Implementing, Shared Services, Public Sector

The eight pillars for successfully implementing shared services

07 Apr 2006 | (News)

With governments facing pressure to improve productivity, transparency and accountability, shared services offer the promise of cost savings and improved organizational business processes. But consolidating similar processes from several departments or agencies into a single organization does not occur without overcoming organizational hurdles, nor does it happen overnight.

In collaboration with Accenture, The Conference Board of Canada studied the experiences of 15 public sector organizations-10 Canadian and five international-that implemented shared services and identified the pillars of success.

"Resistance to implementing shared services exists. This is due to the fact that shared services lead to a perceived loss of control, confusion about accountability and concern about new roles for employees," said Carolyn Farquhar, Director of Organizational Excellence research at the Conference Board. "Addressing these concerns upfront is vital to undertake a change of this magnitude."

The eight pillars for successfully implementing shared services are:

1. Ensure that there is effective governance.
2. Allocate sufficient resources to manage change over the long haul.
3. Choose the right kind of leader for the shared services organization.
4. Engage key stakeholders in the initiative.
5. Ease the transition of staff into new roles.
6. Build trust through relationship management.
7. Leverage process improvement through technology.
8. Measure for improvement.

The report, Implementing Shared Services in the Public Sector: The Pillars of Success, is publicly available at www.e-library.ca. It includes a summary of a Conference Board conference, Public Sector Shared Services: Delivering Value to Your Organization, held in November 2005. The full conference is available through e-Proceedings at www.e-library.ca.

Related Content: