Copyright © 2014 Tata Consultancy Services Limited

Business Relationship Management & the Service DeskWhy the service desk must build business relationships if it wants to prosper

SITS 13

Agenda

Business Relationship Management and ITIL

Personal Relationships

Service Interactions

Rather being punched than call customer services?

BRM is like being in a relationship

The Service Desk’s role in BRM

Real life examples

SITS 13

Content

‘At some point in our lives we can all be both customers and service providers.’

Andrea Kis

Takeaways

•Understand business relationship management from a non-process structured point of view

•How to improve customer satisfaction by building relationships

•Advice for empowering service desk staff so they build relationships

- 3 -

SITS 13

Business Relationship Management

“Business Relationship Management aims to maintain a positive relationship with customers. ITIL Business Relationship Management identifies the needs of existing and potential customers and ensures that appropriate services are developed to meet those needs. “

ITIL v2011

- 4 -

SITS 13

The Theory of Personal Relationships

The categories of personal relationships:

What ties us together?

What’s in it for me?

The focus must be on the relationship from the viewpoint of the customer rather than the service supplier or supporter.

- 5 -

SITS 13

The Two Types of Service Interaction

- 6 -

Traditional: Service Relationship

Newer form: Service Encounter

People went to the same butcher, the same barber, the same doctor and the same bank teller when they needed service. Takes places between two

strangers who do not expect to interact in the future.

SITS 13

The Hybrid Service Interaction

Hybrid model: Pseudo relationship

 

Don’t fall into the trap of ‘fake relationships’

- 7 -

SITS 13

Rather being punched than call customer services?

Result of a ‘fake relationship’

http://theoatmeal.com/comics/customer_service

- 8 -

SITS 13

BRM is like being in a relationship

Treat your customers

right Be fair and honest with them, build their trust

Listen to your customers

Show them you care

Treat them like a valued partner

Help them to understand life on the Service

Desk

Show them their feedback

& opinion matters.

Be open about your mistakes

Take responsibility, regardless of the outcome

- 9 -

SITS 13

The Service Desk’s role in BRM

Good BRM requires understanding and effort

from both parties (the Service Desk and

customers/the business).

- 10 -

Empower the SD

Define their role in the BRM

process

Prepare them for encounters anywhere at

anytime

Prepare the team to become the

ambassadors of a service provider

Provide them training on

customer/business awareness

Prepare the SD for the changing

customer needs/business

requirements

Provide them with the right tools for their

trade

Make them help the business to

understand life on the Service Desk

The Service Desk Manager should lead

by example – influence BRM

SITS 13

The Evolving BRM and the Service Desk

Customer relationships can evolve and change over time, just as the Service Desk can change and evolve too.

The Service Desk plays a vital role in this change

An Individual or team’s behaviour

determines the relationship

Service Desk = IT (Support Provider)

in the eyes of the Business

- 11 -

SITS 13

Summary - The Service Desk plays a vital role in BRM

BRM is easy, it is a natural behaviour we practice without thinking about it in our personal lives.

- 12 -

TRAINCOAC

H EMPOWER

LET THE TEAM BUILD REAL RELATIONSHIPS

GIVE THEM THE RIGHT TOOLS

LET THEM LEAVE THEIR DESKS

SITS 13

BRM examples from those working on the Service Desk

“There is nothing quite like ensuring that the team is aware of what the business does to ensure that our customers know we understand what they do. Recently I have sent Service Desk Technicians out to our mobile information units (buses) for the day. This gives us a real insight into the issues experienced by them and the customers value being ‘listened to’ by the Service Desk.”

 

“Building that relationship with the customer starts from the time a Service Desk Technician picks up the phone. Yet it seems to be one of the areas that is not always addressed. Listening/silent monitoring calls identified that some technicians were very good at engaging with customers. It became clear that comprehensive training was required for all technicians to ensure that the customer experience when contacting the Service desk was always of a high standard now referred to ‘Customer Etiquette’.  One of the examples is that we don’t always assume that the customer is available to talk to us when we call. I truly believe you can get more out of the customer if you have made the effort to understand your customer and your customer needs.”

Lena Gaston, Service Desk Manager – Macmillan Cancer Support

http://www.macmillan.org.uk

- 13 -

SITS 13

“When I worked for a major New Zealand broadcaster, I initiated a new Service Desk team, replacing the existing team with people from a non-technical background with people with customer facing skills.  They ranged from an ex-desktop support engineer, through to an ex-Vodafone CSR to an ex-repo man.

The repo man was excellent in the fact that he was able, through his training and experience, to diffuse difficult situations and bring irate customers back "onside".  The new team were also good at keeping customers / users (if Rob England is watching, then he will have a view on whether these are customers or users :-) ) informed and updated. Visibility and communication are more important in a way than speedy resolution times.

Although the latter is important too.”

“The other example was with a NZ energy provider where I mentored the SD manager, and explained to her the benefits of getting out and talking to the business more. 

I encouraged her to go to the power station, go and talk to the trading teams and build relationships, and get to understand what they wanted from the SD. One thing I didn't mention was the fact that by building these relationships, when things did go wrong, they knew that the SD understood and cared, so they were more tolerant.”

James Gander , Gander Service Management Ltd. www.gander.co.nz

- 14 -

BRM examples from those working on the Service Desk

Thank you

Visit us at www.tcs.com/consulting.