Self-Service That Really Serves

The knowledge existed – but no one could find it fast enough.

As the public waste authority for over a million households and 100,000 businesses, Stadtreinigung Hamburg (SRH) faced an overwhelming volume of customer service requests. With 25,000 calls and 7,500 written inquiries each month, their team struggled to deliver fast and reliable answers.

The existing Lotus Notes knowledge base had reached its limits. Slow searches, inconsistent formats, media breaks and scattered sources made it difficult for agents to help citizens quickly – especially when working remotely. SRH needed a modern, centralized knowledge system that supported clear structures, cross-team collaboration and direct access to everything needed for high-quality service.  

A knowledge platform tailored to real-life service needs

SRH partnered with USU to completely rebuild its knowledge infrastructure. Together, they migrated 1,800 documents from Lotus Notes into USU Knowledge Management – improving structure, consistency and usability along the way. Specific document types were introduced to speed up reading and comprehension. Feedback loops with the service team ensured that articles reflected everyday needs.

The new system delivered smart features that made an immediate difference: role-based access and editing rights, push notifications for urgent updates, feedback buttons for agents and seamless access to SharePoint files, public forms and even the recycling pickup calendar. 

The result: clean content, fast retrieval and easy onboarding for new staff – whether in the office or remote.  

One source of truth – for service teams and citizens alike

With USU Knowledge Management, SRH has turned knowledge into a strategic asset. Agents respond faster, search more effectively and trust the content they use. Customer interactions are more consistent and internal efficiency has improved dramatically.

The solution’s success has inspired expansion: recycling centers now use the same knowledge base on tablets to advise customers and other departments – like waste logistics – are planning adoption.

Most importantly, citizens notice the difference: in the latest satisfaction survey, SRH scored an impressive 1.46 on a German school-grade scale – a clear vote of confidence.