Episode 128 - Building a Service Desk from Scratch, People First

Episode 128 of the Enterprise Digital Podcast features Sarah-Jane Bulley, Service Delivery Manager, talking through what it looks like to build a service desk and ITSM operation from the ground up.

Sarah-Jane is currently doing exactly that, designing and implementing everything from incident management and service request processes through to team structure, stakeholder engagement, and feedback management, all aligned with ITIL and delivered using an agile approach. She talks about where to start when there is nothing in place, why understanding your users and their specific needs must come before any process design, and how building your service desk as a brand within the organisation changes how other teams engage with you.

The conversation covers the growing importance of major incident management in a world increasingly reliant on third-party cloud services, the balance between automation and human interaction, and what service empathy really looks like. Sarah-Jane makes a strong case that people will always be the heartbeat of any service desk, even as AI and automation take on more routine work.

She also shares practical approaches to breaking down silos between the service desk and resolver teams, including shadowing exercises, shared feedback loops, and the importance of psychological safety across technology departments.

This week's trivia explores whether pigeons can tell the difference between a Monet and a Picasso. Turns out, they absolutely can.