Ticket Volume - IT Podcast

What does it take to run a successful help desk? And what does it mean to win an award for it? From the motivational push that comes with it, to what the path to this reward looks like in the first place, Moe Suliman shares how to keep things running at high levels of purpose and productivity. He breaks down what it means to be a good help desk agent and focuses on the importance of providing them...

As with most professional domains, but especially in IT, staying relevant and updated is an everyday job. In this episode, ITIL author Anthony Orr brings on his long years of ITSM experience and leads us through what this looks like for him. He shares with us his chosen channels to stay informed, recommendations for IT teams and leadership roles, and gives us a sneak peak of what might be coming i...

As a true advocate for building and maintaining team morale, Sandy Confer brought all her experience on fostering team engagement whilst managing a service desk. She highlighted the importance of keeping teams motivated, having fun, and working together at all times, and, most importantly, provided a wide range of different strategies, practical tips, ideas, and activities to do so. Sandy Confer i...

As organizations grow in complexity and there is an increase in the visibility of corporate organization and interconnected processes, Value Streams have taken the center of the stage. Waseem Ahmed shares some key guidelines on how to get started with Value Stream Mapping for IT. He points out the importance of beginning with a strong service design and the need to keep a close eye on the continua...

The current transition to an ESM approach can’t only rely on IT-based practices, processes, and frameworks. Certified coach John Worthington unlocks the power of Unified Service Management and explains how adopting this method can help achieve the standardization of services across the whole organization. He highlights its simplicity and the fact that it is able to support all coexisting framework...

Employee Experience is a determining factor that can sink an organization or make it stand out, and mastering it is not an option these days. To help you thrive, Jon Leighton (Nexthink) and Emily Schlick (Vizient) share some practical advice on how to improve employee experience. Jon Leighton has been the Head of Customer Engagement and Advocacy at Nextink for four years. Before this, he's bee...

Patti Blackstaffe breaks down the main challenges and opportunities that digital leadership roles face towards the future. Building upon a Systemic Approach, she focuses on three main points: adapting to the ever changing landscape, making the necessary cognitive shift to successfully do so, and, at the center of it all, striving for collective cohesion by understanding the organization systemical...

Jeevan Lobo has piled up an impressive amount of leadership knowledge throughout his career, and is eager to share what he learned. In this episode, he walks Matt through his role as a Cross-Functional Manager, and how he transitioned to his current position as Security and Governance Leader. In addition, he shares some tips on how to implement new processes in an organization, measure success, an...

While digital transformation isn't a prerequisite to improving customer experiences, it sure helps! However, it's not that simple. If you're trying to upgrade your digital experiences (or just looking to measure the perception of services and products better), join Matt Beran and Nate Brown (Arise) on this live session to understand and overcome the blockers and friction that tend to g...

David Barrow, an all-round passionate and expert on the matter, discusses with our host the guiding principles of ITIL 4, where understanding how to co-create value is central. We examine why it's time to enable IT teams to work with suppliers and customers to deliver value, and why value creation must be extensively integrated into organizations and their supply chain. Then we look into a few...

Author of The Service Desk Handbook, Sanjay Nair talks to us about his book, where he compiled and organized the main elements of a well functioning Service Management tool. He points out the importance of having a good team, with the right people, and building a strong foundation for your help desk from the start. Then, he refers to his current work and emphasizes on the value of certifications,...

ITIL expert Markus Bause goes over some of the changes that have been made to the framework, and explains what the recertification scheme really implies and how it supports and offers relevant improvements. He also discusses the importance of orchestrating a combination of frameworks in order to adapt to different scenarios, and looks into possible future improvements – for which communication and...

Some people are born to lead, and Tony North is a natural. With over 18 years of managing teams, he knows there are always new ideas, tools, and things to try out. Join the second session of Ticket Volume Live to discuss how to lead people in Service and Support, how to put together the best IT team, and the latest trends to pull this off. Tony North is the Senior Manager of IT Service at King Cou...

Adopting environmentally friendly measures is currently a central concern for all industries, and the tech world is not an exception. Mark Bradley walks us through what sustainability in IT really means, why it is our responsibility, and some possible next steps, challenges and opportunities, as well as the importance of getting educated on the subject and promoting collaboration between vendors....

The ultimate goal for tech should be to improve people's everyday life, both employees and customers. Rocky McGuire (Unisys) shares with us what leaders should be putting their eye on, and some of the crucial parts of running a world class service desk team. He points out the value of investing in people, serving the community, and finding purpose in the workplace. He also takes a look into th...

Training can be seen from the trainer's or the trainee's perspective, and Sean McClean (ServiceNow) does both! He shares some thoughts on how acknowledging that training is a service improves the teaching and learning experience, and at the same time, he talks about certifications and why they're not enough by themselves. Sean McClean has been a Master Technical Trainer and Training Ev...

As enterprise technology rapidly evolves, the Change Advisory Board (CAB) has become less relevant. But is it CAB, or is it Change Management that’s dead? Greg Sanker delves into these concepts and explains how organizations can successfully manage change. Greg Sanker is the Director of IT Support at Taylor Morrison. He's a consultant, speaker, and author with more than ten years in the ITSM i...

Barclay Rae, consultant, author, and IT Service Management expert, analyses the changes in technology brought about by AI and goes through the environmental perspective. In this wide-ranging talk with Matt, he also highlights the importance of people in experience management. Barclay Rae is a consultant, author, ITIL4 architect, and SDI standards co-author. His experience spans hundreds of service...

What is the NIST Cybersecurity Framework? David Moskowitz, co-founder and Executive Director of the DVMS Institute, explains how organizations can leverage this framework's guidance to become adaptive, cyber-resilient digital businesses. Delve into this in-depth talk with Matt to check out fundamental concepts of cybersecurity. David Moskowitz is the co-founder and Executive Director of the DVMS I...

By 2025, 50% of IT organizations will have established a DEX strategy, team, and management tool, up from 15% in 2022, according to a recent report. Ian Aitchison, VP of Product Management at Nexthink, dives into the benefits of implementing a Digital Employee Experience (DEX) strategy in ITSM. Listen to his insights about this hot topic and stay ahead of the curve. Ian Aitchison is a senior softw...

Even though measuring is a considerable part of Experience Management, it's not the only aspect that matters. Doug Rabold (Amwell) is an advocate — and expert — of creating sentiments and building feelings. In this episode, he shares some insights into what experience should be, what Disney taught him, how he connects with others, and what he foresees as the future in Service Management. Doug Rabo...

Experience can be difficult to seize. Surveys are the default go-to option, but that doesn't mean they're always the right move. Pasi Nikkanen (HappySignals) shares some insights to use them wisely and explains what to do after obtaining the data.  Passi Nikkanen is the Co-Founder, Chief Growth Officer, and Podcast Host at HappySignals. He has more than 20 years of experience in SaaS companie...

What do the industrial revolutions have to do with Service Management? Michael Cardinal walks Matt through the history of Quality Management - from Taylorism to the Ishikawas - to understand how the notion of quality was shaped.  Michael Cardinal is a consultant and the Director of Business Process Management at Thirdera. Previously, he was a Practice Manager at TEKsystems and a Senior Instru...

Though the concept (and concern) of experience is typically related to customers, employee experience shouldn't be overlooked. Sally Mildren talks about its relevance and the relationship between experience and revenue. Plus, she shares some tips to start implementing small but meaningful changes in your Standard Operating Procedures. Sally Mildren is the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Partn...

Managing a service desk is not only about ensuring that everything works, but also to look for opportunities to improve. Jason Turner (Princeton University) has A LOT of experience in that department and shares his methods to measure agent performance and boost service desk quality. Find insights on cold monitoring, scorecards, personalized feedback, and more! Jason Turner is the Associate Directo...