Many public services have had their budgets squeezed and are looking for new ways to save money. Shared services, which is the joint provision of serv...
Many public services have had their budgets squeezed and are looking for new ways to save money. Shared services, which is the joint provision of services with other public bodies is one solution that is being actively explored by public sector providers.
Shared services can cover the whole range of public service provision from collecting and disposing of rubbish to recruiting staff.
It seems like a no brainer, in theory public bodies could make large cost savings by eliminating duplication with a single joint service provider.
Our experience at BHPR Associates has found that existing shared service arrangements have rarely delivered the benefits expected and in some cases, they have gone horribly wrong.
Problems include, limited buy in by all stakeholders to the shared service arrangement, conflicting cultures and interests of individual partners becoming a major barrier to progress.
At BHPR Associates Limited we found like any project there are basic building blocks that must be in place if a shared service arrangement of any scope is to be successful.
It is important that organisations have the appropriate skills and training to manage change.
Based on our experience in this area we have come up with seven key questions for leaders and managers of organisations contemplating or already in a shared service arrangement. Which we hope will serve as a useful aide memoir in supporting success.
These questions are available free of charge at
http://www.bhprassociates.co.uk/upcoming-events
