Large Southeastern City Contracts Turnkey Solutions to Perform IT Help Desk Assessment
Client Background
Turnkey Solutions was contracted by the information technology (IT) department of a very large, southern city with a population of about 500,000. The department wanted Turnkey Solutions to conduct a deep dive assessment of their service delivery desk and personnel to ensure alignment with industry trends, organizational goals, and industry best practices — while supporting the IT needs of its end users and the City.
Additionally, Turnkey's efforts sought to ensure the department remained competitive as an employer to retain and attract top talent. The scope of work included an in-depth analysis of compensation structures, staffing structure and levels, business processes and SOPs, and the current portfolio of IT services with recommendations for improvements.
Turnkey's team not only performed the tasks outlined in the scope, but also provided recommendations to increase workforce capacity — including the creation of a new mid-level supervisory role filled internally, preventing the need for extensive hiring and saving the City significant resources.
The Challenge
The City's IT department had concerns that its staffing structure, levels, and compensation were insufficient to retain top talent while effectively supporting the City's IT needs. After facilitating focus groups and assessing compensation, service offerings, staffing, training, and SOPs, Turnkey identified the following barriers to operational efficiency:
Turnkey's Response
Turnkey provided the client with a Compensation and Pay Report to benchmark staff salaries against market standards. The staffing structure and schedule was optimized, requiring only 3 additional hires to increase peak hour coverage. Password reset duties were transferred to the police department, allowing the Service Desk to adjust its hours from 24/7 to 7am–7pm — saving resources without reducing service quality.
Collaborating with department leadership, Turnkey implemented a Process and Procedure Improvement Plan — editing and enhancing SOPs by eliminating redundancies, clarifying processes, and recommending a centralized knowledge base to improve staff access, training, and onboarding.
A Career Progression Analysis benchmarked the client's role diversity against the market. This led to the creation of a mid-level supervisory role and re-evaluation of role diversification, with suggestions for better access to online courses and skill development.
Turnkey's facilitated focus groups inspired the development of user education programs to help users troubleshoot basic issues, reduce ticket volume, and enable staff to handle more complex work. Turnkey also created an IT Service Catalog to help end users identify services under the client's jurisdiction.
To streamline prioritization, Turnkey recommended a dedicated team of technicians to handle tickets belonging to high-ranking personnel — maintaining process integrity, quickly resolving high-priority tickets, and alleviating frustration for both technicians and end users.
The Impact
Faced with a demoralized IT department hindering City operations, Turnkey Solutions implemented a multi-pronged approach that transformed the department's efficiency and morale. By streamlining processes, optimizing staffing, and fostering open communication, staff were empowered to resolve issues faster and with greater confidence.
This collaborative effort reduced costs, improved user experience, and positioned the City's IT department as a leader in its field — poised for continued success.
Is your IT department struggling with staffing, morale, or service delivery?
Turnkey Solutions helps government IT departments assess operations, optimize staffing, and build the processes and culture needed to serve their organizations well.