Over the years, I have had many opportunities to review how various Service Desks have designed and implemented ‘First Time Fix’ service capabilities.
This document discusses some of the common issues encountered when establishing a new FTF service offering.
Definition - What is a First Time Fix?
A fundamental starting point is to agree internally what the organization’s definition of a First Time Fix actually is. Opinions can differ dramatically. Definitions could include:
- Incidents / calls received and resolved at the first point of contact e.g. by a Service Desk Analyst without the need to pass to an Incident Resolution team / Subject Matter Expert
- Incident / calls received and resolved at the first point of contact before the end of the telephone call
- Incidents / calls received and resolved at the first point of contact within a pre-defined period e.g. 10 minutes from receipt
- Incidents / calls resolved at first point of contact using various enabling tools e.g. knowledge bases, scripts, remote PC takeover capabilities etc.
- Incidents / calls resolved at the first point of contact to the satisfaction of the impacted party (the person initiating the call)
Ensure that agreement is reached, the definition recorded and signoff / approval is gained from the project sponsor(s).
If the definition includes any reference to resolution periods, time on the telephone etc. then ensure that any targets are clearly articulated in the definitions.
What are you trying to fix?
A common problem is that many Service Desks try to provide a FTF service for everything in the environment (in house applications, external applications, hardware, operating systems etc.). This is generally not possible due to skills / knowledge / documentation gaps etc.
FTF services will differ between organizations. Some Service Desks may be dedicated to a single product or Service e.g. an Insurance / Banking product.
Others may be required to provide FTF services relating to a much broader range of products and services.
It is sensible to define the Scope of the FTF service. Considerations might include:
- Start small – only provide a FTF service relating to common / company wide products e.g. Microsoft Office applications or email. You can always add more to the list over time
- Determine which services / products are important to the business. Consider the Vital Business Functions, VBFs, and key productivity tools used across the business (these may differ across business functions). The Service Catalogue may be a good starting point
- Determine which services / products genuinely need a rapid response and resolution. Review the content of any Service Level Agreements in place
- Make a list of which services / products are to be supported
- Publish the list. Raise awareness of the FTF supported products and services
- Understand the current skill set of the Service Desk team, ensure they have the training to resolve Incidents at first call
- Expand the scope to include repetitive actions e.g. password resets (following an approved process). These often require rapid response.
Measure Success
It is extremely important to measure and publish success of the service to the relevant sponsors and audience.
When defining Key Performance Indictors and FTF targets, it is important to ensure they are realistic and achievable. Ensure that historical data is analysed to aid in determining realistic targets. If in doubt, start low and set higher improved future target rates.
Alternatively, consider undertaking a pilot of the service. Run the service for a period of time, perhaps 4-8 weeks. This will allow further detailed analysis of the activities in action and highlight any issues or areas of concern.
Use the capabilities of the Service Desk productivity tool and other available technologies e.g. the ACD, to automate the gathering of activity data to be used for reporting.
Common Implementation Problems
Falsifying FTF Rates – Don’t cheat yourselves. It achieves nothing by undertaking actions aimed at falsely increasing the first time fix rate statistics. Bad practices include:
- Telling callers to reboot their PC to get them off the phone. All this achieves is an unknown resolution and potential of repeat calls
- Closing a call without valid resolution and claiming it as a FTF
- Recording ‘missed calls’ as FTFs
Other common problems include:
Not setting a maximum period that the Service Desk Analysts should work on the FTF resolution prior to passing the call on. Although the Analyst might argue that they are trying to resolve the issue, if all Analysts are tied up with FTF activities, then any new calls may be missed.
One suggestion is to consider different roles on the Service Desk e.g. call recipients / loggers, FTF Analysts etc. These roles could implemented on a rota basis so all staff can engage in the different activities. This aids the building of knowledge across the team.
In Summary
The implementation of a First Time Fix offering on a Service Desk can have a significant positive impact for the users of the service. However, detailed planning must be undertaken before introducing the new service. First Time Fix can:
- Improve business productivity
- Enable increased uptime / availability
- Improve working relationships between the business and IT
- Increase Service Desk skill set and moral
- Reduce cost
