6 TOPDESK MAGAZINE - MARCH 2015

IF YOU DO SOMETHING,
YOU NEED TO DO IT WELL
MAKING THE MOST OF SHARED SERVICE MANAGEMENT

Ronald Haije and Lisa van den Heuvel, Heliomare

CUSTOMER IN FOCUS

Service management is taken very seriously

at Heliomare. More and more colleagues
already reach out to the Facilities IT Portal
and can contact the Self Service Desk for
almost everything. How did the Facilities
and IT departments find each other, and
how do customers find them?
TEXT: STEFANIE KLAASSEN PHOTOGRAPHY: AAD HOOGENDOORN

Heliomare, a health organization with 1600 employees working in 35

locations in the Netherlands, has it all figured out. TOPdesk Magazine
visited the largest location at the beach of Wijk aan Zee. In 2012, the
locations supporting services went through a large transformation.
They were merged into a Services department, which comprises
Facilities, HR and IT. The tasks of Facilities and IT were merged even
further into one Facilities IT Portal (FIP) and its services were moved
to the digital Self Service Desk. However, Facilities and IT are not the
only ones represented in the Self Service Desk: the success stories
spread fast, and more and more departments are joining in. We spoke
with two of the people involved: Lisa van den Heuvel, front office
team manager, and Ronald Haije, purchaser and project leader of the
integration process.

A unique integration
Since the very beginning of the project there has been a thorough
approach. First only IT used TOPdesk. In 2009 our Facilities Service
Desk joined in. However, both departments worked separately, says
Van den Heuvel. Haije adds, At the end of 2013 we started a project
to put both departments in one front office. First we created one
database and brought everyone together in the same room. Van den
Heuvel: I did a Lean Six Sigma course and went through all the calls.
I noticed that the workflows of both departments were quite similar
in most cases, only the questions differed. In some cases, we also
observed that the workflows did not run smoothly: calls went from
IT to Facilities and back to IT. We researched how we could efficiently
obviate these questions and discovered that we could streamline a
lot of the IT help desk tasks in a single services department. These
are now the FIPs first line calls. If the FIP cannot complete a call, they
escalate it to the second line, which is the help desk. They now only
receive specialist questions.

8 TOPDESK MAGAZINE - MARCH 2015

When we merged the departments, we set up the Self Service Desk at

want to start working with keywords in calls to make sure that calls

the same time, says Haije. This includes a web shop. Everyone who

about broken fluorescent lamps go straight to maintenance. We can

can log in to our network can create calls, make reservations, book

use standard solutions to pass these calls on. Because if passing on

rooms and catering, arrange a company car, and place orders in the

is the FIPs only task, it is better that calls go straight to the right

web shop. Placing an order is easy. When a customer requests a new

operator. This minimizes the number of calls for the FIP. We are also

phone, the web shop automatically suggests three supported phones.

working on adding HR to the Self Service Desk for commencements

The customer clicks the desired phone and the Purchasing department

and exits. More and more departments are included in the Self Service

orders it. At the same time, FIP receives a notice that the customer

Desk; our reception desk is already using TOPdesk and is taking over

needs a SIM card with a phone data plan, and that this card needs

some of FIPs tasks.

to be prepared. The help desk is notified that the phone is on its way,
that it needs to be configured and that FIP has the SIM card. Finally, the

Becoming a generalist

customer can pick up his phone, cover and all, at the help desk.

Haije says, FIP employees trained each other well during the transition

Heliomare employees can request everything in the web shop;

to one service portal. IT employees answer Facilities questions and vice

from items that support you in your daily tasks (a PC or car), to things

versa. Employees had to get used to this in the beginning because the

that you need for work. Anything is possible, explains Haije. Office

departments have different mindsets. But you need to be patient in

supplies, furniture, coffee cups, or sugar sachets. A physiotherapist

order to get the best from both worlds. By doing each others work, you

can now indicate that a wheelchair needs to be adjusted during an

find out what challenges you face, which programs are used, what the

appointment with a patient. However, requesting sugar sachets is

facts are, and when you need to ask more questions. Van den Heuvel

different from requesting a wheelchair; our budget holder receives

says, Some people believed that they could not answer IT questions

an approval email at a certain price. After approval, the order is sent

until they started doing it. With good manuals and a back office as back-

to the Purchasing department. Customers can get things like office

up, they gained trust and were able to do more and more themselves.

supplies and bandages directly from the stock room. The process

Once you start working you might take three steps forwards and two

for more expensive requests is similar to a change, and reporting a

back, but in the end you do go forwards.

defective lamp or make a request is a call.

A closer look at processes

The departments methods started to grow towards one another.

Van den Heuvel notes, There have always been differences in
mentality between IT and Facilities. Facilities employees are very

There is no shortage of ambition at Heliomare. It was a large project,

hands-on, flexible and customer-oriented, but not always process-

but when we do it we want to do it right, says Van den Heuvel about

oriented. IT employees are more process-oriented, but this sometimes

the integration process. The Self Service Desk took some getting

at the expense of the customer: when the process is inadequate, the

used to for customers, seeing as they mostly used the phone or

customer sometimes has to wait quite a long time. Here you need to

email before. Haije continues, We have reduced it all to one portal

find the happy medium. If you take an approach that is both process-

with telephonic, digital, and physical contact. Customers call one

oriented and customer-oriented, you can keep the customer happy

phone number, email one address and go to one Self Service Desk.

and improve the process. Its great that a system can help us work

You can still call, but we try to limit it. When you call, everyone can

more efficiently. TOPdesk let us become one Services department

answer your question, regardless of whether it is about Facilities or

instead of staying separate islands. TOPdesk is so interwoven with

IT. Van den Heuvel adds, We got rid of the telephone option menu

our organization and our processes span multiple departments, so its

for Facilities or IT. You can now directly talk to an employee and that

essential that we communicate and collaborate well. All departments

works really well.

involved need to keep taking with each other and make concrete

Finally, they also took a closer look at their forms and moved

agreements: How do we handle this? What do we communicate to the

them to the Self Service Desk. The previous form flow was very

customer? You need to know what works for each department, not

inconvenient; people got an order form from the intranet, printed it,

make assumptions for each other. You can fall behind if you are too

filled it out, and scanned it to send it back. We therefore really wanted

late discovering that some things can be improved.

to automate and simplify the purchasing process. You can now easily
place orders, and the product group link shows who needs to approve

Properly promoting your Self Service Desk

the request for each product type. This is going really well and we

How do you sell such a large change? Van den Heuvel explains. You

dont need to guess where the forms come from anymore, according

need to lure people in. We made a strategic move by putting the pay

to Van den Heuvel.

check in the SSD. We needed to use something that triggers people

She continues, We are currently in phase two of the project. We

to take a look. With single sign-on they can access the Self Service

CUSTOMER IN FOCUS
ITS GREAT THAT A
SYSTEM CAN HELP
US WORK MORE
EFFICIENTLY
Lisa van den Heuvel
Front office team manager

Desk with one push of a button, which makes it more accessible than our
previous system. That a call is processed more quickly via the Self Service

Heliomares Shared Service

Management tips

Desk than by telephone is also something we hope to use as a trigger. A

digital call gives us an overview of all the information and we dont have

Collaborate well, communicate well.

to enter anything the customer already has. Haije says, Everything now

Take your time. Dont think, lets get that done quickly.

ends up in one place. This used to be very different. Nine times out of ten

Dont assume. A solution doesnt have to work for

we wrote the information on a piece of paper and logged it later on. Now
we have a much clearer overview of what comes in.
Van den Heuvel says, People understand the advantages of making

every department.

Departments must actively think along.

Dont just use an application for registration. It

and managing their own reservations: they can view all rooms and their
availability, and they can move meetings around. We make sure that

needs to support employees in their daily tasks.

people benefit from the SSD and that its not just a nuisance. You do need
to make your own calls, but you lose just as much time when you need to

slowly merge their tasks.

send an email or make a phone call. It takes getting used to, but we are
hearing more and more positive comments. Colleagues are now spreading

Appoint an application manager who can answer

everyones questions.

the word some word-of-mouth advertising. Haije says, The Self Service
Desk is becoming more general, and that is good promotion for us. Other

Quickly bring people together. Once this is done,

Put bait in the Self Service Desk, so people will start

visiting it.

Prepare yourself properly. You are dependant on your

departments are also finding the SSD and want to share in our success.

employees level of knowledge. What can you source

The Rehabilitation Technology department has recently asked us if they

to the front desk, and what questions arise from the

can join the SSD to make their forms more visible. The largest criticasters

organization? Which strategic choices were made?

come to us, and there is no bigger compliment than that. Van den Heuvel

Ask yourself what image you want and what service

says, Other organizations also contact us: we were one of the first to work

level you want to offer the customer.

with a web shop and it has really taken off.

Make the Self Service Desk look good.