Our consultant, Steve Amesbury has worked in management positions where he helped plan, implement and manage within Government shared services units. He has also undertaken reviews of Shared Service implementations and helped identify and overcome impediments to success. As well as his first hand experience, Steve has been interviewed by CIO in Government, and asked to speak at several forums for his expertise in this field.

What is it?

Does it Work?

Yes and no!  Some initiatives have been spectacular failures, some have had great success, and others are in the early stages, and yet to prove their success. Interestingly, some government shared service implementations are not living up to their promise, or achieving the successes attained in the private sector.

We are finding cracks appearing in some of the implementations after a few years. In these cases, the client agencies do not believe that their shared service provider is meeting their needs, or achieving the anticipated savings.

From our intimate involvement, we are firm believers that the concept is valid, and that significant improvements can be achieved, but it is not simple or inexpensive to set up.

What are the issues?

Setting up Shared Services is full of pitfalls, some of which are obvious, and others less overt, but just as deadly. A very brief checklist of issues includes:

• Is there a shared vision at from the outset?
• Do all executives understand the implications and objectives of shared services?
• Is there a genuine commitment to achieving the economies of scale, or just lip service?
• Is the governance model appropriate - is it working?
• Is there buy-in at the middle management layer?
• Was asset ownership agreed up front?
• Were the services and service levels agreed up front?
• Was the charging mechanism agreed up front, has it been reviewed appropriately?
• Were existing service levels and costs benchmarked before implementation?
• Is customer satisfaction measured, and if so, what actions are being taken to follow up?
• Have client agencies created 'shadow structures'?
• Has there been management to ensure that the net total of staff servicing an agency's corporate services has not increased?
• Were all the implications on existing licences, policies and contracts ironed out at the start?

There is a raft of detail behind each one of these, and many, many more points of consideration.

Where Do We Start?

For agencies about to enter in to a shared service arrangement, there are so many issues. You do not want to start each initiative from scratch. So make use of someone who has actually experienced prior implementations.

If at all possible, either recruit (senior) staff who have managed in other government shared service implementations, or make use of experienced consultants in the field, such as Island Consulting. The private sector model is different, so someone with public sector experience is preferable. If you use a consultant, check the experience and references of the individual consultant being proposed. Some individuals - even within some of the better known consultancies have struggled with SCS implementations in the public sector, through applying 'outsourcing' or private sector models where they are inappropriate.

Regardless of what help you receive from consultants or central agencies, take the time to seek out other agencies who have completed their implementations, and spend time discussing their experience.  In Shared Corporate Services, as with any complex management issue, there is no substitute for experience!

Where Do We Go From Here?

It is useful for shared service providers and clients to review progress, especially when there are issues. Hiring a knowledgeable, objective consultancy such as Island Consulting is a good start. We can review the agreements, expectations and current performance, and advise how to fine tune the relationship, and start to attain some of the benefits promised at the outset.

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