Executive Summary
To resolve inefficiencies in its HR and IT portals, a Fortune 1000 company in 2024 contracted with DPR Solutions Inc., a Virginia-based IT consulting and ServiceNow partner. There were fewer users, uneven workflows, and duplicate tickets caused by staff having to use multiple ServiceNow instances. DPR Solutions executed a full-scale ServiceNow Employee Center implementation, consolidating HR and IT services under one unified taxonomy. Using ServiceNow’s Flow Designer, Virtual Agent, Knowledge Management, and AI-powered search, DPR Solutions transformed the portal experience into a single-entry service hub.
The results were quantifiable:
- 25% faster ticket resolution (MTTR reduction).
- 30% fewer escalations due to first-touch resolution.
- 40% drop in redundant HR inquiries through self-service.
- 30–40% lower portal maintenance cost compared to dual-portal upkeep.
This case highlights the technical architecture, methodology, and outcomes of a ServiceNow consultant-led integration that redefined support delivery.
Introduction
Enterprises increasingly prioritize digital employee experience (DEX). Over 65% of HR and IT engagements will be self-service enabled by 2025, with unified portals serving as the delivery layer, predicts Gartner. However, a lot of businesses are still disjointed: IT and HR portals operate separately, which results in data silos, irregular user experiences, and increased support expenses.
Are you thinking of how to improve ServiceNow portal adoption? Focus on understanding user needs, designing a simple and user-friendly portal experience, providing comprehensive training and clear communication, and continuously gathering and acting on user feedback to ensure the portal meets organizational and user expectations. Key strategies include promoting self-service, shifting support from email/phone to the portal, and making the portal a unified, evolving platform for accessing services and information.
Our client faced this exact situation. Their HR Service Delivery (HRSD) portal and IT Service Management (ITSM) portal operated as two distinct ServiceNow modules, each with its own branding, knowledge base, and request catalogue. The outcome was a fractured ecosystem:
- Employees had to “know” where to go for services.
- HR and IT teams both received misplaced tickets.
- Knowledge articles existed in duplicate across portals.
- Portal utilization lagged at <50%, driving employees back to email and phone-based requests.
DPR Solutions Inc., with 20+ years in enterprise IT consulting and recognized expertise in ServiceNow portal integration, was tasked with delivering a single, seamless employee experience.
The Challenge
The client’s legacy ServiceNow deployment presented four technical challenges:
- Portal Fragmentation: HRSD and ITSM were deployed as standalone Service Portals. There was no single pane of glass for employees. Each portal required separate authentication contexts, catalogue navigation, and branding management.
- Low Adoption and Redundant Workflows: Analytics showed <50% adoption of HR portal self-service. Nearly 35% of HR tickets were misrouted through IT. Both departments suffered ticket backlogs, with approval cycles averaging 4–5 days due to manual routing.
- Duplicated Knowledge Management: Separate knowledge bases created an overlap. IT stored 1,200+ articles, HR maintained 800+, and nearly 20% were redundant across domains. Search results were inconsistent.
- Maintenance Overhead: Maintaining two portals costs 30–40% more in development, upgrades, and support. Simple UI changes required replication across HR and IT portals.
The client sought a unified ServiceNow Employee Center that would integrate HR and IT services, improve self-service adoption, and reduce support costs, all without disrupting ongoing operations.
The Solution
DPR Solutions’ ServiceNow consultants phased in retagging all forms and knowledge articles and harmonizing HR and IT catalogues under ServiceNow’s employee taxonomy. To create a branded interface, legacy portals were transferred to the Employee Centre. A consolidated knowledge base, virtual agents, and AI search increased self-service, while Workday HRIS and Active Directory were connected to speed queries. Training and guided tours helped adoption, and a typical setup minimized bespoke code for scalability. A six-phase consulting method was adopted by DPR Solutions to lead this shift:
- Catalogue Alignment: Unified HR and IT service catalogues under ServiceNow’s out-of-the-box employee taxonomy; re-tagged all forms and knowledge articles.
- Portal Migration: Transitioning Service Portals to Employee Centres with identical branding and navigation.
- System Integration: Active Directory-Workday HRIS integration automated employee data and service requests.
- Self-Service & AI Enablement: A rich knowledge base was built utilizing Virtual Agent and AI-powered intelligent search.
- User Adoption Programs: Guided tours, user training, and onboarding enhanced staff confidence.
- Scalability Focus: ServiceNow’s “out-of-the-box first” strategy minimized custom code and ensured upgrade scalability.
Technical Architecture Comparison
The client’s legacy setup relied on fragmented HR and IT portals, creating inefficiencies and user frustration. DPR Solutions re-engineered the architecture into a unified Employee Center, aligning with ServiceNow’s best-practice model of “One Portal, One Experience, Multiple Departments.”
After DPR Solutions’ transformation, operational metrics improved across all key areas:
- Ticket resolution time was reduced from 40 to 30 hours, achieving a 25% improvement.
- Escalations dropped by 30%, boosting first-contact resolution rates.
- HR inquiries decreased by 40% as employees adopted self-service options.
- Portal adoption increased from under 50% to 85% within three months, reflecting a 35% rise in engagement.
- Maintenance costs declined by 30–40% due to the shift from dual portals to a single unified platform.
Strategic Benefits to the Client
Understanding user needs, creating a simple and easy-to-use portal experience, providing thorough training and transparent communication, and regularly collecting and acting on user feedback to meet organizational and user expectations are all part of the ServiceNow portal adoption strategy. Promoting self-service, transferring phone and email help to the portal, and developing a dynamic information and service platform are important goals. The transformation delivered benefits across employee experience, IT efficiency, cost optimization, and unified service portal benefits:
- Improved Employee Experience: A single entry point simplified navigation. Employees no longer needed to decide “HR or IT?” – they just searched once. Satisfaction scores increased by 22% in post-launch surveys.
- Accelerated Resolution Times: Automation reduced MTTR by 25%. Tickets are routed directly to the correct group on first submission.
- Reduced Escalations: First-touch resolution improved, cutting escalations by 30%. Virtual Agent resolved routine queries instantly.
- Operational Cost Savings: Consolidating portals saved 30–40% on ongoing development and admin effort. HR and IT teams reported 25% fewer duplicate tasks.
- Data-Driven Management: Unified reporting enabled leadership to view cross-functional SLAs. Dashboards highlighted process bottlenecks, allowing proactive adjustments.
- Scalability: The Employee Center framework supports future expansion, e.g., Facilities, Finance, or Legal services under the same taxonomy with minimal lift.
Results That Redefine by DPR Solutions
Within weeks of go-live, metrics showed clear impact: incident resolution times dropped ~25%, escalations fell ~30%, and self-service reduced common HR/IT inquiries by 20–40%. Email requests declined sharply as employees relied on the knowledge base, while support teams handled higher volumes without new staff. Surveys confirmed stronger satisfaction, validating the unified ServiceNow employee service portal as both an efficiency driver and a seamless employee experience platform.
- 25% faster ticket resolution: Automation and a single service flow cut mean times dramatically.
- 30% fewer escalations: More issues get solved immediately via the portal, so tickets no longer pile up at tiered levels.
- Higher self-service usage: Basic service questions are largely handled by the portal and knowledge base, consistent with reports of ~40% reduction in HR inquiries after a portal launch.
- Better resource utilization: Without recruiting more people, IT and HR businesses are managing more cases per agent.
- Increased employee productivity: Staff spend less time on administrative tasks. (Industry data suggest such portals can cut employee admin burden by ~30%)
These results aligned with broader industry studies, where ServiceNow unified portals consistently yield 20–40% reductions in redundant requests and double-digit gains in adoption.
What’s Next After DPR Solutions Transformation?
After the new portal goes live, DPR Solutions suggests adding finance and legal to the Employee Centre, making the AI-powered Virtual Agents better, and looking at usage data to find the best ways to present information. Managing change all the time through training, reviews, and user feedback makes sure that it is accepted and works well.
Instead of hiring big, generalist consultants, DPR Solutions uses ServiceNow knowledge to connect HR and IT portals to enhance service delivery, customer satisfaction, and return on investment. Our consultants design portals with adoption in mind, providing a scalable, future-ready platform customized to each client’s needs.
Boost portal adoption and streamline service delivery—contact DPR Solutions Inc. to unify your HR/IT portals and deliver a seamless employee experience.