Resistance to change is one of the main barriers to a self-service initiative, according to the results of a survey by Sunrise Software, the IT and customer service management specialist. The survey, which was conducted to understand how IT service management is being adopted across the UK, collected over 700 responses, providing robust information on the key success factors - as well as the concerns and challenges - faced by organisations implementing a self-service initiative. To receive a report on the survey findings, please email [email protected]

Two thirds of respondents (66%) identified users’ resistance to change as the most significant challenge to adopting a self-service initiative. This highlights the requirement for organisations to have a comprehensive communications plan so that everyone in the organisation has clear expectations. This plan should have two key goals: to explain the rationale for the change and to outline precisely the impact on the user.

Interestingly, 47% of respondents felt that their users weren’t sufficiently confident to use the self-service portal and only 43% of respondents said that they believed that all of their users understood how to use the portal. Such responses clearly show the need for comprehensive user training, and, as if this needed further emphasis, 48% of respondents who had already implemented a portal stated that, with hindsight, they would have done even more user training.

Owen Powell, a leading authority on IT shared services commented: “From banking to supermarkets, self-service is a growing trend, widespread across many of our day to day activities. Yet, only about half of the Sunrise Software survey respondents said that they were currently using it on the IT service desk. This suggests that for many, self-service will be a key area for development in the coming months and years.”

Powell concluded: “Self-service is not a fad, but a fundamental change that is reaching across a wide range of industries. It’s clear that, as well as reducing cost, it also gives the customer more control. IT support is no different, and as IT self-service becomes more widespread, users and organisations will begin to reap the benefits.”

To ease the road to IT self-service, Sunrise Software recently launched Iguana, a powerful new self-service portal which works in conjunction with Sostenuto, its browser-based service management platform. Iguana allows customers and remote service desk staff to access and manage information within Sostenuto, from wherever they are, through a web 2.0 interface.

For further information on how to achieve successful self-service in an IT context, please visit www.sunrisesoftware.co.uk