Less manual work, more control: Youforce and TOPdesk through Service Automation Suite

For many organisations, Youforce is the central HR platform where personnel decisions and changes are recorded. Connecting these HR processes to IT and service processes in TOPdesk through Service Automation Suite in a controlled way provides control, visibility and recurring cost savings.

Orchestration instead of import

Youforce deliberately avoids simple imports and opts for a model in which organisations explicitly define which data and processes they wish to manage. This requires upfront clear decisions, but prevents hidden logic and uncontrolled synchronisations.

Service Automation Suite fits directly into this approach. HR decisions and changes are passed to TOPdesk selectively, in a controlled way and as part of the process.

Role changes through Timelines

Employee-related changes are recorded in Youforce through Timelines. These describe an employee's lifecycle and form the foundation for processes around onboarding, role changes and offboarding.

Service Automation Suite supports these Timelines directly, without custom logic or additional translation layers. Changes therefore remain accurate, transparent and technically manageable.

Less manual work and recurring savings

Automating HR and IT processes greatly reduces manual actions. Research into intelligent automation shows that organisations can save an average of 20 to 30 percent on operational costs, primarily through less manual work and lower error-correction costs.

For a mid-sized municipality, this means that account requests, permission changes, service requests and other actions within the employee lifecycle can largely be executed automatically.

A saving of 2,000 to 3,000 hours per year can amount to several hundred thousand euros in recurring savings, without increasing the number of FTEs.

We are proud to be a certified Youforce partner. In that role, we combine knowledge of HR processes with Service Automation Suite as the service automation layer.

Not to simplify Youforce, but to help organisations save money and retain control over their service delivery.

Service Automation Suite as the connecting layer

Service Automation Suite functions as the connecting automation layer between Youforce, TOPdesk and other systems such as IAM and security platforms. HR remains the owner of decisions, while IT follows automatically in execution. This results in consistent processes, better compliance and lower operational costs.

A quick aside. This almost never starts with just one case. One question nearly always leads to several follow-up cases. Have that conversation, because that is where the real value lies! Get in touch !

Old versus new process

The comparison below shows how HR and IT processes look in many municipalities without Service Automation Suite, and how they are structured when Youforce and TOPdesk are connected via Service Automation Suite.

Component	Old process (without Service Automation Suite)	New process (Youforce + Service Automation Suite + TOPdesk)
Onboarding employee	Manual handover from HR to IT via email or form. IT sets up accounts and rights.	HR decision in Youforce automatically triggers workflows in TOPdesk via Service Automation Suite.
Role changes	Changes are manually passed on. High risk of delay or incompleteness.	Youforce Timelines are processed directly. Changes are accurate and processed on time.
Offboarding	Depends on notifications. Accounts may remain active for too long.	Controlled processing based on HR decisions. Fewer security risks.
Operational burden	Many manual actions, coordination and corrections.	Standardised workflows, less operational effort and fewer exceptions.
Costs	High internal hours, error corrections and recovery work.	Structural cost reduction through automation and reduced manual work.

Municipality-specific context

Municipalities are tasked with complying with BIO and NIS2, while time, budget and agility are limited. Practice demands demonstrable control and targeted automation, not complex, difficult-to-implement journeys that don't fit within the organisational reality.

In this context, we show how automation can support BIO and NIS2 measures, why a full IAM suite is not always the right fit for municipalities, and how Service Automation Suite provides a logical, manageable path for growth. The approach fits municipal realities and builds on existing systems and processes.

Automated support for BIO and NIS2

Beyond efficiency, compliance plays an increasingly important role. BIO and NIS2 impose requirements on access control, logging, traceability and timely revocation of rights.

In a manually configured process, it is difficult to demonstrate who made which decision, when, and whether it was processed in IT systems on time. Using Youforce as the HR source and Service Automation Suite as a controlled automation and orchestration layer for TOPdesk creates a complete audit trail.

HR decisions are recorded in Youforce, executed through Service Automation Suite as part of a defined process, and logged in TOPdesk. This lets municipalities demonstrate controlled onboarding, role changes and offboarding, with less reliance on manual checks and separate Excel overviews.

This supports BIO measures around access control and contributes to NIS2 objectives such as risk management, incident prevention and demonstrable governance, without adding extra administrative pressure on HR and IT.

Why a full IAM suite does not always fit

A full IAM suite is often presented as the final solution for identity and access management. In practice, this does not always align with current organisational maturity and needs of municipalities. Processes are still evolving, responsibilities are distributed, and the primary need lies in control over the fundamentals.

A large IAM programme requires clear ownership, well-defined processes, high data quality and ongoing management. Without those prerequisites, it can lead to high costs, lengthy implementations and features used only to a limited extent. The result is mainly more overhead, rather than more control.

A logical and manageable growth path with Service Automation Suite

The Service Automation Suite approach fits organisations that want to develop their maturity in a targeted way. Youforce acts as the HR source, Microsoft Entra as the identity platform, and Service Automation Suite as the orchestration and automation layer for TOPdesk.

This enables controlled automation of onboarding, role changes and offboarding without immediately requiring an additional IAM suite. The approach is clear, affordable and directly applicable using existing licences and processes.

As the organisation matures, the model can be systematically extended or combined with additional IAM functionality.

The result is a clear growth model: start with what is needed, invest where it adds value and scale up only when the organisation is ready. Less manual work, more control and no unnecessary complexity.

Do you want to know what this means for your organisation? We would be happy to explore where processes get stuck, which process chains intersect and where automation directly saves time and reduces costs. Or do you have another question? Get in touch !

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