---
sourceDocument: Australia IT Service Management
sourceDocumentLink: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/australia/it-service-management

 Release :

    - australia

ft:locale :

    - en-US

ft:publication_title :

    - Australia IT Service Management

ft:clusterId :

    - itsm

bundleId :

    - itsm

workflow :

    - Technology


---

# Explore

# Exploring Workforce Optimization for ITSM {#ariaid-title1}

Release version: Australia  
Updated March 12, 2026  
![](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/portal-asset/ico-clock) 3 minutes to read
Summarize  
![AI sparkle icon](https://servicenow.com/docs/portal-asset/ai-sparkle-icon) Summarized using AI  
This content was generated using new OpenAI-powered functionality. Results are provided on an as is basis and are not guaranteed to be accurate or complete.  

## Summary of Exploring Workforce Optimization for ITSM

Workforce Optimization for ITSM helps ServiceNow customers efficiently manage and optimize their IT service management teams.
It enables managers to monitor demand for agents and skills, assess and coach agents, schedule shifts, and track team performance---all from a unified platform.
Agents gain self-service capabilities to manage their schedules, request time off, and swap shifts, enhancing operational flexibility and responsiveness.
Show full answer Show less  
**Important:** Starting with the Brazil release, Workforce Optimization for ITSM will be deprecated for new instances but will continue to be supported on existing ones.

## Key Features

* **Channel Management:** Route work to groups based on skills, monitor team activity and performance in real time, and manage pending work queues.
* **Scheduling:** Access team calendars, assign shifts and breaks, approve time-off and shift swaps, and publish schedules to ensure proper coverage.
* **Work Scheduler:** Plan and assign work items based on skills, availability, capacity, and time zones using matching rules to optimize workload distribution.
* **Teams:** Monitor team performance trends with KPI groups, analyze individual agent metrics, view agent profiles and skills, and identify coaching needs.
* **Coaching and Skills Assessment:** Use Predictive Intelligence to recommend skill development, automate skill assessments, create coaching opportunities, track training progress, and address skill gaps.

## Getting Started

Each module includes guided tasks to help you quickly implement Workforce Optimization for ITSM:

* Channel Management: Automatically route work to the correct groups.
* Scheduling: Manage team schedules effectively.
* Work Scheduler: Assign and reassign work with precision.
* Teams: Analyze team and individual performance metrics.
* Coaching: Develop agent skills through targeted training.

These capabilities collectively enable ServiceNow customers to enhance team productivity, improve service coverage, and build agent expertise to meet customer demands efficiently.  
Use Workforce Optimization for ITSM to optimize your workforce and manage your teams efficiently. Coach your teams so that they gain the skills that let you address the demands from your customers. Efficiently schedule your
teams work to provide better coverage with integrated channel management.  
Important:  
Starting with the Brazil release, Workforce Optimization for ITSM is being prepared for future deprecation. It will be hidden and no longer installed on new instances but will continue to be supported. For details, see the [Deprecation Process \[KB0867184\]](https://support.servicenow.com/kb_view.do?sysparm_article=KB0867184) article in the Now Support Knowledge Base.

## Workforce Optimization for ITSM overview {#exploring-workforce-optimization-wfo-itsm__section_dmq_1bs_byb}

As a manager, you can monitor the demand for agents and skills in your organization to resolve issues. Assess agent skills, identify areas where they need improvement and provide training to enhance their skills set. Track your
teams performance, and manage the schedule of all agents in your assignment group---all from a unified location.

As an agent, you can manage your own schedule, access the schedules of your peers and request time off or shift swaps.

To plan for your Workforce Optimization for ITSM implementation, see [Getting started with Workforce Optimization for ITSM](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/l1LGwKXOhii3~_9wvR57Zg "Learn the basics of getting Workforce Optimization for ITSM up and running.").

## Workforce Optimization for ITSM workflow {#exploring-workforce-optimization-wfo-itsm__section_emq_1bs_byb}

The image displays the manager workflow between the different modules in Workforce Optimization for ITSM. Each of these modules can be used independently or together in the application.
Figure 1. Workforce Optimization for ITSM workflow

## Channel Management {#exploring-workforce-optimization-wfo-itsm__section_p1l_xw5_plb}

Monitor your team in real time and jump in to help when there's a need.  
Using this application, you can also:

* Route work to specific groups based on agent skills
* Review real-time performance as the team is actively working on tasks across channels
* Monitor pending work items in a queue
{#exploring-workforce-optimization-wfo-itsm__ul_q1l_xw5_plb}

## Scheduling {#exploring-workforce-optimization-wfo-itsm__section_fj2_13w_dlb}

Access the calendar of your teams to know which agents are scheduled for coverage and which agents have taken time off.  
Using the application, you can also:

* Assign agents to shifts
* Define break time
* Preview and publish team schedule
* Approve agent time-off or shift-swap requests
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## Work scheduler {#exploring-workforce-optimization-wfo-itsm__section_hh2_qvx_yxb}

Plan your teams' work and assign work items based on their skills, availability, capacity, and time zone.  
Using the application, you can also:

* View your teams' shifts, events, and work assignments
* Assign or reassign work items from a central location
* Use matching rules to rank team members
* Add criteria for matching rules to assign work items based on the rules
{#exploring-workforce-optimization-wfo-itsm__ul_ih2_qvx_yxb}

## Teams {#exploring-workforce-optimization-wfo-itsm__section_fq2_c3w_dlb}

Monitor performance trends for your teams using KPI groups. Create a set of KPIs and apply them to all groups within a team and assess team performance from one location.  
Using the application, you can also:

* Identify all the teams that you manage as well as the ones you have visibility into
* Analyze KPIs that are crucial for your team
* Drill into agents within each team and monitor their performance
* Access the profile of each agent to view details such as their manager, peers, and assignment groups
* Drill down into the skills for each agent or recommend them for coaching
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## Coaching and Skills Assessment {#exploring-workforce-optimization-wfo-itsm__section_nzn_c3w_dlb}

Enhance the quality of work done by your agents using Coaching. Use Predictive Intelligence to recommend skills based on issues the agents have resolved. Create coaching opportunities based on the recommendation and train the agents to acquire those skills.

Using this application, you can also:  
* Automate the scoring, grading, and assessment of agent skills
* Use coaching opportunities to create assessments
* Track training assigned to agents based on their assessments
* Analyze the skill gap and recommend training
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## Getting started with Workforce Optimization for ITSM {#exploring-workforce-optimization-wfo-itsm__section_q43_hrx_yxb}

Easily find tasks that you must complete in a module in Workforce Optimization for ITSM.{#exploring-workforce-optimization-wfo-itsm__table_hfy_tb2_wxb__entry__3}

| Workforce Optimization for ITSM modules | Benefit | Finding tasks to complete in the module |
|-|-|-|
| Channels | Automatically route work to assigned groups | [Getting started with Channels in Workforce Optimization for ITSM](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/~zel6mdnvaJpOKB2iXf~0A "Learn how you can use channels to route work to specific groups and with skill-based routing make sure that the right work goes to the right agent. Monitor the health of your queues reviewing real-time performance and jumping in to help with escalations.") |
| Schedule | Schedule your teams' work using Schedule | [Getting started with Scheduling in Workforce Optimization for ITSM](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/UcKjhxove4CCiiDCG~Mk3g "Learn how you can plan shifts with automatically staggered break times for your agents to manage their schedule effectively in Workforce Optimization for ITSM. Publish schedules for the next scheduling period to get a snapshot of which agent is lined up to solve issues for that time period.") |
| Work Scheduler | Assign work using Work scheduler | [Getting started with Work scheduler in Workforce Optimization for ITSM](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/dBEvBS6yv0LqVzcAhqFZkA "Manage the work of all your teams from a central location. You can get visibility into your entire teams’ workload. You can assess the complexity level of your teams' tasks, their capacity to take on the work, and assign or reassign work—all from a calendar interface.") |
| Teams | Analyze team performance using Teams | [Getting started with Teams in Workforce Optimization for ITSM](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/6iN_PwyROzXHWlHF~kOoeg "Learn how you can organize each of your teams into assignment groups. You can then define a set of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to analyze the performance of all groups within that team. Drill into the metrics for a group, an agent, or an incident within that team—all from a central location.") |
| Coaching | Train your teams with Coaching with Learning | [Getting started with Coaching in Workforce Optimization for ITSM](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/oIMScP7tQlZ3Flm5mwfsew "Learn how you can review and assess the quality of the interactions and tasks completed by your teams. You can enhance the skills set of your teams by assigning training that is based on those assessments. You can also add skills to the profiles of your teams after they get trained.") |
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