Service Evaluation

Many of us work to deliver internal services. We can never be complaisant in service delivery, because outsourcing is always an option for senior management.

A simple set of questions can help in analyzing the effectiveness of services.

1. What are the most common service requests you receive? Why are you satisfied or dissatisfied with your ability to respond?
2. What are the new types of service requests you receive? What types of service requests should be phased out?
3. How can the current organizational structure be changed to improve delivery of service?

The common service requests are the foundation of our operations; nevertheless, over time the number of requests for each type of service will change. Periodic analysis is essential to challenge our assumptions of what is not changing and what is changing. Our ability to add new services as demand changes is dependent on our ability to phase out less needed services.

Some people will always want the old ways. Catering excessively to these customers hampers our ability to help customers who are on the forefront of demand and often are prepared to forge their own way regardless of corporate rules. Reorganizing to meet new demands may be an effective method of constraining older services while expanding newer services.