The SolarWinds State of ITSM Report is an in-depth review of over 2,000 ITSM systems, aggregating more than 60,000 data points from mid- and small-market SolarWinds® customers globally. The report includes striking findings on the effectiveness of self-service portals in ITSM.
Self-service portals are designed to reduce pressure on service desk agents by leveraging online resources to help users solve problems on their own. But does this reflect the agent’s real-life experience? The answer appears to be a resounding yes. On average, SolarWinds found that customers deploying self-service platforms showed a reduction in ticket resolution times of more than two hours.
That’s a lot of time saved. Here’s why it matters.
Three Reasons to Evolve Your Self-Service Capabilities Within ITSM
- Accelerate everyday solutions: A self-service portal frees valuable time for agents to focus on busy queues for a fully responsive IT environment. It reduces the back-and-forth communication of everyday problems that often delay ticket resolution. The State of ITSM Report states that companies using self-service portals see an average service request resolution time reduction of 34 hours.
- Put IT knowledge in one place: A knowledge base library is an integral part of self-service ITSM. It allows teams to centralize knowledge, taking it out of agents' heads and placing it in a single place, simplifying knowledge sharing across teams. Consider this as an internal knowledge base for IT teams that includes standard operating procedures and other relevant information.
- Centralize common resolutions: Knowledge base (KB) articles also allow common resolutions to be centralized so that end-users (non-IT employees) can reference them when trying to solve issues independently. For example, rather than opening a ticket with IT on how to troubleshoot a VPN issue, they can follow a guide as a first step.
A Sector-by-Sector View of Self-Service Performance
At its heart, self-service ITSM is a set of capabilities that helps mobilize users to address their own needs. A self-service portal is one of its functions, and the knowledge base is another. However, data shows that while some sectors reap significant benefits from this approach, others may have room for improvement. We know customer service done right is brilliant, but it becomes a reputational issue when it doesn’t work. Comparing the performance of top industries, the State of ITSM Report identified varying levels of success—education, software and technology, government, and then business sectors scored highest. Interestingly, the financial service sector scored lowest, with construction, healthcare, retail, manufacturing, and energy sectors only slightly higher.
The data shows companies leveraging KB articles resolved incidents an average of six hours faster than those that didn’t. By providing immediate access to information, KB articles empower users to resolve issues independently, significantly reducing the number of tickets submitted.
How to Build A Knowledge Base Library
A knowledge base library is designed to provide solutions to people’s problems. There are several ways to accelerate the uptake and impact of KB assets:- Be clear about your objectives. Why are you providing KB articles? Is it to provide customer self-service support, streamline your internal organizational processes, or document workflows for ITSM tools?
- Write clear instructions, sharing tips and best practices imparted as valuable and easy-to-action solutions. Aim for simplicity
- Is your content helpful in addressing issues with clear instructional information? Is the information easy to read? Ensure there are no editorial or visual distractions for more complex solutions
- Providing ready-made solutions to common issues can eliminate the need for repetitive manual responses
Self-Service Drastically Accelerates Service Requests
Data points show that organizations leveraging self-service portals can save up to a full day per service request. However, a self-service portal is more than convenient. It’s a strategic advantage, transforming service requests from reactive, time-consuming tasks into proactive, streamlined operations. Another benefit is that self-service platforms will more quickly maximize the efficacy of future artificial intelligence (AI) technologies than those that don’t. Plugging future AI applications into existing help desk service protocols builds an AI ecosystem, an adaptable landscape for improved support and enhanced scalability. Uptake is everything.
Where Do You Stand?
Not all organizations perform well when leveraging knowledge as a service. Gartner reports that many customer support portals are dead ends, often because they lack the foundational capabilities for customer self-service resolution, resulting in user frustration and low success rates. How will you approach and optimize your service desk?
For more insights on ITSM today, download the SolarWinds ITSM Report here.
