From Overload to Efficiency: Reducing Service Desk Pressure with Knowledge Management

Reducing Service Desk Pressure with Knowledge Management

From Overload to Efficiency

Case Studies

Enhancing experience through knowledge sharing

My name is Gareth Smyth and I am part of the Service Management Specialists (SMS) team within the Enterprise Health Services (EHS) practice at Telefónica Tech. Our team ensures smooth IT service operations by managing key Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) pillars, including incident, problem, and change management. Each pillar helps maintain service quality and improve user experience.

We focus heavily on knowledge and request management to empower end users to resolve issues quickly, reducing support dependency and boosting productivity.

The project we undertook aimed to enhance our customers IT Service Portal experience by enabling self-service. Specifically, we provide relevant knowledge articles when users attempt to log an incident. By surfacing helpful content, we guide users to resolve issues or choose the right request options, reducing incidents and improving efficiency.

The Challenge

The existing approach wasn't enough

This project arose from an imbalance between incidents logged and use of knowledge resources. We saw 5,000 incidents per month but only 1,300 article views, indicating the robust library was not being utilised effectively.

This challenge was significant for several reasons:

Impact on the Service Desk: High incident volumes meant the service desk was inundated with calls, limiting their ability to focus on other critical tasks such as creating new knowledge content or improving processes.

Customer SLAs (Service Level Agreement): For our customers, meeting tight SLAs is essential. Reducing incident volumes would help ensure SLA compliance and even improve performance levels.

Underutilised Knowledge Base: Despite previous efforts, such as promoting top-viewed articles on the IT Service Portal and including knowledge links in ServiceNow email communications, engagement remained low. These methods lacked visibility and immediacy for end users.

In short, the existing approaches were not enough. We needed a solution that would put relevant knowledge directly in front of users at the point of need, making self-service the natural first step before logging an incident.

Gareth Smyth

“

Of the users who engaged with the new process on the IT Service Portal, 57% did not log an incident after viewing a suggested knowledge article.

Gareth Smyth

Service Management Specialist

The solution

A human hand and a robotic hand reaching towards each other, fingertips almost touching, against a futuristic digital background with glowing lines and data patterns.

Structural change

As Knowledge Manager, my role was to lead the project from conception to implementation, transforming the idea into a functional solution in our IT Service Portal. This required collaboration with the ServiceNow admin team to confirm feasibility and platform capability.

We then tested and refined using the ServiceNow test instance, simulating real scenarios typing in common phrases like ‘I forgot my password’ to validate article accuracy and relevance, avoiding mismatched results.

Implementation followed structured change management with documentation, approvals, and testing. If issues arose, we applied agile testing, retesting until criteria were met. This ensured a robust, user-focused solution aligned with technical and business requirements.

While the implementation process was smooth overall, several challenges emerged during the project:

Metadata Quality: One of the biggest hurdles was inconsistent metadata in 372 knowledge articles, causing irrelevant search results. We analysed real user search terms and updated metadata to match non-technical phrasing, greatly improving article relevance.

Short Descriptions: Another issue was vague short descriptions. For example, an article might say “BYOD error” without context, making it harder for users to find the right solution. We reviewed and refined these descriptions to make them more specific and user-friendly.

Ranking and Visibility: We discovered metadata repetition influenced article ranking in search results. By strategically duplicating metadata across related articles, we improved visibility for the most relevant content.

The Outcomes

Reduced Pressure on the Service Desk

Although portal incidents represent a relatively small number, every deflected incident has a tangible impact. By preventing unnecessary calls and tickets, the Service Desk can redirect time and resources toward higher-value activities such as process improvements, proactive problem management, and creating new knowledge content. This shift not only improves team efficiency but also enhances overall service quality for all customers.
Enhanced Customer Experience

The initiative demonstrates our commitment to simplifying processes and empowering end users. By surfacing relevant knowledge articles at the point of need, customers can resolve issues quickly without waiting for support. This self-service approach aligns with modern user expectations fast, intuitive, and accessible reducing frustration and improving satisfaction. It also supports customers’ own digital transformation goals by encouraging independence and efficiency.
Positive Customer Feedback

Our customer, welcomed the enhancement and actively supported its rollout. To aid adoption, we created a short instructional video that explains the process in a clear, engaging way. The customer now shares this video with their end users, reinforcing their confidence in the solution and our partnership. This collaboration highlights the trust and value we bring, positioning Telefónica Tech as a proactive, customer-focused provider.

Reduced Pressure on the Service Desk

Enhanced Customer Experience

Positive Customer Feedback

Delivering Self-Service Success

We optimised processes by leveraging reporting tools and automation, including Copilot, to accelerate metadata updates. The knowledge articles remain live documents and are reviewed and updated as needed.

ServiceNow reporting provides ongoing insights into search terms and engagement, enabling new articles and improvements. The fact that this improvement is driving engagement and reducing incidents shows its potential for long-term success. It’s rewarding to see positive customer feedback and know that we’re making their experience easier and more efficient.

57% Incident Deflection

High incident volumes meant the service desk was inundated with calls, limiting their ability to focus on other critical tasks such as creating new knowledge content or improving processes.
Improved Knowledge Quality

For our customers, meeting tight SLAs is essential. Reducing incident volumes would help ensure SLA compliance and even improve performance levels.
Business Impact

This improvement reduced pressure on the Service Desk by freeing time for higher-value tasks, enhanced the customer experience by making processes easier and more efficient, and earned positive feedback from the customer, who supported the rollout and now shares our instructional video with end users.