Overview
A financial services organisation (FSO) has driven year-on-year increases in satisfaction thanks to a continual service improvement (CSI) program developed and delivering with the help of Ivanti partner, CTMS Service Management.
Ivanti Neurons for ITSM has become a strategic platform underpinning the delivery of core services. Key metrics across Incident and Service Request fulfilment performance have exceeded business targets.
Trusted capabilities
The FSO wanted a robust, stable technology solution that would enable it to deliver outstanding services to members and customers. Over time, patching, maintenance and updates had become time-consuming and challenging. The company therefore decided to work with an Ivanti partner and chose CTMS based on its reputation for ITSM expertise and proven use cases.
Whilst the initial focus was platform support and maintenance, the scope expanded to include system configuration, training, process mapping and helping to develop and deliver a CSI program.
Improving the Joiners, Movers, Leavers process
The initial goal was to bring stability to the platform and improve performance. Once a strong foundation with Ivanti Neurons for ITSM was in place, service management was approached more strategically.
One example of this was changing the Joiners, Movers, Leavers (JML) process. Requests used to come in from different channels and information was captured in a non-structured way.
CTMS worked with internal subject matter experts to break down and document each process into individual steps. Once a process is mapped in the CTMS process management platform, it can be easily amended. CTMS then modifies any processes in Ivanti Neurons for ITSM which ensures it remains aligned with the business need.
The project enabled the FSO to deliver a consistent approach to onboarding and offboarding processes and enable better tracking of requests, deliver to the required targets whilst providing a better self-service experience to internal colleagues.
The FSO invested time in mapping and then improving various ITSM processes which gave greater visibility across the team for each of the service management workstreams. This knowledge is a permanent record and helps with staff absences or turnover.
Implementing positive changes to service management
Working alongside CTMS enabled the FSO to identify and implement positive changes to service management efficiently and cost-effectively. Our highly supportive and responsive approach has allowed the FSO to gain greater value from its service management platform and enhance the overall colleague and member experience.
CTMS built a set of insightful reports for the FSO as well as trained the in-house team on how to create reports. This has eliminated manipulation of data outside of Ivanti Neurons for ITSM. We helped establish a deep understanding of the data and its importance within the system, as a result, everyone within the ITSM team is committed to making sure it remains up to date and accuracy levels are higher than ever before.
The FSO has developed more robust asset management with greater visibility over assets thanks to an integration from CTMS. This automatically loads IT asset data such as details of its laptop estate into the CMDB (Configuration Management Database).
CTMS also developed a process to identify where service desk interactions contain customer data. This data is now removed and archived in line with GDPR regulations. The service management system is now equally compliant as the direct customer-facing systems the FSO uses.
Taking a true customer-centric approach
CTMS has guided the client on its journey to improve self-service. Previously, the self-service portal lacked user-friendliness which meant more contact with the service desk came via phone or unstructured email.
We worked on a platform upgrade project which allowed the FSO to leverage the latest features within Ivanti Neurons for ITSM, including a fully branded self-service portal. CTMS also created the first set of templates for Incident and Request. This alone was responsible for 85% of all Service Requests now being logged via self-service.
Leading and facilitating workshops
CTMS is often asked to facilitate and run workshops for different workstreams. We are skilled in bringing the right stakeholders and subject matter experts (SMEs) together. Our role combines driving the conversation, but also listening, discussing and challenging existing viewpoints.
Any new processes are created in the CTMS process management platform and the results are shared with the SMEs to validate and update where required. We then configure and test changes to the ITSM system and deliver it into production before checking it is working against any agreed measures.
A good example of these discovery workshops occurred when the FSO updated its Incident processes to minimise ticket rejection or deflection. CTMS ensured the FSO was capturing the right information in Ivanti Neurons for ITSM as well as implementing the required process and operational changes such as educating staff on gathering data when logging tickets.
The project resulted in improved first-call resolution rates, and removed an element of uncertainty around task management and ticket bounce.
A continual service improvement journey
In 2023, CTMS led a major initiative to accelerate the pace of the CSI program. This involved liaising with key resources from across the services, infrastructure and technology teams. It surfaced key challenges and enabled a better understanding of where to specifically focus on Knowledge Management, reporting, self-service, etc.
We are asked to play different roles according to the client need, e.g. acting as a sounding board or leading and implementing change. We have built a reputation as trusted advisor, providing independent feedback to the FSO ensuring it can focus on achieving the best outcomes.
We are not afraid to challenge any client preconceptions and take pride in coming up with fresh ideas. Our goal is always to help the client deliver the best service no matter the project, budget or scope.
Delivering year-on-year performance improvements
We have helped the FSO to deliver year-on-year performance improvements driving better outcomes to support colleagues and members. For the last 3 years, the FSO has reported an improvement on all aspects of Incident, Request and Knowledge. For example, KPIs for meeting the Incident SLA and the Service Request SLA have exceeded target during that time period.
Due to organisational change or budget constraints, priorities might shift but CTMS always look for creative ways to work within the limits of the project. We have worked hard to build a deep level of trust and respect that flows both ways. Throughout our engagement, we have focused on a business-wide collaboration to drive service improvements for everyone.
Embedding CSI into operations
CTMS has helped the FSO to develop a CSI culture in technology operations, create a more robust service management platform and encouraged the client to strive for better outcomes and experiences for its stakeholders
We have successfully realigned Ivanti Neurons for ITSM with the client’s strategic objectives which provides a strong foundation for further operational improvements.