The ITIL 4 Specialist: Create, Deliver and Support module is the operational foundation that many organizations don’t get beyond. So, it’s a good place to present the benefits of swarming incident and problem resolution.
That said, the approach probably belongs in all the higher level ITIL 4 modules as it will improve service management professionals’ and teams’ performance.
First, swarming helps teams to get more done, quickly and effectively. For customers, the increased speed of getting an answer or resolution means an improved customer experience.
Also, organizations that adopt swarming tend to find their staff are more engaged, enjoying the work they do in teams they like and so are more likely to stay longer with the business. Creating a motivational environment for people, where they want to succeed and deliver a great customer experience, is the typical outcome.
And the next stage organizations can work towards is so-called “intelligent swarming” which focuses on allocating an issue to the right individual, not just the next available person in the queue. For example, routing a customer toaparticular person that the customer recently interacted with (and got a good rating), based on someone’s ability to converse with a customer in their first language, or having specific product expertise or experience. Essentially, identifying the right person for the job means the flow is better.
