Why municipalities are now making real savings through process orchestration

At many municipalities, we see a recognisable picture. TOPdesk is in place, workflow cycles are running, and import teams are doing their work. Yet still, the pressure remains high. Not because systems fail, but because the end-to-end process is not automated.

With BIO2 and the VNG frameworks, this is no longer an organisational issue – it's a structural cost item.

Below, we explain it to you!

This rarely starts with a single case. One request usually leads to multiple follow-up cases. Have that conversation, because that's where the real value lies. Take contact on!

Where municipalities are losing money structurally

At mid-sized municipalities (±100,000 residents), we observe in practice:

• 3 to 6 FTEs engaged in mutations, controls, recovery work, and audit preparation
• costs: €225,000 to €450,000 per year
• largely involving work across systems, not within TOPdesk itself

With end-to-end process automation, this can be reduced to 1 to 2 FTEs. The structural savings lie between €200,000 and €400,000 per year.

Why TOPdesk automation stops here

Standard imports and workflow cycles automate steps, but not complete end-to-end processes. As soon as multiple systems are involved – HR (AFAS, Youforce, Hr2Day etc.), IAM, Azure, PowerShell, or digital signatures – manual work emerges. And manual work is the most expensive cost item in municipal ICT.

Practical example: Saving within existing TOPdesk processes

At many municipalities, TOPdesk supports citizen-facing processes such as complaints and requests. When such a complaint triggers follow-up actions outside of TOPdesk, manual work often arises. By automating this end-to-end chain, Service Automation Suite supports the process from start to registration. Not for one chain, but for multiple chains simultaneously. This prevents handoffs, recovery work, and extra audits, and delivers direct FTE savings.

Real-world example: ValidSign

Digital signature directly impacts compliance. Who is authorised to sign? On what authorisation basis? What must be demonstrable?

With Service Automation Suite and TOPdesk, this becomes one end-to-end chain:

• start from TOPdesk
• automated controls and actions
• signature via ValidSign
• full automatic logging
• No separate exports, no manual logging, no recovery work during audits

Together with our partner ValidSign, we've held a webinar – you can see in detail how we achieve this! Watch it here back (or download the slideset). Or search for ValidSign on the website – we'll explain it even better there.

Why this is happening now

BIO2 and VNG guidelines compel municipalities to manage end-to-end process chains with demonstrable control. Municipalities that automate these processes now save structurally. Those that wait continue to pay in FTEs.

Would you like to know how many FTEs your municipality loses in the process chain?

We can look at this together — get in touch!

Contact us for more information or the accompanying document.

Didn't find what you were looking for, or more information about our services and platform? Search for it!