IT Service Management (ITSM) is no longer restricted to IT teams. In an age where the boundaries between teams and departments are slowly blurring, ITSM must be extended to other business units via Enterprise Service Management (ESM). 

Whether to enable HR teams to get better visibility into employee data or finance teams to streamline control and governance, organizations must establish a robust ESM strategy and monitor the ESM organization to identify gaps and areas of improvement.

Read on as we demonstrate the importance of metrics in measuring the success of ESM, list down the top KPIs to track, and give tips on how you can choose the right ESM tool for your business.

The Need for ESM KPIs

ESM enables better service delivery for business teams across the organization. It streamlines service management through a common platform, speeding up innovation and workflow automation by offering the necessary foundation and tools for delivering IT services to diverse stakeholders.

However, not all ESM efforts reap the intended benefits. You must monitor and track ESM via the right tools and metrics to ensure your ESM strategy lives up to its promises.

Identifying and tracking ESM Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) can help:

• Measure service efficiency and provide measurable insights into service performance, helping teams track progress and identify areas for improvement.
• Align IT with business outcomes such as customer satisfaction, service delivery efficiency, and cost reduction, thereby allowing IT teams to prioritize their efforts on initiatives that directly support the company’s mission and vision.
• Improve customer satisfaction by delivering measurable insights into service performance and user issues and empowering teams to overcome bottlenecks and inefficiencies in their service delivery processes.
• Streamline incident management ESM by providing knowledge on how incidents are addressed and responded to so teams can prioritize incidents, ensure proper resource allocation, and implement measures to prevent recurring issues.
• Ensure SLA compliance by tracking service performance against predefined standards and enabling teams to address issues and maintain service quality proactively.

Tracking the Right KPIs

When it comes to ensuring the success of ESM, monitoring and measuring the right metrics is crucial.

Here are some KPIs that you must capture to transform your ESM organization:

• Service availability and uptime: When tracking ESM KPIs, service availability and uptime reveal how long a service has been operational and accessible. Since this metric directly impacts business continuity and operational efficiency, it empowers teams to take necessary steps to address disruptions proactively, take corrective actions, and minimize downtime.
• Incident response and resolution time: How quickly teams can respond to and resolve incidents greatly indicates ESM’s efficiency. The incident response and resolution time metric evaluates the efficiency and effectiveness of Enterprise Service Management (ESM) tools. It encourages teams to improve their ability to address issues, improve user satisfaction, and minimize downtime promptly.
• Mean time to repair: Tracking Mean Time to Repair (MTTR) offers much-needed insight into the average time to resolve issues or restore services after a disruption. Teams can use this information to gauge ESM’s efficiency and overall responsiveness. They can identify bottlenecks in their service processes, assess the effectiveness of their incident management practices, and enhance their problem-solving capabilities.
• Incident volume: The incident volume metric is a vital performance indicator in Enterprise Service Management (ESM). Quantifying the number of incidents reported within a specific timeframe helps organizations assess the efficiency of their teams, spot trends in service requests, and gauge the overall effectiveness of their service delivery processes – allowing for more informed resource allocation and proactive problem management.
• User satisfaction scores:  Another critical metric that helps measure the success of ESM is the user satisfaction score. Reflecting end users’ experiences and perceptions of the services provided, this metric allows organizations to understand how well their ESM efforts cater to user needs and expectations. Teams can use this metric to streamline processes and implement changes that drive greater user engagement and satisfaction in the long run.
• Cost-per-ticket: The cost-per-ticket metric in Enterprise Service Management (ESM) allows organizations to assess the efficiency and effectiveness of their service delivery processes. By calculating the total costs associated with resolving a ticket—including labor, technology, and operational expenses—businesses can optimize service management practices, enhance customer satisfaction, and make informed decisions about budgeting and staffing to improve overall service performance.

Capabilities to Look for in an ESM Tool

If you want to extend IT Service Management (ITSM) processes and tools across your organization to all teams, you must invest in a tool that eliminates organizational silos and empowers non-technical teams to respond to business changes intuitively.

Here are some capabilities to keep in mind as you hunt for the ideal ESM tool:

• Self-service portal: ESM tools with a self-service portal can allow teams to manage requests easily. Professionals across human resources, marketing, legal, finance, and facilities can use these portals to create workflows to fit their unique needs. They can also allow teams to use a single platform for collaboration, quickly respond to business changes, and deliver great customer and employee experiences.
• Customizable templates: When looking for an ESM tool, you must choose one that offers customizable templates. Jira, for instance, offers dozens of ready-made templates that help teams get started quickly. From software development to marketing, service management to IT operations, sales to finance, and more — templates make it extremely easy for teams to spin up service desks, set up workflows, and customize forms – thereby accomplishing their ESM goals.
• Unified data platform: Opting for an ESM tool that helps create a secure, virtual data environment can help teams operate securely and independently. A unified tool with customizable permissions ensures data isn’t exposed to other teams and protects transparency.
• Security: As ESM tools manage services across IT, marketing, HR, etc., even the smallest security breach can lead to severe repercussions, including financial losses, regulatory non-compliance, and reputational damage. Choosing a tool with robust security safeguards such as encryption, role-based access, and compliance controls is essential to protect both the organization and its stakeholders from potential risks.
• Automated change requests: ESM tools with automated change request capability can help quickly restore operations. While high-risk changes may require approval from a change advisory board (CAB), automation can approve low-risk changes quicker by a designated change authority or via automated checks and peer review.

Ensure ESM Success with enreap

The right approach to Enterprise Service Management can help organizations break down organizational silos, improve visibility into service efficiency, and drive high levels of efficiency.

As a leader in ESM, Atlassian enhances collaboration between all teams in an organization, empowering them to streamline operations, improve service experience, and generate value quickly.

Embrace Atlassian today to track the right KPIs, enable seamless scalability, and advance your ESM. Contact our Atlassian-certified experts to get started!