This failure can also often be attributed to an emphasis on certifying all staff on ITIL, without due diligence being given to ensuring the right people receive the right training to help them improve overall service levels. The gap between ITIL and achieving ITSM improvements must be bridged - a process that should address a number of key factors in order to ensure organisations derive value from ITIL initiatives and training.
A growing challenge for ITIL-based service provider companies is pressure from their customers to have all of their staff trained and certified on ITIL, at least at a Foundation level.
However, this mass certification neither guarantees service provider compliance, nor does it automatically result in improved service levels. Ultimately, this drive towards mass certification can be an expensive exercise that often does not achieve the returns expected.
Without support, guidance and mentorship, the theoretical knowledge is never contextualised and ITIL-certified employees might find it difficult to apply the knowledge they have gained to real-world scenarios. This is further exacerbated by a lack of alignment between IT and business. Organisations often do not develop a clear road map for service improvement, with goals against which progress can be measured and managed.
Before embarking upon ITIL training, it is advisable to consult an experienced partner to analyse the organisation and advise on the levels of ITIL training required for specific people and areas of the business. Achieving value from ITIL requires that the right people receive the right training and the right mentorship at the right time, depending on their job and the level of their activities within the organisation.
There is generally no need, for example, for all technical staff to obtain an ITIL Foundation certificate. While it may be beneficial for them to have ITIL knowledge, there are shorter and less costly ITIL Awareness courses available that would better suit this need. This then frees up the training budget to ensure that those who are directly involved in ITSM tasks can be certified to the required level and can be used to further enhance the ITIL knowledge of more senior ITSM staff members.
This more tailored approach also enables the budget to be made available to engage with consultants who can mentor and coach certified ITIL staff, helping to grow expertise and practical ability around ITSM. The end result is improved service delivery and management of IT services. This may also serve as a springboard for ISO/IEC 20 000 certification, which far more accurately demonstrates a service provider's ability to deliver effective IT services than an organisation in which all staff members are ITIL certified.
Ensuring the success of ITIL initiatives requires that several factors be addressed:
While ITIL training can be of enormous benefit to an organisation looking to improve ITSM, it needs to be implemented correctly if it is to deliver the desired value. The various courses provide a wealth of theoretical knowledge; however applying this knowledge in a practical capacity can prove to be challenging. ITSM is not a once-off initiative, but a living entity within an organisation, aimed at creating continuous service improvement. Without a service management strategy, organisational change management to ensure enterprise-wide buy-in, accountability, responsibility and the correct processes and measures, ITIL training may fail to deliver the expected value.
The end goal of any service management improvement project should be improved levels of service, sustainability and quality whilst still maintaining repeatable service delivery and consistency, linked with a service improvement programme. Partnering an experienced ITSM consultancy can assist organisations to approach ITIL in the most appropriate way and mentor ITIL trainees to ensure that theoretical knowledge is backed up by practical capability to ensure the venture is a success.