IT business alignment fails at feedback

It seems the challenge of IT departments delivering exactly what the business needs to prosper will remain a pipedream, according to research from LANDesk which shows that 50 per cent of IT teams fail to act on customer feedback.

The research found that half of service desks - which safeguard the IT functions used by the business - do nothing with the feedback they collect, while 25 per cent confess not bothering to survey customers at all. However, 75 per cent state that gathering intelligence from those people using the technology on a daily basis is vital in deciding what services to deliver and alter.

“There’s a classic disconnect here between knowing what is best practice and taking the time and effort to act on it. It’s clear that service desk managers must be proactive in monitoring their end users’ IT frustrations to ensure that they are carrying out their jobs effectively,” says Nigel Seddon, area director for LANDesk.

Seddon says that once IT managers have a better grasp of customer feedback, they must then also convince their bosses about the importance of monitoring the quality, usage and ongoing relevance of services provided. “This isn’t just an IT issue, but a business imperative – frustrations with IT can hinder an employees’ ability to do their job, resulting in job dissatisfaction in the workplace and a struggle to retain talent.”