Service Portal (+ webapps & employee news)

Language:
EN

This page contains documentation about the Service Portal for employees And other users.

What is the Service Portal?

The Service Portal combines different types of information for employees all in one spot. Information that was spread across 10 different websites is now all together on one place, listed in the main categories on the left:

  1. Home/Service ABC (all practical information offered by the UT service departments, such as HR, FIN, etc.) (mainly without login). Compressed from (previously) 30.000 to 3.000 pages. 
  2. Web applications for employees (login required)
  3. Updates: 3 types of updates are also sent by mail to employees on Monday (weekly or monthly, Dutch or English): 
    1. News for employees (login required, personalised based on building, faculty and own subscriptions)
    2. Events for employees (login required, personalised based on building, faculty and own subscriptions)
    3. UT Topics: internal topics UT would like to give attention to. Examples: diversity, integrity, sustainability, cyber safety/privacy, etc 
  4. Contact information is sorted by department.

How to access

You can access the Service Portal by using the short link utwente.nl/serviceportal or through the link in the quicklink section on the UT homepage:

Most pages are publicly available, but some are only accessible after login. Certain pages show different information based on who log in. Example: the contact pages utwente.nl/hr/contact or utwente.nl/mc/contact list relevant contacts for your faculty. For news, events and web apps for employees login is required.

Web applications

Webapps for employees moved to the Service Portal in April 2022, and in July 2022 the old employees.utwente.nl portal (also containing the web apps) was discontinued. The quicklink to the web apps is utwente.nl/webapps.

  • How do I open webapps in a new tab by default?
    1. When logged in, click your profile picture in the upper right corner and click settings to access the settings page:
    2. On the settings page, check the box to open by default in a new browser tab:
    3. Your changes are saved automatically.
  • Why do webapps open in the same tab by default?

    There is a worldwide website usability advise to open links in the same tab by default. This has some advantages:

    1. Users have different preferences how they want links to open and this works for all users, as everybody can choose their favourite option with a right mouse click on the link. (If we force opening a new tab, this can not be undone for people who prefer to have it on the same tab. If we keep the adviced option of opening in the same tab, this can be undone by using the back button of the browser.)
    2. People with visual limitations who use tools to read out loud what's on the page get stuck when links open in a new screen. Opening in the same tab works for them.

    Please note: In general, opening in in the same tab is a advise for good usability. But for (semi) government organisations in the EU, opening in the same tab is a legal requirement, because of point 2) mentioned above.

    Advice: If you prefer to open links in a new tab, use one of the following options that work in all browsers an on all websites worldwide:

    • Use the CTRL key when clicking a link to open in a new tab or
    • Use the right instead of the left mouse button. This gives you different options how to open your link, as described above.
  • The list of applications is very long. How do I find the application I am looking for?

    Navigate to the webapps section on the Service Portal: utwente.nl/serviceportal > second button in the black bar on your computer:

    MOST POPULAR

    On top of the page, you will find the list of the most used web applications:

    ALL WEB APPLICATIONS

    Below the list of most popular apps, you will find a search box and a list of all apps. Can't find what you are looking for? Contact us: serviceportal@utwente.nl

  • How can I bookmark applications I use a lot? [video]

    Navigate to the webapps section on the Service Portal: use utwente.nl/serviceportal or click the link on the homepage in the quicklink section. The video below shows the following steps:

    1. Navigate to the web application page (second button on the left)
    2. Selecting the applications you want to bookmark (by clicking the star behind their name)
    3. Searching for applications in the list
    4. Finding the bookmarked applications in the right upper corner
    5. Using the manage button to move them to other categories (not included: create categories).
  • I miss an application in the list.

    When new applications are released, the IT departments makes sure they are listed in the web application section. If you mis an application, please reach out to serviceportal@utwente.nl. 

  • How can I use the Dutch application list?

    There is a language switch above the list:

    The Dutch and English list show the same applications, but names and descriptions may vary. If you can't find what your looking for, we are happy to add some additional keywords to improve findability. Reach out to serviceportal@utwente.nl for any comments.

  • Where can I find more information about a specific application?

    Application description

    For the main applications, the short description text that you see in the application list contains an URL to find manuals or user documentation. 

    Service Portal ABC

    In the Service Portal, all products and services for employees are listed. Topics related to applications should also be available there. For example: the Service Portal has a page about Business Travel or (Holiday) leave. These pages give additional information for users. Just use the search bar to find the information pages in the Service Portal.

Employee news

News and events for employees have moved to the Service Portal starting July 2022.

  • What's the difference between the orange and grey tags?

    Mandatory subscriptions (orange tag)

    You are automatically subscribed to UT-wide news and events. More mandatory subscriptions are activated based on your settings in MyHR/AFAS:

    • The faculty or service department you work for. (If you have an unexpected orange tag, then the organisation has put your name on the internal department list for another reason.)
    • The building where your office is located (update building/room).
    • The research institute membership list (update institute)

    Additional optional subscriptions (grey tag)

    Additional subscriptions based on your interest: other buildings, other faculties/service departments, topics. 

    Protected items

    Some items are protected, for example, the faculty's Christmas gathering or an announcement of internal personnel announcements. Protected messages will be shown to people who are a member of that organisation (orange tag), but will not be visible to additional subscribers (grey tag).

  • Why am I not subscribed to news from my building?

    Your building tag (orange) is automatically visible if you have a workplace in that building according to MyHR/AFAS. Please make sure you add a building and room there. 

    Good to know: Adding the grey tag for your building will not show the same messages, as some items are limited to the people located in that building (according to AFAS), and not the additional subscribers from other buildings.

  • Language for news and events
    • We ask editors to publish all news and events in both English and Dutch.
    • The mail update sent on Monday morning is also available in both languages. 

    The news overview however, is in English right now. We will add a Dutch news overview soon.

    This is why the basic setup of the full Service Portal is English: The first few releases of the Service Portal focussed on products and services provided by the service departments like HR, FIN, LISA, MC, CFM, etc. That information was mainly available in English, but in many situations not in Dutch. By choosing English as our main language we make sure that we have a version of the Service Portal:

    • that is complete
    • that can be read by everybody (but if texts get long or different like HR pages, we always provide Dutch versions)

    If we would set up a second Dutch version, that version would by far not be complete and only hold 30% of the information. As this would be confusing, we decided to work with an English version and provide a secondary Dutch translation on item level.

    Just type your search query in the UT website's search engine in English or Dutch. Both languages should be find to find what you are looking for. If not, let us know and we make sure the owner of the page increases the number of keywords for better findability. Below is an example a subject that's only available in English. But the Dutch search term still brings you to the right page:

  • How do I change what type of news/events I receive?

    Click your profile photo in the right upper corner to access your settings. On the page you can click the buildings, subjects and organisations sending the information or the organisation that should receive the information and add them to your subscriptions. The page automatically saves all changes.

  • How do I submit news/events?

    Marketing & Communications has a webform for that. The link is also available in the news/events section, on the ALL tab once the news/events are available in the Service Portal:

  • How do I change the language of the update mail I receive?

    Click your profile photo in the right upper corner to access your settings. On the page you can select language for the news/event update mail you receive, next to the language and te topics you want to subscribe to. The page automatically saves all changes.

  • How do I change the mailing frequency (weekly/monthly)?

    The UT believes it is important that employees are aware of what is happening on campus. That is why you will receive news and events related to your own faculty/service & building and UT-wide announcements as a minimum news supply.

    Change frequency

    Click your profile photo in the right upper corner to access your settings. On the page you can select your e-mail freqency, next to the langauge and other topic you want to receive. The page automatically saves all changes.

Other features

The Service Portal bundles internal information for employees in one spot. As part of the information is also relevant for students and guests, most information is publicly available. The primary language of the Service Portal is English. 

  • Personalisation of content, login and your department (or more than one)

    Parts of the Service Portal are protected by login and information may be personalised for a certain target group (like employees) or even more specific (per faculty of per building).

    • Some pages are only visible after login
    • Some pages contain protected paragraphs that are only available after login*
    • Some pages personalise/sort the content within the  page in a certain way after login*

    *Protected/personalised elements within pages are marked in yellow with a 'personalised' label:

    One or more faculties/departments

    Most employees are employed at one faculty or service department, like the BMS faculty or the HR service department.

    Double employment 

    If you work for the units (like have appointment at BMS and half appointment at another faculty like EEMCS), you can switch between both, to see for example the contacts for BMS employees or switch to see the contacts for EEMCS employees. 

    No double employment, but still two departments

    You do not have an appointments at two different units but you still see two departments? Then your UT account has been added to the so called Members Plus list for that department. This is done in situtations like:

    • You work as an account manager for the second department
    • You have p-drive access for the second department (p-drive also uses the Members Plus list to give access to files)
  • Filter by service department

    You may use the filter on top of the page to reduce items by filtering for a certain service department. This brings you to the 'homepage' for that specific department. Instead of using the filter you may also use

    • utwente.nl/lisa
    • utwente.nl/mc
    • utwente.nl/hr
    • etc.

  • Bookmarking pages (incl own links)

    BOOKMARKING ITEMS THAT YOU FIND IN THE SERVICE PORTAL

    You can bookmark items (pages) in the service abc, news/events and web applications.

    How to bookmark

    • Service abc and news/events: view the Service Portal page that you would like to bookmark and click the 'bookmark this page' button on top of the page: 
    • Web applications: in the list of web applications (second button in the main navigation on the left) press the bookmark star behind the application name/description:

    Where do I find my bookmarks?

    Everything you have bookmarked in the Service Portal is listed in your bookmark section in the right upper corner: 

    >> See the paragraph on this page about web applications for details information about bookmarking your applications, including a video.

    Managing your bookmarked items

    Open the bookmark section to show your bookmarks. After hitting the manage button in the bookmark section, you can:

    • delete bookmarks
    • create categories and put your existing bookmarks into those categories
    • delete categories (once the category is empty)

    Don't forget to hit the done button to save.

    BOOKMARK LINKS THAT ARE NOT IN THE SERVICE PORTAL

    To add your own links, hit the star icon to access te bookmark section. Then use the Add custom bookmark button to add your own link(s). 

  • Voting and feedback options

    When logged in, all service portal items show a voting option on the bottom of the page. You can indicate (always anonymously) if that page helped you by hitting the Yes/No button. When hitting no, you may fill in the additional feedback form:

    Feedback will be sent to the central admin team. If the feedback is related to the content on the page, the feedback will be forwarded to the page owner. Technical issues will be taken care of by the central team.

  • UT topics: (internal) organisational developments

    UT Topics are (strategic) dossiers/themes that are important to the UT, like the expert groups in Shaping 2030. The content is in most cases listed outside the Service Portal as the type of information is not ABC like information, but more about organisational developments. Having the information placed outside the Service Portal causes two issues for users of the internal Service Portal information:

    • people do not come across that content regularly, although it might have interesting/important information for them
    • decreased findability: when searching/browsing the Service Portal, information from outside the Service Portal will always be listed lower in search results

    Therefore we keep a list of topics on the Service Portal. The tiles on the UT Topics overview directly show a date for the last update, including the title. Topic overview:

  • Search engine

    The internal utwente.nl search engine will most likely present more and better results than Google as the internal search presents the following items:

    • Google search results as Google search is the basis for our search engine
    • Internal pages that are only visible for your unit or role (feature only available after login)
    • Content from other systems that Google cannot access (like Osiris course catalogue)
    • Content from other tools UT channels (like UT YouTube, etc.)
    • Manipulated search results:
      • Frequently requested items are placed higher in the results for better findability, sometimes even as banners:
      • Confusing/ambiguous search terms show banners to point you in the right direction to make sure you find the Microsoft Teams documentation when entering the way to common term ‘teams’
  • English vs Dutch

    The primary language of the Service Portal is English. Many pages come with a Dutch translation:

  • Mobile version

    The mobile version is available in the second release, starting March 2022. 

Contact & feedback

For specific questions related to the transition from the employee portal to the Service Portal, please contact the project team at serviceportal@utwente.nl. For all general online questions, please contact the Online Media Servicedesk at Marketing & Communication: onlinemedia-mc@utwente.nl. If you need to reach out to the team that publishes and approves news and events, contact the editorial team at staff-news@utwente.nl.

If you need to reach out to one of the service desks at the support departments, please use the contact option on the left (last button in the black bar) to find the UT departments and service desks that can assist you.

about the project

This Service Portal project combines different initiatives at UT, all with the same goal: improving findability of internal service information for employees. Here is some background.

  • Read more

    Initiatives combined:

    • An initiative by LISA (Library, ICT Services and Archive) to improve their department's website (utwente.nl/lisa)
    • An initiative by the ET faculty to improve their intranet with ET specific and UT general service information
    • An initiative by UCB (directors of service departments) to make important UT topics (cyber safety & privacy, integrity, etc) easily accessible
    • Improving the UT wide service ABC information that had been setup in 2017

    All these individual proposals have been merged into the Service Portal project as they all intend to reach the same goal. The launch was in the summer of 2020.

    In the old situation, we see UT (faculty) members struggling to find internal information because the information for is spread over different locations:

    • UT service department websites (utwente.nl/hr, utwente.nl/lisa, utwente.nl/fin, etc) for  support information
    • Employee portal (employees.utwente.nl) with UT wide news/events, specific news for your unit and web applications
    • Intranet of your faculty of service department with specific content for your unit (Human Resources, Financial, Facilities, Research Support, etc)
    • ....

    Therefore the aim of this project is to create one central starting point to find information for employees: the Service Portal. When looking for information, in the improved situation

    • the provided services should be accessible through one central spot
    • no matter if intranet or not
    • no matter if faculty-specific or UT wide relevant (as employees do not know who provides the service they are looking for)
    • accessible through a search engine that combines all sources
    • visually recognisable as internal information and
    • information should be sorted in a smart way to present unit-specific information on top when the user of a certain unit logs in.

    Step by step, more internal information will be added to this central spot for employees: the information offered by the various service departments, the employee portal information, stand alone project sites, etc. 

Service Portal status

The following service departments have fully moved their department website into the Service Portal: 

Other departments are partly integrated. Upcoming sub-projects related to the Service Portal:

  • Design update bases on user evaluation - DONE, Q1 2022
  • Further (functional & technical) development - DONE, Q1 2022
  • Moving web application for employees here -  DONE, Q2 2022
  • Moving news/events for employees here - DONE, Q3 2022
  • Moving content of other service departments (SP and CES) to the Service Portal (all 2023)

My favorites

About My Favorites
Use the Bookmark this page button on Service Portal pages to add that page to the My Favorites section. To add web applications, use the star icon in the webapplication list. To add pages outside the Service Portal, use the Add custom bookmark button above. Add your favorite apps to your bookmarks by using the favorite button

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