Posted on behalf of the SIAM SIG – People and Change Working Group
Here in the SIAM SIG we’ve been working on a new project. We wanted to know what the key issues are that SIAM practitioners face today.
We canvassed our members and had fantastic feedback. Overwhelmingly the response was that the big three issues for ITSM organsiations are:
- business change
- managing the people side of change impact
- achieving culture shift
To research how much impact these issues have and how organisations can deal with them, we created the People and Change SIAM SIG working group.
The group consists of SIAM practitioners, SIAM vendors, consultants and clients from across the ITSM sector.
In February this year, after pulling together their own experiences and knowledge of managing change and the resulting impacts, the group presented back to the SIAM SIG.
Below is a write up of that presentation.
Managing Organisational Change
ITIL suggests that we put our people first. And rightly so. All SIAM implementations involve a level of transformational change. Without the support of its people, a SIAM programme may not achieve its goals.
There are many methods to deal with the impact on people as a whole. But these methods can lack understanding of the impact on individuals, and of the organisation’s underlying corporate culture.
A key message in managing organisational change involves understanding the individual impact of transformation change such as that required in SIAM.
The message is well presented in Spencer Johnsons book “Who moved my Cheese”. There is also a video on YouTube you can watch which sums up the message from the book.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16hxCB1Dvd4
If you’re short on time then start from about the 7 minute point.
After understanding this key impact upon individuals, implementing Organisation Change Management by adopting methods such as Kotter’s 8 steps can be more effectively undertaken.
Once we have established a team for change or a team to be part of a new SIAM model, we should concentrate on building a new effective team. As part of this process we can leverage techniques such as “service animals” or “what Colour am I”. In essence it’s about understanding. Know your people, know your goals and be successful. More details of these techniques are available for those who attended the SIAM SIG event on 29th Feb on the DropBox link which was distributed after the event.
ITSM People and Change
In the afternoon of the SIAM seminar, the working group facilitated a Work Café session on people and change. It was a great afternoon, and everyone was willing to get involved and add their own experiences and suggestions. The aim of the session was to look at the impact on people across the 4 understood operating models of SIAM:
- retained SIAM
- outsourced to Independent provider SIAM
- hybrid SIAM (retained + independent)
- tower led SIAM
For each model we looked at the biggest challenges, but also potential solutions and ideas to mitigate against these challenges. We also looked at other considerations that didn’t fall in to any of the 4 models. Moving from one model to the next, everyone had the opportunity to contribute to the observations and ideas. At the end of the session, we all had 3 votes to nominate what we felt were the greatest challenges, and a vote to nominate the best idea.
Of all the issues discussed the top 3 were:
- Lack of understanding of roles and responsibilities. (Particularly highlighted for Hybrid and Independent models but noted as an issue affecting all SIAM implementations)
- Retention of staff during times of uncertainty
- Inappropriate contract negotiation and exit criteria
There were some great ideas & suggestions, but unsurprisingly, the idea with the most votes was:
- Clarify roles against industry standard definitions and develop a RASCI matrix. (Responsible, Accountable, Supporting, Consulted, Informed)
After a great event, the People and Change working group are looking to develop guidance around the issues and ideas identified on the day including how to achieve culture shift.
Stay tuned for more from the working party and the SIAM SIG soon.
Attending the SIAM SIG and benefiting from the great work they do is a member benefit. Click here to find out what other benefits you could receive as an ITSMF UK member. Alternatively, if you’d like to give membership a try contact the office on 0118 918 6509 and talk to us about our free six week trial.
Barclay Rae
Barclay Rae has extensive experience as a consultant, analyst and subject matter expert in IT Service Management. He is the Lead Editor of ITIL 4 Create Deliver Support (CDS) Managing Professional guide, a member of the ITIL 4 Architect team and a co-author of ITIL Practitioner.
He also has considerable business and management experience in the industry, both as a consultancy vendor and also working with industry bodies and vendors such as SDI, AXELOS, APMG, and Axios. He brings industry and subject knowledge to ITSMF UK's strategic direction, as well as practical experience and commercial skills in running a small business organisation.
