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Spotlight on the shared services practitioner: conversation with Ark Group

01 Sep 2003 | (Interview)

Ark Group is one company that is working to ease the often misunderstood role of shared services practitioners. Ark Group runs regular conferences and networking events from their Shared Services Practitioner division (www.sharedservicespractitioner.com), enabling shared services practitioners to learn from one another in a neutral environment. Recently, sharedxpertise.org spoke with Emma Birch and Charlie Williams of Shared Services Practitioner to see what makes a successful shared services conference.

Celebrating the shared services practitioner

sharedxpertise.org
Shared Services Practitioner, Ark Group’s networking platform for shared services professionals, demonstrates the emphasis you place on the value of the practitioner. Often, academics and corporate strategists dominate or even appropriate debates about management trends. How important is the practitioner in the shared services debate?

Charlie Williams
I’m pleased that you’ve identified emphasis on the practitioner as being an important part of what we do. It’s really the core of our offering. We think that a neutral, well-researched, intellectual forum will provide, apart from all the usual benefits of a conference, opportunities to meet fellow shared services practitioners in a neutral environment. When you cover a lot of case studies based on personal experience in over just a few days, it opens people up psychologically in a way that doesn’t happen when someone is writing a book or a thesis about shared services.

“It’s really important to get to the essence of what the shared services practitioner experiences, and not simply what the textbooks and consultants tell you to do.”

Emma Birch
We should also point out that we value the opportunities for shared services practitioners to get together with one another and not be bombarded with sales material. As a neutral organisation we can facilitate unrivalled networking opportunities between shared services practitioners whether that is accomplished formally through conferences, or informally after the conference. It’s really important to get to the essence of what the shared services practitioner experiences, and not simply what the textbooks and consultants tell you to do.

Bringing together different perspectives

sharedxpertise.org
As a leading events organiser, Ark Group has conducted considerable research into the needs and interests of shared services practitioners in many interrelated subject areas. What specific subjects have emerged most frequently as points of interest to the shared services practitioner, and how can people choose the conference that’s right for them?

Emma Birch
We’re finding that the topics in shared services are constantly evolving. Every time we do the research, the focus of practitioners’ interests has changed. For example, we’ve recently noticed a lot of developments in HR shared services from a process and cultural point of view. Essentially HR is now being asked to become more service-orientated, and it’s being asked to play a much more strategic role in the business.

In difficult times – as with any part of a business - shared services practitioners are constantly being required to demonstrate the extra value that they add to the business, and to demonstrate the impact they’re having on a corporation’s bottom line. More questions are emerging, such as, “How do shared services practitioners measure that value?” and “How can they demonstrate where costs are going?”

At the same time, there’s the issue of how employees fit into the shared services equation. Obviously, companies have placed a lot of emphasis on cost cutting and adding value. However, shared services practitioners also have to be attentive to the needs of employees, ensuring that employees develop their careers too and grow within the organisation.

The role of the shared services practitioner is extremely varied. There are numerous issues that they need to take on board. It’s important to note that every company seems to be doing shared services differently. Organisations have diverse perspectives, means or ways of measuring what they’re doing and the degree of success that they’re having.

One of the reasons why the conferences are so relevant is that they bring together those different perspectives. As well as cutting edge technology providers such as Cisco, we incorporate organisations such as the National Health Service in the UK and Compass Foods. By bringing all of this together we’re encouraging companies to look beyond their organisation and think outside of the box. Participants encounter a variety of trends, and see how they actually work in practice, rather than just learning about the theory and trends that we hear gurus talking about.

“Organisations have diverse perspectives, means or ways of measuring what they’re doing and the degree of success that they’re having.”

Mixing the revolutionary with the day-to-day

sharedxpertise.org
With all the shared services conferences that are available, what would you say people need to look at when they’re selecting a conference to attend?

Emma Birch
Delegates should look at how their time out of the office is going to be of most value. My advice would be to look for the extras – surveys, streaming, the topics that cover forward-looking challenges as well as the more mundane implementation stories. Essentially more companies are starting to recognise the value of informal and formal networking opportunities and providing real time for delegates to discuss nitty gritty issues. I would also advise delegates to be wary of programmes that are filled with vendors. We believe that whilst vendor involvement can be of value, you are most likely to gain ‘need to know’ practical information from practitioner case studies. At the Shared Services Practitioner we are keen to provide delegates with a neutral platform which encourages practitioners to swap ideas openly and keep up to date with trends as they emerge.

“A conference should not just include the cutting-edge companies of this world. The reality of successful shared services implementation is a lot of hard work.”

Charlie Williams
Echoing Emma, a conference should not just include the cutting-edge companies of this world. For a majority of businesses, the reality of successful shared services implementation is a lot of hard work and that’s why we think it’s important to include case studies from businesses like the NHS, United Biscuits and the Bank of Ireland. These studies are valued benchmarking for delegates who are in the reality of day-to-day shared services implementation and management.

Emma Birch
A good conference has that mix – the revolutionary and the day-to-day – where there is something for everybody. Successful conferences force companies to question the perception of what’s happening, for example questions such as: “How comfortable is my business with the trends?” and “If not – what are the alternatives?”

Delegates are asking for conferences that are a lot more interactive and provide them with the opportunity to network on a more one-on-one basis. A conference should be more than one-way communication – it should include collaborative sessions and not just presentations. For example, in April we’re organising a conference on shared services for HR. Within that stream, Cable & Wireless will be conducting an interactive workshop. By contrast, our March event will offer break-out panel sessions where speakers will join delegates in round-table discussions where they’ll be able to roll up their sleeves and deal with the realities of shared services.

Changing perceptions of shared services

sharedxpertise.org
Your Shared Services Conference in London on 21 and 22 March 2002 has been designed with a strong emphasis on knowledge transfer between shared services practitioners – a refreshing focus. Many shared services practitioners feel that their role is misunderstood internally and that they lack political support within their organisation. Do you think that the focus on networking and knowledge transfer may help to dispel the notion that a career in shared services is a lonely one?

Charlie Williams
We hope that we can help inspire shared services practitioners to continue their career journey and not be discouraged by the challenges they face. There’s a tangible sense of community among shared services practitioners and they often describe themselves as having scars on their back - that’s one of the reasons why we think it’s important to facilitate meetings between practitioners, speakers and sponsors.

Practitioners regularly contact us, wanting to meet other people who share their experience. These practitioners want to benchmark with their colleagues in an informal atmosphere, without getting a vendor perspective on their profession.

“There’s a tangible sense of community among shared services practitioners and they often describe themselves as having scars on their back - that’s one of the reasons why we think it’s important to facilitate meetings between practitioners, speakers and sponsors.”

Emma Birch
It’s certainly true that shared services practitioners often feel they’re misunderstood. Theirs is still perceived as a very mundane, back-office role, but it’s changing and becoming more front office and strategic.

In the April conference, we’re offering a panel discussion on how people are trying to change the perception of shared services within their company. At the same conference, we will be conducting a benchmarking survey prior to the event. This will enable attendees to return from the conference with some credible figures that demonstrate the kind of advances that are being made in shared services.

Balancing technology and strategy

sharedxpertise.org
Many shared services conferences have focused on new technologies, cost-effectiveness and customer service — often at the expense of the more value-added subjects that would help to place shared services at the heart of corporate strategy. Do you think that your conferences have a role to play in developing programmes that change the way we look at shared services?

Emma Birch
Yes, absolutely. The April conference will place a strong emphasis not just on the technology, but also the culture of shared services. We’ll examine how the shared services centre needs to become more service-orientated. We will also place emphasis on how the culture of the whole organisation needs to change to see that the role of shared services is evolving – helping organisations take greater responsibility for things like finance and personnel management. We want to point out that shared services can often be the catalyst for cultural change within an organisation.

“Shared services can often be the catalyst for cultural change within an organisation.”

Charlie Williams
It’s always going to be necessary to include the services side of shared services, in conjunction with strategy. Shared services are predicated on technology - therefore it’s also important to combine the services with their technological aspects. For example, we’re currently looking at how you can capture more data in a process centre - which is a very strategic operational task - but you also have to look at the technology that’s capturing this data.

While we’re on the topic of cutting-edge technology and lights-out shared services, I want to emphasise the importance of ensuring that an event caters to the full spectrum of the shared services experience. A conference needs to address equally people who are at the initial stages, those who are commercialising shared services and companies that are looking at implementing self-service HR. It’s important to get the balance right, so that a conference is attractive to a wide range of practitioners.

An eye to the future

sharedxpertise.org
The face of shared services is changing rapidly and is likely to continue to evolve in tandem with changes in technology and the global economy. Looking to the future, do you see a corresponding evolution in the role of the shared services conference? What are the challenges that lie ahead for those who seek to devise informative, dynamic and imaginative shared services conferences?

Charlie Williams
The biggest challenge in this kind of forum is always to facilitate dialogue. It’s important that you encourage an atmosphere in which practitioners are able to exchange dialogue among the practitioners who, as I said before, describe themselves as having scars on their backs. You have to facilitate as much contact between people who are still at the early stages, as well as those who are at more advanced stages. I think delegates will expect to get contact on a more personal level – one to one meetings, breakout sessions.

Emma Birch
We maintain a constant dialogue with people who are working within shared services. As they become aware of and try new trends, we learn about them too. In terms of keeping up - the business is always evolving - we work with people at the forefront of developments in shared services, ensuring that we investigate the sort of questions that will emerge over the next couple years. As long as we’re in constant dialogue with innovators within the industry, then I think we’ll develop alongside shared services.
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About Ark Group

Ark Group provides practical information and guidance based on academic research and market analysis. The company’s objective is to help its customers excel by providing them with the necessary skills, insight, information and experience to make a quantifiable impact on their organisations. Ark Group organises international conferences, exhibitions and training seminars, and produces magazines, newsletters, web sites and other publications.

Visit Ark Group at www.sharedservicespractitioner.com

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Emma Birch, Project Manager, Shared Services Practitioner, Ark Group

Previous to her current role, Emma Birch ran the Shared Services Network at IQPC and was executive editor for the Shared Services News. Before turning her hand to shared services and BPO, Emma oversaw sales and provisioning of motorcycle racing tyres for Michelin Tyre. Emma co-launched the Shared Services Practitioner for Ark Group with Charlie.

Charlie Williams, Client Business Development Manager, Shared Services Practitioner, Ark Group

Prior to co-launching the Shared Services Practitioner, Charlie ran business process reengineering consultancy analyses in Latin America, and worked as an M&A commercial due diligence consultant in London.

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