Hasselt University: professionalising service management for a better user experience
With more than 7,000 students and close to 1,600 researchers and staff members across two campuses, Hasselt University relies on IT services that are efficient, accessible and ready to evolve with the organisation.
At a glance
Customer
Hasselt University
Industry
Education
Challenge
Professionalise IT service management and improve efficiency and user experience
Solution
Xurrent ITSM/ESM
2Grips expertise
Implementation · Process Optimisation · Adoption & Training
Ready for a more mature service organisation
Hasselt University had been using an open-source solution to manage its IT services. As the university continued to grow, the existing setup no longer supported the level of service delivery it wanted to achieve.
The university needed a professional, future-proof service management solution with intuitive self-service capabilities. But the ambition went beyond replacing technology.
Hasselt University wanted to redesign its service management processes, improve efficiency and create better service experiences — ultimately moving towards a more mature service organisation.
Choosing the right foundation
Hasselt University defined six scenarios for its future way of working, covering:
- Service Portfolio & Catalogue
- Master Incidents
- Automated Request Fulfilment
- Non-Standard Change Workflows
- Configuration Management/CMDB
- Knowledge Management
Several platforms were evaluated against these scenarios and criteria including functionality, integrations, reporting, ease of use and administration, implementation time and total cost of ownership.
Xurrent was selected as the platform that best matched the university’s requirements.
A practical implementation, built around the organisation
2Grips worked closely with Hasselt University to translate its service management ambitions into practical processes and workflows.
The complete Xurrent environment was set up in just 24 implementation days, spread across two phases to give people sufficient time to adapt to the new way of working.
The first phase introduced Self Service, support processes, Knowledge Management, Incident and Request Management and the Service Catalogue.
During the second phase, existing processes were extended and Change and Release Management were added. Workshops with 2Grips were used to design efficient processes and workflows that reflected the university’s actual needs.
Adoption & Training
Helping people embrace a new way of working
A successful implementation also meant getting both IT specialists and end users on board.
All 62 specialists received training on Xurrent, complemented by role-specific sessions that first explained the new processes and then showed employees how to apply them in the platform.
End users were introduced to the new processes and the benefits of Self Service, helping them become more independent and reducing unnecessary effort and frustration.
Training was provided in the participants’ own language.
The result was a smoother transition than initially expected. End users increasingly embraced the 24/7 Self Service portal, while service desk specialists gained a more professional environment for handling requests efficiently.
Higher efficiency. Fewer open tickets. More satisfied users.
The combination of better processes, Xurrent and a strong focus on adoption has made a measurable difference.
80%+ user satisfaction
More than 80% of IT service users reported being satisfied or very satisfied with the quality, speed, knowledge, user-friendliness and overall service experience.
From 5,000 to around 400 open requests
The average number of open requests dropped dramatically after introducing clearer processes, SLAs and targets.
More effective first-line support
The share of tickets handled by first-level support increased from 30% to 50%, supported by a growing knowledge base.
Greater service desk productivity
A shift-left approach increased productivity while reducing service costs.
Better visibility and control
Dashboards, KPIs and reporting give IT and university management greater insight into workload, performance and resource requirements.
A structured Service Catalogue
Users have a clear view of which services are supported, with SLAs and knowledge articles connected directly to those services.
From ITSM towards ESM
The transformation doesn’t stop with IT.
Hasselt University also started expanding the platform to other departments and services, including HR and Finance. The long-term ambition is to bring as many services as possible together and create one single entry point for enterprise-wide service requests.
Facing a similar challenge?
Want to professionalise your service management, improve efficiency and create a better experience for your users? 2Grips can help you combine the right technology, processes and expertise to make it happen.