June 2016, issue 2, volume 18

The first digital council

without a city hall
Read more about Molenwaard council on page 6

In this issue:
Moving from Service Level Agreements to eXperience Level Agreements Worcade helps simplify
the collaboration with your supplier 5 tips for setting up an SSC

EDITORIAL

Be the best you can be

Are you always pushing yourself? You want to exercise
more often, eat more healthily, visit friends and family more
often. But you also want to work more efficiently, improve
customer satisfaction and raise the level of knowledge of your

Read more about Worcade on page 28

department. The pitfall of having too many good intentions is

that you cant live up to them.
How do you achieve success? Set the bar high, but not too
high. Try new things and step out of your comfort zone. But
remember to always have a clear goal and work towards
it. Thats what we did at TOPdesk. In the last months weve
been busing organizing SEE 2016: an event that focuses on
service excellence. It was an ambitious plan, with ambitious
goals, which turned out successfully: over 1000 visitors in
the Netherlands and UK in total, over fifty presentations
from national and international speakers, and a number of
workshops and interactive sessions.
For this magazine we were inspired by SEE. Read more about
the future of service management according to TOPdesk CEO
Wolter Smit. Learn about eXperience Level Agreements, get tips
on setting up a Shared Service Center, and how to get the most
out of your service desk. Do you have ambitious plans for your
department? We hope this magazine inspires you.

Enjoy your read!

Nicola van de Velde & Milou Snaterse

22

CONTENTS June '16

Lees meer op pagina 14

SHARED SERVICE
MANAGEMENT IS
OFTEN ABOUT
EFFICIENCY. SERVICE
ARE ABOUT PEOPLE.
Marco Gianotten
Managing Director, Giarte

04

NEWS

06

POP-UP COUNCIL OF THE FUTURE

11

THE FUTURE OF SERVICE MANAGEMENT

14

THINK IN XLAS, NOT SLAS

18

IN CONTROL WITH TOPDESK LINKS

21

COLUMN

In search of service excellence

22

5 TIPS FOR SETTING UP A SSC

26

IMPROVING YOUR SERVICE DESK

28

WORCADE: COLLABORATION PLATFORM

FOR SERVICE PROFESSIONALS

32

TIPS + TRICKS

Read more on page 14

ON THE COVER:
Jan Meijsen from Molenwaard
council. Read more on page 6
about how this council closed

11

its city hall and started working

entirely digitally.

4 TOPDESK MAGAZINE - JUNE 2016

Stay up-to-date
To stay up-to-date with the latest
TOPdesk news and service

TOPdesk forms partnership with Gartner

management developments,
follow us via these channels.

On 1 January 2016, TOPdesk entered into a partnership with Gartner. Gartner is the worlds
leading information technology research and advisory company.

TOPdesk Newsletter

TOPdesk has branches in nine countries and is market leader in the Netherlands, Belgium and

@TOPdesk @TOPdesk _UK

Luxembourg. With the ambition to conquer the market in North America, TOPdesk opened

facebook.com/TOPdesk

a branch in the US on 1 January 2015. TOPdesk believes that Gartners in-depth knowledge of

linkedin.com/company/topdesk
community.topdesk.com

the American market will help TOPdesk achieve this goal.

Read more about Gartner on www.gartner.com. If you would like to know more about the
TOPdesk and Gartner partnership, please contact Freek Takken or Ramon van Leeuwen

@TOPdesk
@NancyVElsacker
Full room for Hannahs
presentation about whats new in
@TOPdesk #SEE2016NL

via +31 (0)15 270 09 00.

TOPdesk integrates Nexthink IT analytics

Nexthink, a supplier of end user IT analytics, has entered into a partnership with TOPdesk,
making it possible to integrate Nexthinks IT analytics with our tool. Offering end users
excellent services has always been important to TOPdesk. Thanks to the collaboration with
Nexthink, we can provide even more added value, help end users more quickly, and improve
services, says Anne van Dam, Business Developer, about the partnership.
The integration ensures that all incidents that take place within an IT environment or workspace
are visible in TOPdesk in real-time. This grants first and second line support more insight into the

@TOPdesk_UK
Thanks for helping us raise 155%
of our target for @Rethink_ at the
Great Manchester Run!

severity and location of the problem.

More information about Nexthink is available at: https://www.nexthink.com

New management TOPdesk UK

As of 1 June, TOPdesk UK is under new management. Luis Soares is taking on the responsibilities
as a Managing Director, Commercial and Business Development, and Rafael Oliveira is TOPdesks
new Managing Director, Services and Operations. Both Luis and Rafael bring a wealth of
experience to this position, having been part of the TOPdesk team for many years as Head of
Account Management and Head of Consultancy respectively.
Luis Soares and Rafael Oliveira replace Rik Prins as Managing Director. Rik Prins led the UK team
for five years and now looks forward to taking over the role of Director of Sales and Marketing at
TOPdesks headquarters in the Netherlands.

NEWS

Calendar
29
JUN

DE

TOPdesk on Tour Bremen

Bremer Weser-Stadion GmbH, Bremen

First Service Excellence Experience

a huge success
SEE 2016, the Service Excellence Experience was a huge success! On 19 May SEE was held in the
UK, and on 1 June in the Netherlands. This event welcomed both local and international visitors

5
JUL

and speakers.

TOPdesk on Tour Dsseldorf

ESPRIT arena, Dsseldorf

In total, over 1,000 visitors attended SEE to learn more about the future of service management.
In the afternoon, they could choose from a large number of presentations and interactive sessions.

14
JUL

Later this year more SEE events will be organized in Denmark, Hungary and Brazil.

TOPdesk on Tour Stuttgart

VfB Stuttgart Arena Betriebs GmbH,
Stuttgart

21
JUL

The SEE UK presentations and photos of the day are available at www.see2016.com/uk.
If youre interested in the Dutch presentations, blogs and videos please visit www.see2016.com.

UK

TOPdesk on Tour Mnchen

Allianz Arena, Munich

SEP

TOPdesk on Tour Zrich

Stadion Letzigrund, Zrich

15
SEP
TOPdesk on Tour Wien
Generali-Arena, Vienna

13
SEP

DK

SEE

SEP

HU

SEE

14
SEP

UK

Maximising your service desk resources

SDI event, Birmingham

NL

6 TOPDESK MAGAZINE - JUNE 2016

POP-UP
COUNCIL OF
THE FUTURE
Dutch council Molenwaard is the first council that doesnt have
a city hall made of bricks. In October 2014, the council closed its
physical counters and moved to the digital and mobile world. The
result? A council that supports its citizens and entrepreneurs up
close, digitally and personally.
TEXT: LEO KRANENBURG PHOTOGRAPHY: AAD HOOGENDOORN

Choosing a digital council

On 1 January 2013, three Dutch councils merged and formed Molenwaard council. Because building a new council is
expensive, they decided against it. Instead, the council was determined to become the first Dutch council without a
physical city hall. Jan Meijsen, information consultant and project lead, was closely involved in developing the virtual
office for the council. The concept was in fact born out of necessity, says Meijsen. The business plan for a new city hall
showed us that a new building would cost around 15 million euros, while our budget was 3 million. We then organized
several sessions to look for an alternative. During one of these sessions a colleague was thinking out loud about why we
even needed a city hall. That comment was spot on.
Weddings can take place in one of the many historical buildings. And we dont need a council chamber either;
we have plenty of community centres. While discussing all the city halls functions, we were left with two: identity
documents and drivers licences. These require a visual identification. Together with the government we set up a pilot
project in which these documents were delivered at home by someone who was qualified to take care of identification.
With the last hurdle taken, we were able to close the physical counter.

CUSTOMER IN FOCUS

8 TOPDESK MAGAZINE - JUNE 2016

No more office jobs

werent sure who, when and where someone

Closing the counters meant the meeting

was using a device. Thats why weve started

rooms and the office with permanent work

using TOPdesk more intensively within the

spaces disappeared. Instead our civil servants

council. All equipment is now registered in

work at flexible locations like community

our CMDB, ensuring we always have the

centres and housing corporations, at cafes in

details at hand.

Molenwaard or at home. If cases are complex,

Moreover, the functional managers recently

well pay citizens a visit.

started using TOPdesk. Meijsen explains

The council has six interchanging request

how they had their work cut out for them.

locations: in a nursing home and school,

Our civil servants work in a hybrid cloud of

among others. Citizens can visit these

which the public section is managed with

locations to request a new passport. The

Microsoft Office 365. Im really pleased

council still has two back offices with only a

with how thats turned out. If you want to

few work places where colleagues can meet

outsource Basic registration of Persons or the

and work temporarily.

Basic registration of addresses and buildings

you end up spending more time and money

Working closer to the residents

educating external parties.

For this reason, we recently returned

As the first digital city hall in the Netherlands,

functional management to our civil servants:

Molenwaard has made a name for itself. But

a horticultural specialist now manages the

it was never our intention to become a council

software package for the outdoor areas. The

without a city hall, stresses Meijsen. It was

functional managers use TOPdesk, but arent

always our vision to improve our services,

used to working with it as an operator. For this

digitally, but especially personally. The virtual

reason, these colleagues are currently learning

office helps, because all staff members

to work with the system. As non-technical

including the board of directors can work

people, theyll know: this is a request, Ill have

no matter the location, device and time. This

to do something with it. Of course it has fully

literally brings us closer to our residents.

changed the way people think and work, but

A good practical example of this is requesting

for now it looks promising.

a building permit. In the past, permit

requests were passed on from council to
requester and back again, which took a lot of

Pop-up council

time and energy. Now one of our specialists

A recent study by the University of Tilburg

immediately discussed the request at home

shows that Molenwaards new service

with the entrepreneur or citizen. This not

strategy has its benefits. The customer

only saves us time and money, but a lot of

satisfaction score has risen half a point

frustration too.

per domain to an 80% average. Moreover,

interviews with citizens show that they are

Transition towards network

organization

happy to be more involved, to have more

influence, and to share their vision. This is
precisely what the council wanted to achieve.

To enable working on location, all employees

But Meijsen and his colleagues are not done

have a company laptop and mobile phone.

yet. And we never will. As a council you want

This made things a lot more complex for

to stay in touch with your environment. And

the back office, explains Meijsen. Now we

its exactly this environment thats changing

TOPDESK MAGAZINE - JUNE 2016 9

IT WAS ALWAYS OUR VISION TO

IMPROVE OUR SERVICES DIGITALLY,
BUT ALSO PERSONALLY

in different areas. In the years to come well

Molenwaards future

overcome more and more obstacles to achieve

If it were up to Meijsen, he would take the

digital customer care. Think of biometrical

step sooner rather than later. A shared

authentication, for instance, which would

cloud can save the tax payer a lot of money.

enable us to request a new passport entirely

Research has shown that this can add up to

digitally. Councils need to stay on top of

2.5 billion euros per year. Id call this a strong

these types of developments to remain

business case. But an even more important

service-minded.

detail is that it allows us to focus on our core

What does this mean for Molenwaards

services as a council. This is necessary, because

pop-up council, says Meijsen. What I mean is

society is currently moving faster than we

that we want to be located where our citizens

can keep up with.

and entrepreneurs need us. Of course well

always be there in the background, to uphold
rules and regulations or prevent disturbances.
Those tasks will stay with us. But apart from
that, youll only see us when you need us.

One cloud environment

Meijsen is happy to see that other councils
are following Molenwaards example. A
neighbouring council is planning on closing
their city hall on 1 January 2017, and other
councils are also considering this possibility. I
hope it leads to a government cloud in which
we can store all back office applications,
explains Meijsen. At the moment 60 to 70
% of our services already comprise national
rules and regulations. Our IT systems are
based on it. Thats why it makes sense to have
all these databases in the cloud, including all
links between different systems and basic
registrations. It does mean we all have to
move towards becoming a digital council,
Jan Meijsen, Information consultant and
project lead at Molenwaard council

tasks the tasks that truly set apart our

role? I often joke about us wanting to be a

and lose the idea that were unique. We

simply arent.

10
TOPDESK MAGAZINE - JUNE 2016
ADVERTORIAL

Frank Droogsma
and Wolter
Smit, TOPdesks
TOPDESK
MAGAZINE
- JUNEco-founders
2016 11

THE FUTURE OF SERVICE

MANAGEMENT
The world of service management is changing. The role of the end user is becoming more
important. New technologies bring new opportunities, but also pitfalls. The question for
many organizations is how they should deal with this and what the future will hold for
our business. At TOPdesk we have clear vision on this. In this article I will list the most
important trends and developments.
TEXT: WOLTER SMIT PHOTOGRAPHY: AAD HOOGENDOORN

Software should be standard and simple

for end users to come first. Consumers have grown accustomed to

At TOPdesk we believe that software should be simple if you want users

ease of use, and we expect nothing less as professional users. Service

to actually start using it. Service management software was previously

management should therefore be accessible, easy to understand and

focused on operator usability. Since this target group works with the

suitable for several devices. Moreover, companies want to be able to

software the most, it offered the most room for improvement.

customize the user interface to meet their needs.

In 2016 user experience is not limited to the operator. Now its time

At TOPdesk we took all these expectations into account when

12 TOPDESK MAGAZINE - JUNE 2016

developing our new self-service portal. The start page features an

Shift left left takes this a step further: it lets customers find answers

intuitive editor, helping organizations adjust the look and feel to

to their questions by making knowledge available to end users.

match their style and person group. This way you can for instance

TOPdesks new Self-Service Portal is a knowledge base with a powerful

let the secretary group reserve rooms from their start page, and

search bar, making it easy to share and find knowledge. When a user

management can directly authorize requests.

fills out a form, they are immediately shown the relevant knowledge

More importantly, the self-service portal enables organizations to

items, manuals or FAQs. This lets them quickly solve their own

easily create forms that help them retrieve all the information they

problems and help each other, without having to call the service desk.

need to resolve calls, and lets users easily find the right forms. This is

It gives operators more time for other tasks as well.

how we bring users and operators closer together, ensuring calls are
resolved as quickly as possible.

Knowledge is shifted left

Automatic software updates

At the start of this century, releasing a new software version meant
not being able to improve it once it left the building. Thats why the

Making it easy to resolve problems can help you relieve a lot of

software world introduced large, time-consuming test programmes.

frustration. But its even better if you can resolve problems before

The releases on floppy disk are history, but many organizations

theyre even logged. In the years to come, more and more organizations

nowadays still think in terms of releases. In the years to come, more

will invest in what we call shift left and shift left left.

and more organizations will change their mindset and make the

Shift left means that experienced operators make their solutions

switch to continuous deployment. The advantage is that it is easier and

available to less experienced colleagues, by using a knowledge base

cheaper for both software suppliers and users to make small changes

for instance. This helps them answer more difficult customer

on a daily basis.

questions: the answer is shifted left in the chain. Weve used this

At TOPdesk we introduced continuous deployment for our product

strategy for a while now and have noticed that it does save time

development this year. We consider this new method as the next step

and makes users happier.

in user-friendliness: users dont have to wait a year for an update, but

TOPDESK MAGAZINE - JUNE 2016 13

WE WANT A PLATFORM WHERE ORGANIZATIONS

CAN COLLABORATE EFFORTLESSLY AND SECURELY

can always use the newest technology. They dont have to spend time

track the current status of their calls. In the future, organizations will

on technical management, but can focus on their core tasks like

no longer accept this. Instead theyll expect their supply chain to grant

helping customers.

them insight into their services.

At TOPdesk were currently working on Worcade: an online platform

Supporting departments working together

that enables quick and easy communication between a TOPdesk

environment and the supplier. It lets organizations communicate with

Supporting departments like HR, IT and FM are constantly trying to

suppliers directly from their service management system. Suppliers

professionalize their services. But they dont do this together. Thats

with or without a service management system can respond

why the organizations application landscape is now fragmented, and

immediately as well.

doesnt meet the users expectations.

It is our mission to develop Worcade into a platform where different

End users dont want to think about where they can find their services.

organizations can easily and securely work together to help the

Instead they expect to find an answer to their question easily, quickly

end user. This helps us connect the entire chain, from end user to

and in a central location like they do with Google.

manufacturer, across organizational borders. As a result, the end user

Supporting departments cant live up to these expectations alone.

doesnt have to repeat their question, the supplier can respond more

Thats why organizations will have to focus more and more on shared

easily, and the manufacturer can share relevant knowledge.

service management: combining the efforts of support departments

These five developments standard & simple, shift left, continuous

to improve their service quality. You dont necessarily need to integrate

delivery, shared service management and supply chain integration

the back office in this process, but you do need to offer end users one

will determine the future of service management and together they

starting point.

form the roadmap to TOPdesks future. The services that organizations

In addition to facilities and IT departments, weve noticed that

provide will have to respond to the changing wishes and expectations

many organizations improve their services when departments like HR,

of the end user. They have to offer one integrated service across the

property management and catering also standardize their services. We

entire chain, be easy to use, and include a custom interface that lets

believe that collaborating in one service management tool is the future

end users independently solve as many of their problems as possible.

and we fully support this development. In the next years, we will make

The common factor in this is using the right service management

TOPdesks developments available to the entire organization. The new

tool. TOPdesk strives to help organizations optimally focus on the

Self-Service Portal also contributes to this effectively, because it gives

end users needs.

you one portal for creating a service portfolio that is relevant to several
user groups.

Supply Chain Integration is crucial

More and more organizations are outsourcing part of their services
to other organizations. For this reason its becoming increasingly
important that these services are well organized.
The challenge in this is that suppliers service management systems
arent often transparent, making it impossible for organizations to

14 TOPDESK MAGAZINE - JUNE 2016

THINK IN XLAs,
NOT SLAs

According to Marco Gianotten, shared service management is a step in the right

direction for organizations that want to improve their services. But he believes IT,
Facilities and HR departments can be a lot more ambitious. Its time to stop thinking in
terms of processes and agreements about those processes: think about user satisfaction
instead. This means shifting from SLAs to XLAs, eXperience Level Agreements rather than
Service Level Agreements.
TEXT: LUKE VAN VELTHOVEN

Marco Gianotten is managing director and co-founder of Giarte:

Supporting monopolists

an IT services and outsourcing advisory and research company. As

Whether youre in IT, Facilities HR, supporting departments are

the creative mind behind Giarte, Gianotten has spent the last years

monopolists. You cant send your customer to a different department

specializing in so-called XLAs: eXperience Level Agreements. Gianotten

for HR matters, and the same goes for an IT-related problem.

believes XLAs are an addition to SLAs: Service Level Agreements. No

According to Gianotten, its exactly these departments that hold on

more agreements about processes, but rather about experiences.

to strict SLAs. Has something gone wrong? Theyll adjust the process

Giarte wants to unite the world of user experience and IT service

instead of looking at the results. The business side of the organization

management. On the one hand theres lots of numbers, tools and

is only focused on the end result, says Gianotten. They couldnt care

processes. On the other hand its all about experience and vision, and

less about the process. They just want everything to run smoothly.

using this vision to make IT service management more social. How do

Gianotten takes a blood bank as a good example of SLAs interfering

you make a service desk as customer-focused as possible?

with the experience: even though the IT department promises an

TOPDESK MAGAZINE - JUNE 2016 15

uptime of at least 99.5%, if the 0.5% downtime is during peak hour

your suppliers are concerned. You simply shouldnt use them to defend

your customers will be unhappy nevertheless. You could think of

yourself or to explain how well youre doing. Then youre using them

other things. Why isnt the Wi-Fi fast enough? Why are bills paid

as a disclaimer instead of a starting point for good services. If theyre

after three months? Why arent you hiring people more quickly?

your first line of defence and you focus your processes on them, things

A lot of departments respond to these questions by creating even

become even more slow-moving and laborious.

more processes, setting up more SLAs. People seem to think: well

According to Gianotten, you can prevent this sluggishness if you

purchase a tool with a service catalogue. Now weve got IT under

continue to look around you. Dont measure customer satisfaction

control. According to Gianotten, this wont help you achieve your goal:

once a year, but do this frequently. If a service or knowledge item

a better service experience.

doesnt meet requirements or is unclear, adjust it immediately. Its all

Many organizations consider shared service management a miracle

about improving, improving and improving. You need user feedback

cure for improving their services. Gianotten believes it is a good

for this. Let them determine whether something is good enough, and

step forward, but only if you look further than the processes alone.

adjust your SLAs accordingly. You have to find out why the customer

You have to be careful that people who were individually unhappy

satisfaction is dropping and what you can do about it. This continuous

dont form a group and become unhappy together. Be the best you

feedback loop is often missing at organizations.

can be and develop together: that is the promise of shared service

management. The focus here should be on service and not shared.
Shared service management often focuses on efficiency. Services focus
on people. If your employees cant get to work, it costs money. Theyre
digitally unemployed.

SHARED SERVICE MANAGEMENT OFTEN

FOCUSES ON EFFICIENCY. SERVICES FOCUS
ON PEOPLE.
Marco Gianotten
Managing Director, Giarte

Continuous feedback loop

A reality check

Gianotten believes that organizations often take the wrong approach

Gianotten stresses that its important for supporting departments to

when trying to make their processes more customer-friendly. When

keep in mind who they are working for. Creating a persona can help.

hes at a customer, he puts these types of ideas on a not-to-do list.

People in IT normally only look at users in a functional way: What

Customers often have a list with action points that lead to perverse

does a user do?. Instead you have to wonder what that user is thinking

incentives. For instance: implementing a fine if calls take too long

and experiencing. Include the emotional context: What does the user

to resolve. This doesnt improve your services. Instead, the difficult

experience? Its important to have empathy, only then will you get a

work gets done by parties other than your help desk. And although

reality check regarding your SLAs. For B2C companies this makes sense,

the number of calls is reduced, nobody is held accountable for the

but not for supporting departments. Like I said, your user basically

resolution times.

doesnt have anywhere else to turn.

KPIs that dont work? Get rid of them. But it doesnt get more difficult

When Im at a customer, I always start with an empathy map: What

than to stop doing something a certain way. People are used to

does a process employee do? What is the difference between him and

something and dont know how to manage their processes. Im not

another employee? Get to know the people youre working for and

saying you should completely abolish SLAs and KPIs, particularly where

create an overview of your service experience and usability. Lets take

16 TOPDESK MAGAZINE - JUNE 2016

THE SLA IS A CHECK: IS WHAT

WERE DOING HELPFUL? DO WE
MAKE PEOPLE HAPPY?
Marco Gianotten
Managing Director, Giarte

the blood bank example. An uptime of 99.5% helps maintain a low

Empowered future

problem frequency, but the impact of downtime remains huge.

Even if you dont see the benefits of XLAs now, Gianotten believes you

How does that affect your users experience? And what would you

wont stay behind for long. New generations are more critical and

like that experience to be? A better world always begins by looking

not afraid of speaking their mind. People have higher expectations

at the cold hard facts.

for IT, FM and HR departments. These users wont help you. They
communicate their feedback directly, whether thats via your own

Mutual discussions

channels or social media. The biggest mistake you can make is solely
using social media as leverage. If you dont offer your users a place

Once the customer satisfaction has improved, Gianotten often sees

to give feedback, theyll find a way, even if its not through the most

that the experience of an XLA no longer matches the SLA. Thats when

straightforward channels.

it really starts to get interesting. Imagine: your users are satisfied, but

Gianotten also spots changes in the market that make it easier

SLAs arent met. You start talking to each other, because SLAs have to

to introduce XLAs, like the current movement towards the cloud.

make sense. The SLA should act as a check: Is what were doing helpful?

Instead of spending 80% of your time trying to keep your systems

Do we make people happy? These questions sometimes lead to more

up and running, you now have more time for your customers. This

lenient SLAs. An SLA should always service the experience. For instance,

gives you more time to draft the ultimate XLA. A suitable SLA will

if something is solved within the agreed upon four hours, but everyone

follow eventually.

is unhappy, its useless.

During XLA implementations, Gianotten often notices that 10% of
the employees immediately see the benefits, 10% doesnt understand
at all and the other 80% has a wait-and-see attitude. Its also apparent
that IT departments are often further advanced in the area of XLAs
than FM and HR departments. They usually follow in their big IT
brothers footsteps. I use the optimistic ten percent to try and
convince the other eighty percent. Once they understand that you
dont have to abolish SLAs but rather add an XLA, youll notice that the
change in mindset flows through the entire organization.

17
TOPDESK MAGAZINE - MARCH 2016
ADVERTORIAL

TOPDESK MAGAZINE - JUNE 2016 17

TimeTell
Planning & TimeSheet

TimeTell - The solution for planning and time registration

TimeTell is an extensive system for planning and registration of time,
hours, leave and absence. One of the characteristics is the ease of use; it
is important that people do not hesitate to work with the timesheet. It is a
complete and powerful solution, which can interface with other systems
like TOPdesk or other HR, ERP and financial systems.

To support the management, TimeTell offers a dashboard with a summary

of the most important information.

Furthermore, you can plan staff and projects. Staff planning can be used
to allocate people to a specific job and project. The TimeTell project
planning functionality helps you make Gantt charts in order to gain more
insight into the process structure and progress. Both planning and
realisation of spent hours can be registered in TimeTell, which makes it
easy to control and manage projects.
The solution is available both online and on-premise. This can be
combined with the TimeTell App, enabling you to work anywhere with
TimeTell.
Every organisation large or small, profit or non-profit can work with
TimeTell. Users around the world are Bosch Security Systems, Bayer,
DB Schenker and the Rail Safety and Standard Board.
Like TOPdesk, the TimeTell software is developed in the Netherlands.
It is used by more than 500 clients worldwide, and is available in English,
German and Dutch.

If you would like to know more about our

solution, please visit our website:
www.timetell.com
+31 (0)70 311 48 11
info@timetell.com

18 TOPDESK MAGAZINE - JUNE 2016

Jeffrey Verstegen
is a technical consultant at TOPdesk. As a technical specialist, he focuses on
links between TOPdesk and other software applications, adjusted imports and
customized web forms to support organizational processes.

IN CONTROL WITH
TOPDESK LINKS
It often occurs that a call is logged in TOPdesk, but processed in a different application.
A link between the two applications makes sure that you can keep an overview of all
activities in this call. But how does this work in practice? In this article we will have a
look at two examples of actual integrations and explain how links help you keep control
of your services.
Imagine: you work for an organization that

to perform and if there are any special

appears directly in your application and you

supplies IT services to different branches

circumstances. This information is

can send a field employee who is close by.

across the country. These services can

probably already recorded in TOPdesk,

After that, you can enter in TOPdesk

comprise replacing a desktop, issuing iPads

but needs to be duplicated manually in

which employee will pick up the task and

or picking up laptops for repairs. That means

the planning application.

the status of his or her activities. This way,

your people in the field are on the road a lot.

It would be ideal if you can plan their route
according to the order in which calls are
logged in TOPdesk. In this case, TOPdesk does

your service desk employees always have an

More control on your activity

planning

not only create the planning, but the activities

A link takes this step out of your hands.

for field employees are also put into TOPdesk.

Together with a technical consultant you

Now imagine there is no link between

decide when the information is forwarded to

up-to-date overview of each call. Callers can

stay updated via phone or through the SelfService Portal via the information from the
planning application.

TOPdesk and your planning application.

the planning department. Of course you also

This means you need to enter all information

discuss which information is forwarded. The

More control on your

development activities

in both applications. After all, the field

activities can subsequently be planned from

Links not only ensure that daily activities go

employees want to know where they need

the planning application and the tasks appear

smoother, faster and are better organized.

to go that day, what activities they need

here in real-time. A rush order in the south

They can also give your organization more

TOPDESK MAGAZINE - JUNE 2016 19

control over its development activities. Your

How to set up a link

customers or employees create bugs and

TOPdesk supports several methods for

More information

feature requests for the applications you offer

creating a link with another tool. Which

Are you interested in setting up

in TOPdesk. However, the status of these bugs

one is the best depends on the type of link

a link or do you want to know more

or feature requests is visible in another tool.

and the possibilities of the other tool. Thats

about the possibilities in TOPdesk?

Without a link you will again have to register

why creating a link always starts with an

Please contact us via +44 (0)20 7803

in both applications, which also leads to a

intake. During this intake a TOPdesk technical

4200 or info@topdesk.com. Or ask

higher risk of mistakes.

consultant talks to you about your wishes and

your (technical) consultant about

discusses the technical possibilities with an

the possibilities.

With a link, all feedback on the tool is

automatically forwarded and your developers

expert of the other application. Based on this

will have an up-to-date overview of all current

information a decision is made on how the

calls per application.

link is set up.

When you have more information on the

Because TOPdesk depends on another

logged call, you can automatically forward this

application for setting up the link, you will

to TOPdesk. This could be a response about

need someone who knows a lot about it.

when you think you can start working on the

If and when this is the case at your

bug, or a request for additional information.

organization, you can best discuss with

Your customer or employee directly receives

your technical consultant.

the desired information through the link.

A DV E RTO R I A L

Improve your customer service

with TOPdesk-TFS integration

Creation Work Item

Also available for TOPdesk in the

Cloud and Visual Studio Team

Team Foundation Server

Update TOPdesk Card

More information and reference cases:

www.delta-n.nl/tfs-topdesk-koppeling

ADVERTORIAL

Assets under control with Data Manager

Customers choose TOPdesk to support their ICT and facilities processes and

Data Manager adds significant value for TOPdesk users, including:

provide them with consistent, accurate information.. However, for this to work

Accurate insights of your current IT assets

efficiently and to guarantee a reliable set of financial and risk reports, information

Bulk entry and/or synchronize TOPdesk CMDB and source applications

in TOPdesk needs to be up to date, valid and complete. Manual data entry and

Reliable source for audit reports

checks within TOPdesk often fall short on these important pre-requisites.

We really thought that our assets in

TOPdesk were up to date
Scope4mation solves this problem with Data Manager, which retrieves
information from source applications and automatically compares it with data
held in TOPdesk.. Differences are presented in the interactive Data Manager
Portal and can be selectively processed by non-technical users. Scope4mation
enables a scheduled routine to read data from any source application and to
validate that this data is consistently maintained and kept up to date in TOPdesk.
Even early in the project phase, Data Manager can provide users with better insight
into the actual status of your asset inventory compared to assets administered in
TOPdesk. Data Manager provides the means to easily verify, control and correct
data, ensuring that a reliable and accurate CMDB is maintained right from the

Now we can check, correct and prove

we are fully in control

very outset.

Data Manager - flexible and future proof integrations

Scope4mation has worked together with TOPdesk to make sure the integrations

Support for real-time, scheduled and interactive integrations

are future proof. Data Manager supports TOPdesk version 4 (HTML), 5 (HTML and

Future proof and TOPdesk optimized connector:

XML Import) and 6 (XML Import and the new API). For new Topdesk versions,Data

TOPdesk 4/5/6 and html/xmlimport/API interfaces

Manager can easily adapt without the need for interfaces to be rebuilt..

TOPdesk entities and field representation identical to items in TOPdesk

Easy integration of all source and target applications without programming

Interactive portal for overview and data process control suitable also for non-

in the selected language

technical users

Maintaining relations between objects in TOPdesk

In addition to Data Manager, Scope4mation also provides a powerful data

masking solution to anonymise data.

Scope4mation will participate in the TOPdesk SEE

2016 event in Utrecht, please come visit our booth
Surf www.scope4mation.com/connect/topdesk/
Mail info@scope4mation.com

COLUMN

IN SEARCH OF
SERVICE EXCELLENCE
Holidays are a never-ending source of service experiences. The

The customers experience plays a larger role in many new service

stories about service horrors are the most enjoyable ones. Your

agreements as well. We now speak more and more of XLAs

luggage hasnt arrived, and even though you call twice a day for

(eXperience Level Agreements) instead of the classic SLAs (Service

two weeks, nobody seems to know what the problem is. However,

Level Agreements). The main thought behind XLAs is that you need

new promises are always made, even though no one keeps them.

to anticipate what the customer wants or hopes for, but what has

Another popular problem is wrong bookings, as well as hotels that

not literally been discussed in the negotiations.

serve spoiled food.

Striving for customer satisfaction and service excellence forces
But luckily not everything is problematic. A check among colleagues

service providers to use their emphatic abilities to put themselves

proves that service excellence can still be found during summer.

in the customers shoes. Add customer input and research to the

A number of examples: Being able to take your surf board with

mix and you are on the right path to continuously learning and

you on the plane for free. Car trouble that is taken care of, from

improving. Not alone, but with both your customer and supplier.

(cancelling a planned) booking to a replacement vehicle.

A personal guide who really shows you around the city and

Providing a positive surprise is a challenge for everyone. Sometimes

who you can pay afterwards, depending on how much you think

you need more than existing experiences and ideas. Trying

its worth.

something new sometimes leads to experiences that exceed all

those before it.

Service excellence is more than meeting agreements and voiced

expectations. You also need to meet the unvoiced expectations, or

We have tried to do this in the past year during the development

even the wishes the customer does not even know he or she has

of SEE 2016. We have strived to exceed your expectations and you

yet. Its all about the element of surprise and adding something

have been able to experience the result of our efforts. We hope

substantial to your customers private or business life.

you had a wonderful day and we would love to see you again at
the next edition.

Excellent service is not unattainable or unmeasurable. There is

even a standard for service excellence (CEN/TS 16880), in which
structurally surprising the customer by exceeding his or her
expectations is the norm. This bar may seem high because many
services already dont meet the agreements, let alone that they
exceed the customers expectations. However, the model in this
standard provides a framework to systematically work on creating
an exceptional customer experience.

22
TOPDESK MAGAZINE - JUNE 2016
ADVERTORIAL

COLUMN

5 TIPS FOR SETTING

UP AN SSC
Shared Service Centers (SSCs) are popping up everywhere especially in
the public sector. Unfortunately , the desired goals lower costs, better
service are not always met. How do you set up a successful SSC?
An expert gives us five tips.
TEXT: NIEK STEENHUIS PHOTOGRAPHY: AAD HOOGENDOORN

24 TOPDESK MAGAZINE - JUNE 2016

Patrick van der Spank has worked in the IT business for almost a
quarter of a century. His CV includes jobs as IT manager, service
management consultant and change manager. He has managed
several SSC projects in the past years, making him an expert with firsthand experience. We asked him what he learned: how do you set up an
SSC? Below you can read his advice.

Implement two parallel change processes

The great thing about setting up an SSC, says Patrick , is
that its a combination of a merger and an outsourcing project. The
SSC merges people from several organizations who dont know one
another, but are forced to work together. This is a textbook definition
of a merger. And the organizations that become the SSCs customer
outsource their back office.
Patrick notices that in practice the terms merger and outsourcing are
often avoided. People prefer to think in terms like partner or colleague
at a distance. He believes this is not entirely justified. Becoming
aware of the two different changes makes it more transparent what
will change for the parties involved. Moreover, it becomes clear how
they can best manage this change. I would advise to implement two
separate change processes: a merger process for the new SSC and an
outsourcing process for the parties that will be the SSCs customer.

ITS NO GOOD FORCING YOUR

CORPORATE CULTURE ON OTHERS

Acknowledge the changing dynamic between

customer and SSC

Introducing an SSC leads to a changing dynamic between the

purchaser of the service (customer) and the supporting service
(supplier). Im currently setting up a collaborative SSC with
a county and two councils, explains Patrick. They merged their IT,
procurement and sales administration in one SSC, and hired people
from all three organizations. The three parties clearly agreed that
they want a working relationship based on an equal partnership.
At the same time, outsourcing those supporting services automatically
leads to a customer-supplier relationship between the SSC and the
three organizations they support. Now your former IT colleague is
your supplier.

TOPDESK MAGAZINE - JUNE 2016 25

Its good to acknowledge the changing relationship. Equal partnership

works fine as long as things go well. If not, you soon notice that the
county or council puts takes on their supplier role and holds the SSC
accountable. And thats fine! If you consider the SSC as the supplier,
it helps you to set clear expectations and make new agreements with
each other.

Build a team within the SSC

Patrick also believes that you should be transparent about the

dynamic within the new SSC. If you see setting up the SSC as a merger,
you also acknowledge the impact this change has on people. Its quite
a significant change, says Patrick. People have left their nest to work
at the SSC. They are given a different role and have to work with people
with a different work method and corporate culture. Thats why it is
important to focus a lot of attention on building a new team, with an

Formulate both hard and soft goals

identity of its own.

I learned this through trial and error, says Patrick with a smile.

Patrick noticed that this group process doesnt happen naturally.

Fourteen years ago I was working as a senior IT manager and was

Keep in mind that a new team brings a new dynamic. As a manager,

responsible for rolling out ITIL throughout Europe. I had described the

you have to respond to this change appropriately. Offer a clear vision

processes, written manuals, set up the tool and hired some interns to

and frameworks, plant the seeds for a new culture where everyone

take care of the international workshops. And still there was resistance.

feels at home. Get used to each other and search for the right

I didn't understand why, because our plan was solid. But it was a plan

collaboration. Patrick uses a number of stages of group formation:

that Id drafted alone, without involving others. It taught me that this

forming, storming, norming and performing. Discover which

approach doesnt work.

phase your team is in, and act upon this as a manager. This calls for

My advice is to formulate both hard, SMART goals and soft success

situational leadership . If youre in the storming phase, embrace that

factors for an SSC project. In my experience, organizations are good

storm. Dont wait for it to turn into a hurricane, but find the friction

at formulating their hard factor goals, like the tool setup, process

and deal with it. If you ignore it, it will only give you trouble later on.

descriptions and reports. Its my job as a consultant to include the

soft factors.
One of the ways I do this is by organizing a session per target group

Accept each others corporate culture

where I ask them why they want things to change. But I also ask them

Another important factor that determines the mergers success

why they dont want it . This brings out the fears of change such as less

is whether youre able to match the different corporate cultures. I was

autonomy, having to say no more often or unnecessary bureaucracy.

once involved in an SSC project where two educational institutions had

I then ask: what will people in your team do to actualize the change?

totally different cultures, explains Patrick. One institutions motto

And what will you do to sabotage the goal? Its surprising to see how

was Trust is good, control is better, while the others was Trust and

honest people are in answering these questions, provided that the

be trusted in return. Their corporate culture was engrained in the

group trusts me and each other. Being transparent about these things

organizations: in the recruitment policy, the management style and

improves the SSCs chances of succeeding.

work methods. Trying to change these things isnt easy. But you cant
ignore them either.
In this project I often made people aware of the cultural differences
in the organization, helping them take these discrepancies into
account. This grants managers insight into how they should manage
certain people: should you give them lots of freedom, or clear
instructions? What you definitely shouldnt do is force your corporate
culture on someone. That doesnt work. Instead focus on each others
strengths and make it work for you. How can you best support
each other?

26 TOPDESK MAGAZINE - JUNE 2016

IMPROVING YOUR
SERVICE DESK
The people working at a service desk are part of one team. They are the ones who
represent the organization. However, these people are often overshadowed by smooth
processes and a beautiful tool. When you cant get the most out of your team, or cant
control matters relating to your employees, you will achieve less than you might think.
TEXT: ACACIA KOOIJ

Kim den Brok visits customers as a consultant

chose to use the service desk as a starting

minded. You can use this method when you

and change manager, and understands

point because all our customers either have

want to bring out the best in your team. To

exactly what problems they run into. Elsbeth

a help or service desk. Moreover, working at

achieve this you need to become aware of

Hamberg is project manager and has been a

a service desk can be hard. Service desk teams

the forces at the department. Not just as a

team leader at TOPdesk for five years. She is

are always busy answering a continuous

team leader, but also as an employee. Small

an expert in building a good team.

stream of customer questions. All these

interventions such as moving two colleagues

As soon as something needs changing at

questions make it difficult to follow certain

may seem insignificant, but they can be useful

a department, like implementing a new tool,

procedures, even though everyone wants to

for the team and contribute to a better work

attention often shifts towards the process. For

help the customer the best they can. This

environment, says Den Brok.

example, the activities are better structured

creates conflicting situations in the work

and thought out, even though the solution

process, says Den Brok.

or problem often does not lie in the process.

Hamberg and Den Broks advice is to omit
the process and tool during a change. Its
important to take a look at the people who
work at your department and the critical
factors, according to both. For this method,
Den Brok and Hamberg were inspired by
the book Pimp your department (Pimp je

THE FORCES ARE: TASK, ENVIRONMENT,

LEADERSHIP AND STRUCTURE
Elsbeth Hamberg
Project manager, TOPdesk

afdeling) by Jeroen Busscher. In this book,

the author discussed four forces that can
influence your department. It can be very
useful to analyze these forces in order to use
them properly and act accordingly.

The service desk as starting point

Forces

Force 1: Task

To ensure that the people in the service desk

The reason for the teams existence. The

teams perform at a high level, it is important

added value the team provides to their

that you look at the four different forces

customers and the tasks they perform.

The service desk is not the only department

that can influence your team. The forces are:

that can be improved. Agreements are made

task, environment, leadership and structure

The customer is important for this force,

in every team, or even in every group in which

. Using these forces correctly can help you

says Hamberg. Keep in mind that being

people collaborate, says Hamberg. But we

build a department that is fully service-

customer-oriented does not always mean that

WORKING SMARTER
ITS OUR GOAL TO PROVIDE
SUGGESTIONS THAT MAKE IT
EASIER TO FOCUS ON PEOPLE.
Kim den Bronk
Consultant, TOPdesk

you need to do everything the customer asks.

clinical, and that other colleagues dont feel at

and that the department has two employees.

Instead try and figure out the question behind

home anymore. This is not what you want to

In practice, there is one person responsible

the question. You can achieve this by actively

achieve. Thats why it is important to find the

for the front office and for performing the

contributing ideas and offering customers

right balance.

corresponding tasks. These tasks can include

an alternative solution that helps them even

picking up the phone, answering emails and

better, says Hamburg. It also helps to educate

Force 3: Leadership

talking to colleagues who have questions.

the customer. Be clear on what they can and

Here, we take a look at the behaviour that

The other colleague works at the back office

cant expect. This creates clarity and avoids

befits a leader. A leader is an individual who

and has other tasks, such as long-term

false expectations. Of course you let them

knows what needs to happen and who is an

projects that he or she can work on without

know right away why you cant help them

example for others in the organization (not

interruption. Because of this strict division,

and refer them to someone who can solve

necessarily the boss).

the back office employee cant help colleagues

the problem. As a service employee you need

with their question. Not even when the

to take into account that you should always

Many teams have a team leader and a

phone wont stop ringing. You cant help your

follow policy, says Hamburg. This is exactly

manager. In practice, each team has some

front office colleagues, even though you have

where it usually goes wrong: communication.

other leaders as well. This can be someone

time to pick up the phone, says Den Brok.

Management decides on something, but

who knows when everyone has their birthday,

This not only leads to an unpleasant situation

does not communicate this correctly with the

who buys the present and decorates the

between colleagues but youre wasting the

service employees. In turn, they dont have

work spaces, says Hamburg. Thanks to

customers time as well. Being strict about

enough information to explain something at

these activities and personal attention, this

structure doesnt make you customer-focused.

the service desk. This leads to them having

colleague has a special status within the

But without structure, there is chaos. Without

to say no to a customer, while precisely this

team. And if you, as team leader, want your

rules nobody knows who needs to pick up the

information is so important, says Den Brok.

employees to be more on time, you could

phone and no one is happy in a situation like

use the status of this social leader. Chances

that. Structure with a flexible attitude could

Force 2: Environment

are that the team accepts the request better

be a solution here, says Hamburg.

This comprises everything that surrounds

when it comes from him or her, because this

you during a working day. Not just the work

person is closer to the team than the official

environment and work place, but also team

team leader, Hamburg continues.

rituals, habits and stories that are told within

the team.

Focusing on people
Hamburg and Den Brok believe that

Force 4: Structure

organizations should not always focus on the

This comprises all rules and frameworks in an

process or tool, but more often on people.

An environment can be either inspiring or

organization. All matters that dictate what

Its our goal to provide guidelines to make

discouraging for the team members, says

can and cant happen.

it easier to focus on people , says Den Brok.

Hamburg. She illustrates: A colleague who

They also hope that these guidelines explain

cant work in chaos wont be able to work

The Structure force is about how everything

which minor actions and interventions can

very well at a chaotic department. You can

is implemented. Hamburg uses a department

help you improve your service desk.

solve this by creating order. However, you do

with a front and back office as an example.

run the risk of making the department too

Imagine that you stick strictly to this division

28 TOPDESK MAGAZINE - JUNE 2016

Patrick Mackaaij
is a marketeer at team Worcade.

WORCADE: COLLABORATION
PLATFORM FOR SERVICE
PROFESSIONALS
It has become quite common for organizations nowadays to outsource work such
as coffee machine maintenance or server management. As a result, more and more
customers deal with specialists from other organizations. The end user trusts that you,
as a service professional, are in charge of this collaboration.

Every supplier works differently. One supplier prefers it when you call

Simplifying the collaboration with your supplier

them, the other can be reached on a general email address and another

You work more and more with service professionals from different

works with their own service management tool. This way, important

organizations who are also connected to the internet. Why not

information that helps you stay in charge is spread out across different

take advantage of this? In order to make the collaboration with

communication channels, making it difficult to keep track.

service professionals easier, we have created Worcade. Worcade is

In the best case scenario, forwarding an end user question is simply

a collaboration platform that makes the communication between

a case of duplicating work. You often lose track when the request

organizations and their suppliers easier, more efficient and more fun.

is forwarded and you need to regularly ask the supplier for a status

Complicated links, copy-pasting text and old interfaces are part of the

update. Sometimes you need to contact the supplier for this, because

past. Worcade creates overview.

you cant access their system to check the status.

Telephone calls are often not registered, which leads to forgotten

In Worcade you can easily chat with other service professionals.

It is easy to start a conversation and to add new participants to it.

agreements or details. Email messages can be lost in someones

Worcade notifies all participants when the conversation is updated.

inbox. This way, you lose time repeating request and trying to get

This email comprises the subject and a link to the conversation.

a good overview.

Worcade offers facilities to customize the conversation. You can

TOPDESK MAGAZINE - JUNE 2016 29

add work orders to communicate tasks and time spent, or close the

name. With a single click you can share additional information from

conversation and give feedback.

the TOPdesk call with your supplier. This could be a request, action,
object, location and attachments. Worcade includes handy details such

Starting a conversation from a call

as the objects model/make or a map of the location so the handyman

knows where to go.

From TOPdesk you only need a single click to start a conversation with

Having all your supplier conversations in Worcade gives you one

your supplier. Responses from the supplier are directly recorded on the

clear overview. The supplier can easily add a work order and invoice

Worcade tab of the call card. This way, the entire conversation is in one

to the conversations, so you have everything in one place. This makes

clear location and you can directly see whether the supplier has read it.

three-way-matching very easy: you can quickly check whether the

Worcade uses data from a call, like the short description or the supplier

assignment, performed activities and invoice match.

Suppliers can get started right away

As soon as you start a conversation with a supplier, he or she receives
an email with a link to the Worcade conversation. The link leads to the
Worcade server (https://worcade.net). This way, you do not have to give
your suppliers access to your TOPdesk environment. Worcade works on
a desktop, tablet and smartphone, which means your supplier can get
to work right away. The chat interface prompts a quick response.

Image 1 The Worcade tab in TOPdesk

30 TOPDESK MAGAZINE - JUNE 2016

Editorial
Download this issue and more at
www.scribd.com/TOPdesk

you

your supplier

The TOPdesk Magazine covers subjects that are topical in

the world of professional service desks in IT, facilities and
other service providing organizations. TOPdesk Magazine

I have a malfunction

is intended for managers, service desk employees, facilities

organizations and electronic city councils anyone who

Whats the problem?

Type: Coffee machine 23
No milk in cappuccino

is involved with supporting clients on a daily basis. This

concerns both the processes and the technology behind
these services.
TOPdesk Magazine is a TOPdesk publication,

OK, I am going to solve it

Great, thanks!

+44 (0) 207 803 4200, editorial@topdesk.com

Editors-in-chief: Milou Snaterse, Nicola van de Velde
Editors: Nicola van de Velde

Youre welcome!

Translators: Laura van Rosenberg, Nicola van de Velde

Contributors: Arjenne Bastiaansen, Fiona IJkema, Patrick

Image 2 Schematic overview of a

Worcade conversation

Mackaaij, Roeland van Rijswijk, Wolter Smit, Jeffrey

Verstegen, Annemarie Wolfrat
Layout: Denise van Rijst
Illustration: Frank van Klink, Martin de Rooij

Do your suppliers use TOPdesk? They can then easily link the Worcade

Photography: Aad Hoogendoorn, Menno van der Bijl

conversation to a TOPdesk call, to a mail import for example. When you

Copy editor: Nicola van de Velde

as TOPdesk customer start a conversation with TOPdesk Support via

support@topdesk.com, our help desk links the conversation to a new

A print run of 10,000

call. This way, TOPdesk customers and our support employees work

Quarterly magazine

together on the Worcade tab.

Languages: Dutch, English

Suppliers without TOPdesk can directly work on the call in Worcade.

We are currently adding more functionalities for them. We are also

Copyright 2016 TOPdesk. Although this publication has

looking at different ways to simplify the collaboration between

been produced with the utmost care and attention, the

service professionals, like scheduling mechanics or using checklists

writers cannot be held responsible in any way for any

and templates.

damages that may occur due to errors and / or deficiencies

in this publication.
Official TOPDesk partners: 3Fifty, AskRoger!,

Try Worcade now!

Communicating from TOPdesk via Worcade is a cost-free feature in
the new TOPdesk. Take a look and activate Worcade in the TOPdesk
functional settings.

Want to stay tuned?

Subscribe to the Worcade newsletter via http://bit.ly/tdm-worcade.

Bomgar, DDC, Delta-N, IBIS Software, Mavim, Nexthink,

OGD, Okta, Partners in Technology, RES Software,
Servitect, Scope4mation, Snow Software, Testersuite,
The Backbone, TimeTell, Tools4ever, Victa

32 TOPDESK MAGAZINE - JUNE 2016

tips + tricks
Adjusting multiple objects

Quickly create knowledge items from a call

In the Asset Management module it is possible to adjust

In the new TOPdesk version you can quickly create a

multiple object cards at the same time for a number of

knowledge item from a call:

specific fields.
1. Open the call
Example:

2. Click the flag icon of the actions you want to copy

You have replaced 200 landline phones with new ones. The

to the knowledge item.

old phones are written off and you want to adjust the status

3. Use the hotkey Alt+K.

from In use to Written off.

> The knowledge base explorer opens.

4. In the tree structure, select the location where you want to

1. Go to Modules > Asset Management.

create the knowledge items.

2. Create a new selection of the telephone cards you have

5. Click Create from call.

replaced (for instance a selection based on Object ID).

> A new knowledge item is now created. The marked actions

3. Open the selection.

are copied into the Content field of the knowledge item.

4. Click the Bulk edit icon (add icon bulk) or click More > bulk

6. Add relevant keywords to the knowledge item and save it.

edit in the newest version of TOPdesk.

> TOPdesk uses the keywords, as well as words from other

fields in the knowledge item, to show knowledge items as
suggestions in the Self-Service Portal. The keywords are also
used to quickly find knowledge items.

5. Choose All in step 1.

6. Choose Status in step 2.
7. Enter the desired status in the drop-down list (Written off
in this example).
8. Click Apply and OK.
The entire selection of 200 telephone cards is now adjusted to
the new status value.

www.topdesk.com