About
The Natural History Museum (NHM) is one of the world’s leading cultural institutions, housing more than 80 million specimens and welcoming millions of visitors every year. Beyond its public galleries, the museum is a centre for scientific research and education. Supporting over 1900 employees, volunteers and students is a dedicated Technology Solutions team, responsible for keeping systems reliable and staff productive across every corner of the museum.
The Challenge
When NHM reviewed its existing ITSM tool, it quickly became clear that the platform no longer met requirements. Processes were no longer efficient or easy to use, with complexity that led many agents to use alternative channels. Work was often organised informally through Microsoft Teams chats, meaning it was estimated around 20% of work was logged in the system and leadership had limited visibility of overall demand.
Tickets that were recorded were often hard to trace, with inconsistent statuses and many were left unresolved. This lack of reliable data meant the team had limited ability to measure performance, allocate resources effectively, or demonstrate the business impact of outages. To meet evolving requirements, the museum sought a platform that could keep pace and adapt over time.
“We wiped the slate clean. Rather than replicating what we had before, we built something new that actually works for us.”
– Caroline Hall, Technology Project Manager
The Solution
NHM developed an excellent working relationship with a highly supportive implementation partner. Together, they delivered the new ITSM platform in September 2024, on time and with immediate adoption across both the service desk and wider IT teams
The rollout marked a clear cultural shift. The Teams channel once used to manage requests was closed on go-live, with all communication and updates now captured in tickets. End users could track progress directly for the first time, while agents, previously change-averse, embraced the platform. Real-time CSAT feedback gave agents visibility of their own performance, creating a sense of ownership and recognition that strengthened service quality.
Processes that were often inconsistent are now consistently followed. Major incident management runs through a workflow that automatically issues notifications and approvals, giving managers visibility from the outset and ensuring incidents are classified correctly. Outages can be tracked by hours, system, and quarter, with downtime costs tied directly to these metrics to provide more accurate, consistent reporting. Regular reporting keeps old tickets under control, while templated forms with pre-filled fields make logging fast and accurate, removing barriers that once discouraged agents and giving the team more reliable data. With every feature included as standard and concurrent licensing in place, 37 users can share 10 licences—keeping access broad and spend predictable.
“The agents love it. They message me to say, ‘I got 100% feedback this month.’ It gives them recognition and makes them want to deliver fantastic customer service.”
– Sarah Noor, Service and Change Manager
The Results
HaloITSM has delivered measurable improvements across service quality, visibility, and efficiency at the Natural History Museum.
- Ticket capture increased from 20% to over 80%, doubling volumes and reflecting true workload.
- Portal adoption rose from 1% to 28% of tickets (+260%), with end users actively engaging with the system.
- CSAT scores reached 99% positive, with agents motivated by feedback and recognition.
- Major incidents are now tracked in detail, with outages measured by hours, system, and quarter, giving greater clarity on downtime costs.
"One of the comments we had was, ‘This is the best IT department I’ve ever worked with.’ That’s a huge shift, and the system has supported it.”
-Sarah Noor, Service and Change Manager
Together, these improvements have not only delivered better data and processes but also reshaped how IT is experienced across the museum, building visibility, accountability, and trust in the service. With further workflows already in place and other departments exploring adoption, NHM now has a platform that will continue to evolve with its needs.