1. About this document
It is split into five main sections, covering:
- general information about the practice
- the practice’s processes and activities and their roles in the service value chain
- the organizations and people involved in the practice
- the information and technology supporting the practice
- considerations for partners and suppliers for the practice.
1. 1 ITIL® 4 qualification scheme
Selected content from this document is examinable as a part of the following syllabus:
- ITIL Specialist Drive Stakeholder Value
Please refer to the respective syllabus document for details.
2. General information
2. 1 Purpose and description
Key message
The purpose of the relationship management practice is to establish and nurture the links between the organization and its stakeholders at strategic and tactical levels. It includes the identification, analysis, monitoring, and continual improvement of relationships with and between stakeholders.
The relationship management practice is focused on ensuring successful relationships within an organization, as well as between an organization and external parties, including: customers, users, partners, suppliers, and others. To make this possible, this practice aims to establish a common approach to relationships and relationship management that can be adopted and followed across the organization. This approach is an important component of an organization’s culture.
In the context of an organization’s culture, the relationship management practice may include:
- shared or mutually recognized goals
- no-blame cooperation and collaboration
- continuous learning
- open and transparent communications
- conflict prevention and mediation.
The relationship management practice can address the relationships between individuals, teams, or larger groups of stakeholders. The identification and management of stakeholders and their interests is also an important aspect of this practice. Stakeholders may include:
- internal teams and individual team members
- managers
- executives
- auditors and other controls
- shareholders
- customers
- users
- sponsors
- investors and shareholders
- governments and regulators
- competitors
- partners and suppliers
- various social groups
- professional communities.
Both internal and external relationship management practices should address the cultural differences between the individuals and groups involved, as well as other differentiating factors, including whether the relationship is:
- commercial or non-commercial
- formal or informal
- group or individual
- direct or indirect
- professional or personal
- voluntary or compulsory
- equal or hierarchical.
There are multiple typologies for relationship management based on these and other factors, and organizations adopt the most relevant and effective approaches for particular situations.
Key message
Any type of relationship is an interaction between people, therefore, human nature and values should be accounted for whenever people connect with each other.
2.2 Terms and concepts
2.2.1 Types of relationships
People interact and relate to others within organizations in different ways. Most people are likely involved in several relationships, performing a range of roles that can conflict with one another. Organizations are complex systems which consist of several smaller systems. Every person or group participates in several subsystems and every group itself forms a system.
There are a few types of relationships that may be noticed within an organization. As organizations are complex, some relationship types will overlap and it is not easy to arrange clear boundaries between these types. Yet, it is useful to be able to distinguish and be aware of the relationship types necessary to build an environment where relationships serve organizational goals and continually evolve.
2.2.1.1 Relationship between individuals and teams
Individuals in both permanent and temporary teams build relationships that are influenced by their individual cultures, as well as the cultures of their team and organization. Every type of relationship is driven by implicit and explicit norms and expectations regarding exchange, equity, intimacy, commitment, trust, coordination, and communication.
Social exchange theory argues that individuals only pursue relationships for as long as the relationship is satisfactory in terms of the rewards and cost. Yet, the reward and cost of the relationship depends on the type of relationship. Relationships can be characterized as either communal or exchange oriented, and these two types define differences in norms and expectations between the relationship partners.
Exchange relationships are transactional and utility-oriented. It is commonly assumed that workplace and business relationships are examples of an exchange relationship.
Communal relationships usually provide benefits in response to needs (for example by offering help, gifts or providing emotional support) and to express a sincere concern for the other person. In communal relationships, no immediate exchange is expected, and the partners are not obliged to reciprocate a benefit that they have received. Relationships between friends and family members are usually examples of communal relationships.
Similarly, relationships between teams may demonstrate features of cooperation or collaboration.
Definitions:
Cooperation
Working with others to achieve your own goals.
Collaboration
Working with others to achieve common shared goals.
A qualitative study of firm-to-firm relationships by D. Haytko found that there were three types of work relationships:
- business associate
- business friend
- personal friend.
The three relationship types vary in the amount of information disclosed between the partners, the resulting level of intimacy, and the trust between them.
As described in Table 2.1, this typology can be characterized by the different levels of communality, from being a purely exchange-based relationship, to a more communal relationship.
Table 2.1 Examples of the most common types of relationships in organizations
| Relationship characteristics | Business associate | Business friend | Personal friend |
|---|---|---|---|
| Degree of communality | Low | Medium | High |
| Helping behaviour | Low | Medium | High |
| Conversation | Only essential topics | Medium level of non-essential topics | A lot of non-essential topics |
| Self-disclosure | None | Medium | Highly intimate |
| Trust | Low | Medium | High |
| Performance control | High | Medium | Low |
| Response to social needs, empathy | Low | Supportive response to social needs | Supportive response to social needs and emotional stress |
| Obligation for exchange/repay | High level of obligation to return comparable benefit immediately | Some level of obligation | Low level of obligation for equal, immediate repayment |
Emerging paradigms of work, such as Agile methods, are more effective in teams where more communal, friendship-like relationships are established. In other words, today’s ways of management are based on communal and collaborative relationships rather than on eхchange, control, and obligations. When organizations consider adopting emerging ways of work and management, it is important to consider the current organizational culture, the dominant type of work relationships, and the effort required to evolve to a collaborative work culture.
2.2.1.2 Relationship between organizations
Organizations, like individuals and teams, engage in different types of relationships that can be characterized by different levels of communality. ITIL® 4: Drive Stakeholder Value describes three relationship types, similar to those described above.
Table 2.2 Types of service relationships between organizations
| Service relationship type | Service relationship type | Cooperative relationship | Partnership |
|---|---|---|---|
| Typical focus | Support and efficiency | Improvement and effectiveness | Innovation and growth |
| Typical organizational level involved in the relationship | Operational | Operational and tactical | Operational, tactical, and strategic |
| Typical level of relationship maturity | Ad hoc, order taker | Service provider, trusted adviser | Strategic partner |
| Typical service types | Commercial off-the-shelf services, out-of-the-box services, highly standardized commodity services, or goods supply | Services that must be configured or customized to fulfil the needs of the service consumer | Custom or bespoke services with unique value propositions |
| Typical types of agreement | Standard contracts, service level agreements (SLAs), and experience-based agreements, mostly for mass market | Advanced SLAs, experience-based agreements, or outcome-based agreements | Bespoke contracts, outcome-based agreements, or no agreement |
| Examples | Service consumers articulate their expectations quite clearly, as the service provider expects. Examples can be found in the standardized services offered to a wide group of individual external service consumers. This is how mobile operators, broadband service providers, and transport companies usually operate. | Depending on the relationship between the service provider and the service consumer, it can be difficult for the provider to fully understand the outcomes that the service consumer wants to achieve. In some cases, they will work together to define the desired outcomes. For example, relationship managers in internal IT or HR departments may regularly talk with customers and discuss their needs and expectations. | Services based on service offerings and products that have been planned and built in accordance with requirements specified by the customer Agile product development where the service consumer and the service provider co-create the product in shared teams |
Generally, non-service relationships between organizations can be described using the same ‘exchange-communality’ scale, with key characteristics such as:
- control versus trust
- exchange versus communality
- protectiveness versus self-disclosure
- procedures versus experimentation
- separation versus sharing.
Formal exchange-based relationships can be effective in a regulated, predictable, and relatively simple environments. However, the greater the complexity of the environment, the less effective these types of relationships become. Collaborative relationships are generally more effective in complex adaptive systems; this applies to both interpersonal and interorganizational business relationships.
At the same time, relationships based on trust and collaboration expose people, teams, and organizations to the misconduct of their peers. As a result, it can be traumatic for individuals and organizations to end work relationships. To prevent this, a common relationship management practice approach that promotes the common principles, values, and rules of collaboration should be established and integrated into the organization’s culture.
2.2.2 Preventing toxic relationships
The successful relationship versus toxic relationship classification is often used in conjunction with the communality typology described above. Toxic work environments lack enthusiasm and mutual support; instead they are cynical and distrusting. The four most common types of toxic behaviour are: criticism, defensiveness, contempt, and obstruction. Naturally, a greater level of trust, empathy, and collaboration is not possible in organizations where these four behaviours are the norm. These toxic behaviours can often be found in exchange-based organizations.
However, toxic behaviours can develop in a collaboration-based organization as a result of the misconduct of individuals or the teams. Broken trust is hard to restore and can prevent trust in the future. In a team with many members, or in an organization with many teams, these incidents are hard to prevent, and collaborative organizations are typically more vulnerable to these than exchange-based organizations. This means that the prevention and mitigation of toxic behaviour is important in all types of organizations.
2.2.3 Communication
Relationships are built on communication. ITIL® 4: Direct, Plan and Improve highlights principles of effective communication such as:
- communication is a two-way process
- we are all communicating all the time
- timing and frequency matter
- there is no single method of communicating that works for everyone
- the message is in the medium
These principles should be incorporated within the organization’s relationship management practice to increase the effectiveness of communication and the general mutual understanding between people and the teams within the organization.
2.2.4 Stakeholder management
Service consumers and service providers are not the only people involved in the customer journey. There are many stakeholders who contribute to and benefit from the service relationship between organizations. These stakeholders may include owners, service provider employees, third-party suppliers, competitors, regulators, unions, industry organizations, communities, society, and others.
There are also many stakeholders within organizations (for example, leaders, managers, and employees in various roles) and stakeholders outside of them (for example, shareholders, regulators, auditors, societal groups and communities, and so on) that are not involved in the service relationship.
A simple method for understanding how each stakeholder affects, or may be affected by, the organization is to map the stakeholders in a matrix, categorized according to their influence and interest levels. Figure 2.1 shows an example of stakeholder analysis and mapping.
Relationships with identified stakeholders should be managed according to their influence and involvement. Stakeholders can be kept satisfied, informed, and monitored with an appropriate level of communication. Stakeholders and their influence and interest may change over time, so the stakeholder map should be regularly revisited and amended.
2.2.5 Relationship journey
Relationships are a journey, the steps of which vary depending on the type of relationship (whether between individuals, an individual and a team, teams, or organizations, and so on). Nonetheless, all relationships at the highest level include the following steps:
- exploration
- connection
- negotiation
- agreement
- onboarding
- cooperation/collaboration
- review
- offboarding, disconnection.
ITIL® 4: Drive Stakeholder Value describes the service relationship journey with the steps shown in Table 2.3.
Table 2.3 Service relationship journey
| Explore: understand markets and stakeholders | The journey often begins before the service provider and service consumer have established a relationship. Both parties may explore their own needs and market opportunities for identifying partners that may contribute to the fulfilment of their respective needs. This exploration may include aspects such as operational context, strategic objectives, and organizational capabilities. |
| Engage: foster relationships | A functioning relationship between the service provider, service consumer, and other stakeholders is an important precondition for co-creating value through services. Good relationships are a prerequisite for a cooperative relationship or partnership. |
| Offer: shape demand and service offerings | To determine whether the parties may benefit from a mutual service relationship, the service consumer and service provider should build a business case and articulate, shape, and match their demand and supply in the form of requirements and service offerings. Products and services can be designed only when the service consumer needs are well articulated and understood. |
| Agree: align expectations and agree service | It is crucial to align expectations, plan value co-creation and tracking, and agree service scope and quality before investing. |
| Onboard: get on board or leave the journey | Whether or not the parties come, they must undergo a transition that involves the integration or separation of both parties’ resources. |
| Co-create: provide and consume | The service consumer makes use of accessible service provider resources, consumes the goods provided, and acts together with the service provider to co-create value based on the agreed service offerings. |
| Realize: capture value and improve | Value must be tracked and managed based on value co-creation planning, and improvements must be applied to continually maintain and increase the service value. |
2.3 Scope
The relationship management practice supports all value streams and all management practices, as every value stream and practice relies on people and their relationships.
The scope of the relationship management practice includes:
- developing and promoting an organization-wide approach to relationships and integrating this approach into the organization’s culture
- identifying and managing stakeholders
- preventing and solving conflicts
- monitoring and maintaining effective and healthy relationships within the organization
- monitoring and maintaining effective and healthy relationships between the organization and third parties.
There are several activities and areas of responsibility that are not included in the relationship management practice, although they are still closely related to relationships. These are listed in Table 2.4, along with references to the practices in which they can be found. It is important to remember that ITIL practices are merely collections of tools to use in the context of value streams; they should be combined as necessary, depending on the situation.
Table 2.4 Activities related to the relationship management practice that are described in other practice guides
| Activity | Practice guide |
|---|---|
| Establishing and managing service level agreements with customers | Service level management |
| Establishing and managing service level agreements with suppliers | Supplier management |
| Managing human resources | Workforce and talent management |
| Managing organizational changes | Organizational change management |
| Managing ongoing interactions with users | Service desk |
| Managing ongoing interactions with customers | Service level management |
| Managing ongoing interactions with suppliers | Supplier management |
2.4 Practice success factors
Definition: Practice Success Factor
A complex functional component of a practice that is required for the practice to fulfil its purpose.
A practice success factor (PSF) is more than a task or activity; it includes components from all four dimensions of service management. The nature of the activities and resources of PSFs within a practice may differ, but together they ensure the effectiveness of the practice.
The relationship management practice includes the following PSFs:
- establishing and continually improving an effective approach to the relationship management practice across the organization
- ensuring effective and healthy relationships within the organization
- ensuring effective and healthy relationships between the organization and its external stakeholders.
2.4.1 Establishing and continually improving an effective approach to relationship management across the organization
A shared approach to relationship management is an important part of the organization’s culture. It is based on a common set of values and principles adopted by everyone within the organization. Often, the organization’s values explicitly address concepts such as: openness, collaboration, no-blame, and psychological safety.
The relationship management practice is applied in conjunction with others (including the workforce and talent management, strategy management, supplier management practices, and others) to develop, communicate, and maintain a set of values and principles for relationships. It is, however, a specific focus of the relationship management practice to ensure that these principles are translated into effective techniques, rules, and behaviour patterns that are adopted and practised by everyone within the organization.
The relationship management practice is closely related to the organization’s strategy and positioning, structure, scale, and all external factors of the PESTLE model. Examples include formal, conformant structured, and tayloristic organizations operating in a heavily-regulated environment on one end of the spectrum, and creative, self-driven, agile organizations operating in a free and safe environment on the other end of the spectrum.
The accepted approach to relationships and relationship management should be communicated and accepted by everyone within the organization. This practice is usually part of a wider organizational culture of communication and fostering, which involves multiple practices, the most important of important of which are relationship management and workforce and talent management.
2.4.2 Ensuring effective and healthy relationships within the organization
The popular statement ‘happy employees make happy customers’ is an example of a wider correlation between an organization’s culture and its success in relationships with external parties, including customers. Consequently, successful internal relationships are an important prerequisite for successful external relationships.
There are multiple groups of stakeholders in every organization. People are grouped by their roles, level of authority, perception of value provided by the organization, demographic factors, experience and history in the organization, and other factors. An individual usually belongs to multiple groups, and these combinations may lead to conflicts, alliances, misunderstandings, and insights that eventually create risks and opportunities of various kinds.
Over the recent decades the internal relationship management in many organizations has come to include the protection of previously vulnerable groups of people, such as the disabled, those with difficult family circumstances, and others. Examples of this approach include gender equality policies, diversity policies, and other solutions to ensure equal opportunities for all.
Whenever new teams are created in an organization, whether permanent or temporary, a formal stakeholder analysis and relationship management practice exercise may occur. Other organizational changes may also trigger a formal assessment and planning of stakeholder groups, interests, and relationships. In an established work environment, a less formal approach is usually enough. However, a regular review of the organization’s climate and relationships is recommended to any organization and team.
2.4.3 Ensuring effective and healthy relationships between the organization and its external stakeholders
2.4.3.1 Service relationship
Every organization is a service provider and a service consumer, and therefore involved in multiple service relationships.
When acting as a service provider, an organization aims to ensure that sponsors, customers, and users representing service consumers are satisfied with the services provided and with the relationship in general. These stakeholder groups may have different, and sometimes conflicting interests. The relationship management practice includes techniques and tools that help to understand the stakeholders’ interests and ensure that their needs and expectations are managed and met. The relationship management practice is used in conjunction with the service level management, service desk, business analysis, and measurement and reporting practices, among others.
As a service consumer, an organization aims to ensure that its relationships with suppliers and partners lead to the expected value co-creation and that any consumed services support the organization’s objectives. The supplier management, architecture management, and service level management practices are the key practices that support the relationship management practice in achieving these aims.
Regardless of its role in the service relationship, organizations use the relationship management practice to ensure that the relationships are healthy, sustainable, effective, and do not conflict with the organization’s values, strategy, and objectives.
2.4.3.2 Non-service relationship
Besides the service relationship, organizations are constantly involved in non-service relationships with various groups of stakeholders. These groups include, but are not limited to:
- governments and regulators
- societies and communities
- industry competition
- shareholders, investors, and sponsors
- media.
These groups may include stakeholders with different interests and opinions. However, organizations need to actively manage relationships with influential groups. An important factor in the success of the relationship management practice is the identification and analysis of these stakeholders. Other practices are involved in the planning and realization of the resulting relationship plans. These include the business analysis, strategy management, risk management, and portfolio management practices, among others.
2.5 Key metrics
The effectiveness and performance of the ITIL practices should be assessed within the context of the value streams to which each practice contributes. As with the performance of any tool, the practice’s performance can only be assessed within the context of its application. However, tools can differ greatly in design and quality, and these differences define a tool’s potential or capability to be effective, when used according to its purpose. Further guidance on metrics, key performance indicators (KPIs), and other techniques that can help with this can be found in the measurement and reporting practice guide.
Key metrics for the relationship management practice are mapped to its PSFs. They can be used as KPIs in the context of value streams to assess the contribution of the practice to the effectiveness and efficiency of those value streams. Some examples of key metrics are given in Table 2.5.
Table 2.5 Examples of key metrics for the practice success factors
| Practice success factors | Key metrics |
|---|---|
| Establishing and continually improving an effective approach to relationship management across the organization | Adoption of the common approach to relationship management as a part of the organization’s culture Satisfaction of key stakeholders with the organization’s approach to relationship management Number and percentage of broken relationships because the agreed approach was not adopted and followed |
| Ensuring effective and healthy relationships within the organization | Climate in the organization Employee satisfaction with their relationships in the organization Number and percentage of people leaving the organization because of toxic relationships |
| Ensuring effective and healthy relationships between the organization and its external stakeholders | The organization’s image in the industry, market, and social media Satisfaction of key stakeholders with the relationship between the organization and external parties Number and percentage of broken relationships because of the relationship management approach adopted by the organization |
The correct aggregation of metrics into complex indicators will make it easier to use the data for the ongoing management of value streams, and for the periodic assessment and continual improvement of the relationship management practice. There is no single best solution. Metrics will be based on the overall service strategy and priorities of an organization, as well as on the goals of the value streams to which the practice contributes.
3. Value streams and processes
3.1 Value stream contribution
The relationship management practice contributes to all value streams. It is important to remember that a value stream is never formed from a single practice. The relationship management practice combines with other practices to provide high-quality services to consumers. The main value chain activities to which this practice contributes are:
- plan
- improve
- engage
- design and transition.
The contribution of the relationship management practice to the service value chain is shown in Figure 3.1.
3.2 Processes
Each practice may include one or more processes and activities that may be necessary to fulfil the purpose of that practice.
Definition: Process
A set of interrelated or interacting activities that transform inputs into outputs. A process takes one or more defined inputs and turns them into defined outputs. Processes define the sequence of actions and their dependencies.
The relationship management practice activities form two main processes:
- managing a common approach to relationships
- managing service relationship journeys.
Managing a common approach to relationships
This process is focused on defining, agreeing, and promoting a common organization-wide approach to relationships between various stakeholders.
Table 3.1 Inputs, activities, and outputs of the managing a common approach to relationships process
| Key inputs | Activities | Key outputs |
|---|---|---|
| Organization’s strategy Assessment of the organization’s culture and relationship behaviour patterns Stakeholder information Stakeholder mapsCulture analysis Strategic requirements Principles of relationships Relationship models Planning, training, and awareness material Relationships review report Improvement initiatives | Analyse the organization’s culture, strategy, and stakeholders Develop and agree key principles of relationships Develop and agree relationship models for key stakeholder groups Embed effective behaviour patterns into daily work interactions Review and adjust the relationship’s approach and models Stakeholder mapsCulture analysis Strategic requirements Principles of relationships Relationship models | Stakeholder maps Culture analysis Strategic requirements Principles of relationships Relationship models Planning, training, and awareness material Relationships review report Improvement initiatives |
Figure 3.2 shows a workflow diagram of the process.
The process may vary, depending on the scale and type of organization, its stakeholders, and culture. Table 3.2 provides examples of the process activities.
Table 3.2 Activities of the managing a common approach to relationships process
| Activity | Example |
|---|---|
| Analyse the organization’s culture, strategy, and stakeholders | The organization’s leaders (where relevant, supported by external consultants) analyse the organization’s culture and how it supports the strategy. They also analyse key internal and external stakeholders. The resulting analysis reports and stakeholder maps are discussed with the wider management audience to validate the results and raise awareness of the initiative. |
| Develop and agree key principles of relationships | The organization’s leaders and managers (where relevant, supported by external consultants) develop and agree the key principles of the internal and external relationships for the organization. The principles define key characteristics of relationships with key stakeholder groups, as described in section 2.2.1. |
| Develop and agree relationship models for key stakeholder groups | For every key stakeholder group, a relationship model is developed and agreed. A relationship model includes: level of communality, relationship journey steps, key activities, responsibilities, risks, opportunities at every step of the journey, and recommended behaviour patterns. |
| Embed effective behaviour patterns into daily work interactions | The agreed principles and models are communicated and discussed across the organization. Depending on the model, this can be done as formal training (i.e. for relationships with customers, users, media, auditors, and so on) or woven into the wider cultural awareness and development programmes (for internal relationships). The workforce and talent management, organizational change management, strategy management, service desk, service level management, and supplier management practices are usually involved in this activity (depending on the relationship model being promoted). |
| Review and adjust the relationship’s approach and models | The organization’s leaders and managers monitor and review adoption and effectiveness of the agreed relationship principles and models. This is done on an event-based (relationship incidents, conflicts, crises) and interval-based (usually annual) basis. The resulting findings and initiatives are used as input for continual improvement. |
3.2.2 Managing service relationship journeys
This process is focused on effective ongoing management of relationships with various stakeholders, in line with agreed relationship models.
Table 3.3 Inputs, activities, and outputs of the managing service relationship journeys process
| Key inputs | Activities | Key outputs |
|---|---|---|
| Relationship principles and models Training and awareness materials Roles and responsibilities Communication with stakeholders | Identify stakeholders and relationship model Verify and adjust relationship model to the situation Follow the relationship model Manage exceptions Review the relationship | Lessons learned, improvement initiatives Relationship records according to the model |
Figure 3.3 shows a workflow diagram of the process.
The process may vary, depending on nature of the relationships and relationship journey. Table 3.4 provides examples of the process activities.
Table 3.4 Activities of the managing service relationship journeys process
| Activity | Individuals’ work relationship | Service relationship with external service consumer |
|---|---|---|
| Identify stakeholders and relationship model | When a new team member joins a team, or a new team is created, individuals familiarize themselves with each other. In some cases, the team lead communicates the relationship principles, in others the principles are implicit. | The organization’s relationship agent (such as a marketing or sales person, specialist, or manager) contacts or is contacted by a representative of a potential service consumer. The relationship agent or relationship manager assesses the consumer and identifies an appropriate relationship model. |
| Verify and adjust relationship model to the situation | The relationship model is rarely communicated explicitly, but is norms-driven and values-driven. However, in some cases, there is a more formal approach, including journey mapping and reflection on the journey’s progress. | The relationship manager confirms or assigns a relationship agent for the journey and confirms or adjusts the relationship model. |
| Follow the relationship model | The relationship journey is monitored and, where needed, steered by team leads, organization managers, and employees themselves. | Assigned relationship agent(s) follow the relationship model in interactions with the service consumer representatives and guide other members of the organization in their communication with the service consumer. |
| Manage exceptions | When conflicts arise, or the relationship model does not prove to be effective, managers and HR help to resolve the issue and, where relevant, suggest an update for the model. | When conflicts arise or the relationship model does not prove to be effective, the relationship agent and the relationship manager help to resolve the issue and, where relevant, suggest an update for the model |
| Review the relationship | Managers and team leads (in a collaborative relationship, also team members) review the relationship (following changes; when the relationship is ending; or periodically). The resulting findings, including lessons learned and improvement initiatives, are communicated to the relevant parties and used for continual improvement. | Team members involved in relationships with the service consumer, relationship agent(s), and relationship manager(s) review the relationship (following changes; when the relationship is ending; or periodically). The resulting findings, including lessons learned and improvement initiatives, are communicated to the relevant parties and used for continual improvement. |
4. Organizations and people
4.1 Roles, competencies, and responsibilities
The practice guides do not describe the practice management roles such as practice owners, practice lead, or practice coach. They focus instead on the specialist roles that are specific to each practice. The structure and naming of each role may differ from organization to organization, so any roles defined in ITIL should not be treated as mandatory, or even recommended. Remember, roles are not job titles. One person can take on multiple roles and one role can be assigned to multiple people.
Roles are described in the context of processes and activities. Each role is characterized with a competency profile based on the model shown in Table 4.1.
Table 4.1 Competency codes and profiles
| Competency code | Competency profile (activities and skills) |
|---|---|
| L | Leader Decision-making, delegating, overseeing other activities, providing incentives and motivation, and evaluating outcomes |
| A | Administrator Assigning and prioritizing tasks, record-keeping, ongoing reporting, and initiating basic improvements |
| C | Coordinator/communicator Coordinating multiple parties, maintaining communication between stakeholders, and running awareness campaigns |
| M | Methods and techniques expert Designing and implementing work techniques, documenting procedures, consulting on processes, work analysis, and continual improvement |
| T | Technical expert Providing technical (IT) expertise and conducting expertise-based assignments |
Examples of other roles which can be involved in relationship management activities are listed in Table 4.2, together with the associated competency profiles and specific skills.
Table 4.2 Examples of roles with responsibility for the service catalogue management practice activities
CA
| Activity | Responsible roles | Competency profile | Specific skills |
|---|---|---|---|
| Managing a common approach to relationships | |||
| Analyse the organization’s culture, strategy, and stakeholders | Organization’s leaders HR specialists Organizational culture Relationship management consultants | LC | Good understanding of the organization’s strategyculturestakeholdersrelationship types |
| Develop and agree the key principles of relationships | Organization’s leaders HR specialists Organizational culture Relationship management consultants Relationship managers | LMCA | Good understanding of the organization’sstrategy culturestakeholders relationship typesExpertise in the relationship management practice |
| Develop and agree relationship models for key stakeholder groups | Organization’s leaders managers Relationship managers Relationship management consultantsMCA Expertise in the relationship management practice | Understanding of the organization’sstrategygood knowledge of the key stakeholders and their interests | |
| Embed effective behaviour patterns into daily work interactions | HR specialists Organization’s leaders and managers Relationship managers Community leaders | LCA | Good understanding of the organizational cultureinternal stakeholdersGood knowledge of the agreed models. Excellent leadership and communication skills |
| Review and adjust the relationship’s approach and models | Organization’s leaders HR specialists Organization culture Consultants Relationship managers | AC | Analytical skills Good understanding of the organization’s strategyculture stakeholdersrelationship types |
| Managing service relationship journeys | |||
| Identify stakeholders and relationship model | Relationship agents Relationship managersSales and marketing specialists Specialists and managers | C | Understanding of the organization’s relationship principleskey stakeholders |
| Verify and adjust relationship model to the situation | Relationship managers Relationship agents | Good knowledge of key stakeholdersrelationship models Good knowledge of the organization’s personnelrolesresponsibilities | |
| Follow the relationship model | Relationship managers Relationship agents Specialists (supplier managers, Internal auditors, service desk agents, account managers, and so on) | CAT | Good knowledge of the relationship models and of the stakeholder(s) in questionGood communication skills |
| Manage exceptions | Relationship managersHR specialistsTeam leadsRelationship agents | CLA | Great communication and mediation skills, good knowledge of the stakeholders and their interests leadership skillsExcellent knowledge of the relationship context |
| Review the relationship | Relationship managers Relationship agents Team managers, and specialists involved in relationships | ACM | Understanding of the organization’srelationship principleskey stakeholdersanalytical skillscommunication skills |
4.1.1 Relationship manager and relationship agent
There are two roles specific to the relationship management practice: the relationship manager and the relationship agent.
The relationship manager is responsible for:
- developing and maintaining relationship models
- communicating, training, and supporting relationship agents
- reviewing relationships
- coordinating relationship journeys
- managing exceptions in relationship journeys.
The relationship manager role can be performed by a team manager, business line manager, or HR manager along with other roles, or it can be a dedicated position. The former is typical for internal relationships and relationships with minor external stakeholders; the latter is usual for relationships with customers (such as the customer relationship manager), media (such as the media relationship manager), regulators (such as the regulatory liaison manager), and so on.
It is unusual to have a general relationship manager role that is responsible for all types of relationships. In many cases (mostly to manage external relationships), a specific group of stakeholders or a major stakeholder are assigned a dedicated relationship agent, who represents the organization in the relationship journey. This role can be performed by account managers, personal advisors, customer relationship managers, sales agents, and others, depending on the organizational structure and the type of relationship. Relationship agent is a generic term that is not usually used by organizations within the context of a relationship journey, as organizations prefer to name the role in a contextualized way, appealing to the stakeholder’s expectations and language.
The relationship agent is responsible for:
- maintaining healthy relationships with stakeholders
- following the agreed relationship model
- coordinating ongoing interactions between the stakeholder(s) and members of the organization
- participating in the management of exceptions
- participating in relationship reviews.
4.2 Organizational structures and teams
As described previously, the relationship manager role may be associated with a formal job title. It is also common to have a dedicated team(s) for the management of relationships with key external stakeholders. These types of structures are usually found in organizations that are focused on commercial relationships with service consumers.
The internal relationship management practice is not usually supported with dedicated organizational structures. However, in large complex organizations, HR teams may include dedicated specialists or teams focused on organizational culture and the relationship aspects of it.
5. Information and technology
5.1 Information exchange
The effectiveness of the relationship management practice is based on the quality of the information used. This includes, but is not limited to, information about:
- organizational strategy and values
- organizational culture
- organizational structure
- stakeholder information
- partners and suppliers
- policies and requirements which regulate organizational structure
- stakeholder satisfaction.
This information may take various forms. The key inputs and outputs of the relationship management practice are listed in section 3.
5.2 Automation and tooling
In most cases, the relationship management practice can benefit from automation. Where this is possible and effective, it may involve the solutions outlined in Table 5.1.
Table 5.1 Automation solutions for relationship management activities
| Process activity | Means of automation | Key functionality | Impact on the effectiveness of the practice |
|---|---|---|---|
| Managing a common approach to relationships | |||
| Analyse the organization’s culture, strategy, and stakeholders | Collaboration and communication tools | Collaboration, information exchange | Low |
| Develop and agree key principles of relationships | Mind mapping, brainstorming tools | Decision making support | Low |
| Develop and agree relationship models for key stakeholder groups | CRM tools, workflow tools, communication and collaboration tools | Journey mapping, communication of training, and awareness manuals | Medium/High |
| Embed effective behaviour patterns into daily work interactions | Communication and collaboration tools, presentation tools, portals | Support of promotion, training and awareness | Medium |
| Review and adjust the relationship’s approach and models | Collaboration and communication tools, reporting tools | Collaboration, information exchange, report creation and distribution | Medium |
| Managing service relationship journeys | |||
| Identify stakeholders and relationship model | Communication and collaboration tools | Exploration, contact, and initial communication | Medium/High |
| Verify and adjust relationship model to the situation | CRM tools, workflow tools, knowledge management tools | Journey mapping, knowledge management | High |
| Follow the relationship model | CRM tools, workflow tools, knowledge management tools | Journey mapping, knowledge management, records management, communication management | High |
| Manage exceptions | CRM tools, workflow tools, knowledge management tools, collaboration tools | Journey mapping, knowledge management, direct communication | Medium |
| Review the relationship | CRM tools, workflow tools, knowledge management tools | Journey mapping, knowledge management, records management, communication management | Medium/High |
6. Partners and suppliers
Very few services are delivered using only an organization’s own resources. Most, if not all, depend on other services. These are often provided by third parties (see section 2.4 of ITIL® Foundation: ITIL 4 Edition for a model of a service relationship). Relationships and dependencies introduced by supporting services are described in the practice guides for several practices, including service design, architecture management, and supplier management.
The relationship management practice is extremely important when it comes to third parties, as partners and suppliers are key stakeholders and effective and healthy relationships must be maintained with them. In this respect, all recommendations of this practice apply to the management of relationships with suppliers and partners. Moreover, the very name of this practice highlights the distinction between partnership (collaborative communality-based relationships) and more exchange-based, cooperative relationships with other suppliers.
Where organizations aim to ensure fast and effective relationship management, they usually try to agree to close cooperation with their partners and suppliers, removing formal bureaucratic barriers in communication, collaboration, and decision-making. All parties in such relationships should aim for mutual transparency and visibility of the changes that may affect the other parties. Some organizations delegate the management of relationships with partners and suppliers to a service integrator. In this scenario, the integrator is treated as a partner by the organization, and as partners, they share information needed for a successful relationship management practice as well as other practices. The service integrator is likely to be involved in managing a common approach to the relationship process in a consultant and/or relationship manager role. In the managing service relationship journeys process, the integrator plays the roles of a relationship agent and a relationship manager.
Other organizations prefer to build and maintain direct relationships with key suppliers and partners. Despite the higher complexity of this approach, it can be beneficial because of a higher level of engagement and trust between the parties. See the supplier management practice guide for more information on service integration and management and disintermediation.
7. Important reminder
Most of the content of the practice guides should be taken as a suggestion of areas that an organization might consider when establishing and nurturing their own practices. The practice guides are catalogues of topics that organizations might think about, not a list of answers. When using the practice guides, organizations should always follow the ITIL guiding principles:
- focus on value
- start where you are
- progress iteratively with feedback
- collaborate and promote visibility
- think and work holistically
- keep it simple and practical
- optimize and automate.
More information on the guiding principles and their application can be found in section 4.3 of ITIL® Foundation: ITIL 4 Edition.