MONEYBALL FOR IT SUPPORT

Using Data-Driven Management to Achieve World-Class Support.

March 15, 2012

DFW Chapter of HDI

Terry Allenterry@NuSystemsConsulting.com

“MONEYBALL”

Reshaping a laggard team into a world-class winner–with one of the lowest budgets

“Willingness to re-think baseball: how it is managed, how it is played, who is best suited to play it, and why. “– Michael Lewis, author◦ Which statistics are most correlated to

winning games ◦ Focus on these success metrics and

actually use them for recruiting, player development, and game-time decisions.

◦ Full management commitment

IT Support Centers

A strong environment for data-driven management (analytics)

Rich in under-used data and under-tracked processes

There are efficiency and quality gains to be captured by uncovering and leveraging the value in existing systems and stores of data

You can’t manage what you don’t measure

Focus on desktop support as well as service desk

IT Support Centers Performance Management in the Support Center –

Service Desk and Desktop Support◦ A set of practices and tools used to systematically

measure, improve, and manage the operation◦ A means of defining and delivering metrics to every

employee and stakeholder◦ A process for aligning goals and objectives across all

levels of the organization◦ The means for management and individuals to diagnose

and take action based on full information Why not?

But not all measures are equally important Too often favor metrics that are easiest to get or

those “everyone uses” And don’t forget: “You get what you measure”

Metrics Average speed to answer*/service level (% within x seconds)

Call abandonment rate*

Contacts/Tickets handled/resolved per FTE*

First call resolution*

Average handling time/wrap up time

Average response time*

Resolution times by category/classification – Mean time to resolve*

Percent of tickets reopened*

Cost per contact/incident*

First level resolution

Staff turnover

Staff absenteeism

Staff utilization/Work time per ticket*

Percent of day on incidents*

Number of email exchanges required to resolve*

Customer satisfaction*

Staff satisfaction*

Training days per staff member*

Percentage of tickets resolved by level*

Percent of incidents caused by change

Percent resolved Level 1*

Average queue time per ticket*

Ratio of staff per customer….. and many more……….

Moneyball Metrics

Not all measures are equally important (80/20)

Watch out for “analysis paralysis”.What are the most meaningful measures?Less is more. Allows focus.What processes are intuitively managed

that could be better run based on statistical facts?

How would this affect your culture and how you hire, develop, promote, and field a support team based on these insights?

Moneyball Metrics

Key to the value of Moneyball MetricsTrue potential = not just measure, but also:◦Track and trend performance over time◦Benchmark performance vs. self (and peers)◦ Identify strengths and weaknesses◦Diagnose - understand the interrelationships

and underlying drivers of performance◦Prescribe actions to improve performance◦Establish performance goals for both individuals

and support team overall◦Become “World-Class”All metrics are worthless – unless you do

something with them.

What is “World-Class”?

“Ranking among the foremost in the world”

“First-rate”, “Exceptional”, “Superlative”…

Exceed “Industry standards?”

World-Class

Goal of every business is to achieve the highest possible quality at the lowest possible cost.

“World-class” implies optimization: Best quality/performance for the

dollars available.

Great quality at very high cost - just as low cost with low quality - is not world-class! Requires careful balance with calibration/benchmarking

World-Class

Two primary measures of success – Prime Factors:

Effectiveness and Efficiency, or

Quality vs. Cost

Moneyball MetricsBest indicator of effectiveness/quality =

Customer Satisfaction

Best indicator of efficiency = Cost per Contact/Incident (fully burdened) – measure of Total Cost of Ownership

Prime Moneyball Metrics – perhaps the only two that really matter

World Class:◦ Consistently exceed customer expectations◦ Costs are managed at or below industry average

levels

So what are the key influencers of these prime factors?

Customer Satisfaction

Single biggest driver of Customer Satisfaction is First Contact Resolution◦Training, Knowledge Management,

Incentives

Customer Satisfaction

Single biggest driver of Customer Satisfaction is First Contact Resolution◦Training, Knowledge Management,

IncentivesAnd the next most critical driver of

Customer Satisfaction is Staff Satisfaction◦Measure at least 2/year◦Training, Coaching, Career Path,

Recognition

Customer Satisfaction

Single biggest driver of Customer Satisfaction is First Contact Resolution◦ Training, Knowledge Management, Incentives

And the next most critical driver of Customer Satisfaction is Staff Satisfaction◦ Training, Coaching, Career Path, Recognition◦Measure at least 2/year

Then Service Levels, e.g.◦ MTTR (desktop)/Resolution time◦ Response times – phone, email◦ ASA/Abandon rate◦ Others

Customer Satisfaction

FCR

Staff Satisfaction

Service Levels

Training Hours Career Path

Coaching

Cost per Incident

Single biggest factor of Cost is Staff Utilization◦ Labor is biggest expense◦ Best measure of labor efficiency is

utilization◦ Key factors: Service Levels and Scheduling

Efficiency◦ Staff utilization:

Time working on incidents/Time worked Caution – 80-90% can lead to high turnover

Cost per Incident

First Level Resolution◦Key factor in Total Cost of Ownership◦Cost per incident at different support levels

Self-service $3-8 Level 1 (chat, email, phone) $10-17 Level 2 (not deskside visits) $20-30 Level 2 (deskside visits) $50-60 Level 3/Vendor $100-300

◦ Note: Service Desk can have low cost/contact but may drive a high TCO (overall cost/incident) by transfers

◦ Caution: FLR over 90-95% can increase overall cost per incident – again, it’s about balance!

Cost per Incident

Turnover/Absenteeism◦ Very costly impacts on labor costs◦ Key driver here: Staff Satisfaction ◦ High staff satisfaction drives lower

turnover and absenteeism, more experience, lower handle times, higher first contact resolution and first level resolution rates, lower MTTR. Training, Coaching, Career Path, Recognition

Work Time to handle/resolve incidents◦ Work time, plus travel (deskside support)

Cost per Contact/Incident

Staff Utilization

Staff Satisfaction

Service Levels

Training Hours Scheduling Efficiency

Absenteeism/ Turnover

FLR AHT

Career Path

Coaching

Training

Not So Much

Average Speed to Answer/ Abandonment Rate

◦ Almost no impact on Customer Satisfaction (if business reasonable)

◦ Can have a great impact on Cost per Contact - adversely

◦ Can increase costs without corresponding increase in customer satisfaction

◦ Determine goals based on business need◦ Key is consistency

There are many other metrics that have relatively little impact on Moneyball Metrics◦ Do have value as part of diagnostic analysis

Customer Satisfaction

Cost per Contact/Incident

Staff Utilization

FCR

Staff Satisfaction

Service Levels

Service Levels

Training Hours Scheduling Efficiency

Absenteeism/ Turnover

FLR AHT

Career Path

Coaching

Summary of Major Correlations

Training

Scorecard MetricSingle overall measure to track and

communicate performanceAggregate/Balanced ScorecardEnables management to easily

communicate an overall picture of performance to stakeholders(e.g., GD/BD or Red/Yellow/Green)

Tracked over time it helps determine if support is improving or declining

Avoids focusing and drawing conclusions on less important metrics

Beginning of diagnosis

Sample Scorecard

Metric Weight

%

Bench Mark

Performance

Result Balanced

Score

Cost/Contact 25% $30 $35 86% 21.4%

Customer Sat.

25% 90% 88% 98% 24.4%

Analyst Utilization

10% 85% 80% 94% 9.4%

FCR 10% 70% 72% 103% 10.3%

Analyst Sat. 20% 85% 82% 96% 19.3%

First Level Res.(% L1 Capable)

5% 85% 78% 98% 4.9%

ASA (or MTTR)

5% 60 65 92% 4.6%

Total 100% 94.4%

Summary

Three major mistakes◦ Tracking/Reporting too many metrics◦ Focusing on the wrong (less important) metrics◦ Not exploiting the full potential of performance

metrics as a diagnostic toolSeven Moneyball Metrics

◦ Two Prime MM’s – Cost and Customer Satisfaction

◦ First Contact Resolution ◦ Staff Satisfaction – impacts many other key

metrics◦ Staff Utilization◦ First Level Resolution (TCO) – overall efficiency◦ Balanced score – overall measure/communications

Summary

Moneyball Metrics enable you to:◦Track and trend performance over

time◦Benchmark performance vs. self

(and others)◦Identify strengths and weaknesses◦Diagnose - and understand the

underlying drivers of gaps◦Prescribe actions to improve

performance◦Establish performance

standards/goals for both individuals and overall

SummaryCultural Impact

◦ Requires management to implement and enforce Use data consistently, hold people accountable, build

incentive systems around the new model No more excuses – everyone knows what they’re

accountable for; process of commitment Re-examine processes – hiring, training, quality, all can

benefit

◦ Requires a buy-in process Get people to buy in and use it Be patient for “Aha!” moments where people

understand Be clear that it’s not “big brother”. Own their own

performance, and can even start teaching each other Transparency – the more you reveal, the greater the

impact on acceptance