onboard and engaged?

Leadership

Successful IT Service Management is dependent on good leadership. It takes leaders to implement, guide and inspire the people doing the work, using the technologies or the best practice. Leaders empower their people and get them to understand how their work contributes to the overall success of not only IT, but the business as well.

What kind of leaders do you need for successful IT Service Management?

You need leaders who take the time to interact with their people, who gets to know their people and what drives or motivates them. They do not sit in their office and lead by email. They are out in the “Gemba”, the place where the work is done and actively engaged with their people.

Good leaders must be humble individuals. They do not use the word “I” very often, they use the word “We” or the name of the business or the group. They understand that for them to be successful, the organization must be successful and the key to that is making the people who run it successful.

Good leaders do not sit back and take all of the praise of success. Instead they give the praise to the people who created the success. Good leaders talk the talk and walk the walk, they lead by example and by actions, not just words. They work to change the culture of the IT department from technology centered to people centered.

Summary

You can have the best people in the world. Bulls in the chute, locked, cocked and ready to go. But without good leadership behind them their full potential is never reached, their drive to help the organization succeed is diminished and IT Service Management becomes just another catchy phrase in the IT department jargon.

The keys to successful IT Service Management are the people and the leaders. In the spirit of the K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple Stupid) philosophy I give you a new acronym for successful IT Service Management.

ITPS, “It’s The People Stupid”.