The Dilemma of Over Investment
Today's CIOs, IT managers, and heads of IT service management face a two-fold challenge. On one side, there's the pressure to drive digital transformation, utilize intelligent tools, and ensure effective delivery with a leaner resource pool. On the other, there's a looming inefficiency. As the recent data suggests, a whopping 80% of IT organizations overspend on their ITSM platform subscriptions, often by over 50% of their contract value. Why? They buy into functionalities they don't necessarily need.
Embracing the Right Tools: The Freshservice Benchmark Report (FBR) 2023
At this critical juncture, it becomes vital for technology leaders to reassess, refocus, and re-strategize. The FBR 2023 provides such a compass. Drawing from data across 7400+ organizations, spanning over 100 countries, the report offers insights from 118M+ unique tickets to provide the benchmark KPIs for IT service management.
In times of economic challenges, IT plays a critical role in optimizing processes and the use of resources across all functions. IT leaders should not forget to optimize the "business of IT". Tool utilization tracking and optimization, tool rationalization, and optimization of service delivery are key focus areas that will enable IT to run as an efficient business function.
- CIO Prasad Ramakrishnan, Freshworks
A Glimpse into the Key Findings
Fast Time-To-Value: By automating business processes, companies have seen a reduction in average resolution time by nearly 23%. Remarkably, the first interaction resolves end-user queries in 80.1% of cases, with SLA adherence as high as 96.7%.
Emphasis on Chat & Collaboration: Employee experiences are enhanced dramatically when chat platforms like Microsoft Teams or Slack are utilized. Average response times stand at 6 hours, with a first interaction resolution rate of 93.4%.
Boosted Agent Productivity through Bots: Bots aren't just about reducing the human workload—they improve efficiency. Tickets get resolved 57% faster, and initial responses are quicker by almost 48%. The first contact resolution score stands at an impressive 92.3%.
Conversational AI is the Future: By adopting AI-powered conversational tools, organizations have managed to deflect up to 46% of tickets. This has dual benefits: reducing the number of repetitive issues and allowing agents to concentrate on pivotal business tasks.
Intelligent Suggestions Amplify Efficiency: Through AI's capability to link similar incidents, agents can resolve tickets 23% faster. This is a game-changer, ensuring efficiency and improving user satisfaction.
Prioritizing the Right KPIs
To ensure an organization's service delivery is at its peak, focusing on the right KPIs is essential. The FBR 2023 report accentuates seven such KPIs, providing a median benchmark across industries, regions, and organization sizes. From these insights, technology leaders can craft a roadmap tailored to their business’s unique needs.
- Customer Satisfaction (CSAT)
- Average First Response Time (AFRT)
- Average Resolution Time (ART)
- Average First Assign Time (AFAT)
- First Contact Resolution (FCR)
- Resolution SLA Percent
- First Response SLA Percent
The Road Ahead: Leveraging Technology for Optimal Efficiency
As we navigate 2023, it's evident that the nexus of business growth and innovation revolves around strategic technological investments. Key trends that stand out are:
Embrace Employee-centric IT: Technology should be a tool, not a challenge. As organizations digitally evolve, the employee experience should be at the forefront. Ensuring the chosen technologies align with employee needs and improve their productivity is essential.
Intelligent Automations: Beyond traditional robotic process automation (RPA), the future lies in embracing broader intelligent automation strategies. This means leveraging technologies like natural language processing, chatbots, and intelligent ticket processing. Equipping non-tech personnel with AI-enabled tools can redefine operational efficiency.
Extend the Benefits of Service Management: The tenets of service management offer far-reaching advantages, from enhancing customer satisfaction to boosting employee productivity. Integrating ITSM solutions for end-to-end service delivery, both in IT and other business functions, can be transformative.
Conclusion
In an era characterized by rapid technological evolution and economic pressures, the right IT decisions can make, or break a business. As IT leaders, the ball is in our court to make choices that drive efficiency, value, and growth. Utilizing the insights from benchmarks like the FBR 2023 can provide the necessary direction, ensuring that IT doesn't just support the business, but actively drives its success - without forgetting the employee experience.
Driving Value Through Efficient IT Service Management starts with people. When developing ITSM processes the most important aspect is to serve the people using the process - on both sides of the table. At its best modern ITSM provides a personalised employee experience while minimising manual work and repetitive tasks. With modern technology, you can enrich the process with data at every touchpoint to improve the flow of work. In addition, ITSM development should be done with a clear vision and monitored with the right KPIs."
- Freshworks Sales Lead Janne Sivula, Gapps
