Tickets keep coming in. SLAs look “mostly okay.” Dashboards are full.
And yet nothing feels under control.
Backlogs don’t shrink. The same issues keep resurfacing. Business stakeholders are frustrated. Leadership keeps asking why service quality hasn’t improved despite new tools and more effort.
That’s not a workload problem.
That’s broken ITSM.
The Real Problem
Most ITSM environments aren’t failing because teams aren’t working hard enough.
They fail because activity is being mistaken for effectiveness. This is what ITSM inefficiency looks like in real environments — high effort, low impact.
When ITSM is “busy but broken,” you’ll see patterns like:
- Tickets moving, but outcomes not improving
- Automation added, but complexity increasing
- Tools upgraded, but user experience unchanged
The service desk becomes a ticket factory, not a service organisation.
And the worst part?
The system looks functional enough that the deeper problems go unchallenged.
Why This Matters (Especially for Leaders)
Broken ITSM doesn’t just slow IT down — it quietly taxes the entire organisation.
Left unaddressed, ITSM inefficiency quietly increases cost, risk, and frustration across the business.
Here’s what it really costs:
- Lost productivity: Employees work around IT instead of with it
- Shadow IT: Business teams bypass service processes entirely
- Hidden risk: Incidents repeat because root causes never get addressed
- Burnout: Skilled IT staff spend their time firefighting, not improving
From a leadership perspective, this creates a dangerous illusion:
“IT looks busy, so things must be under control.”
They’re not.
Why ITSM Inefficiency Becomes the Norm
Across dozens of ITSM environments, the same root causes show up again and again.
1. Tool-first decisions
Organisations implement an ITSM platform before fixing how work should actually flow.
2. Process debt
Old workflows are layered with new rules, exceptions, and approvals—until no one fully understands the system anymore.
3. Metrics without meaning
Teams track volume, speed, and SLA compliance, but not service outcomes or experience quality.
4. Automation as patchwork
Automation is added to “cope” with volume instead of redesigning the service model itself.
The result is a system that moves, but doesn’t improve.
What Effective ITSM Actually Looks Like
High-performing IT organisations don’t aim to “close tickets faster.”
They design ITSM around outcomes.
That usually means:
- Clear service ownership (not just queue ownership)
- Fewer, better-defined workflows
- Automation built into the design, not bolted on later
- Metrics that reflect business impact, not internal convenience
Most importantly, they treat ITSM as a service delivery system, not a helpdesk.
How This Gets Fixed in Practice
The fix is rarely dramatic. It’s structural.
A practical reset usually follows this sequence:
- Map demand
Understand why work is coming in — not just how much. - Simplify services
Reduce categories, forms, and routing paths to what actually matters. - Design for resolution, not movement
Focus on eliminating repeat issues, not accelerating handoffs. - Automate intentionally
Automate predictable decisions and repetitive actions only after the workflow makes sense.
Platforms like Freshservice often support this well — but only after the service model is fixed.
The tool enables the outcome; it doesn’t create it.
A Real-World Pattern We See Often
Before
- High ticket volume
- Multiple queues and approval steps
- “Urgent” incidents every week
Intervention
- Consolidated services and categories
- Clear ownership per service
- Automation applied only to stable workflows
After
- Fewer tickets, but higher-quality work
- Faster resolution and fewer repeats
- IT teams spending time on improvement, not recovery
No new headcount.
No dramatic platform change.
Just better service design.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Trying to automate chaos
- Measuring success purely by SLA compliance
- Treating ITSM as an IT-only problem
- Rebuilding workflows without stakeholder input
These mistakes usually make systems busier — never better.
Quick Self-Check: Is Your ITSM “Busy but Broken”?
If you answer yes to two or more, it’s time to act:
- Tickets keep increasing year over year
- The same incidents keep coming back
- Business users bypass IT processes
- Automation feels complicated instead of helpful
- Reporting looks good, but reality feels worse
What to Do Next
If any of this sounds familiar, you don’t need another tool demo.
You need clarity.
We run a short ITSM Effectiveness Assessment for mid-market organisations to identify:
Our ITSM Effectiveness Assessment is designed to uncover the root causes of ITSM inefficiency and prioritise fixes.
- Where effort is being wasted
- Which processes are breaking service delivery
- What to fix first for real impact
👉 Book an ITSM Effectiveness Assessment and get a clear path forward.
