How can IT Operations teams better understand the impact of their work on other departments?

1 Define and align IT goals

One of the first steps to understanding the impact of IT Operations work on other departments is to define and align the IT goals with the business goals. IT Operations teams should not only focus on technical metrics, such as uptime, response time, and error rate, but also on how those metrics affect the business outcomes, such as customer satisfaction, revenue, and growth. IT Operations teams should also communicate with other departments to understand their needs, expectations, and pain points, and how IT can help them achieve their objectives. By defining and aligning IT goals with business goals, IT Operations teams can demonstrate their value and relevance to other departments, and prioritize their work accordingly.

2 Implement feedback loops

Another way to understand the impact of IT Operations work on other departments is to implement feedback loops that allow IT Operations teams to collect, analyze, and act on the data and insights from other departments. Feedback loops can take various forms, such as surveys, interviews, focus groups, reports, dashboards, or alerts. Feedback loops can help IT Operations teams to measure and improve their service quality, customer satisfaction, and business alignment. Feedback loops can also help IT Operations teams to identify and resolve issues, prevent incidents, and implement changes faster and more effectively. By implementing feedback loops, IT Operations teams can foster a culture of continuous learning and improvement, and enhance their collaboration and communication with other departments.

4 Participate in cross-functional teams

A cross-functional team is an ensemble of members from different departments or functions, who come together to pursue a shared goal. This type of collaboration can be beneficial for IT Operations teams, as it provides them with the chance to gain insight into how their work affects other departments. IT Operations teams can participate in cross-functional teams in various ways, such as joining project teams that include marketing, sales, or finance and contributing their expertise; forming incident response teams with customer support, security, or legal to resolve incidents; and creating innovation teams with product, design, or research to explore new ideas and technologies. By engaging in cross-functional teams, IT Operations teams can gain a broader perspective, learn from other departments, and strengthen relationships with other stakeholders in the organization.

5 Seek and offer feedback

The last tip to understand the impact of IT Operations work on other departments is to seek and offer feedback regularly and proactively. Gathering feedback from other departments can provide insights about service quality, satisfaction, or alignment, as well as suggestions for improvement or recognition. Sharing opinions, concerns, and compliments with other departments can also influence their decisions or actions. Feedback can be sought and offered in various ways, such as conducting surveys or polls, requesting or providing reviews and ratings using tools such as Jira, ServiceNow, or Zendesk, and initiating or participating in feedback sessions or meetings with other departments. Through this process of seeking and offering feedback, IT Operations teams can demonstrate their interest in understanding the impact of their work on other departments and enhancing their relationships and performance.