Service Desk Manager (SDM) course

The Service Desk Manager course provides a thorough understanding of service desk management and leads to a globally recognised qualification.
Who is this course for?
This course is designed for existing or aspiring service desk managers and supervisors wishing to develop their understanding of service
management best practice and the most efficient ways of running an effective IT support operation.
It contains the complete service management tool kit covering strategy, leadership, employee development, relationship building,
service improvement, ITSM processes, performance measurement, finance and tools and technologies, and an internationally recognised SDM qualification.
Why should managers do this new SDM course?
For managers there is now more emphasis on leadership skills and the importance of providing a clear vision and purpose even in difficult times, inspiring teams to rapidly adapt and ensuring they have a clear framework for decision making.
The ability to build, motivate and support teams to give their best has never been more important. Now more than ever organisation’s need to get the best from their greatest asset; their people.

Service Desk Manager (SDM) Qualification & Exam

The Service Desk Manager (SDM) Professional Standard qualification recognizes an individual’s knowledge of the competencies, requirements and skills required to manage a service desk.
A person who successfully passes the Service Desk Manager (SDM) exam can be expected to have the skills to:
• Develop and deliver service desk strategies to that fully underpin the organization’s business strategy and objectives
• Demonstrate the key leadership and management competencies needed to be a successful Service Desk Manager
• Interface the service desk with other departments within IT, other processes and other standards to maximise the efficiency and effectiveness of IT
• Create, support and deliver service desk processes and services to deliver
exceptional customer and value

This course contains everything that is essential to core roles and responsibilities of a successful Service Desk Manager:
Defining strategic requirements: Review the purpose, activities, and requirements of a successful service desk from a global perspective, discover the benefits of complying with industry standards and examine ethics in the service
and support environment
Developing a strategic role: Examine the requirements for creating an effective service desk strategy that underpins business goals, learn about the purpose and objectives of vision and missions statements, examine the benefits and challenges
associated with various sourcing models, and review the objectives and activities of financial management
The role of the service desk manager: Review the characteristics, skills and competencies required to be an effective service desk manager, review the roles and responsibilities of a service desk manager, discuss the reasons why we should promote the service desk, and review the key activities of a successful promotion campaign
Organisational change and project management: Identify the elements of successful project management and the importance of building persuasive business cases, example the purpose and benefits of effective organisational change, identify opportunities for participation in strategic decision making, and review the knowledge requirements to build good strategic awareness
Teamwork and communication: Review the characteristics of effective teams, examine the importance of excellent communication skills from a management perspective, learn the requirements of effective presentation skills, and enhance listening, information gathering and negotiating techniques
Staff recruitment, retention & development: Examine the requirements for effective recruitment strategies, review the features and benefits of a structured and on-going approach to induction, training and development, and explore the behaviours required to retain staff, maintain effective working relationships and address individual performance issues
Management and leadership: Review the activities of an effective manager and an effective leader, identify the elements of successful planning and coordinating activities, and examine the benefits of and how to achieve motivated teams
Resilience: Examine the importance of emotional resilience, recognizing signs of positive and negative stress in yourself and your staff, and effective stress management
Effective management of resources: Examine the challenges and benefits of commonly used support delivery methods and technologies, explore the benefits of workforce management and resource planning models, and discover the challenges and benefits of adopting self-service
AI and automation: Identify the benefits and challenges of increasing automation and AI opportunities within the workplace and explore common examples of rules-based AI and neural networks
IT service management: Explore IT service management and its objectives, recognise the difference between a practice, a process and a procedure, identify the need to effective practices, processes and procedures and the importance of following them, and discover ITIL 4 practices and their purpose and place within the service desk environment
Quality assurance activities: Review the purpose and objectives of a comprehensive quality assurance program, identify common quality assurance practices, examine the purpose, benefits, and methods of interaction monitoring, and explore the role of benchmarking in the service desk environment
Managing the customer experience: Discover the importance of managing the customer experience and the need for a coherent approach, identify opportunities for capturing feedback, and learn how to use feedback effectively in decision making
Management information & performance results: Examine the relationship between critical success factors (CSFs), key performance indicators (KPIs) and metrics, and identify a range of service desk metrics and their success criteria

“It’s been a productive week – attended the SDI Service Desk Manager virtual course which was great – fantastically run and with
like minded people, made it a pleasure to be part of”
Service Desk Manager, Jersey Financial Services Commission

“I thoroughly enjoyed my recent Service Desk Manager’s course and I found the whole virtual classroom a lot easier and user friendly
than I first thought it would be. The tutor was excellent and kept the whole atmosphere light and very conducive to learning. I will be
looking at further courses for myself and my team”
Service Desk Manager, Greencore Group