DuPage County modernizes employee support and CX with Zendesk AI

Just 20 miles west of Chicago lies picturesque DuPage County, home to nearly a million residents and 96,000 businesses. The county employs 2,500 people, and provides critical services like public works, community services, and emergency response.

But what sets DuPage apart is its demonstrated commitment to innovation. In 2024, it won seven Achievement Awards from the National Association of Counties (NACo) for its forward-thinking programs that enhance resident services.

A CIO on a mission

The inspiration behind many of those awards is Anthony McPhearson. When McPhearson joined DuPage County as CIO in 2021, he came with a mission: transform operations, embrace digital transformation, and build a culture of innovation. His ultimate goal was to improve the county’s overall efficiency and provide seamless, user-friendly services for both employees and the public.

McPhearson used his vast experience managing complex governmental IT environments to evaluate the county’s various tools and processes. First up was the internal IT service desk, which was structured more like a call center at the time.

The call center used a ticketing system called Dude Solutions. Employees sent IT requests via email, and agents assigned them manually, leaving room for errors. Because the tool didn’t effectively manage and track cases, tickets often sat unattended, leading to delayed responses and overlooked requests. What’s more, the system’s reporting was weak, limiting the visibility the team needed to make improvements.

Wanting to provide county employees with faster, more efficient service, McPhearson and his team sought to update the service desk’s tools and overhaul the ticketing process.

A powerful platform at one-third the price

Working with Shanita Thompson, the county’s Information Technology Operations Manager, and other key county team members, McPhearson vetted five solutions for the service desk, including Microsoft CRM and ServiceNow, before choosing Zendesk.

“Zendesk’s exceptional service at a competitive price provides DuPage County with significant value for our taxpayers,” shares McPhearson.

McPhearson is also eager to use Zendesk AI capabilities. “Typically, the government and public sectors lag behind when it comes to technology,” he explains. “At DuPage, we want to get out in front of AI because it’s going to have a tremendous impact on government.”

With guidance from Zendesk professional services, DuPage implemented the platform in three months and trained staff over two months. Ultimately, DuPage got more than just a platform—it gained a strategic partner.

“I’m very happy with the support we get from Zendesk,” says McPhearson. “Our account team shows us how to take full advantage of the technology, which is very important to us.”

AI puts ‘service’ back in the service desk

Since deploying Zendesk, the service desk that supports county employees has enjoyed a 99.6 percent CSAT score over the past year. “I boast about our CSAT rating all the time,” says Thompson. “We’re knocking it out of the park.”

With Zendesk automation capabilities, the county team streamlined the internal ticketing process and slashed full resolution time more than 95 percent, from four to six days to a mere 4.9 hours. First reply times are just over an hour. And email queries dropped from 50 percent to just 13 percent.

Employees primarily request help using customized ticket forms that capture essential information, eliminating the back-and-forth communications that used to stall support. DuPage also uses Zendesk AI features such as:

– Intent detection to automatically categorize routine tickets—such as network issues—without manual input.
– Sentiment capabilities to ensure that disgruntled employees are assigned to the appropriate team.
– Tone shift to respond faster and maintain a consistent, professional tone in replies.

For new user and employee separation tickets, the county team integrated Myndbend, which helps agents build and automate custom workflows and approval processes tailored to organizational needs, such as HR onboarding. The tool also makes it easier for users to track approval activities and establish relationships between tickets, ultimately streamlining operations and improving efficiency within the Zendesk environment.

Optimizing resources with data insights

Zendesk’s AI-powered intents and reporting has been invaluable for helping the county identify areas for improvement. By analyzing data and understanding the intent of its most frequent incoming requests, the team gains the insight it needs to shift priorities and optimize internal resources.

For instance, Thompson used Zendesk analytics to determine the service desk was understaffed, and successfully made the business case for additional headcount. “Now I have eight technicians instead of just one, so our reply times are faster than ever,” she says. “I love Zendesk reporting. It was one of the best things we’ve invested in.”

McPhearson emphasizes that none of this was possible before. “We had to track it manually, and the data wasn’t accurate. Zendesk transformed how we operate by giving us the data we needed to make real improvements. It plays a big role in helping us achieve operational excellence.”

Modernizing an outdated intranet

Building on the service desk’s success with Zendesk, Debra Deacy, the county’s Web Services Manager, approached Thompson to discuss the outdated County Intranet. Seeing the potential of Zendesk, Thompson suggested leveraging the platform to modernize and replace the aging intranet system.

Built on Microsoft SharePoint, the existing intranet was problematic for several reasons. Updating content was complicated and cumbersome. Information was hard to find. And because it was on-premises, employees could only access it from the office or through VPN, creating barriers for remote workers.

But upgrading the system on Sharepoint was price prohibitive. “It wasn’t meeting the needs of our employees,” explains Deacy. “And the licensing costs were significantly higher than we anticipated.”

Delivering “exceptional employee service”

To combat those issues, DuPage County expanded its use of Zendesk to create a modern, streamlined, and user-friendly intranet—without incurring the additional costs associated with SharePoint licensing.

The intranet serves the county’s 2,500 employees. It features AI-powered self-service capabilities, a type-ahead search bar, and quick access to an optimized knowledge base of 400 articles from five departments. By centralizing employee requests and content management, the county can respond faster to employee feedback and continually improve the platform.

“The feedback we’ve received has been overwhelmingly positive,” reports Deacy. “Employees appreciate the modern design, the ease of posting new content, and the powerful search functionality. The cafeteria menu remains the most frequently-accessed document on the platform, which shows how employees are using it for everyday needs.”

The intranet also points employees to important information using dedicated sites for the finance, HR, cafeteria, auditor, procurement, and IT departments. Six more departments are now adding content.

“Zendesk has been instrumental in helping us deliver exceptional employee service,” reports Deacy. “Employees can access the intranet from home, which was a major limitation with our previous system. Departments can add and update content without needing IT assistance, which improves efficiency across the organization. Zendesk has saved us both time and costs.”

Today, ten different departments across the county use the Zendesk platform, including Health Promotions, the Emergency Telephone System Board (ETSB), and facilities management. McPhearson is also working with the Sheriff’s Department to bring them on board.

Expanding the use of AI by 10x

After successfully rolling out Zendesk AI to streamline service for the county’s employees, the team will also soon be deploying it for its 50 agents in the Community Services department. The move is a direct response to public feedback about slow response and service times. Other plans to use AI include:

_ Supporting and streamlining HR and IT workflows, particularly related to employee onboarding.
– Adding a generative AI agent to its award-winning website to help residents find the resources they need more quickly.
– Customizing the platform and integrating APIs to enhance services and the intranet.
– Proactively communicating important information—like grant availability for food pantries—before residents even ask for it.

“We’re looking at AI for everything we do,” says McPhearson. “We expect the way we use Zendesk will grow tenfold over the next couple of years.”

For other government agencies looking to innovate, McPhearson offers some final advice: “People often stick with what they know, like ServiceNow, because it’s familiar. But I’d tell them to step out of their comfort zone and try something new, like Zendesk.

“For the employees of DuPage County, Zendesk is now a household name.”