Communication

Good communication is needed with other IT teams and departments, with users and internal customers, and between the Service Operation teams and departments themselves. Issues can often be prevented or mitigated with appropriate communication.

This section is aimed at summarizing the communication that should take place in Service Operation. This is not a separate process, but a checklist of the type of communication that is required for effective Service Operation.

An important principle is that all communication must have an intended purpose or a resultant action. Information should not be communicated unless there is a clear audience. In addition, that audience should have been actively involved in determining the need for that communication and what they will do with the information.

A detailed description of the types of communication typical in Service Operation is contained in Appendix B of this publication, together with a description of the typical audience and the actions that are intended to be taken as a result of each communication. These include:

• Routine operational communication
• Communication between shifts
• Performance reporting
• Communication in projects
• Communication related to changes
• Communication related to exceptions
• Communication related to emergencies
• Training on new or customized processes and service designs
• Communication of strategy and design to Service Operation teams.

Please note that there is no definitive medium for communication, nor is there a fixed location or frequency. In some organizations communication has to take place in meetings. Other organizations prefer to use e-mail or the communication inherent in their Service Management tools.

There should therefore be a policy around communication within each team or department and for each process. Although this should be formal, the policy should not be cumbersome or complex. For example, a manager might require that all communications regarding changes must be sent by e-mail. As long as this is specified in the department’s SOPs (in whatever form they exist), there is no need to create a separate policy for it.

Although the typical content of communication is fairly consistent once processes have been defined, the means of communication are changing with every new introduction of technology. The list of alternatives is growing and, today, includes:

• E-mail, to traditional clients or mobile devices
• SMS messages
• Pagers
• Instant messaging and web-based ‘chats’
• Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) utilities that can turn any connected device to an inexpensive communication medium
• Teleconference and virtual meeting utilities, have revolutionized meetings which are now held across long distances
• Document-sharing utilities.

The means of communication itself is outside the scope of this publication. However, the following points should be noted:

• Communication is primary and the means of communication must ensure that they serve this goal. For example, the need for secure communication may eliminate the possibility of some of the above means. The need for quality may eliminate some VoIP options.
• It is possible to use any means of communication as long as all stakeholders understand how and when the communication will take place.

Date: 2014-12-29; view: 905