Case study
Optimising Workplace Service Delivery for 24,000+ Employees with 40% Faster Onboarding
- Team size: 10
- Development time: 4 months
Background
According to Deloitte (2026), organisations moving from experimentation to measurable impact should redesign end-to-end processes and apply clear governance. McKinsey (2026) reports that 62% of organisations are experimenting with or piloting AI agents, yet no more than 10% are scaling them in any single business function. IBM adds that 40% of the workforce is expected to need reskilling because of AI and automation over the next three years. Taken together, these figures show that the challenge is no longer simple adoption, but building a governed operating model that can scale automation, reduce manual work, and maintain control.
For our client, a leading global online travel agency with 24,000+ employees needed a more scalable model for employee onboarding, access management, and workplace service delivery across multiple regions. High seasonal hiring volumes increased pressure on IT, workplace services, and support teams, making consistency and scalability difficult to maintain.
GEM engaged with the client to improve employee readiness, reduce manual operational dependencies, strengthen access governance, and build a more scalable and consistent operating model across employee lifecycle and workplace services.
Challenges
Before implementation
- Employee onboarding was slow, especially during seasonal hiring peaks, as manual handoffs delayed access to enterprise applications, collaboration tools, and workspace support.
- Many joiner, mover, and leaver tasks were repetitive but required manual monitoring and execution by IT and support teams, limiting IT capacity for higher-value work.
- Delays in revoking access for departing employees posed significant governance and security risks, as lingering access could lead to potential data breaches or compliance issues.
- Workplace-related requests were fragmented across multiple channels, creating confusion for employees and making consistent routing and case management difficult.
- Facility asset data was stored in spreadsheets, resulting in a fragmented view of non-IT assets, such as furniture and office equipment, and complicating service request fulfillment.
During delivery
- Aligning IT, HR, workplace services, and facilities teams across multiple regions required introducing standardized workflows and clear governance practices.
- Visibility into workflow progress, employee access, and request handling needed improvement to provide consistent service delivery.
- Integration of workplace requests, knowledge, and facility assets with ServiceNow needed to be structured for scalability and long-term reuse.
Solution
The solution was delivered through two connected workstreams, designed to automate core employee and workplace service processes while improving governance, visibility, and operational consistency.
Workstream 1: Employee Lifecycle and Identity/Access Automation
The first workstream focused on automating joiner, mover, and leaver workflows, together with access provisioning and deprovisioning. This helped reduce manual IT effort and strengthened governance across the employee lifecycle.
HR lifecycle events were used to trigger automated workflows in ServiceNow. Okta handled the provisioning and removal of access for enterprise applications and collaboration tools. As a result, employees, managers, and IT teams had clearer visibility into the status of each workflow throughout the process.
Workstream 2: ServiceNow Workplace Service Delivery
The second workstream focused on workplace service delivery, bringing together workplace requests, case management, knowledge access, and facility asset management into a more centralised and scalable operating model.
Standardised request forms were implemented across 10 service areas, alongside role- and location-based knowledge bases, to support consistent and repeatable workplace service delivery. Facility asset management was also fully migrated into ServiceNow and connected to workplace cases. Each asset could be tracked with detailed attributes such as item condition, material, colour, features, and dimensions, enabling more accurate tracking and reporting of non-IT assets.
To support integration across the broader workplace ecosystem, an advanced integration framework was built between ServiceNow and external facilities platforms. This enabled real-time updates, state synchronisation, and bi-directional data exchange for both workplace cases and asset information.
In addition, structured automation flows were introduced to manage case creation, updates, and attachments automatically, reducing manual intervention and improving operational consistency. The implementation was further supported by unified governance standards, including consistent naming conventions, structured documentation, and a high-fidelity design methodology, ensuring the solution could be implemented reliably and scaled across regions.
Tech stack
- Okta
- IntegrationHub
- Employee Service Center
- CMDB
- HRSD
Output
- Automated lifecycle and access workflows for joiners, movers, and leavers
- Centralised workplace service delivery request and case management processes
- Workplace knowledge management capabilities for employees and agents
- Facility asset visibility connected to workplace-service operations
- Integration with an external facilities management platform
Impacts
- Onboarding cycle time reduced by 40%, enabling employees to access systems and workplace services faster.
- 35% of IT capacity reclaimed from repetitive lifecycle work, allowing teams to focus on higher-value tasks.
- 80% reduction in manual lifecycle work enabled consistent management of seasonal hiring peaks, supporting scalable workplace service delivery.
- Automated provisioning and deprovisioning reduced delays from hours/days to minutes, lowering access-related risks.
- Centralised service intake, case tracking, and knowledge access provided employees with a clear, consistent way to request and receive support.
- Linking assets to cases and integrating with external facilities platforms improved coordination and operational insight, strengthening overall workplace service delivery.
Closing remarks
This project helped the client improve employee readiness and workplace service delivery through automation, standardised workflows, and a more scalable operating model across both digital access and workplace support journeys.
Explore a relevant ServiceNow case here: Transforming Cloud Operations with Scalable ServiceNow Workflow Automation for an ICT Provider
