Organisations use shared services as a way of streamlining their activities, typically concentrating transactional activities into a centralised and commonly shared function. The shared service model can help businesses reduce costs and increase the efficiency of processes and allow a greater focus on strategy.
When done well, Shared Service Centres (SSC) add untold value to an organisation. However, get it wrong and it can ruin employee experience and destroy the relationship between the centre and the wider business. But why does it fail?
You haven’t engaged the business in the change
When you implement an SSC, two groups of people need properly consulting. The people working in the shared service centre and those who will be using it. Both of these groups are equally important. You need to take your customers on the journey with you and engage and influence, for them to understand how you’re changing the way they currently do things. If either of these groups of people aren’t engaged, the SSC simply won’t work.
You have rushed it
Delivering an SSC into a business takes time. It isn’t something you can decide to do and then implement within 2 weeks. There are a lot of things to consider – from mapping out processes and ensuring you have the right technology, right down to hiring and onboarding the right talent. All these things take time. If you rush any areas and don’t give them the time and attention they need, the chances are they will fail.
You don’t use analytics to measure success and continually improve
Establishing the right metrics to analyse in an SSC is the key to success. By monitoring data, you can see how your teams are performing and highlight inefficiencies and potential problem areas, that may need investigation.
Measuring results and data enables informed decisions to be made that drive your SSC to continually develop and run better. This gives your teams the resources they need to be successful, provides employees with a better experience and ultimately gets the business results you want.
Poor leadership
Having the right leader is important for any team, particularly in a shared service environment. If you have the wrong leaders in a shared service centre, the wheels can fall off the entire operation, leaving you with an unhappy, disengaged team, who lose their passion for delivering excellence. When this happens, the knock-on effect across the business can be immense.
A good shared service leader should be able to look beyond the SSC and understand the impact it has on employees, as well as customer and clients.
You don’t have the right technology
Technology is a fundamental component of any SSC. If you don’t have the right technology, then the SSC just won’t work. So, you need to check that your current systems are fit for purpose. Take time looking at your current systems and processes and what you need them to do. Tech is a big investment, so make sure you choose the right one. Meet multiple vendors, get demonstrations and challenge them, to make sure the system does everything you need it to.