Located in the district of Herzogtum Lauenburg in Schleswig-Holstein, the city of Schwarzenbek is home to around 17,000 residents. In addition to its core administrative duties, the local Public Order Office is responsible for the coordination of housing and supporting asylum seekers and people experiencing homelessness. To manage these tasks efficiently and transparently, the team relies on Zammad.
Thanks to Zammad, we spend up to 60% less time on organizational tasks and can fully concentrate on the actual operational work.
A team of six within the Schwarzenbek public order office coordinates the housing and support for asylum seekers and homeless individuals across nearly 60 different facilities. A variety of tasks are carried out on a daily basis - from urgent repairs and regular security checks to individual support for residents in their everyday lives.
Until recently, the team relied on simple to-do lists in Word to keep track of their work. But as the volume and complexity of tasks grew, it quickly became clear that this system was no longer sustainable. The result: lack of transparency, frequent duplicate work, and a high communication overhead.
"We spent far too much time chasing information, making phone calls, and driving back and forth between facilities. We knew we needed a better way to simplify our day-to-day work."
It was time for a modern, digital solution to bring greater efficiency and clarity to their operations.
After a thorough evaluation, the City of Schwarzenbek chose Zammad as its central task management solution. What convinced the team most was the intuitive user interface and the software’s mobile accessibility. "Regardless of age or technical experience, every colleague quickly got the hang of it and was able to integrate it seamlessly into their daily routines," says Jesse Niemann.
"Our colleagues are out in the field a lot — they need to see what tasks are pending and what’s already been completed, right on site. Zammad now makes that possible."
Cost-effectiveness was another key factor. As a public institution working with limited resources, Schwarzenbek needed a budget-friendly solution that could still meet all functional requirements — and Zammad proved to be the perfect fit.
The rollout of Zammad went smoothly overall. “The only initial challenge we faced was setting up user permissions, but the Zammad support team guided us through it with expertise. Their responses were fast, helpful, and easy to understand — often within just a few minutes,” recalls Jesse Niemann.
The onboarding process was just as straightforward. Through one-on-one training sessions, staff members were introduced to the system at their own pace. After just one hour of training per person, the entire six-member team was fully up and running — and has been working with Zammad every day since, with visible success.
Although the City of Schwarzenbek has only been using Zammad for a short time, the positive impact is already measurable. A striking example: a large relocation project that would normally have taken four weeks was completed in just one and a half to two weeks thanks to Zammad — a time savings of around 50–60%.
“Zammad helps us save valuable working hours and use our resources more effectively. It takes a huge load off our shoulders when it comes to organizational tasks and gives us more time to focus on what truly matters.”
Every team member now has real-time visibility into the status of all ongoing tasks. This has greatly simplified assignments planning and reduced the need for follow-up questions or duplicate trips to facilities. Features like task prioritization, internal comments, and clear ticket assignments have significantly improved collaboration and clarity across the board.
Following the successful rollout, the City of Schwarzenbek now plans to extend the use of Zammad to additional areas within the Public Order Office — including traffic monitoring and parking enforcement. The positive experience with the helpdesk system raises expectations for even greater efficiency gains in the future.
With Zammad, the City of Schwarzenbek has found a powerful yet easy-to-use ticketing system that meaningfully supports the complex social work of the Public Order Office — while staying within the budgetary framework of a public institution. Three words that perfectly sum up Zammad for the Schwarzenbek team? Simple. Efficient. Flexible.
