Configuring groups in Workforce Optimization for ITSM
Summarize
Summary of Configuring groups in Workforce Optimization for ITSM
Workforce Optimization for ITSM enables managers to centrally manage and optimize their workforce by organizing employees into groups. These groups represent different teams or organizational levels and form the foundation for routing work, scheduling, training, and workforce analysis within the platform.
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Key Features
- Groups as Assignment Groups: Groups correspond to assignment groups in the User Groups [sysusergroup] table. A team member can belong to multiple groups but must have one primary assignment group to view schedules and participate fully.
- Primary Assignment Group: Each team member must have one group designated as their primary assignment group. This setting controls access to team calendars in the Service Operations Workspace and influences coaching and approval activities.
- Manager Assignments: Each group requires a direct manager responsible for overseeing the team. Additionally, multiple managers can be assigned as “additional managers” to gain visibility without direct management responsibilities.
- Visibility and Access: Users see only their teams and related information when logging into Workforce Optimization for ITSM, ensuring relevant and secure data presentation.
Practical Considerations for Implementation
- Identify Teams: Define your organizational teams clearly and create corresponding groups in the system for each.
- Assign Primary Groups to Members: Ensure every team member has an assigned primary group to enable schedule visibility and KPI tracking.
- Assign Managers Properly: Designate one direct manager per group and optionally assign additional managers for broader oversight.
- Regional Grouping: For distributed teams (e.g., different regions such as Americas, Asia-Pacific, and EMEA), create separate groups and assign members accordingly.
Key Outcomes
- Centralized workforce management with clear team structures.
- Improved scheduling and workload routing based on precise group assignments.
- Enhanced visibility into team performance and activities for managers and additional managers.
- Accurate KPI metrics visibility for agents tied to their primary assignment groups.
As a manager, you can manage and optimize your entire workforce using Workforce Optimization for ITSM from one central location. Organizing your teams, for example, different levels of employees in your organizational chart, into groups is the foundation on which Workforce Optimization for ITSM operates.
Therefore, after you set up your teams as groups in Workforce Optimization for ITSM, as a manager, you can route work, set up schedules, train your teams, and analyze all aspects of your workforce from one location.
Planning for your Workforce Optimization for ITSM implementation
- Identify your teams
Define the different teams within your organizations that you want to manage. Each of these teams will be configured as a group in the User Groups [sys_user_group] table. When a user logs into Workforce Optimization for ITSM, the workspace will only display the logged-in user's teams and information related to those teams.
- Assign a primary assignment group for each member of your team
A team member can belong to multiple groups but you must identify one group identified as the primary group for each team member and assign it to them. This determines which assignment group's team calendar that the team member can view in the Schedules module in Service Operations Workspace and also determines activities such as coaching and approvals. For more information on setting a primary assignment group, see Assign a primary assignment group for each agent.
The following image shows a representation of assigning a primary group to a team member who belongs to more than one group.
- Add a manager to each group
Each team must have a manager assigned. This manager is someone who would directly oversee the team.
- Add additional managers to each group
For each group that you create, you can also add managers who don’t directly manage the group but need visibility into those groups. These managers are known as additional managers.
If you have three teams in different regions and the first team is in Americas (AMS), the second one is in Asia-Pacific (APJ) and the third one is in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA), you must create an assignment group for each one of them and also associate each team member to one of the groups as their primary assignment group. You can also associate more managers to a team although they may not directly manage that team. These managers are referred to as additional managers who have visibility into the what the team does.