Building Your Service Improvement Dream Team: From Involvement to Implementation

I thought up this content after being caught on camera in a webinar humming the A-Team theme tune. So of course, we had to do something dream team related.

But here's the thing about building your Service Improvement dream team - it's not about finding people who love it when a plan comes together (though that helps). It's about identifying the right people to get involved, managing the inevitable conflicts that arise when you're changing how things work, coaching your team through the improvement process, and giving feedback that actually sticks.

Unlike Hannibal's team, your Service Improvement dream team doesn't need to be a crack commando unit. But they do need to work together effectively, communicate clearly, and stay committed to making things better for your customers.

Identifying and Involving the Right People in Service Improvement

Building an effective Service Improvement team isn't about finding the loudest voices in the room or the people who complain most about current processes. It's about strategically identifying individuals who can drive real change and getting them genuinely invested in the outcomes.

Get them involved from the beginning

The biggest mistake in Service Improvement is designing solutions in isolation and then expecting people to implement them. When you involve the right people from the very start - in identifying problems, exploring options, and designing solutions - you're far more likely to get genuine buy-in rather than reluctant compliance.

People support what they help create. If your Service Desk technicians help design the new ticket escalation process, they'll understand why it works the way it does and be invested in making it successful. If they're just told to follow a new process that was created without their input, you'll get resistance and workarounds.

Make it clear this isn't a blame game

Before you even start identifying improvement opportunities, establish the ground rules: this is about making things better for everyone - customers, the team, and the business. It's not about finding fault with how things have been done or pointing fingers at who's responsible for current problems.

Frame it positively: "We're looking at how we can make our Service Delivery even better" rather than "We need to fix what's broken." Acknowledge that current processes often exist for good reasons, even if they're no longer the best approach.

Start with the influencers, not just the managers. Every Service Desk has informal leaders - the people others naturally turn to for advice, the ones who set the tone for how processes are actually followed. These aren't necessarily the people with "Senior" in their job titles. They're the ones who know where all the workarounds live and why they exist.

Look for the problem-solvers. You want people who, when faced with a broken process, instinctively think "how can we fix this?" rather than "that's just how things work here." These are the team members who already suggest improvements, even if they've been ignored in the past.

Include the constructive sceptics. This might sound counterintuitive, but having a constructive sceptic on your Service Improvement team is invaluable. They'll ask the hard questions, identify potential pitfalls, and help you build more robust solutions. The key word here is "constructive" - you want someone who challenges ideas to make them better, not someone who shoots down everything.

Get representation from different shifts and teams. Service Delivery operates around the clock, and what works for the day shift might be completely impractical for the night team. Make sure your Service Improvement initiatives reflect the reality of how your Service Desk actually operates, not just how it operates when management is watching.

Involve the customer-facing champions. These are the people who genuinely care about customer experience and can articulate how process improvements will impact service quality. They'll help keep the team focused on outcomes that matter to customers, not just internal efficiency.

The goal isn't to create a committee - it's to assemble a group of people who collectively understand your Service Delivery challenges and are committed to solving them because they helped identify and design the solutions.

Conflict Resolution Techniques for Service Improvement Discussions

When you're changing how things work, conflict is inevitable. People get attached to existing processes, even broken ones, and Service Improvement discussions can quickly turn into territorial battles. Here's how to navigate these situations constructively.

The Chunking Up Technique

When two people are arguing about the details of how something should work, chunk up to find common ground at a higher level, then work back down to the specifics.

For example, if your team is deadlocked about whether to use email or Slack for internal incident communications, chunk up: "What are we both trying to achieve here?" The answer might be "faster communication during incidents" or "better visibility of incident status."

Once you've established that shared goal, you can work back down: "Given that we both want faster communication, what are the pros and cons of each approach? How do we test which one actually delivers faster communication in our environment?"

The Chunking Down Technique

Sometimes conflicts arise because people are arguing at too high a level without getting into the practical details. If someone says "this new process won't work," chunk down: "Help me understand specifically what part won't work. Can you walk me through a typical scenario where you see this failing?"

Often, when people get specific about their concerns, you discover that the fundamental process is sound but needs tweaking for particular situations.

Finding the Highest Level of Agreement

When discussions get heated, pause and ask: "What do we all agree on here?" You might discover that everyone agrees customers should get faster resolution times, or that technicians need better information to solve problems efficiently. Start from that shared foundation and work forward.

Separating People from Processes

Make it clear that you're evaluating processes, not people. Instead of "your way doesn't work," use "this approach has some challenges we need to address." Instead of "that's wrong," say "that's interesting - help me understand the thinking behind that approach."

The goal is to create an environment where people feel safe to admit when current processes aren't working and contribute to building better ones.

Using the GROW Model for Service Improvement Processes

If you're anything like me, there's a tendency to over-engineer or the create something new, instead of keeping things simple and re-using what's already out there (ironic that I developed the first-to-market Service Improvement platform then... 😂... Innovate where innovation is needed.... that's the way I see it now!). The GROW model (Goal, Reality, Options, Will) is typically used for coaching individuals, but it's incredibly powerful for driving Service Improvement initiatives. Think of it as a structured way to approach any improvement opportunity.

Goal: What are we trying to improve?

Start with specific, measurable goals. Instead of "improve customer satisfaction," aim for "reduce average resolution time for password reset tickets from 4 hours to 30 minutes." Instead of "better communication," specify "ensure all P1 incidents have stakeholder updates every 15 minutes."

Key questions for this phase:

• What specific outcome do we want to achieve?
• How will we measure success?
• What would "excellent" look like in this area?
• What impact will this improvement have on our customers?

Reality: What's our current baseline?

This is where you gather data about how things actually work today, not how you think they work or how they're supposed to work according to your procedures.

Key questions for this phase:

• What's happening now in this area?
• What data do we have about current performance?
• What are the biggest pain points?
• What's working well that we need to preserve?
• What have we tried before, and why didn't it stick?

Options: What could we do to improve this?

Generate multiple potential solutions before evaluating any of them. This is where your diverse Service Improvement team becomes invaluable - different perspectives will suggest different approaches.

Key questions for this phase:

• What are all the possible ways we could address this?
• What would happen if we did nothing? (Remember: doing nothing is always an option)
• What would we do if we had unlimited resources?
• What would we do if we had to solve this with no additional resources?
• Who else has solved similar problems, and what can we learn from them?

Will: What will we commit to implementing?

This is where you move from ideas to action. Choose specific steps, assign ownership, and set deadlines.

Key questions for this phase:

• Which option will we implement first?
• Who will be responsible for each part of the implementation?
• What resources do we need to make this happen?
• How will we track progress?
• What could prevent us from succeeding, and how will we address those obstacles?
• When will we review progress and adjust if needed?

The GROW model keeps your Service Improvement discussions focused and productive. It prevents teams from jumping straight to solutions without understanding the problem or from getting stuck in analysis without taking action.

The key is to use open-ended questions and getting the whole team involved - so hold off going to the person with the highest authority in the room until the end, otherwise people may just agree with them instead of sharing their own ideas.

Giving Feedback That Sticks When Implementing Service Changes

When you're implementing Service Improvements, you'll need to give feedback constantly - both positive reinforcement when things go well and corrective guidance when they don't. Here's how to make that feedback effective.

Start with what's working

Before addressing what needs to change, acknowledge what's going well. This isn't just about being nice - it's about reinforcing the behaviours you want to see more of.

"I noticed you followed the new escalation process perfectly on that P2 incident yesterday. The customer got proactive updates, and we resolved it within SLA. That's exactly what we're aiming for."

Be specific about what needs to improve

Vague feedback like "communication needs to be better" doesn't help anyone. Instead, be specific about what you observed and what you'd like to see instead.

"On the incident this morning, the customer didn't get an update for 90 minutes after the initial acknowledgment. Going forward, can we make sure there's an update every 30 minutes, even if it's just to confirm we're still working on it?"

Focus on the impact, not just the process

Help people understand why the improvement matters by connecting it to customer or business outcomes.

"When we don't update tickets promptly, customers start calling to check on progress, which creates more work for the team and makes customers feel like they're not being kept informed."

The difference between "can't" vs "won't" 

There's a big difference between someone who can't do something (lacks skills, tools, or authority) and someone who won't do something (chooses not to follow the process). Your response needs to be different for each situation.

For "can't": "What do you need to be able to follow this process consistently? Is it training, access to different tools, or something else?"

For "won't": "Help me understand what's preventing you from following this process. Are there issues with the process itself, or are there other priorities getting in the way?"

Make feedback timely and regular

Don't save up feedback for formal reviews. Address issues when they're fresh, and acknowledge good work when you see it. This helps people adjust their behaviour quickly rather than reinforcing bad habits for weeks or months.

Follow up on commitments

When someone commits to changing their approach, check back to see how it's going. This shows you're serious about the improvement and gives you a chance to provide additional support if needed.

Building Momentum in Your Service Improvement Dream Team

The most important thing about your Service Improvement dream team isn't the individual skills of each member - it's how they work together to drive sustainable change.

Create quick wins early. Start with improvements that are relatively easy to implement and have visible impact. This builds confidence in the process and demonstrates that change is possible.

Celebrate progress, not just perfection. Acknowledge when things are moving in the right direction, even if you haven't reached your final goal yet. This keeps momentum going during longer improvement initiatives.

Keep the customer focus central. When discussions get bogged down in internal processes, bring the conversation back to customer impact. "How will this change improve the experience for our customers?" is often the question that cuts through internal politics and refocuses the team.

Document what you learn. Capture both successes and failures so future improvement initiatives can build on your experience. What worked? What didn't? What would you do differently next time?

Your Service Improvement dream team doesn't need to be perfect from day one. Like any team, they'll get better at working together over time. The key is starting with the right people, giving them the tools to work through conflicts constructively, and maintaining focus on outcomes that matter to your customers.

After all, building a Service Control Centre isn't just about implementing better processes - it's about creating a team culture where continuous improvement becomes second nature. And that starts with assembling the right people and giving them the skills to succeed together.