INDUSTRY - GOVERNMENT

Public retirement system boosts process maturity with ESM

Modus Create helped an award-winning public retirement system modernize internal operations across multiple departments by implementing and expanding Atlassian’s Jira Service Management (JSM). The result: greater transparency, faster response times, and standardized workflows that align with HIPAA, Sarbanes-Oxley, and state government compliance requirements.

OUR WORK INVOLVED

Zendesk-to-JSM migration
Cross-functional workflow design and optimization
Process mapping, change management, and reporting enablement
Multi-phase JSM expansion across IT, HR, facilities, and benefits administration

IMPACT

core business units now using JSM

33%

of employees use JSM daily

Standardized

workflows aligned with ITIL and audit requirements

Many public sector companies face significant challenges in their transformation efforts. Too often, they’re stuck with legacy systems that lead to inefficiencies and slow innovation, making it difficult to scale and meet regulatory demands.

However, progress is possible, as an award-winning public retirement system proves. Here’s their successful IT modernization story.

Challenge

Outdated tools and scattered workflows lacked transparency

An award-winning public retirement system for municipal employees across one of the largest states in the United States was operating with outdated tools and informal communication workflows. While effective at a small scale, their previous system—Zendesk, supplemented by emails and in-person communications—lacked the transparency, control, and auditability needed for a regulated institution.

As demands for compliance, cybersecurity, and board-level accountability increased, the company’s leadership sought to modernize its operations. The newly appointed CIO and CISO brought experience from larger enterprises, where structured service management was the norm. They aimed to bring that level of discipline and visibility to the public retirement system without overwhelming the lean internal team.

They needed a solution that would:

Support ITIL-aligned practices across incident, change, and asset management
Enable robust reporting to stakeholders and the board
Replace ad-hoc communication with structured, scalable workflows
Serve as a foundation for cross-departmental transformation

Solution

Building a modern, scalable service management framework

The public retirement system selected Modus Create following a competitive RFP process. Our approach stood out: no out-of-the-box implementation, no cookie-cutter templates, and a certified team of Atlassian experts with a proven track record of leading teams in transformation.

The company recognized that Modus would take the time to understand their unique environment and craft a solution tailored to their long-term success, one built for their people, processes, and regulatory realities.

Phase 1:

Focused on migrating the company’s IT department from Zendesk to JSM. Modus designed a fully customized portal and backend to support:

Incident and service request management
Change and asset management
Role-based access and workflow routing
Reporting aligned with board-level KPIs

Following the success of the IT rollout, the company expanded JSM to two additional departments.

Phase 2:

Included HR & Facilities, where staffing changes and process fragmentation created urgent needs for workflow standardization and documentation.

Phase 3:

Focused on Benefits Administration, which manages sensitive retiree-related financial operations that require airtight audit trails and regulatory compliance

In all 3 phases, Modus worked shoulder-to-shoulder with key company stakeholders to build workflows that mirrored their real-world processes while introducing scalable, repeatable improvements.

Development & collaboration: Partnership in action

The public retirement system needed a partner who could help the team think strategically. Modus collaborated closely with the company’s internal staff, asking smart questions, mapping current state workflows, and proposing improvements grounded in industry best practices.

In addition to tool implementation, we helped facilitate the following initiatives:

Conducted in-depth requirements gathering and documentation
Trained staff on new systems and processes
Guided change management and stakeholder alignment
Ensured regulatory alignment for Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX), and state government compliance

After seeing the impact of our implementation, additional departments were eager to adopt JSM, reflecting the trust we built and the results we delivered.

Impact

A foundation for enterprise maturity

The public retirement system has now fully transitioned three departments to JSM. The benefits go beyond tooling and include:

Faster response times and clearer ownership across support functions
Cross-departmental visibility and standardized processes
Reliable, board-ready reporting with metrics tied to KPIs
Audit-ready workflows that meet HIPAA and SOX requirements
Improved employee satisfaction through streamlined portals and structured support

With Modus as a strategic partner, the company is moving confidently toward a future of greater transparency, accountability, and agility.

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