Building a Happy Service Desk

Arrive & register

Tea, coffee, networking and expo

Welcome address

Welcome to today’s event with SDI’s host David Wright.

Opening keynote: Dr Natalie V. Bailey, TEDx Speaker, Founder & CEO of Well Minds Together

Intentional Leadership: How Small Shifts Create Big Impact in Workplace Well-being

Craig Lawrenson, IT Service Desk Manager, BDO UK LLP

Session to be confirmed

Sami Kallio, CEO and co-founder

How to use human-centric data to drive cultural change and better decision-making

At today’s service desks, success isn’t just about closing tickets — it’s about creating positive, meaningful experiences for employees and service teams alike. As service desks shift from a focus on “ticket closure” to truly helping people, a new kind of leadership is needed: one that uses human-centric data to drive cultural change and better decision-making.

In this session, Sami Kallio will show how human-centric experience data — combined with insights from the Global IT Experience Benchmark — empowers IT leaders to transform their service culture, make smarter decisions, and enhance the value IT delivers to the business. By focusing on the real experiences of employees, you can create a Service Desk that’s not only more effective, but also a place where people love to work.

Key Takeaways:

1. Why traditional IT metrics often hide the real issues — and how experience data uncovers opportunities to improve both service quality and employee engagement.
2. Real-world examples of organizations that have used experience data to drive cultural change, boost morale, and deliver better business outcomes.
3. Practical insights to help you kickstart your IT organization’s experience management journey and build a more human, more meaningful, and more successful Service Desk.

Tea, coffee, networking & expo

Tea, coffee, networking & expo

Freshworks session to be confirmed

Freshworks speaker to be confirmed

Roundtable session

Small group discussions on aspects of happy service desks

Lunch, networking & expo

Lunch, networking & expo

Sarah-Jayne Bulley, Service Delivery Manager

From Burnout to Brilliance: Reigniting the Spark in Your Service Desk

Paul Whitwell, Director, Global ITSM Solutions

The Power of Positivity – Strategies for a happier team!

The focus of this discussion will be on practical strategies and actionable steps that leaders can implement to foster happiness within their teams. Rather than abstract theories, the emphasis will be on real-world approaches that can be applied immediately to build stronger, more engaged teams.

Key elements include the power of positive communication, the importance of recognizing and celebrating achievements, and promoting a healthy work-life balance. Creating a supportive and inclusive team culture is essential to maintaining morale and driving long-term success. I’ll also share my personal experience in transforming underperforming teams into high-performing, winning teams—breaking down the specific strategies I’ve used to shift mindsets, build trust, and cultivate a shared sense of purpose.

Sunrise Software session to be confirmed

Sunrise Software speaker to be confirmed

Tea, coffee, networking & expo

Tea, coffee, networking & expo

Roman Zhuravlev, Senior Architect ITIL, PeopleCert

Guiding a happy service desk

Most service management professionals know the seven ITIL guiding principles: 

• Focus on value
• Collaborate and promote visibility
• Start where you are
• Think and work holistically
• Progress iteratively with feedback
• Keep it simple and practical
• Optimise and automate.

However, not everyone knows how these principles help to make service desk team happy and how a happy service desk team contributes to happier users, customers, and colleagues.

In his presentation, Roman will show how they do, and share some hints and secrets from ITIL and from his personal experience as a service desk agent and manager.

Catherine Mason, IT Customer Service Team Leader, Anglia Ruskin University

Building a Happy and Effective Service Desk – Strategies and Insights from ARU

How we transformed the IT service desk at ARU. Looking at the challenges faced and how the strategic changes have improved efficiency and team morale.

Closing address

Closing address with SDI’s David Wright