In all companies, no matter the forecasts they take, always happen technical failures that impact their internal processes. If you want to prevent this scenario, implementing ITIL may be your best option.
These standards provide a framework for managing IT problems that is comprehensive and flexible. In addition, by following these rules, you can rest assured that all requirements will be handled properly.
In this article, we will show you some tips that will help you apply ITIL standards to your business. This way, you can speed up the resolution time and provide a service without interruptions.
Can I implement ITIL as a continuous improvement process?
If you are reading this article, it means that you offer an IT service that works in some aspects as described by ITIL. For that reason, the implementation of these standards can be seen as a process of continuous improvement.
To apply these rules successfully, you must consider that the goal of service management is to add value to your business. Thus, we recommend you implement ITIL in the processes that are harming your company.
For example, if users complain that response times are too slow, you may need to create an incident management process.
How can I start implementing ITIL in my company?
The best way to start this implementation is by evaluating your current IT service. You can do this by performing a SWOT analysis (weaknesses, threats, strengths, and opportunities). This way, you will have a global vision of your situation and can create an improvement program.
Each of these strategies must return benefits in different periods. For example, if you deploy a service desk to handle user requests, you’ll get results quickly. However, implementing the process to manage failures may take longer.
To succeed with this process, you should have a balance between short-term and long-term benefits. This will help the teams involved experience the advantages of ITIL.
How will ITIL implementation affect my IT team?
ITIL implementation is not just about designing processes or policies. IT agents and managers must change the way they approach their problems.
To simplify this phase, we recommend you study the emotional cycle associated with change:
- Shock.
- Negation.
- Blame others.
- Blame yourself.
- Acceptance.
- Optimal execution.
You can also check out Kotter’s 8 steps. This material will give you useful tools to guide your team through this process.
Tips to implement ITIL successfully
1. Visualize ITIL as a theory and not as a goal
When we hear the word ITIL, many of us associate it with standards that improve the quality of service. Although this may be true, it can also negatively influence us. Since ITIL is a set of concepts based on the best practices of the IT industry.
Therefore, you must select the standards that are beneficial to your team and discard those that are not. This way, you can improve internal processes without affecting your service quality.
2. Take a practical approach
You must start the implementation by attacking specific problems. For example, you should ask yourself the following question: What is the customer’s problem, and how can it be solved?
By analyzing this information, you can implement ITIL smoothly and avoid performing unnecessary processes.
3. Train your agents to implement ITIL
Since ITIL has a lot of strategic concepts, your IT team must master them perfectly.
We recommend you select the content your agents must study according to their roles. In this way they can identify the most important elements and apply them effectively.
4. Establish an order
Since ITIL has more than 40 processes and phases, it is crucial that you work with the right standards and in an orderly manner.
You can start the ITIL implementation with the lower-level processes, and continue with the most important ones. Thus, you can make this change in stages, and your users will not be affected.
5. Focus on the most urgent problems
Generally, we put our attention on completing a goal instead of focusing on the most important problem. In this case, we recommend you to be honest and critical when evaluating your performance.
You should start by analyzing the most basic processes, such as incident management or administration. And then you can solve other failures that affect your team’s productivity.
6. Keep in mind that all processes are important
If a process has a low priority, it doesn’t mean it’s not important.
For example, creating a catalog is relevant despite not being at the top of priorities. Not because it is not critical to produce this content, but because its development, as a mature ITIL process, often leaves aside the most critical incidents.
Yes! We said there were only six, but this tip is also very important:
Applying these tips will certainly simplify your ITIL implementation. However, if you want to succeed with the process, you must also use a help desk software to manage your clients’ requirements.
With Freshdesk you can coordinate all your users’ interactions in one place. As a result, you’ll have a fluid and effective communication.
This tool allows you to centralize all your customer information and guarantee compliance with SLAs. In addition, you will also be able to perform integrations to enhance the work of your agents.
At GB Advisors, we help you integrate this and other technological solutions to automate your business processes. We offer you personalized attention with the installation and configuration of any software.
You will also receive advice from our group of experts. They will guide you step by step so that you can perform a successful installation. What are you waiting for? Contact us now!
