At HDI 2016, Make Time for These ITSM Thought Leaders

So Pink16 is done and dusted, and it’s already time for the second of the year’s IT service management (ITSM) industry’s “grand slam” events – HDI. Alas, I’ll be missing out on this one too, but it doesn’t stop me from dreaming about who I’d like to hear speak if I were there.

My far-more-famous colleague Joe the IT Guy will be at HDI 2016, and no doubt he will be using my session suggestions for his post-HDI blog – some guys definitely have all the luck!

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HDI is a Special ITSM Event

I really like the HDI event, as in line with its previous name – the Help Desk Institute – there’s often a lot of practical content that service desk staff, in particular, can use as soon as they are back in the office.

There’s also a heavy emphasis on customer service, not just IT support. Thus, some of the HDI content can be ahead of the curve when it comes to the changing dynamics of corporate IT support and the growing expectations of end users (although HDI would deliberately call them customers!)

You’ll see what I mean from my suggestions below, it’s pretty much about all hands-on stuff…

So What Do I Recommend?

Maybe this should be more like “So who do I recommend?” as I’m a firm believer that while it’s good to attend the sessions of people that you know nothing about – in that you might learn something new – it’s also good to have “dependable” sessions where you know the presenter will deliver.

So when you sit down to create your HDI agenda, I strongly recommend that you consider the following sessions and presenters…

Session 107: If Metrics Are the Answer, What Are the Questions? With Roy Atkinson, HDI

Date:  Wednesday, April 13, Time:  10:15am-11:15am, Track: Metrics & Measurements

It’s Roy Atkinson, THE Roy Atkinson, need I say more? Well, I suppose I’d better, just in case you have no idea who Roy is.

Metrics are a constant source of heartache and frustration for many IT professionals, service desks, and IT organizations as a whole. In my opinion, there often seems to be a disconnect between the adoption of so-called best practice metrics and the business goals that they should ideally be distilled from.

So spend an hour with Roy to understand how service desk metrics need to be modernized, to be transformed into measurements that are more reflective of business goals and objectives.

If you can’t make this session, or even if you can, look out for two other Roy sessions:

• Session 402: Customer Service Excellence: Consistency Is the New Black
• Session 705: Desktop Support: Increased Demand, Changing Role

And if you are lucky, Roy will do a little singing too!

Session 206: Cultivating a Culture of Quality with Rae Ann Bruno, Business Solutions Training Inc.

Date:  Wednesday, April 13, Time:  11:30am-12:30pm, Track: Support Center Optimization

As with Roy, in my opinion Rae Ann should be one of the first people on your HDI dance card. I’m led to believe that Rae Ann is always a high scorer in the HDI session feedback stakes and I can believe it – after all, I had the pleasure of seeing it for myself when I attended a few of her sessions at FUSION15.

Rae Ann often talks to the people-side of IT support and customer service. Here, she will address one of the most common service desk people issues – that too often, quality monitoring and coaching is put on the back burner due to a lack of time, employee resistance, or other reasons.

Rae Ann will explain how it takes a balance of quantitative and qualitative metrics, and a quality program that continually evolves, to deliver: improved service, engaged employees, and happier customers.

You can also catch Rae Ann for her second session – Session 405: Creating a Proactive Desktop Model: Breaking Out of the Reactive Grind.

Session 404: Is the Traditional IT Department on Its Way Out? With David Cannon, Forrester

Date:  Thursday, April 14, Time:  10:00am-11:00am, Track: Service Management Excellence

What is there left to say about David Cannon? He’s a veteran of the ITSM industry (having worked at both HP and BMC, but Sophie Danby tells me not to hold that against him, is a revered ITIL author, and is now in a strategic role at industry analyst firm Forrester.

David will look at how the changing IT and business landscapes are transforming corporate IT organizations, answering questions such as:

• If the traditional IT department is on its way out, what could possibly replace it?
• If the traditional IT department does disappear, how can we prepare for what’s next?

No doubt, David will be predicting what could happen in the next ten years and identifying what IT professionals can do to help prepare for these eventualities. And as David now works for Forrester, I imagine he will come armed with a lot of insightful research and statistics.

Session 603: Effective Tomorrow, the Service Desk Will No Longer Take Calls with Doug Tedder, Tedder Consulting LLC

Date:  Thursday, April 14, Time:  2:45pm-3:45pm, Track: Executive View

Doug is a SysAid favorite, in fact he is many people’s favorite, so how could I not pick the font of all ITSM knowledge that is the amazing Mr. Tedder.

In his session, Doug will take a deep dive into understanding the true value of a good service desk, and explain some of the positive outcomes that could happen if your organization decides that the service desk will no longer accept calls. This might not be as far-fetched as you think. Doug will talk to the potential resulting opportunities, the value of the service desk beyond being the single point of contact, and what should be done now to enable this future service desk.

Session 802: Two Key Differences When Managing the IT Customer Experience with Ian Clayton, Service Management 101

Date:  Friday, April 15, Time:  10:15am-11:15am, Track: The Customer Experience

Another SysAid favorite, and the grand master of all things customer experience and “outside-in.” In fact, I can’t think of anyone else that I’d rather listen to talk about customer experience in the context of IT service delivery and support.

The easiest way to sell Ian’s session is to steal his HDI blurb – it sells itself:

“A service business is only as strong as the relationship it forges with its customers. At the heart of any service relationship is customer satisfaction, which, if achieved, can lead to loyalty and advocacy. As IT is being required to change its operating model and internal culture to better suit the needs of a contemporary enterprise, lessons can be learned from the secrets of the retail customer support model.”

And here’s a cheeky plug for Ian’s latest blog on continual service improvement (CSI).

Finally, Joe the IT Guy and more of my SysAid colleagues will be in the Expo Hall, so please stop by to say hello and grab some quality swag. Feel free to pre-schedule a meeting at your convenience. They definitely won’t try to sell you anything unless you want them to – they just love to talk ITSM.

If you would like to follow HDI 2016, in real-time on Twitter, then the hashtag is #HDIConf, not #HDI16 or #HDI2016. I know I’ll be following it.