It's Time IT Departments Improved Two-Way Communication With System Users.
We all experience system down time at some time or another when we contact call centres, accounts departments, service and sales desks. The polite, but sometimes frustrated, person at the other end explains that they are unable to help at this time because the ‘system' is down - again. There always seems to be a pause and the word ‘again'. The impression given and received is that this is one of life's great mysteries that just have to be accepted, endured and lived with until an equally mysterious resolution will come along at some undefined point in the future to make it all right again. These things happen, buts it's the way they are dealt with that makes the difference.
To most users, internal or external, the where and how of a system crash or ‘go slow' is a mystery and their contribution to the problem non-existent. The internal user usually has no idea what the problem is, how it was caused, what is being done to fix it, who is doing it and when it will be fixed. It is like being on a motorway when the traffic grinds to a halt - eventually the traffic moves again and usually there is no indication of what caused the hold-up. This is OK if the delay is a few minutes but, if it drags on, the lack of known cause somehow adds to the frustration, even after you are moving again.
It's time IT departments improved two-way communication. What is needed is some sort of immediate communication with all parties on the status of the problem. An explanation such as ‘our crack IT team is on it' or ‘we'll be up and running in a few minutes when they switch us to the back-up server'. Everybody is happier with some information it creates positive feelings, more patience and a view that somebody is in control.
Applications, platforms, systems and networks create layers of potential sources of crashes and problems. Often there are indicators of potential problems as the system starts to slow down in performance. Retrieval of customer data takes longer than usual, parts lists searches slow down, screens freeze, and so on. This can be caused by overload in specific areas or requests to the system to search for data that is being wrongly referenced or just is not there. So, feedback to IT Departments that the system is losing coherence or performance might enable pre-emptive action to be taken; prevention always being better than cure. However, no user is going to provide early warning feedback unless they are told that it will be useful; they will moan about it to customers or colleagues but not pass it to IT unless you ask them to.
Silo mentality is common in all organisations, however much is done to try and break it down. IT Departments really should take a lead in creating a two-way flow of information about system performance with all other departments. A drip feed on the sort of activities that are likely to cause problems on the system; collaboration with HR functions on training to avoid system mistreatment or abuses and feedback to users on the causes and remedies of recent disruptions will all help. Listening may be even more important, to discover why people do things that create the potential for system problems. Certainly listening will encourage users to report early signs of instability. In an age where almost every household has a PC, people are far more conversant with the workings of IT than ever before and likely to be understanding, even if they do not fully understand the explanation.
Providing a coherent explanation of what is happening when a user is unable to provide an instant answer to the customer will make both sides more tolerant. As mentioned earlier, even if it is an explanation of the last problem rather than the current one, an explanation makes it sound as though the organisation is on top of things. ‘Don't know' does not inspire anyone with confidence.
IT needs to be creative sometimes in looking for preventative measures to reduce the risk of system instability. This may be routes such as encouraging customer service agents to seek alternative methods of responding to customers through email, SMS text etc rather than holding on when the system is experiencing particularly heavy loads. Equally systems may need to be made more robust in the handling of the retrieval of customer information or product support information.
The gains should not be underestimated. All users are happier if they feel that they are being kept informed - important enough to be in the loop. Happier users are more co-operative and willing to take instruction that might prevent some future problems. Informed and confident users facing customers will give a more positive impression to customers, which will help with customer retention and loyalty. In the end the biggest gainer from two-way communication is likely to be the IT Department, through better running systems, early warnings that enable pre-emptive action to keep the system running, co-operation with changes in activity to prevent problems occurring and a generally more positive view of IT.
