INDUSTRY

Government Administration

LOCATION

New South Wales, Australia

Favorite Features
  • Auto-ticket assignment

  • Self-service portal

  • Analytics and Reporting

Products Used
  • Freshservice

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About MidCoast Council

MidCoast Council is a local government area located in the Mid North Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. The council was formed on 12 May 2016 through a merger of the Gloucester Shire, Great Lakes, City of Greater Taree councils, and MidCoast Water.

 

The Challenge

"We were like a mechanic who neglects their own car while fixing everyone else's cars," says Nathan McGuire, Technical and System Support Coordinator, MidCoast Council, as he talks about when they realized that they needed to invest in a better IT service management tool to keep serving the community effectively.

With a diverse workforce of 1200 staff and wide geographical coverage, MidCoast Council faced challenges in streamlining services and establishing standards after merging three councils and a Water Authority. The outdated and inefficient ticket management solution they used then only exacerbated the difficulties.

 

The search for a breakthrough solution:

Their existing on-premise solution lacked change management, resulting in ad-hoc handling of changes and no clear distinction between urgent incidents and service requests. IT and non-IT inquiries were treated equally. Additionally, a user-friendly self-service portal was needed to provide public visibility into inquiry statuses and dispel the notion that their ticketing system was a mysterious 'black box.'

Hence, the quest for a modern and scalable IT service management tool began. A panel was assembled, with representatives from several vendors participating in the selection process.

According to Nathan, Freshservice stood out as the winning choice as it adhered to industry and security standards and had everything their previous tool didn't - a user-friendly self-service portal, change management, incident management, and problem management.

“With Freshservice, we could draw a line in the sand and strip away what didn't work. It offered us a tool that knows what it's doing and is easy to set up. This fresh start allowed us to rebuild our ticketing system from scratch and establish new habits and capabilities.”

nathan nathan
Nathan McGuire

Coordinator IT Technical and Systems

MidCoast Council

With Freshservice's expert guidance and staged approach to implementation, MidCoast Council could avoid their previous mistakes and unnecessary duplication of efforts as they embarked on their fresh start.


A 'black box' no more: How MidCoast Council uncomplicated IT service management with Freshservice:

For the MidCoast Council, Freshservice enabled proper ticket categorization, provided valuable insights through analytics, and optimized service delivery. By centralizing IT knowledge in Freshservice, they eliminated scattered documents and made information easily accessible to staff.

From an IT management perspective, Freshservice's robust reporting capabilities offered visibility into all IT team activities, supporting informed decision-making. Nathan explains, "For example, we discovered that staff starting at 6 am did not contact the IT department during that time, leading to discussions about adjusting our operating hours."

Freshservice's automation features, like auto ticket assignment, allowed management to customize notifications and ticket assignments according to team preferences and working style. Tasks related to new staff onboarding and exits/transfers were also automated, simplifying email notifications and reducing manual work.


How MidCoast Council revived service excellence with Freshservice:

MidCoast Council's journey with Freshservice marked a fresh start, allowing them to leave behind the challenges and complexities of their previous solution, rebuild and establish new habits, ultimately delivering better services to their community. As for the staff, Nathan shares that the decision to implement Freshservice has not only met their expectations but also provided them with a renewed sense of purpose.

“Freshservice struck the right balance between user-friendliness and robust functionality. It has significantly enhanced our IT operations, providing us with valuable insights, streamlined processes, centralized knowledge, and improved communication.”

Nathan Nathan
Nathan McGuire

Coordinator IT Technical and Systems

MidCoast Council