Define a Release Management Process for Your Applications to Deliver Lasting Value

Use your releases to drive business value and enhance the benefits delivered by your move to Agile.

Analyst Perspective

Improving your release management strategy and practices is a key step to fully unlock the value of your portfolio.

As firms invest in modern delivery practices based around product ownership, Agile, and DevOps, organizations assume that’s all that is necessary to consistently deliver value. As organizations continue to release, they continue to see challenges delivering applications of sufficient and consistent quality.

Delivering value doesn’t only require good vision, requirements, and technology. It requires a consistent and reliable approach to releasing and delivering products and services to your customer. Reaching this goal requires the definition of standards and criteria to govern release readiness, testing, and deployment.

This will ensure that when you deploy a release it meets the high standards expected by your clients and delivers the value you have intended.

Dr. Suneel Ghei

Principal Research Director, Application Development

Info-Tech Research Group

Executive Summary

Your Challenge

• Your software platforms are a key enabler of your brand. When there are issues releasing, the brand suffers. Client confidence and satisfaction erode.
• Your organization has invested significant capital in creating a culture of product ownership, Agile, and DevOps. Yet the benefits from these investments are not yet fully realized.
• Customers have more choices than ever when it comes to products and services. They require features and capabilities delivered quickly, consistently, and of sufficient quality, otherwise they will look elsewhere.

Common Obstacles

• Development teams are moving faster but then face delays waiting for testing and deployment due to a lack of defined release cycle and process.
• Individual stages in your software development life cycle (SDLC), such as code collaboration, testing, and deployment, have become leaner, but the overall complexity has increased since many products and services are composed of many applications, platforms, and processes.
• The specifics of releasing products is (wrongly) classified as a technical concern and not a business concern, hindering the ability to prioritize improved release practices.

Info-Tech's Approach

• Develop a release management framework that efficiently and effectively orchestrates the different functions supporting a software’s release.
• Use the release management framework and turn release-related activities into non-events.
• Use principles of continuous delivery for converting your release processes from an overarching concern to a feature of a high-performing software practice.

Executive Summary

Info-Tech Insights

Turn release-related activities into non-events.

Eliminate the need for dedicating time for off-hour or weekend release activities. Use a release management framework for optimizing release-related tasks, making them predictable and of high quality.

Release management is NOT a part of the software delivery life cycle.

The release cycle runs parallel to the software delivery life cycle but is not tightly coupled with it. The act of releasing begins at the point requirements are confirmed and ends when user satisfaction is measurable. In contrast, the software delivery life cycle is focused on activities such as building, architecting, and testing.

All releases are NOT created equal.

Barring standard guiding principles, each release may have specific nuances that need to be considered as part of release planning.

Your release management journey

1. Optimize Applications Release Management - Set a baseline release management process and organization.
2. Modernize Your SDLC - Move your organization to Agile and increase throughput to feed releases.
3. Deliver on Your Digital Product Vision - Understand the practices that go into delivering products, including articulating your release plans.
4. Automate Testing to Get More Done - Create the ability to do more testing quickly and ensure test coverage.
5. Implement DevOps Practices That Work - Build in tools and techniques necessary for release deployment automation.
6. Define a Release Management Process to Deliver Lasting Value (We Are Here)

Define a Release Management Process for Your Applications to Deliver Lasting Value

Use your releases to drive business value and enhance the benefits delivered by your move to Agile.

Executive Brief

Your software delivery teams are expected to deliver value to stakeholders in a timely manner and with high quality

Software delivery teams must enable the organization to react to market needs and competitive changes to improve the business’ bottom line. Otherwise, the business will question the team’s competencies.

The business is constantly looking for innovative ways to do their jobs better and they need support from your technical teams.

The increased stress from the business is widening the inefficiencies that already exist in application release management, risking poor product quality and delayed releases.

Being detached from the release process, business stakeholders do not fully understand the complexities and challenges of completing a release, which complicates the team’s communication with them when issues occur.

IT Stakeholders Are Also Not Satisfied With Their Own Throughput

• Only 29% of IT employees find application development throughput highly effective.
• Only 9% of organizations were classified as having highly effective application development throughput.
• Application development throughput ranked 37th out of 45 core IT processes in terms of effectiveness.

(Info-Tech’s Management and Governance Diagnostic, N=3,930)

Your teams, however, struggle with core release issues, resulting in delayed delivery (and disappointed stakeholders)

Implementing tools on top of an inefficient pipeline can significantly magnify the existing release issues. This can lead to missed deadlines, poor product quality, and business distrust with software delivery teams.

COMMON RELEASE ISSUES

1. Local Thinking: Release decisions and changes are made and approved without consideration of the holistic system, process, and organization.
2. No Release Cadence: Lack of process governance and oversight generates unpredictable bottlenecks and load and ill-prepared downstream teams.
3. Mismanagement of Releases: Program management does not accommodate the various integrated releases completed by multiple delivery teams.
4. Poor Scope Management: Teams are struggling to effectively accommodate changes during the project.

The bottom line: The business’ ability to operate is dictated by the software delivery team’s ability to successfully complete releases. If the team performs poorly, then the business will do poorly as well. Application release management is critical to ensure business expectations are within the team’s constraints.

“As software becomes more embedded in the business, firms are discovering that the velocity of business change is now limited by how quickly they can deploy.” – Five Ways To Streamline Release Management, J.S. Hammond

Historically, managing releases has been difficult and complicated…

Typically, application release management has been hard to coordinate because…

• Software has multiple dependencies and coordinating their inclusion into a deployable whole was not planned.
• Teams many be spending too much time on features that are not needed any longer.
• Software development functions (such as application architecture, test-first or test-driven design, source code integration, and functional testing) are not optimized.
• There are no agreed upon service-level contracts (e.g. expected details in requirements, adequate testing, source control strategy) between development functions.
• The different development functions are not integrated in a holistic style.
• The different deployment environments have variability in their configuration, reducing the reliability of testing done in different environments.
• Minimum thresholds for acceptable quality of development functions are either too low (leading to adverse outcomes down stream) or too high (leading to unnecessary delays).

…but research shows being effective at application release management increases your throughput

Research conducted on Info-Tech's members shows overwhelming evidence that application throughput is strongly tied to an effective application release management approach.

(Info-Tech Management & Governance Diagnostic, since 2019; N=684 organizations)

An application release management framework is critical for effective and timely delivery of software

A well-developed application release management framework is transformative and changes...

Info-Tech Insight: Your application release management framework should turn a system release into a non-event. This is only possible through the development of a holistic, low-risk and standardized approach to releasing software, irrespective of their size or complexity.

Robust continuous “anything” requires proficiency in five core practices

A continuous anything evaluation should not be a “one-and-done” event. As part of ongoing improvements, keep evolving it to make it a fundamental component of a strong operational strategy.

Continuous Anything

• Automate where appropriate
  • Automation is not a silver bullet. All processes are not created equal; and therefore, some are not worthy of being automated.
• Control system variables
  • Deploying and testing in environments that are apple to apple in comparison reduces the risk of unintended outcomes from production release.
• Measure process outcomes
  • A process not open to being measured is a process bound to fail. If it can be measured, it should be, and insights found should be used for improving the system.
• Select smaller features batches
  • Smaller release packages reduce the chances of cognitive load associated with finding root causes for defects and issues that may result as post-production incidents.
• Reduction of cycle time
  • Identification of waste in each stage of the continuous anything process helps in lowering cost of operations and results in quicker generation of value for stakeholders.

Invest time in developing an application release management framework for your development team(s) with a continuous anything mindset

An application release management framework converts a set of features and make them ready for releasability in a low-risk, standardized, and high-quality process.

A continuous anything (integration, delivery, and deployment) mindset is based on a growth and improvement philosophy, where every event is considered a valid data point for investigation of process efficiency.

Diagram adapted from Continuous Delivery in the Wild, Pete Hodgson, Published by O'Reilly Media, Inc., 2020

Related Info-Tech Research

Streamline Application Maintenance

• Justify the necessity of streamlined maintenance. Gain a grounded understanding of stakeholder objectives and concerns and validate their achievability against the current state of the people, process, and technologies involved in application maintenance.
• Strengthen triaging and prioritization practices. Obtain a holistic picture of the business and technical impacts, risks, and urgencies of each accepted maintenance request to justify its prioritization and relevance within your backlog. Identify opportunities to bundle requests together or integrate them within project commitments to ensure completion.
• Establish and govern a repeatable process. Develop a maintenance process with well-defined stage gates, quality controls, and roles and responsibilities, and instill development best practices to improve the success of delivery.

“Releasability” (or release criteria) of a system depends upon the inclusion of necessary building blocks and proof that they were worked on

There is no standard definition of a system’s releasability. However, there are common themes around completions or assessments that should be investigated as part of a release:

• The range of performance, technical, or compliance standards that need to be assessed.
• The full range of test types required for business approval: unit tests, acceptance tests, security test, data migration tests, etc.
• The volume-criticality mix of defects the organization is willing to accept as a risk.
• The best source and version control strategy for the development team. This is mostly a function of the team's skill with using release branches and coordinating their work artifacts.
• The addition of monitoring points and measures required for evaluations and impact analysis.
• The documentation required for audit and compliance.
• External and internal dependencies and integrations.
• Validations, approvals, and sign-offs required as part of the business’ operating procedure.
• Processes that are currently carried out outside and should be moved into the pipeline.
• Manual processes that may be automated.
• Any waste activities that do not directly contribute to releasability that can be eliminated from the development process.
• Knowledge the team has regarding challenges and successes with similar software releases in the past.

Releasability of a system is different than governing principles for application release management

Governing principles are fundamental ways of doing something, which in this case is application release management, while releasability will generally have governing principles in addition to specific needs for a successful release.

Example of Governing Principles

• Approval from Senior Director is necessary before releasing to production
• Production deployments can only be done in off-hours
• We will try to automate processes whenever it is possible for us to do so
• We will use a collaborative set of metrics to measure our processes

Examples of Releasability Criteria

• For the upcoming release, add performance testing for Finance and Budget Teams’ APIs
• Audit and compliance documentation is required for this release
• Automation of manual deployment
• Use trunk-based source code management instead of feature-based

Regulated industries are not more stable despite being less nimble

A pervasive myth in industry revolves around the misperception that continuous anything and nimble and non-event application release management is not possible in large bureaucratic and regulated organizations because they are risk-averse.

"We found that external approvals were negatively correlated with lead-time, deployment frequency and restore time, and had no correlation with change failure rate. In short, approval by an external body (such as a manager or Change Approval Board) simply doesn’t work to increase the stability of production systems…However, it certainly slows things down. It is in fact worse than having no change approval process at all." – Accelerate by Gene Kim, Jez Humble, and Nicole Forsgren

Many organizations reduce risk in their product release by adopting a paternalistic stance by:

• Requiring manual sign-offs from senior personnel who are external to the organization.
• Increasing the number and level of authorization gates.
• Staying away from change and preferring to stick with what has worked in the past.

Despite the prevalence of these types of responses to risk, the evidence is that they do not work and are in fact counter-productive because they:

• Create blocks to frequent releases.
• Introduce procedural complexity to each release and in effect make them “bigger.”
• Prefer process over people (and trusting them). Increase non-value-add scrutiny and reporting.

There is a persistent misunderstanding about continuous anything being only an IT engineering practice

01

At the enterprise level, continuous anything focuses on:

• Visibility of final value being provided in a high-quality and expedited manner
• Ensuring efficiency in the organization’s delivery framework
• Ensuring adherence to established governance and risk mitigation strategy

02

Focus of this blueprint

At the product level, continuous anything focuses on:

• Reliability of the product delivery system
• Use of scientific evidence for continuous improvement of the product’s delivery system
• Orchestration of different artifacts into a single whole

03

At the functional level, continuous anything focuses on*:

• Local functional optimization (functions = software engineering, testing, application design)
• Automation of local functions
• Use of patterns for standardizing inputs and functional areas

*Where necessary, practices at this level have been mentioned.

Related Info-Tech Research

Implement DevOps Practices That Work

• Be DevOps, rather than do DevOps. DevOps is a philosophy, not an industry framework. Your organization’s culture must shift toward system-wide thinking, cross-function collaboration, and empathy.
• Culture, learning, automation, integrated teams, and metrics and governance (CLAIM) are all critical components of effective DevOps.

Automate Testing to Get More Done

• Optimize and automate SDLC stages to recover team capacity. Recognize that automation without optimization is a recipe for long-term pain. Do it right the first time.
• Optimization and automation are not one-hit wonders. Technical debt is a part of software systems and never goes away. The only remedy is constant vigilance and enhancements to the processes.

The seeds of a good release are sown even before work on it begins

Pre-release practices such as requirements intake and product backlog management are important because:

• A standard process for documentation of features and requirements helps reduce “cognitive dissonance” between business and technology teams. Clearly articulated and well-understood business needs are fundamental ingredients of a high-quality product.
• Product backlog management done right ensures the prioritized delivery of value to stakeholders. Features can become stale or get a bump in importance, depending upon evolving circumstances. Prioritizing the backlog is, therefore, critical for ensuring time, effort, and budget are spent on things that matter.

State of Hybrid Work in IT: A Trend Report

When tech giants can’t agree and best practices change by the minute, forge your own path to your next normal.

Hybrid is here. Now how do we do this?

The pandemic has catapulted hybrid work to the forefront of strategic decisions an organization needs to make. According to our State of Hybrid Work in IT survey conducted in July of 2022, nearly all organizations across all industries are continuing some form of hybrid or remote work long-term (n=518). Flexible work location options are the single greatest concern for employees seeking a new job. IT departments are tasked with not only solving hybrid work questions for their own personnel but also supporting a hybrid-first organization, which means significant changes to technology and operations.

Faced with decisions that alter the very foundation of how an organization functions, IT leaders are looking for best practices and coming up empty. The world of work has changed quickly and unexpectedly. If you feel you are “winging it” in the new normal, you are not alone.

95% of organizations are continuing some form of hybrid or remote work.

n=518

47% of respondents look at hybrid work options when evaluating a new employer, vs. 46% who look at salary.

n=518

Hybrid work model decision tree

Your organization, your employees, your goals – your hybrid work

The days of a “typical” workplace have passed. When it comes to the new world of hybrid work, there is no best-of-breed example to follow.

Among the flood of contradictory decisions made by industry leaders, your IT organization must forge its own path, informed by the needs of your employees and your organizational goals.

All IT work models can support the broader organization. However, IT is more effective in a hybrid work mode.

Stay informed on where your industry is headed, but learn from, rather than follow, industry leaders.

All industries reported primarily using partial, balanced & full hybrid work models.

All industries reported some fully remote work, ranging from 2-10% of organizations surveyed.

Construction and healthcare & life sciences did not require any fully in-office work. Other industries, between 1-12% required fully in-office work.

Move beyond following tech giants

The uncomfortable truth about hybrid work is that there are many viable models, and the “best of breed” depends on who you ask. In the post-pandemic workspace, for every work location model there is an industry leader that has made it functional. And yet this doesn’t mean that every model will be viable for your organization.

In the absence of a single best practice, rely on an individualized cost-benefit assessment rooted in objective feasibility criteria. Every work model – whether it continues your status quo or overhauls the working environment – introduces risk. Only in the context of your particular organization does that risk become quantifiable.

Don’t make the mistake of emulating the tech giants, unless they are your direct competition. Instead, look to organizations that have walked your path in terms of scope, organizational goals, industry, and organizational structure.

Comparative

Your competitors

Info-Tech Insight

Remember, your competitors are not just those who compete for the same customers but also those who compete for your employees.

IT must balance commitments to both the organization and its employees

IT has two roles: to effectively support the broader organization and to function effectively within the department. It therefore has two main stakeholder relationships: the organization it supports and the employees it houses. Hybrid work impacts both. Don't make the mistake of overweighting one relationship at the expense of the other. IT will only function effectively when it addresses both.

Track your progress with the right metrics

This report contains:

1. IT and the Organization
   1. IT Effectiveness
      in a Hybrid World
   2. The Impact of Hybrid on Infrastructure & Operations
2. IT and Its Employees
   1. What Hybrid Means for the IT Workforce
   2. Leadership for Hybrid IT Teams

This report is based on organizations like yours

This report is based on organizations like yours

This report is based on organizations like yours

This report is based on organizations like yours

At a high level, hybrid work in IT is everywhere

INDUSTRY

ORGANIZATIONAL SIZE

POSITION LEVEL

• Executive
• Director
• Supervisor/Manager
• Student/Contractor/Team Member

100% of industries, organizational sizes, and position levels reported some form of hybrid or remote work.

Work model breakdown at the respondent level

n=516

Industry lens: Work location model

Percentage of IT roles currently in a hybrid or remote work arrangement

Work location model by organization size

Hybrid work options

Expense reimbursement

NOTES

n=518

Home office setup: One-time lump-sum payment

Home utilities: Gas, electricity, lights, etc.

Other: Office supplies, portion of home rent/mortgage payments, etc.

01 TECHNOLOGY

IT and the Organization

Section 1

The promise of hybrid work for IT department effectiveness and the costs of making it happen

In this section:

1. IT Effectiveness in a Hybrid World
2. The Impact of Hybrid on Infrastructure & Operations

Hybrid work models in IT bolster effectiveness

IT’s effectiveness, meaning its ability to enable organizational goal attainment, is its ultimate success metric. In the post-pandemic world, this indicator is intimately tied to IT’s work location model, as well as IT’s ability to support the work location model used by the broader organization.

In 2022, 90% of organizations have embraced some form of hybrid work (n=516). And only a small contingent of IT departments have more than 90% of roles still working completely in office, with no remote work offered (n=515).

This outcome was not unexpected, given the unprecedented success of remote work during the pandemic. However, the implications of this work model were far less certain. Would productivity remain once the threat of layoffs had passed? Would hybrid work be viable in the long term, once the novelty wore off? Would teams be able to function collaboratively without meeting face to face? Would hybrid allow a great culture
to continue?

All signs point to yes. For most IT departments, the benefits of hybrid work outweigh its costs. IT is significantly more effective when some degree of remote or hybrid work is present.

n=518

Remote Work Effectiveness Paradox

When IT itself works fully onsite, lower effectiveness is reported (6.2). When IT is tasked with supporting fully, 100% remote organizations (as opposed to being fully remote only within IT), lower effectiveness is reported then as well (5.9). A fully remote organization means 100% virtual communication, so the expectations placed on IT increase, as do the stakes of any errors. Of note, hybrid work models yield consistent effectiveness scores when implemented at both the IT and organizational levels.

IT has risen to the challenge of hybrid

Despite the challenges initially posed by hybrid and remote organizations, IT has thrived through the pandemic and into this newly common workplace.

Most organizations have experienced an unchanged or increased level of service requests and incidents. However, for the majority of organizations, service desk support has maintained (58%) or improved (35%). Only 7% of IT organizations report decreased service desk support.

Is your service desk able to offer the same level of support compared to the pre-pandemic/pre-hybrid work model?

How has the volume of your service requests/incidents changed?

Has hybrid work impacted your customer satisfaction scores?

Industry lens: Volume of service requests

It is interesting to note that service request volumes have evolved similarly across industries, mirroring the remarkable consistency with which hybrid work has been adopted across disparate fields, from construction to government.

Of note are two industries where the volume of service requests mostly increased: government and media, information, telecom & technology.

With the global expansion of digital products and services through the pandemic, it’s no surprise to see volumes increase for media, information, telecom & technology. With government, the shift from on premises to rapid and large-scale hybrid or remote work for administrative and knowledge worker roles likely meant additional support from IT to equip employees and end users with the necessary tools to carry out work offsite.

How has the volume of your service requests/incidents changed?

The transition to hybrid was worth the effort

Hybrid and remote work have been associated with greater productivity and organizational benefits since before the pandemic. During emergency remote work, doubts arose about whether productivity would be maintained under such extreme circumstances and were quickly dispelled. The promise of remote productivity held up.

Now, cautiously entering a “new normal,” the question has emerged again. Will long-term hybrid work bring the same benefits?

The expectations have held up, with hybrid work benefits ranging from reduced facilities costs to greater employee performance.

Organizational hybrid work may place additional strain on IT,
but it is clear IT can handle the challenge. And when it does,
the organizational benefits are tremendous.

88% of respondents reported increased or consistent Infrastructure & Operations customer satisfaction scores.

What benefits has the organization achieved as a result of moving to a hybrid work model?

n=487

Hybrid has sped up modernization of IT processes and infrastructure

Of the organizations surveyed, the vast majority reported significant changes to both the process and the technology side of IT operations. Four key processes affected by the move to hybrid were:

• Incident management
• Service request support
• Asset management
• Change management

Within Infrastructure & Operations, the area with the greatest degree
of change was network architecture (reported by 44% of respondents), followed closely by service desk (41%) and recovery workspaces and mitigations (40%).

63% of respondents reported changes to conference room technology to support hybrid meetings.

n=496

IT Infrastructure & Operations changes, upgrades, and modernization

What process(es) had the highest degree of change in response to supporting hybrid work?

Hybrid has permanently changed deployment strategy

Forty-five percent of respondents reported significant changes to deployment as a result of hybrid work, with an additional 42% reporting minor changes. Only 13% of respondents stated that their deployment processes remained unchanged following the shift to hybrid work.

With the ever-increasing globalization of business, deployment modernization practices such as the shift to zero touch are no longer optional or a bonus. They are a critical part of business operation that bring efficiency benefits beyond just supporting hybrid work.

The deployment changes brought on by hybrid span across industries. Even in manufacturing, with the greatest proportion of respondents reporting “no change” to deployment practices (33%), most organizations experienced some degree of change.

Has a hybrid work model led you to make any changes to your deployment, such as zero touch, to get equipment to end users?

Industry lens: Deployment changes

Has a hybrid work model led you to make any changes to your deployment, such as zero touch, to get equipment to end users?

Hybrid work has accelerated organizational digitization

Over half of respondents reported significantly decreased reliance on printed copies as a result of hybrid. While these changes were on the horizon for many organizations even before the pandemic, the necessity of keeping business operations running during lockdowns meant that critical resources could be invested in these processes. As a result, digitization has leapt forward.

This represents an opportunity for businesses to re-evaluate their relationships with printing vendors. Resources spent on printing can be reduced or reallocated, representing additional savings as a result of moving to hybrid. Additionally, many respondents report a willingness – and ability – from vendors to partner with organizations in driving innovation and enabling digitization.

With respect to changes pertaining to hard copies/printers as a result of your hybrid work model:

Hybrid work necessitates network and communications modernization

The majority (63%) of respondents reported making significant changes to conference room technology as a result of hybrid work. A significant proportion (30%) report that such changes were not needed, but this includes organizations who had already set up remote communication.

An important group is the remaining 8% of respondents, who cite budgetary restrictions as a key barrier in making the necessary technology upgrades. Ensure the business case for communication technology appropriately reflects the impact of these upgrades, and reduce the impact of legacy technology where possible:

• Recognize not just meeting efficiency but also the impact on culture, engagement, morale, and external and internal clients.
• Connect conference room tech modernization to the overall business goals and work it into the IT strategy.
• Leverage the scheduling flexibility available in hybrid work arrangements to reduce reliance on inadequate conference technology by scheduling in-person meetings where possible and necessary.

Have you made changes/upgrades
to the conference room technology to support hybrid meetings?
(E.g. Some participants joining remotely, some participants present in a conference room)

How we can help

For a comprehensive list of resources, visit
Info-Tech’s Hybrid Workplace Research Center

02 PEOPLE

IT and Its Employees

Section 2

Cultivate the dream team in a newly hybrid world

In this section:

1. What Hybrid Means for the IT Workforce
2. Leadership for IT Hybrid Teams

Hybrid means permanent change to how IT hires

Since before the pandemic, the intangibles of having a job that works with your lifestyle have been steadily growing in importance. Considerations like flexible work options, work-life balance, and culture are more important to employees now than they were two years ago, and employers must adapt.

Salary alone is no longer enough to recruit the best talent, nor is it the key to keeping employees engaged and productive. Hybrid work options are the single biggest concern for IT professionals seeking new employment, just edging out salary. This means employers must not offer just some work flexibility but truly embrace a hybrid environment.

What are you considering when looking at a potential employer?

A recession may not significantly impact hybrid work decisions overall

Declining economic conditions suggest that a talent market shift may be imminent. Moving toward a recession may mean less competition for top talent, but this doesn't mean hybrid will be left behind as a recruitment tactic.

Just over half of IT organizations surveyed are considering expanding hybrid work or moving to fully remote work even in a recession. Hybrid work is a critical enabler of organizational success when resources are scarce, due to the productivity benefits and cost savings it has demonstrated. Organizations that recognize this and adequately invest in hybrid tools now will have equipped themselves with an invaluable tool for weathering a recession storm, should one come.

What impact could a potential recession in the coming year have on your decisions around your work location?

Hybrid work may help small organizations in a declining economy

The potential for a recession has a greater impact on the workforce decisions of small organizations. They likely face greater financial pressures than medium and large-sized organizations, pressures that could necessitate halting recruitment efforts or holding firm on current salaries and health benefits.

A reliance on intangible benefits, like the continuation of hybrid work, may help offset some of negative effects of such freezes, including the risk of lower employee engagement and productivity. Survey respondents indicated that hybrid work options (47%) were slightly more important to them than salary/compensation (46%) and significantly more important than benefits (29%), which could work in favor of small organizations in keeping the critical employees needed to survive an economic downturn.

Currently considering some form of hiring/salary freeze or cutbacks, if a recession occurs

NOTES

n=520

Small: <101 employees

Medium: 101-5000 employees

Large: >5,000 employees

Hybrid mitigates the main challenge of remote work

One advantage of hybrid over remote work is the ability to maintain an in-office presence, which provides a failsafe should technology or other barriers stand in the way of effective distance communication. To take full advantage of this, teams should coordinate tasks with location, so that employees get the most out of the unique benefits of working in office and remotely.

Activities to prioritize for in-office work:

• Collaboration and brainstorming
• Team-building activities
• Introductions and onboarding

Activities to prioritize for remote work:

• Individual focus time

As a leader, what are your greatest concerns with hybrid work?

Hybrid necessitates additional effort by managers

When it comes to leading a hybrid team, there is no ignoring the impact of distance on communication and team cohesion. Among leaders’ top concerns are employee wellbeing and the ability to pick up on signs of demotivation among team members.

The top two tactics used by managers to mitigate these concerns center on increasing communication:

• Staying available through instant messaging.
• Increasing team meetings.

Tactics most used by highly effective IT departments

Team success is linked to the number of tools at the manager’s disposal

The most effective hybrid team management tools focus on overcoming the greatest obstacle introduced by remote work: barriers to communication and connection.

The most effective IT organizations use a variety of tactics. For managers looking to improve hybrid team effectiveness, the critical factor is less the tactic used and more the ability to adapt their approach to their team’s needs and incorporate team feedback. As such, IT effectiveness is linked to the total number of tactics used by managers.

IT department effectiveness

Autonomy is key to hybrid team success

Not all hybrid work models are created equal. IT leaders working with hybrid teams have many decisions to make, from how many days will be spent in and out of office to how much control employees get over which days they work remotely.

Employee and manager preferences are largely aligned regarding the number of days spent working remotely or onsite: Two to three days in office is the most selected option for both groups, although overall manager preferences lean slightly toward more time spent in office.

Comparison of leader and employee preference for days in-office

Do employees have a choice in the days they work in office/offsite?

For most organizations, employees get a choice of which days they spend working remotely. This autonomy can range from complete freedom to a choice between several pre-approved days depending on team scheduling needs.

Work is still needed to increase autonomy in hybrid teams

Organizations’ success in establishing hybrid team autonomy varies greatly post pandemic. Responses are roughly equally split between staff feeling more, less, or the same level of autonomy as before the pandemic. Evaluated in the context of most organizations continuing a hybrid approach, this leads to the conclusion that not all hybrid implementations are being conducted equally effectively when it comes to employee empowerment.

As an employee, how much control do you have over the decisions related to where, when, and how you work currently?

Connectedness in hybrid teams lags behind

A strong case can be made for fostering autonomy and empowerment on hybrid teams. Employees who report lower levels of control than before the pandemic also report lower engagement indicators, such as trust in senior leadership, motivation, and intention to stay with the organization. On the other hand, employees experiencing increased levels of control report gains in these areas.

The only exception to these gains is the sense of team connectedness, which employees experiencing more control report as lower than before the pandemic. A greater sense of connectedness among employees reporting decreased control may be related to more mandatory in-office time or a sense of connection over shared team-level disengagement.

These findings reinforce the need for hybrid teams to invest in team building and communication practices and confirm that significant benefits are to be had when a sense of autonomy can be successfully instilled.

Employees who experience less control than before the pandemic report lowered engagement indicators ... except sense of connectedness

Employees who experience more control than before the pandemic report increased engagement indicators ... except sense of connectedness

Case study: Hybrid work at Microsoft Canada

How we can help

For a comprehensive list of resources, visit
Info-Tech’s Hybrid Workplace Research Center

Recommendations

The last two years have been a great experiment, but it’s not over.

Info-Tech Insight

Hybrid and remote teams require more attention, connection, and leadership from managers. The shift from doing the day-to-day to effectively leading is critical for the success of nontraditional work models. As hybrid and remote work become engrained in society, organizations must ensure that the concept of the “working manager” is as obsolete as the rotary telephone.

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Develop a Targeted Flexible Work Program for IT

Select flexible work options that balance organizational and employee needs to drive engagement and improve attraction and retention.

Executive Summary

Your Challenge

• IT leaders continue to struggle with workplace flexibility, and it is a top priority for IT employees; as a result, organizations who fail to offer flexibility will have a difficult time attracting, recruiting, and retaining talent.
• The benefits of remote work are not available to everyone, raising fairness and equity concerns for employees.

Common Obstacles

• A one-size-fits-all approach to selecting and implementing flexible work options fails to consider unique employee needs and will not reap the benefits of offering a flexible work program (e.g. higher engagement or enhanced employer brand).
• Improper structure and implementation of flexible work programs exacerbates existing challenges (e.g. high turnover) or creates new ones.

Info-Tech's Approach

• Uncover the needs of unique employee segments to shortlist flexible work options that employees want and will use.
• Assess the feasibility of various flexible work options and select ones that meet employee needs and are feasible for the organization.
• Equip leaders with the information and tools needed to implement and sustain a flexible work program.

Info-Tech Insight

IT excels at hybrid location work and is more effective as a business function when location flexibility is an option for its employees. But hybrid work is just a start. A comprehensive flex work program extends beyond flexible location, so organizations must understand the needs of unique employee groups to uncover the options that will attract and retain talent.

Flexible work arrangements are a requirement in today's world of work

Flexible work continues to gain momentum…

A 2022 LinkedIn report found that the following occurred between 2019 and 2021:

In 2022, Into-Tech found that hybrid was the most commonly used location work model for IT across all industries.

("State of Hybrid Work in IT," Info-Tech Research Group, 2022)

…and employees are demanding more flexibility

Offering workplace flexibility benefits organizations and employees

Higher performance

IT departments that offer some degree of location flexibility are more effective at supporting the organization than those who do not.

35% of service desk functions report improved service since implementing location flexibility.
("State of Hybrid Work in IT," Info-Tech Research Group, 2023).

Enhanced employer brand

Employees are 2.1x more likely to recommend their employer to others when they are satisfied with their organization's flexible work arrangements (LinkedIn, 2021).

Improved attraction

41% of IT departments cite an expanded hiring pool as a key benefit of hybrid work.

Organizations that mention "flexibility" in their job postings have 35% more engagement with their posts (LinkedIn, 2022).

Increased job satisfaction

IT employees who have more control over their working arrangement experience a greater sense of contribution and trust in leadership ("State of Hybrid Work in IT," Info-Tech Research Group, 2023).

Better work-life balance

81% of employees say flexible work will positively impact their work-life balance (FlexJobs, 2021).

Boosted inclusivity

• Caregivers regardless of gender, supporting them in balancing responsibilities
• Individuals with disabilities, enabling them to work from the comfort of their homes
• Women who may have increased responsibilities
• Women of color to mitigate the emotional tax experienced at work

Info-Tech Insight

Flexible work options are not a concession to lower productivity. Properly implemented, flex work enables employees to be more productive at reaching business goals.

Despite the popularity of flexible work options, not all employees can participate

IT organizations differ on how much flexibility different roles can have.

IT employees were asked what percentage of IT roles were currently in a hybrid or remote work arrangement ("State of Hybrid Work in IT," Info-Tech Research Group, 2023).

However, the benefits of remote work are not available to all, which raises fairness and equity concerns between remote and onsite employees.

Offering schedule flexibility to employees who need to be fully onsite can be used to close the fairness and equity gap.

When offered the choice, 54% of employees said they would choose schedule flexibility over location flexibility ("Global Employee Survey," EY, 2021).

When employees were asked "What choice would you want your employer to provide related to when you have to work?" The top three choices were:

Disclaimer: "Percentages do not sum to 100%, as each respondent could choose up to three of the [five options provided]" ("Global Employee Survey," EY, 2021).

Beware of the "all or nothing" approach

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to workplace flexibility.

Understanding the needs of various employee segments in the organization is critical to the success of a flexible work program.

Working parents want more flexibility

Historically underrepresented groups value more flexibility

Workplace flexibility must be customized to the organization to avoid longer working hours and heavy workloads that impact employee wellbeing

Longer hours and unsustainable workloads can contribute to stress and burnout, which is a threat to employee engagement and retention. With careful management (e.g. setting clear expectations and establishing manageable workloads), flexible work arrangement benefits can be preserved.

Info-Tech Insight

Employees' lived experiences and needs determine if people use flexible work programs – a flex program that has limited use or excludes people will not benefit the organization.

Develop a flexible work program that meets employee and organizational needs

Insight summary

Overarching insight: IT excels at hybrid location work and is more effective as a business function when location, time, and time-off flexibility are an option for its employees.

Case Study

Expanding hybrid work at Info-Tech

Challenge

In 2020, Info-Tech implemented emergency work-from-home for its IT department, along with the rest of the organization. Now in 2023, hybrid work is firmly embedded in Info-Tech's culture, with plans to continue location flexibility for the foreseeable future.

Adjusting to the change came with lessons learned and future-looking questions.

Lessons Learned

Moving into remote work was made easier by certain enablers that had already been put in place. These included issuing laptops instead of desktops to the user base and using an existing cloud-based infrastructure. Much support was already being done remotely, making the transition for the support teams virtually seamless.

Continuing hybrid work has brought benefits such as reduced commuting costs for employees, higher engagement, and satisfaction among staff that their preferences were heard.

Looking Forward

Every flexible work implementation is a work in progress and must be continually revisited to ensure it continues to meet organizational and employee needs. Current questions being explored at Info-Tech are:

• The concept of the "office as a tool" – how does use of the office change when it is used for specific collaboration-related tasks, rather than everything? How should the physical space change to support this?
• What does a viable replacement for quick hallway meetings look like in a remote world where communication is much more deliberate? How can managers adjust their practices to ensure the benefits of informal encounters aren't lost?

Info-Tech offers various levels of support to best suit your needs

DIY Toolkit

“Our team has already made this critical project a priority, and we have the time and capability, but some guidance along the way would be helpful.”

Guided Implementation

“Our team knows that we need to fix a process, but we need assistance to determine where to focus. Some check-ins along the way would help keep us on track.”

Workshop

“We need to hit the ground running and get this project kicked off immediately. Our team has the ability to take this over once we get a framework and strategy in place.”

Consulting

“Our team does not have the time or the knowledge to take this project on. We need assistance through the entirety of this project.”

Diagnostics and consistent frameworks used throughout all four options

Guided Implementation

What does a typical GI on this topic look like?

A Guided Implementation (GI) is a series of calls with an Info-Tech analyst to help implement our best practices in your organization.

A typical GI is 3 to 5 calls over the course of 4 to 6 months.

Workshop Overview

Contact your account representative for more information.
workshops@infotech.com 1-888-670-8889

Step 1

Assess employee and organizational needs

1. Assess employee and organizational flexibility needs
2. Identify potential flex options and assess feasibility
3. Implement selected option(s)

After completing this step you will have:

• Identified key stakeholders and their responsibilities
• Uncovered the current and desired state of the organization
• Analyzed feedback to identify flexibility challenges
• Identified and prioritized employee segments
• Determined the program goals
• Identified the degree of flexibility for work location, timing, and deliverables

Identify key stakeholders

Organizational flexibility requires collaborative and cross-functional involvement to determine which flexible options will meet the needs of a diverse workforce. HR leads the project to explore flexible work options, while other stakeholders provide feedback during the identification and implementation processes.

Info-Tech Insight

Flexible work is a holistic team effort. Leaders, flexible workers, teammates, and HR must clearly understand their roles to ensure that teams are set up for success.

Uncover the current and desired state of flexibility in the organization

Info-Tech Insight

Hybrid work is a start. A comprehensive flex work program extends beyond flexible location, so organizations must understand the needs of unique employee groups to uncover the options that will attract and retain talent. Provide greater inclusivity to employees by broadening the scope to include flex location, flex time, and flex time off.

Identify employee segments

Using the data, feedback, and challenges analyzed and uncovered so far, assess the organization and identify employee segments.

Identify employee segments with common characteristics to assess if they require unique flexible work options. Assess the feasibility options for the segments separately in Step 2.

• Segments' unique characteristics include:
• Role responsibilities (e.g. interacting with users, creating reports, development and testing)
• Work location/schedule (e.g. geographic, remote vs. onsite, 9 to 5)
• Work processes (e.g. server maintenance, phone support)
• Group characteristics (e.g. specific teams, new hires)

Identify employee segments and sort them into groups based on the characteristics above.

Examples of segments:

• Functional area (e.g. Service Desk, Security)
• Job roles (e.g. desktop support, server maintenance)
• Onsite, remote, or hybrid
• Full-time or part-time
• Job level (e.g. managers vs. independent contributors)
• Employees with dependents

Prioritize employee segments

Determine whether the organization needs flexible work options for the entire organization or specific employee segments.
For specific employee segments:

• Answer the questions on the right to identify whether an employee segment is high, medium, or low priority. Complete slides 23 to 25 for each high-priority segment, repeating the process for medium-priority segments when resources allow.

For the entire organization:

• When identifying an option for the entire organization, consider all segments. The approach must create consistency and inclusion; keep this top of mind when identifying flexibility on slides 23 to 25. For example, the work location flexibility would be low in an organization where some segments can work remotely and others must be onsite due to machinery requirements.

High priority: The employee segment has the lowest engagement scores or highest turnover within the organization. Segment sentiment is that current flexibility is nonexistent or not sufficiently meeting needs.
Medium priority: The employee segment has low engagement or high turnover. Segment sentiment is that currently available flexibility is minimal or not sufficiently meeting needs.
Low priority: The segment does not have the lowest engagement or the highest turnover rate. Segment sentiment is that currently available flexibility is sufficiently meeting needs.

1. What is the impact on the organization if this segment's challenges aren't addressed (e.g. if low engagement and high turnover are not addressed)?
2. How critical is flexibility to the segment's needs/engagement?
3. How time sensitive is it to introduce flexibility to this segment (e.g. is the organization losing employees in this segment at a high rate)?
4. Will providing flexibility to this segment increase organizational productivity or output

Identify challenges to address with flexibility

Uncover the lived experiences and expectations of employees to inform selection of segments and flexible options.

1. Collect data from existing sources, such as:
   • Engagement surveys
   • New hire/exit surveys
   • Employee experience monitor surveys
   • Employee retention pulse surveys
   • Burnout surveys
   • DEI pulse surveys
2. Analyze employee feedback on experiences with:
   • Work duties
   • Workload
   • Work-life balance
   • Operating processes and procedures
   • Achieving operational outcomes
   • Collaboration and communication
   • Individual experience and engagement
3. Evaluate the data and identify challenges

Example challenges:

• Engagement: Low average score on work-life balance question; flexible work suggested in open-ended responses.
• Retention: Exit survey indicating that lack of work-life balance is consistently a reason employees leave. Include the cost of turnover (e.g. recruitment, training, severance).
• Burnout: Feedback from employees through surveys or HR business partner anecdotes indicating high burnout; high usage of wellness services or employee assistance programs.
• Absenteeism: High average number of days employees were absent in the past year. Include the cost of lost productivity.
• Operational continuity: Provide examples of when flexible work would have enabled operational continuity in the case of disaster or extended customer service coverage.
• Program uptake: If the organization already has a flexible work program, provide data on the low proportion of eligible employees using available options.

1.1 Prepare to evaluate flexible work options

1-3 hours

Follow the guidance on preceding slides to complete the following activities.
Note: If you are only considering remote or hybrid work, use the Fast-Track Hybrid Work Program Workbook. Otherwise, proceed with the Targeted Flexible Work Program Workbook.

1. Identify key stakeholders. Be sure to record the level of involvement and responsibility expected from each stakeholder. Use the "Stakeholders" tab of the workbook.
2. Uncover current and desired state. Review and record your current state with respect to culture, productivity, and current flexible work options, if any. Next, record your desired future state, including reasons for implementing flexible work, and goals for the program. Record this in the "Current and Desired State" tab of the workbook.
3. Identify and prioritize employee segments. Identify and record employee segments. Depending on the size of your department, you may identify a few or many. Be as granular as necessary to fully separate employee groups with different needs. If your resources or needs prevent you from rolling out flexible work to the entire department, record the priority level of each segment so you can focus on the highest priority first.
4. Identify challenges with flexibility. With each employee segment in mind, analyze your available data to identify and record each segment's main challenges regarding flexible work. These will inform your program goals and metrics.

Download the Targeted Flexible Work Program Workbook

Download the Fast-Track Hybrid Work Program Workbook

Input

• List of departmental roles
• Data on employee engagement, productivity, sentiment regarding flexible work, etc.

Output

• List of stakeholders and responsibilities
• Flexible work challenges and aims
• Prioritized list of employee segments

Materials

• Targeted Flexible Work Program Workbook
  Or
• Fast-Track Hybrid Work Program Workbook

Participants

• IT department head
• HR business partner
• Flexible work program committee

Determine goals and metrics for the flexible work program

Info-Tech Insight

Implementing flex work without solid performance metrics means you won't have a way of determining whether the program is enabling or hampering your business practices.

1.2 Determine goals and metrics

30 minutes

Use the examples on the preceding slide to identify program goals and metrics:

1. Brainstorm program goals. Be sure to consider both the business benefits (e.g. productivity, retention) and the employee benefits (work-life balance, engagement). A successful flexible work program benefits both the organization and its employees.
2. Brainstorm metrics for each goal. Identify metrics that are easy to track accurately. Use Info-Tech's IT and HR metrics libraries for reference. Ideally, the metrics you choose should already exist in your organization so no extra effort will be necessary to implement them. It is also important to have a baseline measure of each one before flexible work is rolled out.
3. Record your outputs on the "Goals and Metrics" tab of the workbook.

Download the Targeted Flexible Work Program Workbook

Download the IT Metrics Library

Download the HR Metrics Library

Input

• Organizational and departmental strategy

Output

• List of program goals and metrics

Materials

• Targeted Flexible Work Program Workbook
  Or
• Fast-Track Hybrid Work Program Workbook

Participants

• Flexible work program committee

Determine work location flexibility for priority segments

Work location looks at where a segment can complete all or some of their tasks (e.g. onsite vs. remote). For each prioritized employee segment, evaluate the amount of location flexibility available.

Note

If roles within the segment have differing levels of location flexibility, use the lowest results (e.g. if role A in the segment has a high degree of flexibility for work duties and role B has a low degree of flexibility, use the results for role B).

Identify work timing for priority segments

Work timing looks at when work can or needs to be completed (e.g. Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm).

Note

With additional coordination, flex time or flex time off options are still possible for employee segments with a low degree of flexibility. For example, with a four-day work week, the segment can be split into two teams – one that works Monday to Thursday and one that works Tuesday to Friday – so that employees are still available for clients five days a week.

Examine work deliverables for priority segments

Work deliverables look at the employee's ability to deliver on their role expectations (e.g. quota or targets) and whether reducing the time spent working would, in all situations, impact the work deliverables (e.g. constrained vs. unconstrained).

Note

For segments with a low degree of work deliverable flexibility (e.g. very constrained output), flexibility is still an option, but maintaining output would require additional headcount.

1.3 Determine flexibility needs and constraints

1-2 hours

Use the guidelines on the preceding slides to document the parameters of each work segment.

1. Determine work location flexibility. Work location looks at where a segment can complete all or some of their tasks (e.g. onsite vs. remote). For each prioritized employee segment, evaluate the amount of location flexibility available.
2. Identify work timing. Work timing looks at when work can or needs to be completed (e.g. Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm).
3. Examine work deliverables. Work deliverables look at the employee's ability to deliver on their role expectations (e.g. quota or targets) and whether reducing the time spent working would, in all situations, impact the work deliverables (e.g. constrained vs. unconstrained).
4. Record your outputs on the "Current and Desired State" tab of the workbook.

Download the Targeted Flexible Work Program Workbook

Input

• List of employee segments

Output

• Summary of flexibility needs and constraints for each employee segment

Materials

• Targeted Flexible Work Program Workbook
  Or
• Fast-Track Hybrid Work Program Workbook

Participants

• Flexible work program committee
• Employee segment managers

Step 2

Identify potential flex options and assess feasibility

1. Assess employee and organizational flexibility needs
2. Identify potential flex options and assess feasibility
3. Implement selected option(s)

After completing this step you will have:

• Created a shortlist of potential options for each prioritized employee segment
• Evaluated the feasibility of each potential option
• Determined the cost and benefit of each potential option
• Gathered employee sentiment on potential options
• Finalized options with senior leadership

Prepare to identify and assess the feasibility of potential flexible work options

Evaluate feasibility by reviewing the option's impact on continued operations and job performance

Info-Tech Insight

Every role is eligible for hybrid location work. If onsite work duties prevent an employee group from participating, see if processes can be digitized or automated. Flexible work is an opportunity to go beyond current needs to future-proof your organization.

Assess the option's alignment with organizational culture

Determine the resources required for the option

Examine the option's risks

Determine whether the benefits of the option outweigh the costs

Include senior leadership in the net benefit process to ensure any unfeasible options are removed from consideration before presenting to employees.

1. Document the employee and employer benefits of the option from the previous feasibility factors on slides 29 to 32.

• Include the benefits of reaching program goals identified in Step 1.
• Quantify the benefits in dollar value where possible.

• Quantify the costs in dollar value where possible.

Info-Tech Insight

Flexible work options must balance organizational and employee needs. If an option is beneficial to employees but there is little or no benefit to the organization as a whole, or if the cost of the option is too high, it will not support the long-term success of the organization.

2.1a Identify and evaluate flexible work options

30 minutes per employee segment per work option

If you are only considering hybrid or remote work, skip to activity 2.1b. Use the guidelines on the preceding slides to conduct feasibility assessments.

1. Shortlist flexible work options. Review the Flexible Work Options Catalog to identify and shortlist five to seven flexible work options that are best suited to address the challenges faced for each of the priority employee segments. Record these on the "Options Shortlist" tab of the workbook. Even if the decision is simple, ensure you record the rationale to help communicate your decision to employees. Transparent communication is the best way to avoid feelings of unfairness if desired work options are not implemented.
2. Evaluate option feasibility. For each of the shortlisted options, complete one "Feasibility - Option" tab in the workbook. Make as many copies of this tab as needed.
   • When evaluating each option, consider each employee segment individually as you work through the prompts in the workbook. You may find that segments differ greatly in the feasibility of various types of flexible work. You will use this information to inform your overall policy and any exceptions to it.
   • You may need to involve each segment's management team to get an accurate picture of day-to-day responsibilities and flexible work feasibility.
3. Weigh benefits and costs. At the end of each flexible work option evaluation, record the anticipated costs and benefits. Discuss whether this balance renders the option viable or rules it out.

Download the Targeted Flexible Work Program Workbook

Download the Flexible Work Options Catalog

Input

• List of employee segments

Output

• Shortlist of flexible work options
• Feasibility analysis for each work option

Materials

• Targeted Flexible Work Program Workbook
• Flexible Work Options Catalog

Participants

• Flexible work program committee
• Employee segment managers

2.1b Assess hybrid work feasibility

30 minutes per employee segment

Use the guidelines on the preceding slides to conduct a feasibility assessment. This exercise relies on having trialed hybrid or remote work before. If you have never implemented any degree of remote work, consider completing the full feasibility assessment in activity 2.1a.

1. Evaluate hybrid work feasibility. Review the feasibility prompts on the "Work Unit Remote Work Assessment" tab and record your insight for each employee segment.
   • When evaluating each option, consider each employee segment individually as you work through the prompts in the workbook. You may find that segments differ greatly in their ability to accommodate hybrid work. You will use this information to inform your overall policy and any exceptions to it.
   • You may need to involve each segment's management team to get an accurate picture of day-to-day responsibilities and hybrid work feasibility.

Download the Fast-Track Hybrid Work Program Workbook

Input

• List of employee segments

Output

• Feasibility analysis for each work option

Materials

• Fast-Track Hybrid Work Program Workbook

Participants

• Flexible work program committee
• Employee segment managers

Ask employees which options they prefer and gather feedback for implementation

Deliver a survey and/or conduct focus groups with a selection of employees from all prioritized employee segments.

Share

• Present your draft list of options to select employees.
• Communicate that the organization is in the process of assessing the feasibility of flexible work options and would like employee input to ensure flex work meets needs.
• Be clear that the list is not final or guaranteed.

Ask

• Ask which options are preferred more than others.
• Ask for feedback on each option – how could it be modified to meet employee needs better? Use this information to inform implementation in Step 3.

Decide

• Prioritize an option if many employees indicated an interest in it.
• If employees indicate no interest in an option, consider eliminating it from the list, unless it will be required. There is no value in providing an option if employees won't use it.

Survey

• List the options and ask respondents to rate each on a Likert scale from 1 to 5.
• Ask some open-ended questions with comment boxes for employee suggestions.

Focus Group

• Conduct focus groups to gather deeper feedback.
• See Appendix I for sample focus group questions.

Info-Tech Insight

Prioritize flexible work options that employees want. Providing too many options often leads to information overload and results in employees not understanding what is available, lowering adoption of the flexible work program.

Finalize options list with senior leadership

1. Select one to three final options and outline the details of each. Include:
   • Scope: To what extent will the option be applied? E.g. work-from-home one or two days a week.
   • Eligibility: Which employee segments are eligible?
   • Cost: What investment will be required?
   • Critical implementation issues: Will any of the implementation issues identified for each feasibility factor impact whether the option will be approved?
   • Resources: What additional resources will be required (e.g. technology)?
2. Present the options to stakeholders for approval. Include:
   • An outline of the finalized options, including what the option is and the scope, eligibility, and critical implementation issues.
   • The feasibility assessment results, including benefits, costs, and employee preferences. Have more detail from the other factors ready if leaders ask about them.
   • The investment (cost) required to implement the option.
3. Proceed to Step 3 to implement approved options.

Running an IT pilot of flex work

• As a technology department, IT typically doesn't own flexible work implementation for the entire organization. However, it is common to trial flexible work options for IT first, before rolling out to the entire organization.
• During a flex work pilot, ensure you are working closely with HR partners, especially regarding regulatory and compliance issues.
• Keep the rest of the organizational stakeholders in the loop, especially regarding their agreement on the metrics by which the pilot's success will be evaluated.

2.2a Finalize flexible work options

2-3 hours + time to gather employee feedback

If you are only considering hybrid or remote work, skip to activity 2.2b. Use the guidelines on the preceding slides to gather final feedback and finalize work option selections.

1. Gather employee feedback. If employee preferences are already known, skip this step. If they are not, gather feedback to ascertain whether any of the shortlisted options are preferred. Remember that a successful flexible work program balances the needs of employees and the business, so employee preference is a key determinant in flexible work program success. Document this on the "Employee Preferences" tab of the workbook.
2. Finalize flexible work options. Use your notes on the cost-benefit balance for each option, along with employee preferences, to decide whether the move forward with it. Record this decision on the "Options Final List" tab. Include information about eligible employee segments and any implementation challenges that came up during the feasibility assessments. This is the final decision summary that will inform your flexible program parameters and policies.

Download the Targeted Flexible Work Program Workbook

Input

• Flexible work options shortlist

Output

• Final flexible work options list

Materials

• Targeted Flexible Work Program Workbook

Participants

• Flexible work program committee

2.2b Finalize hybrid work parameters

2-3 hours + time to gather employee feedback

Use the guidelines on the preceding slides to gather final feedback and finalize work option selections.

1. Summarize feasibility analysis. On the "Program Parameters" tab, record the main insights from your feasibility analysis. Finalize important elements, including eligibility for hybrid/remote work by employee segment. Additionally, record the standard parameters for the program (i.e. those that apply to all employee segments) and variable parameters (i.e. ones that differ by employee segment).

Download the Fast-Track Hybrid Work Program Workbook

Input

• Hybrid work feasibility analysis

Output

• Final hybrid work program parameters

Materials

• Fast-Track Hybrid Work Program Workbook

Participants

• Flexible work program committee

Step 3

Implement selected option(s)

1. Assess employee and organizational flexibility needs
2. Identify potential flex options and assess feasibility
3. Implement selected option(s)

After completing this step, you will have:

• Addressed implementation issues and cultural barriers
• Equipped the organization to adopt flexible work options successfully
• Piloted the program and assessed its success
• Developed a plan for program rollout and communication
• Established a program evaluation plan
• Aligned HR programs to support the program

Solve the implementation issues identified in your feasibility assessment

1. Identify a solution for each implementation issue documented in the Targeted Flexible Work Program Workbook. Consider the following when identifying solutions:
   • Scope: Determine whether the solution will be applied to one or all employee segments.
   • Stakeholders: Identify stakeholders to consult and develop a solution. If the scope is one employee segment, work with organizational leaders of that segment. When the scope is the entire organization, consult with senior leaders.
   • Implementation: Collaborate with stakeholders to solve implementation issues. Balance the organizational and employee needs, referring to data gathered in Steps 1 and 2.

Address cultural barriers by involving leaders

To shift a culture that is not supportive of flexible work, involve leaders in setting an example for employees to follow.

Shift symbols, values, and behaviors

• Work with senior leaders to identify symbols, values, and behaviors to modify to align with the selected flexible work options.
• Validate that the final list aligns with your organization's mission, vision, and values.

Info-Tech Insight

Leaders' collective support of the flexible program determines the program's successful adoption. Don't sweep cultural barriers under the rug; acknowledge and address them to overcome them.

Equip the organization for successful implementation

Info-Tech recommends providing managers and employees with a guide to flexible work, introducing policies, and providing training for managers.

3.1 Prepare for implementation

2-3 hours

Use the guidelines on the preceding slides to brainstorm solutions to implementation issues and prepare to communicate program rollout to stakeholders.

1. Solve implementation issues.
   • If you are working with the Targeted Flexible Work Program Workbook: For each implementation challenge identified on the "Final Options List" tab, brainstorm solutions. If you are working with the Fast-Track Hybrid Work Program Workbook: Work through the program enablement prompts on the "Program Enablement" tab.
   • You may need to involve relevant stakeholders to help you come up with appropriate solutions for each employee segment.
   • Ensure that any anticipated cultural barriers have been documented and are addressed during this step. Don't underestimate the importance of a supportive organizational culture to the successful rollout of flexible work.
2. Prepare the employee guide. Modify the Guide to Flexible Work for Managers and Employees template to reflect your final work options list and the processes and expectations employees will need to follow.
3. Create a communication plan. Use Info-Tech's Communicate Any IT Initiative blueprint and Appendix II to craft your messaging.

Download the Guide to Flexible Work for Managers and Employees

Download the Targeted Flexible Work Program Workbook

Input

• Flexible work options final list

Output

• Employee guide to flexible work
• Flexible work rollout communication plan

Materials

• Guide to Flexible Work for Managers and Employees
• Targeted Flexible Work Program Workbook
  Or
• Fast-Track Hybrid Work Program Workbook

Participants

• Flexible work program committee
• Employee segment managers

Run an IT pilot for flexible work

Assess the pilot's success and determine next steps

Review the feedback collected on the previous slide and use this decision tree to decide whether to relaunch a pilot or proceed to a full-scale rollout of the program.

Prepare for full-scale rollout

If you have run a team pilot prior to rolling out to all of IT, or run an IT pilot before an organizational rollout, use the following steps to transition from pilot to full rollout.

1. Determine modifications
   • Review the feedback gathered during the pilot and determine what needs to change for a full-scale implementation.
   • Update HR policies and programs to support flexible work. Work closely with your HR business partner and other organizational leaders to ensure every department's needs are understood and compliance issues are addressed.
2. Roll out and evaluate
   • Roll out the remainder of the program (e.g. to other employee segments or additional flexible work options) once there is significant uptake of the pilot by the target employee group and issues have been addressed.
   • Determine how feedback will be gathered after implementation, such as during engagement surveys, new hire and exit surveys, stay interviews, etc., and assess whether the program continues to meet employee and organizational needs.

Rolling out beyond IT

For a rollout beyond IT, HR will likely take over.

However, this is your chance to remain at the forefront of your organization's flexible work efforts by continuing to track success and gather feedback within IT.

Align HR programs and organizational policies to support flexible work

Organizational policies

Determine which organizational policies will be impacted as a result of the new flexible work options. For example, the introduction of flex time off can result in existing vacation policies needing to be updated.

Plan to re-evaluate the program and make improvements

Collect data

Info-Tech Insight

Negative performance of a flexible work option does not necessarily mean failure. Take the time to evaluate whether the option simply needs to be tweaked or whether it truly isn't working for the organization.

Insight summary

Overarching insight: IT excels at hybrid location work and is more effective as a business function when location, time, and time-off flexibility are an option for its employees.

Introduction

• Flexible work options are not a concession to lower productivity. Properly implemented, flex work enables employees to be more productive at reaching business goals.
• Employees' lived experiences and needs determine if people use flexible work programs – a flex program that has limited use or excludes people will not benefit the organization.
• Flexible work benefits everyone. IT employees experience greater engagement, motivation, and company loyalty. IT organizations realize benefits such as better service coverage, reduced facilities costs, and increased productivity.

Step 1 insight

• Hybrid work is a start. A comprehensive flex work program extends beyond flexible location to flexible time and time off. Organizations must understand the needs of unique employee groups to uncover the options that will attract and retain talent. Provide greater inclusivity to employees by broadening the scope to include flex location, flex time, and flex time off.
• No two employee segments are the same. To be effective, flexible work options must align with the expectations and working processes of each segment.

Step 2 insight

• Every role is eligible for hybrid location work. If onsite work duties prevent an employee group from participating, see if processes can be digitized or automated. Flexible work is an opportunity to go beyond current needs to future proofing your organization.
• Flexible work options must balance organizational and employee needs. If an option is beneficial to employees but there is little or no benefit to the organization, or if the cost of the option is too high, it will not support the long-term success of the organization.
• Prioritize flexible work options that employees want. Providing too many options often leads to information overload and results in employees not understanding what is available, lowering adoption of the flexible work program.

Step 3 insight

• Leaders' collective support of the flexible program determines the program's successful adoption. Don't sweep cultural barriers under the rug; acknowledge and address them to overcome them.
• Negative performance of a flexible work option does not necessarily mean failure. Take the time to evaluate whether the option simply needs to be tweaked or whether it truly isn't working for the organization.
• A set of formal guidelines for IT ensures flexible work is:
  1. Administered fairly across all IT employees.
  2. Defensible and clear.
  3. Scalable to the rest of the organization.

Research Contributors and Experts

Quinn Ross
CEO
The Ross Firm Professional Corporation

Margaret Yap
HR Professor
Ryerson University

Heather Payne
CEO
Juno College

Lee Nguyen
HR Specialist
City of Austin

Stacey Spruell
Division HR Director
Travis County

Don MacLeod
Chief Administrative Officer
Zorra Township

Stephen Childs
CHRO
Panasonic North America

Shawn Gibson
Sr. Director
Info Tech Research Group

Mari Ryan
CEO/Founder
Advancing Wellness

Sophie Wade
Founder
Flexcel Networks

Kim Velluso
VP Human Resources
Siemens Canada

Lilian De Menezes
Professor of Decision Sciences
Cass Business School, University of London

Judi Casey
WorkLife Consultant and former Director, Work and Family Researchers Network
Boston College

Chris Frame
Partner – Operations
LiveCA

Rose M. Stanley, CCP, CBP, WLCP, CEBS
People Services Manager
Sunstate Equipment Co., LLC

Shari Lava
Director, Vendor Research
Info-Tech Research Group

Carol Cochran
Director of People & Culture
FlexJobs

Kidde Kelly
OD Practitioner

Dr. David Chalmers
Adjunct Professor
Ted Rogers School of Management, Ryerson University

Kashmira Nagarwala
Change Manager
Siemens Canada

Dr. Isik U. Zeytinoglu
Professor of Management and Industrial Relations McMaster University, DeGroote School of Business

Claire McCartney
Diversity & Inclusion Advisor
CIPD

Teresa Hopke
SVP of Client Relations
Life Meets Work – www.lifemeetswork.com

Mark Tippey
IT Leader and Experienced Teleworker

Dr. Kenneth Matos
Senior Director of Research
Families and Work Institute

1 anonymous contributor

Appendix I: Sample focus group questions

See Info-Tech's Focus Group Guidefor guidance on setting up and delivering focus groups. Customize the guide with questions specific to flexible work (see sample questions below) to gain deeper insight into employee preferences for the feasibility assessment in Step 2 of this blueprint.

Document themes in the Targeted Flexible Work Program Workbook.

• What do you need to balance/integrate your work with your personal life?
• What challenges do you face in achieving work-life balance/integration?
• What about your job is preventing you from achieving work-life balance/integration?
• How would [flexible work option] help you achieve work-life balance/integration?
• How well would this option work with the workflow of your team or department? What would need to change?
• What challenges do you see in adopting [flexible work option]?
• What else would be helpful for you to achieve work-life balance/integration?
• How could we customize [flexible work option] to ensure it meets your needs?
• If this program were to fail, what do you think would be the top reasons and why?

Appendix II: Communication key messaging

Works Cited

Baziuk, Jennifer, and Duncan Meadows. "Global Employee Survey - Key findings and implications for ICMIF." EY, June 2021. Accessed May 2022.
"Businesses suffering 'commitment issues' on flexible working," EY, 21 Sep. 2021. Accessed May 2022.
"IT Talent Trends 2022". Info-Tech Research Group, 2022.
"Jabra Hybrid Ways of Working: 2021 Global Report." Jabra, Aug. 2021. Accessed May 2022.
LinkedIn Talent Solutions. "2022 Global Talent Trends." LinkedIn, 2022. Accessed May 2022.
Lobosco, Mark. "The Future of Work is Flexible: 71% of Leaders Feel Pressure to Change Working Models." LinkedIn, 9 Sep. 2021. Accessed May 2022.
Ohm, Joy, et al. "Covid-19: Women, Equity, and Inclusion in the Future of Work." Catalyst, 28 May 2020. Accessed May 2022.
Pelta, Rachel. "Many Workers Have Quit or Plan to After Employers Revoke Remote Work." FlexJobs, 2021. Accessed May 2022.
Slack Future Forum. "Inflexible return-to-office policies are hammering employee experience scores." Slack, 19 April 2022. Accessed May 2022.
"State of Hybrid Work in IT: A Trend Report". Info-Tech Research Group, 2023.
Threlkeld, Kristy. "Employee Burnout Report: COVID-19's Impact and 3 Strategies to Curb It." Indeed, 11 March 2021. Accessed March 2022.

Reduce Shadow IT With a Service Request Catalog

Foster business partnerships with sourcing-as-a-service.

Analyst Perspective

Improve the request management process to reduce shadow IT.

In July 2022, Ivanti conducted a study on the state of the digital employee experience, surveying 10,000 office workers, IT professionals, and C-suite executives. Results of this study indicated that 49% of employees are frustrated by their tools, and 26% of employees were considering quitting their jobs due to unsuitable tech. 42% spent their own money to gain technology to improve their productivity. Despite this, only 21% of IT leaders prioritized user experience when selecting new tools.

Any organization’s workers are expected to be productive and contribute to operational improvements or customer experience. Yet those workers don’t always have the tools needed to do the job. One option is to give the business greater control, allowing them to choose and acquire the solutions that will make them more productive. Info-Tech's blueprint Embrace Business-Managed Applications takes you down this path.

However, if the business doesn’t want to manage applications, but just wants have access to better ones, IT is positioned to provide services for application and equipment sourcing that will improve the employee experience while ensuring applications and equipment are fully managed by the asset, service, and security teams.

Improving the request management and deployment practice can give the business what they need without forcing them to manage license agreements, renewals, and warranties.

Sandi Conrad
ITIL Managing Professional
Principal Research Director, IT Infrastructure & Operations,
Info-Tech Research Group

Your challenge

This research is designed to help organizations that are looking to improve request management processes and reduce shadow IT.

Shadow IT: The IT team is regularly surprised to discover new products within the organization, often when following up on help desk tickets or requests for renewals from business users or vendors.

Renewal management: The contracts and asset teams need to be aware of upcoming renewals and have adequate time to review renewals.

Over-purchasing and over-spending: Contracts may be renewed without a clear picture of utilization, potentially renewing unused applications. Applications or equipment may be purchased at retail price where corporate, government, or educational discounts exist.

Info-Tech Insight

To increase the visibility of the IT environment, IT needs to transform the request management process to create a service that makes it easier for the business to access the tools they need rather than seeking them outside of the organization.

— Source: Zylo, SaaS Trends for IT Leaders, 2022

Common obstacles

Too many layers of approvals and a lack of IT workers makes it difficult to rethink service request fulfillment.

Delays: The business may not be getting the applications they need from IT to do their jobs or must wait too long to get the applications approved.

Denials: Without IT’s support, the business is finding alternative options, including SaaS applications, as they can be bought and used without IT’s input or knowledge.

Threats: Applications that have not been vetted by security or installed without their knowledge may present additional threats to the organization.

Access: Self-serve isn’t mature enough to support an applications catalog.

8: average number of applications entering the organization every 30 days

— Source: Zylo, SaaS Trends for Procurement, 2022

Info-Tech’s approach

Improve the request management process to create sourcing-as-a-service for the business.

• Improve customer service
• Reduce shadow IT
• Gain control in a way that keeps the business happy

Blueprint deliverables

Each step of this blueprint is accompanied by supporting deliverables to help you accomplish your goals:

Create a request management process and service catalog to improve delivery of technology to the business

Assess Your IT Financial Management Maturity Effectively

Influence your organization’s strategic direction.

Analyst Perspective

Make better informed data-driven business decisions.

Technology has been evolving throughout the years, increasing complexity and investments, while putting more stress on operations and people involved. As an IT leader, you are now entrusted to run your outfit as a business, sit at the executive table as a true partner, and be involved in making decisions that best suit your organization. Therefore, you have an obligation to fulfill the needs of your end customers and live up to their expectations, which is not an easy task.

IT financial management (ITFM) helps you generate value to your organization’s clientele by bringing necessary trade-offs to light, while driving effective dialogues with your business partners and leadership team.

This research will focus on Info-Tech’s approach to ITFM maturity, aiming for a state of continuous improvement, where an organization can learn and grow as it adapts to change. As the ITFM practice matures, IT and business leaders will be able to better understand one another and together make better business decisions, driven by data.

This client advisory presentation and accompanying tool seek to support IT leaders and ITFM practitioners in evaluating and improving their current maturity. It will help document both current and target states as well as prioritize focus areas for improvement.

Bilal Alberto Saab Research Director, IT Financial Management Info-Tech Research Group

Executive Summary

The value of ITFM is undermined

ITFM is often discarded and not given enough importance and relevance due to the operational nature of IT, and the specialized skillset of its people, leading to several problems and challenges, such as:

• Unfamiliarity: Lack of knowledge and understanding related to ITFM maturity.
• Shortsightedness: Randomly reacting to changing circumstances.
• Exchange: Inability to consistently drive dialogues.
• Perception: IT is perceived as a cost center instead of a trustworthy strategic partner.

Constructive dialogues with business partners are not the norm

Business-driven conversations around financials (spending, cost, revenue) are a rarity in IT due to several factors, including:

• Foundation: Weak governance, inadequate skillset, and less than perfect processes and tools.
• Data: Lack of adequate taxonomy/data model, alongside inaccurate data leading to poor reporting and insights.
• Language: Lack of a common vocabulary across the organization.
• Organization culture: No alignment, alongside minimal communication and collaboration between IT and business partners.

Follow Info-Tech’s approach to move up the ITFM maturity ladder

Mature your ITFM practice by activating the means to make informed business decisions.

Info-Tech’s methodology helps you move the dial by focusing on three maturity focus areas:

• Build an ITFM Foundation
• Manage and Monitor IT Spending
• Bridge the Language Barrier

Info-Tech Insight

Influence your organization’s strategic direction by maturing your ITFM practice.

What is ITFM?

ITFM is not just about finance.

• ITFM has evolved from traditional budgeting, accounting, and cost optimization; however, it is much more than those activities alone.
• It starts with understanding the financial implications of technology by adopting different perspectives to become adept in communicating with various stakeholders, including finance, business partners, IT managers, and your CEO.
• Armed with this knowledge, ITFM helps you address a variety of questions, such as:
  • How are technology funds being spent?
  • Which projects is IT prioritizing and why?
  • What are the resources needed to speed IT delivery?
  • What’s the value of IT within the organization?
• ITFM’s main objective is thus to improve decision-making capabilities by facilitating communication between IT leaders and stakeholders, while enabling a customer focus attitude throughout the organization.

“ITFM embeds technology in financial management practices. Through cost, demand, and value, ITFM brings technology and business together, forging the necessary relationships and starting the right conversations to enable the best decisions for the organization.”
– Monica Braun, Research Director, Info-Tech Research Group

Your challenge

IT leaders struggle to articulate and communicate business value.

• IT spending is often questioned by different stakeholders, such as business partners and various IT business units. These questions, usually resulting from shifts in business needs, may revolve around investments, expenditures, services, and speed to market, among others. While IT may have an idea about its spending habits, aligning it to the business strategy may prove difficult.
• IT staff often does not have access to, or knowledge of, the business model and its intricacies. In an operational environment, the focus tends to be on technical issues rather than overall value.
• People tend to fear what they do not know. Some business managers may not be comfortable with technology. They do not recognize the implications and ramifications of certain implementations or understand the related terminology, which puts a strain on any conversation.

“Value is not the numbers you visualize on a chart, it’s the dialogue this data generates with your business partners and leadership team.”
– Dave Kish, Practice Lead, Info-Tech Research Group

Technology is constantly evolving

Increasing IT spending and decision-making complexity.

Common obstacles

IT leaders are not able to have constructive dialogues with their stakeholders.

• The way IT funds are spent has changed significantly, moving from the purchase of discrete hardware and software tools to implementing data lakes, cloud solutions, the metaverse and blockchain. This implies larger investments and more critical decisions. Conversations around interoperability, integration, and service-based solutions that focus more on big-picture architecture than day-to-day operations have become the norm.
• Speed to market is now a survival criterion for most organizations, requiring IT to shift rapidly based on changing priorities and customer expectations. This leads to the need for greater financial oversight, with the CFO as the gatekeeper. Today’s IT leaders need to possess both business and financial management savvy to justify their spending with various stakeholders.
• Any IT budget increase is tied to expectations of greater value. Hence, the compelling demands for IT to prove its worth to the business. Promoting value comes in two ways: 1) objectively, based on data, KPIs, and return on investment; and 2) subjectively, based on stakeholder satisfaction, alongside relationships. Building trust, credibility, and confidence can go a long way.

In a technology-driven world, advances come at a price. With greater spending required, more complex and difficult conversations arise.

Constructive dialogues are key

You don’t know what you don’t know.

• IT, being historically focused on operations, has become a hub for technically savvy personnel. On the downside, technology departments are often alien to business, causing problems such as:
  • IT staff have no knowledge of the business model and lack customer focus.
  • Business is not comfortable with technology and related jargon.
• The lack of two-way communication and business alignment is hence an important ramification. If the business does not understand technology, and IT does not speak in business terms, where does that lead us?
• Poor data quality and governance practices, alongside overly manual processes can only exasperate the situation.

IT Spending Survey

79% of respondents believe that decisions taking too long to make is either a significant or somewhat of a challenge (Flexera 2022 Tech Spend Pulse; N=501).

81% of respondents believe that ensuring spend efficiency (avoiding waste) is either a challenge or somewhat of a challenge (Flexera 2022 Tech Spend Pulse; N=501).

ITFM is trailing behind

IT leaders must learn to speak business.

In today’s world, where organizations are driving customer experience through technology investments, having a seat at the table means IT leaders must be well versed in business language and practice, including solid financial management skills.

However, IT staff across all industries aren’t very confident in how well IT is doing in managing its finances. This becomes evident after looking at three core processes:

• Demonstrating IT’s value to the business.
• Accounting of costs and budgets.
• Optimizing costs to gain the best return on investment.

Recent data from 4,137 respondents to Info-Tech’s IT Management & Governance Diagnostic shows that while most IT staff feel that these three financial management processes are important, notably fewer feel that IT management is effective at executing on them.

IT leadership’s capabilities around fundamental cost data capture appear to be lagging, not to mention the essential value-added capabilities around optimizing costs and demonstrating IT’s contribution to business value.

Source: Info-Tech Research Group, IT Management & Governance Diagnostic, 2023.

Info-Tech’s approach

We take a holistic approach to ITFM and support you throughout your maturity journey.

The Info-Tech difference:

• Info-Tech has a methodology and set of tools that will help assess your ITFM maturity and take the first step in developing an improvement plan. We have identified three maturity focus areas:
  • Build an ITFM Foundation
  • Manage and Monitor IT Spending
  • Bridge the Language Barrier
• No matter where you currently stand in your ITFM practice, there is always room for improvement. Hence, a maturity assessment should be viewed as a self-improvement tool, which is only valuable if you are willing to act on it.

Note: See Appendix A for maturity level definitions and descriptions.

Climb the maturity ladder

By growing along three maturity focus areas.

Info-Tech identified three maturity focus areas, each containing three levers.

Identify where you stand across the nine maturity levers, detect the gaps, and determine your priorities as a first step to develop an improvement plan.

Note: See Appendix B for maturity level definitions and descriptions per lever.

Key project deliverables

Each step of this activity is accompanied by supporting deliverables to help you accomplish your goals.

IT Financial Management Maturity Assessment Report Template

IT Financial Management Maturity Assessment Tool

Measure the value of this activity

Reach your 12-month maturity target.

• Determine your 12-month maturity target, identify your gaps, and set your priorities.
• Use the ITFM maturity assessment to kickstart your improvement plan by developing actionable initiatives.
• Implement your initiatives and monitor your progress to reach your 12-month target.

Build your improvement plan and implement your initiatives to move the dial and climb the maturity ladder.

Info-Tech offers various levels of support to best suit your needs

Step 1

Prepare for the ITFM maturity assessment

Content Overview

1. Identify your stakeholders
2. Set the context
3. Determine the methodology
4. Identify assessment takers

This step involves the following participants:

• CIO/IT director
• CFO/finance director
• IT finance lead
• IT audit lead
• Other IT management

1. Prepare to take the ITFM maturity assessment

3 hours

Input: Understanding your context, objectives, and methodology

Output: ITFM maturity assessment stakeholders and their objectives, ITFM maturity assessment methodology, ITFM maturity assessment takers

Materials: 1a. Prepare for Assessment tab in the ITFM Maturity Assessment Tool

Participants: CIO/IT director, CFO/finance director, IT finance lead, IT audit lead, Other IT management

1. Identify your stakeholders and document it in the ITFM Maturity Assessment Tool (see next slides). We recommend having representatives from different business units across the organization, most notably IT, IT finance, finance, and IT audit.
2. Set the context with your stakeholders and document it in the ITFM Maturity Assessment Tool. Discuss the reason behind taking the ITFM maturity assessment among the various stakeholders. Why do each of your stakeholders want to take the assessment? What are their main objectives? What would they like to achieve?
3. Determine the methodology and document it in the ITFM Maturity Assessment Tool. Discuss how you want to go about taking the assessment with your stakeholders. Do you want to have representatives from each business unit take the assessment individually, then share and discuss their findings? Do you prefer forming a working group with representatives from each business unit and go through the assessment together? Or does any of your stakeholders have a different suggestion? You will have to consider the effort, skillset, and knowledge required.
4. Identify the assessment takers and document it in the ITFM Maturity Assessment Tool. Determine who will be taking the assessment (specific names of stakeholders). Consider their availability, knowledge, and skills.

Download the IT Financial Management Maturity Assessment Tool

TEMPLATE & EXAMPLE

Document your stakeholders, objectives, and methodology

Excel Workbook: ITFM Maturity Assessment Tool – Prepare for Assessment worksheet

Refer to the example and guidelines below on how to document stakeholders, objectives, and methodology (table range: columns B to G and rows 8 to 15).

Review the following in the Excel workbook as per guidelines:

1. Navigate to the 1a. Prepare for Assessment tab.
2. Enter the full names and job titles of the ITFM maturity assessment stakeholders.
3. Document the maturity assessment objective of each of your stakeholders.
4. Document the agreed-upon methodology.

Download the IT Financial Management Maturity Assessment Tool

TEMPLATE & EXAMPLE

Document your assessment takers

Excel Workbook: ITFM Maturity Assessment Tool – Prepare for Assessment worksheet

Refer to the example and guidelines below on how to document assessment takers (table range: columns B to E and rows 18 to 25).

Review the following in the Excel workbook as per guidelines:

1. Navigate to the 1a. Prepare for Assessment tab.
2. Enter the full name of each assessment taker, along with the job title of the stakeholder they are representing.

Download the IT Financial Management Maturity Assessment Tool

Step 2

Take the ITFM maturity assessment

Content Overview

1. Complete the survey
2. Review your assessment results
3. Determine your priorities

This step involves the following participants:

• CIO/IT director
• CFO/finance director
• IT finance lead
• IT audit lead
• Other IT management

2. Take the ITFM maturity assessment

3 hours

Input: Understanding of your ITFM current state and 12-month target state, ITFM maturity assessment results

Output: ITFM current- and target-state maturity levels, average scores, and variance, ITFM current- and target-state average scores, variance, and priority by maturity focus area and maturity lever

Materials: 1b. Glossary, 2a. Assess ITFM Foundation, 2b. Assess Mngt. & Monitoring, 2c. Assess Language, and 3. Assessment Summary tabs in the ITFM Maturity Assessment Tool

Participants: CIO/IT director, CFO/finance director, IT finance lead, IT audit lead, Other IT management

1. Complete the survey: select the current and target state of each statement – refer to the glossary as needed for definitions of key terms – in the ITFM Maturity Assessment Tool (see next slides). There are three tabs (one per maturity focus area) with three tables each (nine maturity levers). Review and discuss statements with all assessment takers: consider variations, differing opinions, and reach an agreement on each statement inputs.
2. Review assessment results: navigate to the Assessment Summary tab in the ITFM maturity assessment tool (see next slides) to view your results. Review and discuss with all assessment takers: consider any shocking output and adjust survey input if necessary.
3. Determine your priorities: decide on the priority (Low/Medium/High) by maturity focus area and/or maturity lever. Rank your maturity focus area priorities from 1 to 3 and your maturity lever priorities from 1 to 9. Consider the feasibility in terms of timeframe, effort, and skillset required, positive and negative impacts on business and technology, likelihood of failure, and necessary approvals. Document your priorities in the ITFM maturity assessment tool (see next slides).
   Review and discuss priorities with all assessment takers: consider variations, differing opinions, and reach an agreement on each priority.

Download the IT Financial Management Maturity Assessment Tool

TEMPLATE & EXAMPLE

Complete the survey

Excel workbook: ITFM Maturity Assessment Tool – Survey worksheets

Refer to the example and guidelines below on how to complete the survey.

Review the following in the Excel workbook as per guidelines:

1. Navigate to the survey tabs: 2a. Assess ITFM Foundation, 2b. Assess Management and Monitoring, and 2c. Assess Language.
2. Select the appropriate current and target maturity levels.
3. Add any notes or comments per ITFM maturity statement where necessary or helpful.

Download the IT Financial Management Maturity Assessment Tool

TEMPLATE & EXAMPLE

Review your overall result

Excel Workbook: ITFM Maturity Assessment Tool – Assessment Summary worksheet

Refer to the example and guidelines below on how to review your results.

Review the following in the Excel workbook as per guidelines:

1. Navigate to tab 3. Assessment Summary.
2. Review your overall current state and target state result along with the corresponding variance.

Download the IT Financial Management Maturity Assessment Tool

TEMPLATE & EXAMPLE

Set your priorities

Excel Workbook: ITFM Maturity Assessment Tool – Assessment Summary worksheet

Refer to the example and guidelines below on how to review your results per maturity focus area and maturity lever, then prioritize accordingly.

Review the following in the Excel workbook as per guidelines:

1. Navigate to tab 3. Assessment Summary.
2. Review your current-state and target-state result along with the corresponding variance per maturity focus area and maturity lever.
3. Select the appropriate priority for each maturity focus area and maturity lever.
4. Enter a unique rank for each maturity focus area (1 to 3).
5. Enter a unique rank for each maturity lever (1 to 9).

Download the IT Financial Management Maturity Assessment Tool

Step 3

Communicate your ITFM maturity results

Content Overview

1. Review your assessment charts
2. Customize the assessment report
3. Communicate your results

This step involves the following participants:

• CIO/IT director
• CFO/finance director
• IT finance lead
• IT audit lead
• Other IT management

3. Communicate your ITFM maturity results

3 hours

Input: ITFM maturity assessment results

Output: Customized ITFM maturity assessment report

Materials: 3. Assessment Summary tab in the ITFM Maturity Assessment Tool, ITFM Maturity Assessment Report Template

Participants: CIO/IT director, CFO/finance director, IT finance lead, IT audit lead, Other IT management

1. Review assessment charts: navigate to the Assessment Summary tab in the ITFM Maturity Assessment Tool (see next slides) to view your results and related charts.
2. Edit the report template: complete the template based on your results and priorities to develop your customized ITFM maturity assessment report (see next slide).
3. Communicate results: communicate and deliberate the assessment results with assessment takers at a first stage, and with your stakeholders at a second stage. The objective is to agree on next steps, including developing an improvement plan.

Download the IT Financial Management Maturity Assessment Tool

TEMPLATE & EXAMPLE

Review assessment charts

Excel Workbook: ITFM Maturity Assessment Tool – Assessment Summary worksheet

Refer to the example below on charts depicting different views of the maturity assessment results across the three focus areas and nine levers.

From the Excel workbook, after completing your potential initiatives and filling all related entries in the Outline Initiatives tab:

1. Navigate to tab 3. Assessment Summary.
2. Review each of the charts.
3. Navigate back to the survey tabs to examine, drill down, and amend individual entries as you deem necessary.

Download the IT Financial Management Maturity Assessment Tool

TEMPLATE & EXAMPLE

Customize your report

PowerPoint presentation: ITFM Maturity Assessment Report Template

Refer to the example below on slides depicting different views of the maturity assessment results across the three maturity focus areas and nine maturity levers.

Slide 6: Edit levels based on your assessment results. Copy and paste the appropriate maturity level definition and description from slide 4.

Slide 7: Copy related charts from the assessment summary tab in the Excel workbook and remove the chart title. You can use the “Outer Offset: Bottom” shadow under shape effects on the chart.

Slide 8: Copy related charts from the assessment summary tab in the Excel workbook and remove the chart title and legend. You can use the “Outer Offset: Center” shadow under shape effects on the chart.

From the ITFM Maturity Assessment Report Template:

1. Edit the report based on your results found in the assessment summary tab of the Excel workbook (see previous slide).
2. Review slides 6 to 8 and bring necessary adjustments.

Download the IT Financial Management Maturity Assessment Report Template

Make informed business decisions

Take a holistic approach to ITFM.

• A thorough understanding of your technology spending in relation to business needs and drivers is essential to make informed decisions. As a trusted partner, you cannot have effective conversations around budgets and cost optimization without a solid foundation.
• It is important to realize that ITFM is not a one-time exercise, but a continuous, sustainable process to educate (teach, mentor, and train), increase transparency, and assign responsibility.
• Move up the ITFM maturity ladder by improving across three maturity focus areas:
  • Build an ITFM Foundation
  • Manage and Monitor IT Spending
  • Bridge the Language Barrier

What’s Next?

Communicate your maturity results with stakeholders and develop an actionable ITFM improvement plan.

And remember, having informed discussions with your business partners and stakeholders, where technology helps propel your organization forward, is priceless!

IT Financial Management Team

	Dave Kish Practice Lead, ITFM Practice Info-Tech Research Group
	Jennifer Perrier Principal Research Director, ITFM Practice Info-Tech Research Group
	Angie Reynolds Principal Research Director, ITFM Practice Info-Tech Research Group
	Monica Braun Research Director, ITFM Practice Info-Tech Research Group
	Rex Ding Research Specialist, ITFM Practice Info-Tech Research Group
	Aman Kumari Research Specialist, ITFM Practice Info-Tech Research Group

Research Contributors and Experts

	Amy Byalick Vice President, IT Finance Info-Tech Research Group	Amy Byalick is an IT Finance practitioner with 15 years of experience supporting CIOs and IT leaders elevating the IT financial storytelling and unlocking insights. Amy is currently working at Johnson Controls as the VP, IT Finance, previously working at PepsiCo, AmerisourceBergen, and Jacobs.
	Carol Carr Technical Counselor, Executive Services Info-Tech Research Group
	Scott Fairholm Executive Counselor, Executive Services Info-Tech Research Group
	Gokul Rajan Executive Counselor, Executive Services Info-Tech Research Group
	Allison Kinnaird Practice Lead, Infrastructure & Operations Info-Tech Research Group
	Isabelle Hertanto Practice Lead, Security & Privacy Info-Tech Research Group

Related Info-Tech Research

	Achieve IT Spending Transparency Mature your ITFM practice by activating the means to make informed business decisions.
	Build Your IT Cost Optimization Roadmap Develop an IT cost optimization strategy based on your specific circumstances and timeline.

Bibliography

Eby, Kate. “The Complete Guide to Organizational Maturity: Models, Levels, and Assessments.” Smartsheet, 8 June 2022. Web.

“Financial Management Maturity Model.” National Audit Office, n.d. Accessed 28 Apr. 2023.

“ITFM/TBM Program Maturity Guide.” Nicus Software, n.d. Accessed 28 Apr. 2023.

Jouravlev, Roman. "Service Financial Management: ITIL 4 Practice Guide." Axelos, 2020.

McCarthy, Seamus. “Financial Management Maturity Model: A Good Practice Guide.” Office of the Comptroller & Auditor General, 26 June 2018. Web.

“Principles for Effective Risk Data Aggregation and Risk Reporting.“ Bank for International Settlements, Jan. 2013. Web.

“Role & Influence of the Technology Decision-Maker 2022.” Foundry, 2022. Web.

Stackpole, Beth. “State of the CIO, 2022: Focus turns to IT fundamentals.” CIO, 21 March 2022. Web.

“Tech Spend Pulse.” Flexera, 2022. Web.

Appendix A

Definition and Description
Per Maturity Level

ITFM maturity levels and definitions

Appendix B

Maturity Level Definitions and Descriptions
Per Lever

Establish your ITFM team

Maturity focus area: Build an ITFM foundation.

Set up your governance structure

Maturity focus area: Build an ITFM foundation

Adopt ITFM processes and tools

Maturity focus area: Build an ITFM foundation.

Standardize your taxonomy and data model

Maturity focus area: Manage and monitor IT spending.

Identify, gather, and prepare your data

Maturity focus area: Manage and monitor IT spending.

Analyze your findings and develop your reports

Maturity focus area: Manage and monitor IT spending.

Communicate your IT spending

Maturity focus area: Bridge the language barrier.

Educate the masses

Maturity focus area: Bridge the language barrier.

Influence your organization’s culture

Maturity focus area: Bridge the language barrier.