5 tips for a successful Remedyforce implementation
By Mark Hodge, Senior Consultant, Cloudaction
Recently I was engaged on a Remedyforce implementation project with a client who had several strategic initiatives in place for their service desk solution. They were headed in the right direction by selecting Remedyforce since Remedyforce has built-in ITIL best practice processes and because the simplicity of configuration allows for quick user adherence. By using Cloudaction professional services and best practice Remedyforce implementation methodology, they were up and running in few weeks vs months, with greater ability to manage the users they support, and well positioned to accomplish all of their strategic initiatives. Here are a few tips I shared with them that will also help guide any organization to a successful Remedyforce implementation.
Tip #1: Engage end users during the solution workshop
Solution workshops are intended to cover a broad range of topics including executive requirements and solution alignment, architecture, scope of the technology and technical specifications that will be needed to develop an action plan for deployment. Use the workshop to communicate with your end users and customers and to identify and document current IT processes and services. Educate them about future ITIL-based processes and how the Remedyforce solution addresses these processes. Be sure to establish the right expectations with end users you support to avoid any confusion post-implementation.
Tip #2: Design and build your solution
Think big picture and use the information gathered during the workshop to determine if you have the most effective design for functional scalability, configuration, workflow, notifications and reporting. Import your users, assign profiles based on need, and then design a customer-facing portal that drives content to educate your users.
Tip #3: Transition your solution to production
Once you have designed and tested your solution, set a go-live date and socialize your intentions through carefully crafted emails to build interest and explain benefits. Set training schedules and record them for future users. Import and create knowledge articles. Be agile enough to make strategic and design adjustments after you go live.
Tip #4: Ensure efficient delivery for day to day operation
Now that you are using Remedyforce to manage IT services and user request, it’s time to build in efficiencies that make your team more effective. Because the tool is easy to configure, you can be agile on responding to gaps in process. Building in additional workflow automation and identifying key performance indicators through reporting are just a couple of things you can do to sharpen your skills quickly.
Tip #5: Strive for continual service improvement
Remedyforce provides robust dashboards and analytics that drive information sharing and informed decisions. The ability to refine and improve reporting is an important part of building a report card so that your service is consistently improving. Offering surveys and customer feedback channels will keep your users engaged. As you increase your ability to manage and gets results from Remedyforce’s core capabilities, you then can begin to unlock other features, including personalized self-service that gives users new access to service offerings as well as automation and integration that can further streamline service delivery and reduce manual labor.
Following these tips will give you an advantage with your Remedyforce implementation to optimize processes and ensure success. At Cloudaction, our goal is to help you get maximum value from your Remedyforce experience. We welcome your comments and suggestions. Please reach out to the Cloudaction team at info@cloudaction.com if there is a specific Remedyforce topic you’d like us to cover.