Self-service is often seen as a quick win in IT and Enterprise Service Management (ESM) strategies. The idea is simple: give users the tools to solve their own problems, reducing ticket volume, saving time, and improving overall satisfaction.

In reality, though, many organizations struggle to achieve those outcomes. Despite significant investment in self-service portals or knowledge bases, adoption rates remain low, and users often default to calling or emailing the service desk anyway.

So why the disconnect? And what can be done to fix it?

The Gap Between Expectation and Reality

Self-service is designed to simplify access to support, for example: password resets, software requests, or access approvals. When functioning well, it frees service desk teams to focus on complex issues and enhances the user experience.

However, in many cases, teams launch self-service portals and then move on, neglecting ongoing updates and user engagement. That leads to frustration when users encounter confusing navigation, irrelevant content, or slow fulfillment. The result? Low adoption and a fallback on traditional support channels, ironically adding more pressure to the service desk.

3 Reasons Why Self-Service Often Fails:

1. It’s built once and left alone.

   One of the most common mistakes is thinking that once the portal is live, the job is done. But services evolve, employee needs shift, and content becomes outdated. Without a plan for continuous improvement, even the most polished portal will lose traction over time.

2. The experience isn’t user centric.

   Many self-service portals are built around how IT thinks, not how users think. If the interface is cluttered, search results are unhelpful, or the terminology is too technical, users won’t stick around. They’ll go back to what’s familiar: email, phone calls, or walk-ups.

3. There’s no real automation behind it.

   Too many self-service portals are essentially digital forms that still require manual intervention. For example, a software request form might send an email to IT, but if there’s no automated workflow for provisioning, it’s just another bottleneck.

How to Fix Self-Service in Your ITSM Environment

Focus on High-Volume, Low-Complexity Requests

Not all services need to be available on day one. Start with the basics, requests that come up frequently and can be resolved with minimal effort. Password resets, new software requests, and how-to articles for common tools are great places to begin. These quick wins build confidence in the portal and demonstrate early value.

Engage Users Early and Continuously

Before building or revamping your self-service offering, talk to the people who will actually use it. What kinds of issues do they want to resolve on their own? What terms do they use when searching for help? What would make them more likely to use the portal instead of emailing IT?

User feedback should inform everything from design and language to which services are prioritized.

Treat Self-Service as a Living Product

It’s not enough to launch self-service and hope people will find it. Treat it like a product you’re proud of: announce it, train people on how to use it, and continue to remind them that it’s the fastest way to get help. Use internal channels like onboarding sessions, newsletters, or even desk drop-in sessions to drive awareness.

Integrate Automation Behind the Scenes

Once users submit a request, what happens next matters just as much as the portal itself. If fulfilment still depends on back-and-forth emails or manual approvals, the self-service experience doesn’t function as it should. Integrate automated workflows into your ITSM platform to handle approvals, routing, and provisioning in the background. This reduces delays and ensures that service desk agents aren’t bogged down by routine requests.

Reclaiming the Value of Self-Service

Self-service still holds enormous value, but only when implemented as part of a broader service strategy that centres on the user experience, automation, and continuous improvement. When done right, it becomes more than just a support channel. It becomes the front door to a more responsive, modern service organization.

Looking to build or improve your self-service strategy? At QLogitek, we help organizations streamline operations and deliver better service outcomes with ITSM/ESM solutions built for long-term success.

Contact us to learn more.