Configuring groups in Workforce Optimization for ITSM
Summarize
Summary of Configuring groups in Workforce Optimization for ITSM
Workforce Optimization for ITSM enables managers to effectively organize, manage, and optimize their teams from a central location by configuring groups that represent different teams within an organization. These groups form the foundation for routing work, scheduling, training, and workforce analysis within the ServiceNow platform.
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Key Features
- Groups as Assignment Groups: Groups in Workforce Optimization for ITSM correspond to assignment groups in ServiceNow. Each team member can belong to multiple groups but must have one primary assignment group to enable schedule visibility and other activities.
- Primary Assignment Group: Assigning a primary group to each team member is essential. This determines the team calendar they can view in Service Operations Workspace and controls functions like coaching and approvals.
- Manager Assignments: Each group requires a designated manager who directly oversees the team. Additional managers can be assigned to groups for visibility without direct management responsibilities.
- Team Visibility: When users log into Workforce Optimization for ITSM, they only see information relevant to their assigned teams, ensuring focused and secure access.
Implementation Guidelines
- Identify Teams: Define the teams you want to manage and create corresponding groups in the User Groups [sysusergroup] table.
- Assign Primary Groups to Team Members: Ensure each team member has one primary assignment group to enable schedule access and KPI visibility.
- Assign Managers and Additional Managers: Assign a direct manager to each group and optionally add additional managers for broader visibility.
Practical Benefits for ServiceNow Customers
By configuring groups correctly, managers can streamline workforce management tasks such as scheduling, work routing, coaching, and performance analysis. Proper primary assignment group assignment ensures team members have access to their schedules and relevant KPIs, improving operational efficiency and oversight. Assigning additional managers allows for flexible visibility across teams without altering direct management structures.
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.