Transforming IT Support into a Strategic Business Driver
How RLB Achieved 92%+ Customer Satisfaction and Three-Star Service Desk Certification
At a Glance
- Organisation: Rider Levett Bucknall (RLB UK)
- Industry: Construction & Property Consultancy
- Service Desk Size: 7-person team
- Coverage: 21 offices (UK & EU)
- Monthly Volume: 425 incidents | 360 service requests
- Customer Satisfaction: 92%+
- Outcome: Three-Star Service Desk Certification
The Opportunity: Elevating IT from Support to Strategic Value
Rider Levett Bucknall (RLB UK), a global construction and property consultancy, set out to transform its IT service desk into a high-performing, business-aligned function.
While the IT Support Team already delivered reliable service, the organisation wanted to go further – improving service maturity, strengthening stakeholder confidence, and clearly demonstrating the value of IT across the business.
The goal was simple but ambitious: move from operational support to strategic enabler.
“More than ever IT, Digital, Data, AI and all things Tech are influencing our business, our industry, our projects and our clients. Delivering a recognised high standard of IT service is fundamental to the success of our IT function and our business. Our IT team don’t just want to be good for RLB but we work to be recognised as a great IT team whatever the company or industry.” Matt Sharp, Chief Digital Officer, RLB UK
The Challenge: Visibility, Consistency, and Measurable Value
To achieve this, RLB needed to:
- Improve service maturity and process consistency
- Gain clearer visibility of performance and outcomes
- Demonstrate ROI and business impact of IT services
- Align IT delivery more closely with organisational goals
A critical barrier was fragmented data-capturing and consolidating meaningful metrics across systems and teams to enable confident, data-driven decisions
The Approach: A Structured Path to Service Excellence
In 2024, RLB joined the Service Desk Certification (SDC) programme to benchmark performance against industry best practice and accelerate continuous improvement.
The IT Support Team – based across Birmingham, Manchester, and London – supports 13 UK offices and 8 EU offices, delivering high-volume, business-critical support every day.
Key focus areas included:
- Strengthening process maturity and governance
- Building robust performance metrics and reporting
- Driving cross-functional collaboration across the organisation
- Embedding a culture of continuous improvement
This wasn’t just an IT initiative, it became a business-wide effort to define and deliver service excellence.
The Results: Measurable Impact Across the Business
⭐ Three-Star Service Desk Certification
RLB achieved Three-Star Service Desk Certification, providing independent validation of the team’s maturity, consistency, and effectiveness.
📈 92%+ Customer Satisfaction
- Sustained customer satisfaction scores above 92%
- Stronger customer experience driven by structured improvement initiatives
🤝 Increased Stakeholder Confidence
- Independent certification boosted credibility at senior levels
- Stronger engagement with business stakeholders
- Clearer articulation of IT’s strategic contribution
📊 Data-Driven Performance & ROI
- Improved visibility of KPIs and critical success factors
- Clear understanding of cost vs performance
- Ability to demonstrate ROI of IT services with confidence
🔗 Stronger Cross-Functional Collaboration
- Greater alignment between IT and wider business teams
- Shared ownership of service quality and outcomes
The Impact: From Service Desk to Strategic Enabler
Achieving certification has transformed how IT is perceived and how it operates within RLB.
For the Business
- IT is now recognised as a trusted, strategic partner
- Increased confidence in service delivery and performance
- Better alignment between technology and business priorities
For Customers
- Consistent, high-quality support
- Improved reliability and responsiveness
- Enhanced overall service experience
For the Team
- Greater pride, recognition, and motivation
- Clear benchmarks for continued growth
- Stronger sense of purpose and direction
Why SDC Matters
RLB’s journey demonstrates that investing in service desk maturity, metrics, and continual improvement delivers real, measurable business value.
By combining structured frameworks with strong collaboration and data-led insight, organisations can transform IT from a support function into a key driver of business success
“Achieving a three-star Service Desk Certification is a significant milestone and a genuine source of pride for the entire team. It reflects the consistency, collaboration and dedication that underpin our service delivery and highlights our commitment to continuous improvement.” Andy Draper, IT Service Desk Manager, RLB UK
New AI-focused concept added to the Standard
The Global Best Practice Standard for Service Desk (the Standard) is the framework that underpins the Service Desk Certification programme, with detailed criteria covering 10 concepts. The Standard has been updated to v9, and contains a new concept – ‘Managing the AI System‘ – to help you navigate the practical challenges of implementing and integrating AI capabilities in to your service.
