Why the service desk must build business relationships if it wants to prosper This presentation was delivered on SITS13 in April 2013. http://www.servicedeskshow.com/theatre-2/ Suppliers, partners and customers; successful service desks manage these relationships effectively and professionally. Learn how your service desk can shape the customer experience by providing and maintaining excellent business relationships. 1) How to improve customer satisfaction by building relationships 2) Advice for empowering service desk staff so they build relationships 3) Understand business relationship management from a non-process structured point of view

1. Copyright © 2013 Tata Consultancy Services Limited
Andrea Kis
Service Management and Integration Consultant
April 2013
Business Relationship Management &
the Service Desk
Why the service desk must build business relationships if
it wants to prosper

2. Document Name
TCS Confidential
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
Q&A

3. Document Name
TCS Confidential
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
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4. Document Name
TCS Confidential
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
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5. Document Name
TCS Confidential
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.
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6. Document Name
TCS Confidential
The Two Types of Service Interaction
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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.

7. Document Name
TCS Confidential
The Hybrid Service Interaction
Hybrid model: Pseudo relationship
Don’t fall into the trap of ‘fake relationships’
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8. Document Name
TCS Confidential
Rather being punched than call customer services?
Result of a ‘fake relationship’
http://theoatmeal.com/comics/customer_service
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9. Document Name
TCS Confidential
BRM is like being in a relationship
Treat your
customer
s right Be fair
and
honest
with them,
build their
trust
Listen to
your
customer
s
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
responsib
ility,
regardles
s of the
outcome
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10. Document Name
TCS Confidential
The Service Desk’s role in BRM
Good BRM requires
understanding and effort
from both parties (the
Service Desk and
customers/the business).
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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

11. Document Name
TCS Confidential
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
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12. Document Name
TCS Confidential
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.
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TRAIN
COAC
H EMPOWER
LET THE TEAM BUILD REAL
RELATIONSHIPS
GIVE THEM THE RIGHT
TOOLS
LET THEM LEAVE THEIR
DESKS

13. Document Name
TCS Confidential
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
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TCS Confidential
“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
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BRM examples from those working on the Service Desk

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TCS Confidential
Q&A
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16. Thank you for listening 
Twitter: @AndieKis
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/andiekis