Bringing a helpdesk up to ITIL standard

The challenge

The service desk was working reactively. Incidents were handled inconsistently depending on who picked them up, there was no clear distinction between an incident and a request, and no reporting that would let anyone judge whether things were improving. Meanwhile a significant amount of IT work sat with an external MSP that was not delivering value proportionate to its cost.

What I did

I matured the desk around ITIL v4: standardised incident, request, problem and change handling, with clear definitions so tickets were categorised consistently. I introduced proper reporting so performance became visible, and chaired the change advisory board to bring structure to how changes were approved. In parallel I built the case for bringing MSP work in-house, then delivered that transition.

The outcome

A consistent, data-driven service desk with performance that can actually be measured. IT work was brought back in-house at lower cost, and staff retention within the team improved.

At a glance

• Incident, request, problem and change standardised
• Reporting introduced so performance became visible
• Change advisory board established and chaired
• IT work transitioned in-house from an external MSP
• Lower spend and improved team retention

Related service

This work falls under Helpdesk & IT support. If you are facing something similar, that page explains how I approach it.

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