What is an IT incident manager?

IT incident management systematically identifies, assesses, and resolves disruptions in an organization's technical systems. These incidents can range from minor issues such as software glitches to major problems like network outages. The primary goal of incident management is to minimize the impact on business operations and restore normal services as quickly as possible.

An incident manager is at the helm of these efforts, establishing effective protocol, thoughtfully distributing tasks, and guiding teams through the resolution process. Let’s examine the role that an incident manager plays within an organization, best practices for disruption mitigation, and how to continually refine management processes to improve future performance.

What does an IT incident manager do?

IT incident managers are responsible for the end-to-end management of incidents within an organization's IT infrastructure. Key functions of IT incident managers include:

Coordinating incident response efforts: Incident managers orchestrate the response team, ensuring all necessary personnel are engaged and working towards issue resolution. This includes mobilizing technical experts, assigning specific tasks, and managing the overall response timeline.

Minimizing downtime and business impact: By implementing structured response procedures and prioritizing incidents based on business criticality, incident managers work to reduce the duration and severity of service disruptions.

Managing stakeholder communication: Incident managers serve as the primary communication hub, providing regular updates to affected users, management, and external stakeholders. This includes crafting clear, concise incident notifications and status reports.

Leading cross-functional teams: Incident managers coordinate efforts across various IT teams, including infrastructure, applications, security, and support. They ensure seamless collaboration and prevent silos during critical incident response.

Driving continuous improvement: After each incident, incident managers lead post-incident reviews to identify root causes, document lessons learned, and implement preventive measures to reduce future occurrences.

What is an incident manager?

An incident manager's primary responsibility is to lead the IT team in promptly addressing and resolving any issues or disruptions that arise within a company's technical infrastructure. This involves establishing clear protocols for incident detection, response, and resolution.

An incident manager further serves as the central point of contact for updating key stakeholders, such as senior management and other relevant parties. Additionally, incident managers are responsible for continually fine-tuning strategies, employing ongoing education, refining documentation, and evaluating new technologies.

Where do incident managers fit within an IT organization?

Precise placement can vary depending on an organization's size and structure, but incident managers typically report to higher-level IT management, such as the operations manager, service delivery manager, or director.

They also collaborate with various teams regularly to ensure that incident management processes are comprehensively covered. Incident managers may collaborate with support teams to resolve disruptions, coordinate with security teams to safeguard technology, and work with service providers to maintain system integrity.

Key responsibilities of an IT incident manager

The role of an IT incident manager encompasses several critical responsibilities that ensure effective incident resolution and minimal business disruption. Primary responsibilities include:

Monitoring and detecting IT incidents

Incident managers oversee the implementation and maintenance of monitoring systems that detect anomalies and potential incidents. They establish thresholds, configure alerts, and ensure 24/7 coverage for critical systems. This proactive approach enables early detection of issues before they escalate into major incidents.

Coordinating response efforts across teams

When incidents occur, the incident manager acts as the central coordinator, bringing together the right technical resources and expertise. They facilitate collaboration between different IT teams, remove roadblocks, and ensure everyone is aligned on the resolution approach. This includes managing virtual war rooms, assigning tasks, and tracking progress.

Communicating with stakeholders during incidents

Clear, timely communication is crucial during incidents. Incident managers craft and distribute regular updates to various stakeholder groups, including executives, affected business units, and end-users. They translate technical details into business-relevant information and manage expectations regarding resolution timelines.

Ensuring timely resolution and documentation

The incident manager drives the team toward swift resolution while maintaining quality standards. They ensure proper documentation of all actions taken, decisions made, and discoveries during the incident. This documentation becomes invaluable for post-incident reviews and future reference.

Post-incident reviews and continual improvement

After incident resolution, managers lead comprehensive reviews to identify what went well and what could be improved. They analyze root causes, evaluate the effectiveness of the response, and develop action plans to prevent recurrence. This continuous improvement cycle strengthens the organization's incident management capabilities over time.

Incident manager required skills

A competent incident manager should possess a desirable combination of level-headedness and people skills to properly perform their job duties. They need to make crucial decisions, provide leadership, and communicate with team members under pressure to resolve incidents as quickly as possible.

Organization

Effective organization ensures that disruptions are managed systematically to reduce the impact on business operations. A well-organized incident manager can establish transparent workflows, prioritize tasks, and allocate resources effectively, ensuring that the response team stays coordinated throughout the incident resolution process.

Risk management

By mitigating IT risks before they escalate into incidents, incident managers can significantly reduce the likelihood and impact of disruptive events. Understanding risk also enables incident managers to prioritize resources effectively, focusing on areas with the highest potential for disruption. A firm grasp of risk management principles helps incident managers prepare for various scenarios, ensuring they're better equipped to respond swiftly.

Problem-solving

When faced with an incident, managers must quickly assess the situation, gather relevant information, and determine the root cause of the problem. By employing critical thinking skills and proactive problem management, they develop creative solutions to address underlying issues and mitigate the impact of incidents.

Communication

Unambiguous communication ensures that all relevant parties are promptly informed about the incident, its impact, and the ongoing response efforts. By maintaining open lines of communication, incident managers can coordinate activities, delegate tasks, and provide timely updates. Moreover, effective communication helps manage stakeholder expectations, build trust, and mitigate the potential for confusion within the organization.

Decision-making

Incident managers must make rapid, yet well-informed decisions, to effectively manage disruptions and minimize damage caused. These decisions often involve prioritizing response activities, allocating resources, and determining appropriate courses of action. By making timely and decisive decisions, incident managers can maintain control of the situation, keep the response team focused, and mitigate the potential for escalation.

Collaboration

Managers should foster collaboration among technical teams, support staff, stakeholders, and external partners to ensure a cohesive response to incidents. By working with these stakeholders, incident managers can leverage the response team's collective knowledge, skills, and resources to address complex technical issues and minimize system downtime.

Incident manager required certifications

Employment requirements vary across organizations; however, possessing a strong combination of degrees and/or certifications enhance the prospects of an incident manager in any setting. Here are some relevant certifications that can improve your incident management skills.

Bachelor's degree: A four-year degree from a reputable university serves as a solid foundation on which to build your knowledge and resume. Though most schools won't offer education built specifically around incident management, a degree in IT, cybersecurity, information systems management, or other related fields can prepare you for success as an incident manager.

ITIL certification: The Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) certification provides a comprehensive understanding of IT service management (ITSM) principles, including incident management processes and best practices.

CISM certification: The Certified Information Security Manager (CISM) certification validates expertise in information security management, which is crucial for incident managers dealing with security-related incidents.

GCIH certification: The GIAC Certified Incident Handler (GCIH) certification from Global Information Assurance Certification (GIAC) validates skills in detecting, responding to, and mitigating incidents.

Skills to look for when hiring incident managers

When evaluating candidates for incident manager positions, organizations should look for a combination of technical expertise and essential soft skills:

Technical skills

• ITIL framework knowledge: Deep understanding of ITIL incident management processes and best practices.

• Incident response tools proficiency: Experience with ticketing systems, monitoring platforms, and communication tools.

• Technical troubleshooting: Ability to understand complex technical issues across infrastructure, applications, and networks.

• Data analysis: Skills in analyzing incident trends, patterns, and metrics to drive improvements.

Soft skills

• Calmness under pressure: Ability to maintain composure and think clearly during high-stress situations.

• Leadership: Natural ability to take charge, guide teams, and make decisions with confidence.

• Analytical thinking: Systematic approach to problem-solving and root cause analysis.

• Adaptability: Flexibility to handle changing priorities and unexpected challenges.

• Emotional intelligence: Understanding team dynamics and managing relationships during stressful incidents.

Experience indicators

• Previous experience managing major incidents in enterprise environments.

• Track record of improving incident response times and reducing recurrence.

• Demonstrated ability to work effectively with diverse technical teams.

• Experience with regulatory compliance and audit requirements.

Incident manager average salary

Incident management is a demanding job that requires a diverse skill set, and the salary tends to reflect this degree of difficulty. Exact compensation depends on variables such as the state you reside in, what industry you're in, and how much experience you offer. However, according to salary.com, the median rate in the U.S. is $132,547 per year.

In San Francisco, where the cost of living is high, the median jumps to $165,684 per year, while in Charleston, West Virginia, where expenses are more reasonable, it dips to $119,293.

Entry-level incident managers can expect to start somewhere in the $100,000 range, working their way up the pay scale as they continue to gain relevant experience.

Key activities an IT incident manager performs

The responsibilities of an incident manager may vary depending on the size of an organization, its industry, and the assets that it has at its disposal. However, some key components generally remain consistent across the incident management landscape.

Training and development: The incident manager plays a key role in training the response team. This includes providing guidance on best practices, organizing training sessions, and facilitating knowledge sharing. They develop and maintain incident response playbooks, conduct regular drills and simulations, and ensure team members are prepared for various incident scenarios.

Incident triage: When a disruption occurs, the incident manager is responsible for immediately assessing its impact. They need to promptly gather information, analyze potential consequences, and determine the appropriate level of response. This includes categorizing incidents by severity, identifying affected services, and estimating business impact to ensure proper prioritization.

Escalation: Depending on the severity of the incident, incident managers may need to escalate the matter to higher levels of management or involve regulatory authorities. They need to ensure that escalation procedures are followed and that the pertinent team members are involved at various stages. This includes maintaining escalation matrices, notifying on-call personnel, and engaging vendor support when necessary.

Resource allocation: Appropriate assets need to be allotted to mitigate the damage caused by incidents; this duty is particularly important if a business is working with limited resources. This may include personnel, tools, and other assets needed to contain the incident effectively. Managers must balance competing priorities and ensure critical incidents receive adequate resources.

Documentation: The incident manager is responsible for documenting all aspects of the response process, including actions taken, decisions made, and outcomes achieved. This reporting is essential for post-incident analysis, regulatory compliance, and legal purposes. They maintain detailed incident logs, create post-incident reports, and ensure all documentation meets organizational and regulatory standards.

Tools incident managers use

A plethora of digital tools can help incident managers unify procedures, automate monitoring, and collaborate more effectively. These include:

Incident management platforms: Incident management software provides a centralized dashboard for managing incidents, including tracking, prioritizing, and resolving them.

Monitoring and alerting tools: These tools can help detect abnormalities in IT infrastructure, distributing alerts to relevant parties when a potential issue is identified.

Communication tools: Platforms such as Slack, Microsoft Teams, or even dedicated incident communication applications like OpsGenie facilitate real-time communication among team members.

Automation tools: Automation software can expedite routine procedures such as system checks and configuration updates. They aim to enhance accuracy in incident response, reducing the likelihood of human errors.

Measuring incident manager's performance

Evaluating an incident manager’s performance helps organizations ensure swift incident resolution, efficient coordination, and ongoing service reliability. Let's explore key KPIs and qualitative measures that support effective evaluation of an incident manager's performance.

Incident resolution rate: This metric evaluates the percentage of incidents that are successfully resolved within a specified timeframe. A high rate indicates effective disruption management and problem-solving skills, while a low rate suggests that there's room for improvement.

Escalation rate: Managers should not hesitate to escalate when necessary, but a low escalation rate may signal that an individual possesses the necessary expertise to excel in a management role.

Proactive prevention: A high number of preemptive resolutions is a fairly reliable indicator that a manager is attentive and fast-acting.

Documentation quality: Assessing the accuracy and thoroughness of incident documentation, including reports, and knowledge base entries, reflects the manager's commitment to maintaining accurate records. 

Incident management safety and risk considerations

During system outages or failures, your technology is at a heightened state of vulnerability. Employing sound practices can help prevent more damage than what has already occurred, helping secure your sensitive data.

Data security: Implement encryption, access controls, and other security measures to safeguard data from unauthorized use, especially during investigation and resolution.

System stability: Take proactive steps to prevent further downtime by conducting impact assessments and implementing temporary workarounds to maintain system stability and availability.

Risk mitigation: Develop contingency plans to address high-risk scenarios effectively, including business continuity and disaster recovery measures.

Regulatory compliance: Adhere to applicable regulations when handling IT disruptions. Ensure compliance with legal requirements while maintaining accurate records for auditing and reporting purposes.

Challenges faced by IT incident managers

IT incident managers play a critical role in maintaining service continuity, but they often face complex challenges that can hinder swift and effective incident resolution. These include:

Managing stress during crises

High-pressure situations are inherent to incident management. Managers must maintain composure while dealing with critical system failures, anxious stakeholders, and tight resolution timelines. This requires exceptional stress management techniques and personal resilience.

Interdepartmental coordination

Coordinating efforts across different IT teams and business units can be challenging, especially when departments have conflicting priorities or communication styles. Incident managers must navigate organizational politics and foster collaboration among diverse groups.

Maintaining SLAs

Service Level Agreements (SLAs) create additional pressure during incident response. Managers must balance the need for thorough resolution with contractual obligations, often making difficult decisions about temporary workarounds versus permanent fixes.

Continuous improvement and learning from incidents

Transforming incidents into learning opportunities requires dedication and systematic approach. Managers must overcome resistance to change, document findings effectively, and drive implementation of preventive measures while managing day-to-day incident response duties.

Choose Freshservice for your IT incident management needs

Incident management is often overlooked until a crisis hits. Don't let your organization be caught off guard; extended downtime due to disruptions can lead to significant revenue loss, while also weakening confidence in your brand and its systems.

Freshservice acts as a robust incident management platform offering all the tools a manager needs, such as task management features, post-incident reporting capabilities, and robust workflow automation capacity. 

Its unified IT management platform enables effortless ticket prioritization based on urgency and impact, helping teams address critical issues before they escalate. Furthermore, IT support and end-users alike appreciate the platform’s versatile knowledge base, which empowers your agents to better address incidents, reduce resolution times, and improve overall user satisfaction.

Freshservice’s self-service portal software is especially valuable, enabling employees to raise tickets on their own. This helps save time and reduce the burden on IT support.