1. Improve Business Satisfaction by 10% Through Business Relationship Management
Relationship management is the #1 driver of business satisfaction with IT.

2. Our understanding of the problem
CIOs
Identify the need for implementing a business relationship management function within your organization.
Define the responsibilities and competencies required for your business relationship managers.
Create clear expectations for your business partners for the BRM program.
Business Relationship Managers
Identify engagement strategies for a variety of stakeholders at different levels of satisfaction.
Create an action plan to address stakeholder needs by leveraging your CIO Business Vision results.
Drive measurable improvement in relationship satisfaction through targeted planning and communication.

3. Executive summary
IT doesn’t have a view of business needs, strategy, and expectations, which is forcing IT into a reactive position.
Relationship satisfaction is the #1 predictor of overall business satisfaction with IT, yet many CIOs do not treat relationship management as a priority.
Successful relationships drive successful IT organizations. For every 10% increase in relationship satisfaction, your business satisfaction with IT increases by 10%.
64% of CEOs believe that improvement is required around IT’s understanding of business goals.
Adding a strategic business relationship manager when you are in firefighting mode is not going to work. Focus first on improving communication and service to set BRM up for success.
Competing priorities and high demand on IT often mean that relationship management is done in an ad hoc manner. This puts IT in a highly reactive position rather than a proactive one.
When a Business Relationship Management (BRM) function is in place, organizations struggle to structure it in a way that will drive measurable results.
Leverage Info-Tech’s diagnostics and deliverables to see dramatic improvements in your overall business satisfaction through effective relationship management. This blueprint will provide three core customizable deliverables that you can use to launch or optimize your BRM program. These include:
Organizational Structure: Customizable BRM organizational design guide, job description & competencies, task descriptions, and job evaluation criteria.
CIO Business Vision Communication and Discussion Guide: Use our customizable presentation guide and talk track to build understanding and validate business partner feedback from the CIO Business Vision survey. Align and prioritize your efforts based on the results.
Job Shadowing Handbook: Implement a job shadowing program easily with our step-by-step deliverables and templates, including s, checklists, goals, and results update templates.

4. 1 2 3 Business Relationship Management (BRM)
Effectively managing relationships that are critical to business satisfaction with IT and perception of the value that IT provides.
Taking an ad hoc approach does not work for 95% of organizations. You need a formal BRM strategy to get ahead.
Many of the people we’ve worked with have faced these BRM issues. Have you?
The business does not view IT as a strategic partner 1
Many CIOs are not invited to participate in organization-wide strategic planning and decision making. The business isn’t interested in strategic IT planning.
We don’t have capacity to focus on relationship management 2
Relationship management has significantly more impact on satisfaction than improvements to core services. This is an opportunity ensure that IT is focusing efforts on high value solutions and that business partners understand the full spectrum of what IT is responsible for. 3
I can’t get the budget for a Business Relationship Manager
BRM can be a full-time job or a role that an existing staff member fulfils. When selling the idea, it’s essential that you use data both to drive the discussions and post-implementation to demonstrate the full value of BRM.

5. Relationship management is the #1 driver of business satisfaction with IT
IMPACT OF RELATIONSHIP SATISFACTION ON BUSINESS SATISFACTION WITH IT
Relationships can make or break an IT department’s success.
In a study of 308 organizations, Info-Tech found that for every 10% increase in relationship satisfaction, business satisfaction with IT increased by 9.99%.
Can you afford to have 10% lower satisfaction?
Info-Tech Diagnostic Programs n = 308 organization

6. The majority of business partners believe relationships with IT need to improve
47%
64%
of CIOs/CEOs are misaligned on the target role for IT.
of CEOs believe that business goals are going unsupported by IT.
of CEOs believe that improvement is required around IT’s understanding of business goals.
A successful business relationship manager will create business and IT alignment by understanding business needs and driving solutions and services that provide real value to their partners and to the end customer.

7. What is Business Relationship Management?
Business relationship management is an organizational capability essential for increasing business satisfaction with IT, aligning business and IT strategy, and improving the quality of services provided by IT.
At its most basic level, business relationship management is about improving service delivery and communication. As the BRM capability advances, the roles becomes increasingly strategic.
Whether you have a position in your organization called business relationship manager or if it is a role that individuals play, it’s essential that you have a purposeful strategy for how you will approach and build relationships with your business partners.
CORE BENEFITS OF BRM 1
Significantly improved business satisfaction with IT
Service delivery is in line with business requirements and expectations 2 3
Increased alignment between IT and business partners
Successful project delivery on time, on budget, and delivering expected value 4
Drive innovation through in-depth knowledge of business needs and processes 5

8. Info-Tech leveraged COBIT and ITIL best practices to define four categories of BRM responsibilities that drive results
BRM FOCUS AREAS
SERVICE MANAGEMENT: Involved in defining new or changed services, in defining SLAs, and ensuring business partners are getting value from services.
STRATEGY & GOVERNANCE: Work collaboratively to understand current and future business needs. Participate in business and IT strategic planning to ensure alignment and that IT is focusing on the highest value initiatives.
COMMUNICATION: Responsible for identifying and evaluating effectiveness of stakeholder communication, reporting, and acting as a facilitator and translator for IT and business partners.
INNOVATION: Leverage business knowledge to identify opportunities to optimize business processes or services to improve efficiency and drive ROI.

9. BUSINESS SATISFACTION
Leverage relationship management as a tool to increase overall satisfaction with IT and go from firefighter to innovator
For the best results, align your BRM efforts with your department’s maturity level. If you are currently in a highly reactive position, you need to focus on stabilizing your relationships, improving communication, and delivering services. Once stabilized, you should expand the responsibilities to be more strategic. To successfully move up the ladder, Info-Tech has identified three distinct levels of BRM.
BRM LEVELS 1, 2, 3
LEVEL 3: Leverages positive relationships to seek out opportunities to drive business value through innovation. Level 3 BRMs should spend 70-80% of their time on Strategy & Governance and Innovation.
Innovator
Transforms the Business
Business Partner
Expands the Business
LEVEL 2: Focus on working collaboratively with business partners to align strategy and improve project success.
Trusted Operator
Optimizes the Business
BUSINESS SATISFACTION
Firefighter
Supports the Business
LEVEL 1: BRMs should focus on stabilizing the relationship between business and IT. They should spend 80-90% of their time on Communication and Service Management.
Unstable
Struggles to Support

10. Overall IT Satisfaction
Invest in building relationships with your stakeholders and drive improved satisfaction across all IT services
Strong Relationships
Overall IT Satisfaction
Relationships are 24% stronger among Innovators than Operators.
Operators score a 71% average in relationship satisfaction.
Weak Relationships
Relationships are 22% weaker among Firefighters than Operators.
Firefighters
Operators
Innovators
Perceived Value of IT
Info-Tech Business Vision Survey N = 21,367

11. Launch a BRM program in three steps
Customize BRM job description and activities
Monitor and report on outcomes
Facilitate a discussion for departmental BV results
Define BRM level required
Identify BRM’s roles in critical processes
Prioritize initiatives
Launch CIO Business Vision survey
MEASURE BUSINESS SATISFACTION
DESIGN YOUR BRM ORGANIZATION
LAUNCH BRM PROGRAM
Identify required competencies and select BRM candidates
Define BRM organizational sketch
Launch BRM Program
Go or No-Go Decision
Initiate and run a job shadowing program for BRMs
Review results and identify BRM opportunities

12. Info-Tech’s customizable deliverables to execute on your BRM launch
MEASURE BUSINESS SATISFACTION
DESIGN YOUR BRM ORGANIZATION
LAUNCH BRM PROGRAM
CUSTOMIZABLE DELIVERABLES
CIO Business Vision
CIO Business Vision survey
Participant template
Invitation template
CIO Business Vision organization and departmental reports
BRM Organizational Design Reference Book
BRM Level 1, 2, 3:
Job descriptions
Detailed activity plans
Job evaluation forms
Competency framework and staff assessment
BRM organizational chart and reporting structure
A: CIO Business Vision Communication and Discussion Documents
CIO Business Vision report Communication presentation
CIO Business Vision talk track
Business participant template
B: Job Shadowing Program Manual
Job shadowing process map
Business partner invitation template
BRM outcome checklist
Next steps guide

13. Organizations of all sizes need to manage their relationships, but how you manage and structure your program will vary
Look for cues throughout the blueprint on how to scale your BRM program depending on your size. Keep the following in mind in each of the project phases.
Small Enterprise
Medium Enterprise
Large Enterprise
Measure
There is limited change in the process between small, medium, and large enterprises. As the organization grows, the opportunity for different report views increases as there are more stakeholders involved. The CIO needs to be involved in the initiation at all levels.
Design
It is significantly more likely that BRM will not be a separated role.
When looking at the BRM responsibilities, you must fiercely prioritize which activities to focus on.
At this stage, organizations are more likely to align BRMs to specific business units or processes.
You may need BRMs at different levels depending on satisfaction levels and goals.
Geography plays an increasing role when determining structure.
Large organizations need to pay close attention to reporting lines between BRMs, business units, and IT to ensure there is a full picture of needs and opportunities to collaborate are leveraged.
Launch
You may not be able to create an engagement strategy for every business partner. Leverage your Business Vision results to focus your efforts and test some techniques before doing a full rollout.
Core processes may not be documented, which can make defining your communication points time consuming and difficult. If this is the case, focus on the services rated in the top 5 of your Business Vision survey.
When you are geographically dispersed, there can be a larger learning curve for BRMs who have to get to know a variety of systems and stakeholders.
If you launch a job shadowing program, focus on a system or process that impacts multiple stakeholders.

14. If these symptoms resonate with you, it might be time to invest in building out your BRM function
SIGNS YOU MAY NEED BRM…
“I have a mandate to improve business satisfaction with IT”
“IT initiatives are reactive, and I don’t have a clear picture of the future needs of the business”
“Business leaders don’t include IT in strategic conversations, and IT needs are often an afterthought”
“There are instances of shadow IT within the organization”
“I’ve noticed an increase in use, or an abundance of use, of Excel spreadsheets by business units”
“Business partners don’t understand the full picture of what IT does or can do”
“I feel like our business partners abdicate responsibility for decision making”
“I feel like we struggle transitioning out of being seen primarily as an order taker”
“I feel like there is a lack of consistency among business partners’ experiences with IT”
“I’m hearing that there is limited faith in IT’s ability to deliver core services”
“I need to ensure we are spending our resources on the highest value initiatives”
“We lack a process to gain agreement and approval from business partners on SLAs and metrics”

15. Leverage Info-Tech’s tools and templates to overcome key BRM implementation challenges
Structuring the BRM function
Measuring the value of BRM
Getting insight into business needs & priorities
Finding the time to do the work
Don’t build your structure from scratch. Instead, leverage Info-Tech’s organizational structure options guide, job descriptions & day-to-day activity guide, competencies framework, and evaluation criteria to fast track your implementation and build a structure that will get you the results you need.
Info-Tech’s CIO Business Vision program is a low effort, high impact program that will give you detailed report cards on the organization’s satisfaction with IT’s core services. Use these insights to understand your key business stakeholders, find out what is important to them, and improve your interactions.
Business relationship management is not a one-time process; it’s an ongoing job responsibility. Leverage our action planning facilitation guide and template to effectively launch your BRM program and measure results.
There is no short-cut here – getting this project done will take time. However, Info-Tech’s streamlined methodology, diagnostics, guided Implementations, and workshops take the guesswork out of the process, providing the needed materials to get the job done right.
KEY CHALLENGES:
OPPORTUNITIES TO LEVERAGE THIS BLUEPRINT
METRICS
# of hours to build the organizational design & competency framework internally from scratch X salary of individual.
# of hours required to build tools, templates, and process for data collection X cost of doing so internally.

16. CASE STUDY Overview Industry Source Consumer Device Manufacturer
Interview
SOLUTION
A new Global VP IT was hired with a mandate to build a business-centric IT team. As he grew his department, he identified three key business relationships and assigned Business Relationship Managers (BRMs). These BRMs were accountable for IT solution management for Finance, Supply- Chain, and a specialty channel division located in California.
The BRMs had an evolving mandate beginning with issue triage, collecting short- and medium-term business IT needs, understanding key business processes, and identifying business IT solutions.
SITUATION
A rapidly growing global consumer manufacturer, based in Toronto, found that its IT department needed to move from its perceived utilitarian position to one of business partner and value enabler.
IT staff was at a minimal level, reacting to issues and immediate needs. The IT department classified itself as a Firefighter and needed to move to Trusted Operator.
Without improved IT business value delivery, the company executive felt that their aggressive goals and demands would not be met or would be met with increased risk.
RESULTS
The introduction of BRMs was instrumental in a number of benefits:
Increased business value delivered through more effective IT integration
Coordinated and integrated systems and processes across linked departments
Substantial increase in IT employee morale and sense of value
Reduced shadow IT investment
Better data, better information, better decisions
Reduced staff overtime relative to the increase in business volume
Increased quality metrics for business functions

17. Use these icons to help direct you as you navigate this research
Use these icons to help guide you through each step of the blueprint and direct you to content related to the recommended activities.
This icon denotes a slide where a supporting Info-Tech tool or template will help you perform the activity or step associated with the slide. Refer to the supporting tool or template to get the best results and proceed to the next step of the project.
This icon denotes a slide with an associated activity. The activity can be performed either as part of your project or with the support of Info-Tech team members, who will come onsite to facilitate a workshop for your organization.

18. Info-Tech offers various levels of support to best suit your needs
Guided Implementation
“Our team knows that we need to fix a process, but we need assistance to determine where to focus. Some check-ins along the way would help keep us on track.”
DIY Toolkit
“Our team has already made this critical project a priority, and we have the time and capability, but some guidance along the way would be helpful.”
Workshop
“We need to hit the ground running and get this project kicked off immediately. Our team has the ability to take this over once we get a framework and strategy in place.”
Consulting
“Our team does not have the time or the knowledge to take this project on. We need assistance through the entirety of this project.”
Diagnostics and consistent frameworks used throughout all four options

19. Best-Practice Toolkit Guided Implementations
Improve Business Satisfaction by 10% Through Business Relationship Management
MEASURE BUSINESS SATISFACTION
DESIGN YOUR BRM ORGANIZATION
LAUNCH BRM PROGRAM
Best-Practice Toolkit
1.1 CIO Business Vision Report
2.1 BRM Job Description and Analysis
2.2 Identify Role and Staff Competencies
2.3 BRM Organizational Model and Alignment
3.1 Customize the CIO Business Vision Engagement Document
3.2 Implement a Job Shadowing Program
Guided Implementations
Overview of CIO Business Vision
Review documentation and prepare for launch
CIO Business Vision results call
Identify BRM priorities and organizational needs
Customize your BRM job description and responsibilities
Define BRM competencies
Select your BRM organizational model
Review CIO Business Vision trends and priorities
Customize the CIO Business Vision communication and discussion guides and define goals of job shadowing program
Customize job shadowing documentation
Onsite Workshop
Module 1:
Assess opportunities to improve business relationships
Module 2:
Design the business relationship management organization
Module 3:
Identify business partner needs and priorities
Phase 1 Outcome:
Know your business partners’ level of satisfaction with IT
Define BRM maturity goals
Phase 2 Outcome:
BRM organizational structure defined, including job descriptions, tasks, competencies, and reporting relationships
Phase 3 Outcome:
Deep knowledge of business partner satisfaction and core challenges
Action plan to address needs

20. Workshop overview
Contact your account representative or for more information.
Preparation
Workshop Day 1
Workshop Day 2
Workshop Day 3
Workshop Day 4
Activities
Identify Business Satisfaction
1.1 Launch CIO Business Vision
1.2 Assess CIO Business Vision results
Define BRM Goals
2.1 Define the mission and goals of the BRM program
2.2 Identify the opportunities for BRM across 4 focus areas
2.3 Analyze CIO Business Vision results
2.4 Identify current and target maturity levels for BRM
2.5 Define success measures for BRM
Build BRM Role
3.1 Identify and prioritize COBIT processes in which the BRM has responsibility
3.2 Build a COBIT-based RACI chart for business relationship managers
3.3 Identify process owners and status
Define BRM Competencies and Organizational Model
4.1 Define competencies required for BRMs
4.2 Assess staff against competencies
4.3 Select the organizational model
4.4 Align BRMs with business partners
Build CIO Business Vision Engagement Plan
5.1 Build a communication message to describe the role of the BRM to business partners
5.2 Build a targeted launch presentation to communicate with business partners
5.3 Review opportunities to leverage feedback from initial launch meeting
5.4. Define action plan & next steps
Deliverables
CIO Business Vision Report
BRM Vision and Mission Statement
BRM KPIs
BRM Job Description and responsibilities
BRM Competencies Analysis
BRM Organizational Model
CIO Business Vision Engagement Plan
BRM Implementation Action Plan