The Current SSO Environment
Shared Services has Gone Mainstream
- There are now more than 5,000 delivery organizations worldwide
- ¾ remain captive shared services operations
- In 2004, 24% of global executives thought shared services was strategic to their business
- In 2011, 89% think it is u
- Globally, there are now more multi-function shared services operations than single functions
- 72% of all shared services operations incorporate more than one function
- Shared services is becoming a viable solution for smaller organizations
- Focus is shifting from cost savings to standardization, global flexibility, and better technology
- 80% believe leading process standards are critical or important
- 76% believe global flexibility is critical or important
- 76% believe better technology is critical or important
“Global Service Centers” are beginning to replace traditional Shared Services.
Evolution of Service Models
- Decentralized Service Model
- Redundant services
- High-cost delivery
- Minimal governance
- Informal business relationship
- Complex operating environment
- Scattered customer interface points
- Shared Services Delivery Model
- Standard services
- Functional/regional shared services
- Transaction efficiency
- Functional contact
- Tech infrastructure (e.g., customer interface, process automation)
- Manual workarounds
- Continuous improvement
- Selective outsourcing
- Enterprise (Global) Service Model
- Enterprise optimized
- Single delivery entity
- Process based
- Enterprise governed
- Rationalized IT environment
- Outsourcing of optimized services
- Mature vendor and change management
The Case for Transformational Change
Cost Savings are Achieved- Expectations Not Being Met
- Executive expectations for corporate and administrative services have changes
- Standardization and managing complexity
- Controlling costs and supporting profitable growth
- Managing performance and risks
- Desired capabilities are still unmet
- Data analytics and business insight
- Subject matter expertise-based consulting support- delivered with an understanding of local knowledge
- Complexity has increased
- Launches into new markets, geographies, or products
- Multiple acquisitions integrations
- Decentralized business operations
What Went Wrong? …The Usual Suspects
- Fragmented operations in multiple locations
- Non-standard processes
- Transactional focus
- Discretionary consumption of services throughout the businesses
- Manual workarounds (often supported by Excel)
- Limited or casual governance- weak change management
- Multiple outsourcer contracts- managed at arms length
- Multiple ERPs and supporting applications
- Minimal integration between tools
- Multiple points of contact between business partner and relationship
- High turnover driven by redundant work with limited career paths
- Functional focus- no cross functional collaboration
What is Now Required
- Transform from SS to Global Business Service (GBS)
- A global enterprise vision and supporting governance
- Break down country oriented thought habits
- A focus on standardization and agility
- Break down functional silos
- Enterprise end-to-end process standards, management, and ownership
- Process governance to manage exceptions
- Move Beyond Transactions
- Necessary innovation (and investment) to develop new capabilities
- Move up the value chain
- Ability to adapt to changes in the marketplaces via business intelligence
- A career path to attract and retain high potential talent
Success Factor: You are continuously asked to take on more services?
Five Guiding Principles
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Some Scale Strategies
Create an Enterprise Services Delivery Entity
- Create a holistic vision for corporate services and shared services organizations
- Consolidate shared service infrastructure
- Create a single, cross-functional service delivery entity
Consolidate Geographic Locations
- Deliver services across enterprise wide sites
- Consider labor arbitrage, economic incentives, geo-political factors, infrastructure, travel and time logistics
Use Technology to Build for Scale
- Rationalize and simplify the IT application environment
- Take advantage of cloud technology and 3rd party providers
Gaining Scale Through Multi-Function SSO
Single-Function Shared Service: When a Business consolidates one support function (e.g. Finance) to serve the corporation and its business units, operating as a business within a business, utilizing a well-defined infrastructure to enable higher- value service delivery
- Characteristics
- One leader for each function
- Freedom to select customized platform
- Support roles assist one function (e.g. reporting, continuous improvement)
- Function specific skill sets
- Processes are specific to one function
Multi-Function Shared Service: Integration of two or more major support functions (e.g. finance, HR, Procurement, IT, General Services, etc.) into a common organization characterized by a common leader, budget, and service management approach. Operations may or may not be located in a common facility
- Characteristics
- One leader over multiple functions
- Some common technology platforms
- Support roles assist multiple functions
- Cross-trained employees
- End-to-end process may cross functions
…it’s a more robust SSO that shares its own infrastructure to deliver broader services to internal customers
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Drive Optimization of Business Processes
Organizing Around End-to-End Processes
- Create a standard process vision
- Processes become the enterprise language
- Assign enterprise wide ownership
Create Process-Based Governance Rules
- Rules to assess and approve process variants
- Determine legitimate customization (e.g. regulatory, legal)
Create A Continuous Process Improvement Culture
- Create it or buy it with 3rd party providers
- Automate and provide self service
- “rent” innovation with cloud technology
Typical Enterprise End-to-End Processes
- Order-to-cash
- Budget-to-report
- Concept-to-product
- Procure-to-pay
- Plan-to-stock
- Proposal-to-reward
- Hire-to-retire
- Acquire-to-retire
- Prospect-to-order
- Record-to-report
- Market-to-prospect
- Service-to-satisfaction
Drive standardization, leading processes, right skill sets, and automation!
Process Ownership-Responsibilities
Process owners are responsible for managing the SSO process framework.
- Create the process vision and supporting roadmap
- Develop processes and controls
- Communicate process framework to stakeholders
- Manage process policies
- Improve processes
- Create and report on process metrics
- Create and track process KPI’s
- Identify and prioritize process projects and investments- interface with IT organization
- Define and manage process master data
- Identify process roles and responsibilities
- Identify process sourcing opportunities and manage 3rd party performance
-
Business Responsiveness & Flexibility
Implement Business Relationship Management
- Provide access to local knowledge
- Align service delivery with business objectives
- Support SSO change management
- Provide service escalation points
Determine Support Strategies for Smaller/Unique Businesses
- Sometimes one size does not fit all
- Evaluate the segmentation of lines of business and tailoring services to each segment
SSO Region/Country Manager
- Non-U.S. countries have similar challenges as small businesses…but more complexity
- Language barriers
- Political and legal challenges
- Critical business units with heavy volume
- Cultural differences
- Technology barriers
- Distributed SSO ambassadors/managers can balance service levels and improve communications
- Ambassador role (can be part-time)
- Manager role (can be full-time)
- Regional/country direct reports
Servicing the Smaller Business Units
Common characteristics of smaller business units
- Incubator businesses that need heavy focus on the core business
- Challenged businesses with heavy pressure to increase top line
- Employees trying to balance core work while wearing multiple back office hats
Need the most SS attention but receive the least!
- Little influence over service levels or process exceptions
- Last to be called back if behind big business unit problems
- Less attention to quality of service
The “Incubator Business Arm” for SSO
Mission:
- Provide standard and non-standard services to small internal clients
- Incubate best practices and help integrate into larger clients
- Grow cross-functional skills
Customer Survey Results-Example
Analyze and prioritize survey results- focus on increase or decrease in service favorability and pinpoint opportunities by customer segment
-
Foster Innovation
Foster Innovation Through Centers of Excellence (COE)
- Can provide an environment that fosters innovation-one of teamwork and creativity
- Connect virtually
Adopt Business Analytics Vs. Traditional Reporting &KPIs
- Shift from cost reduction to revenue generation
- Provide businesses with mission critical data
Expand to Smaller Higher Value Services
- Talent Acquisition: roll-up workforce planning data, assess, and develop corporate plan; manage corporate-wide use of data
- Benefits: determine benefits rates, and charge-backs; build models
- Compensation: conduct market analysis, including survey selection, data inputs, and analysis
- Diversity: roll-up company wide diversity metrics, analyze data, translate into corporate-wide programs and processes
- Employee relations: manage exit interviews for targeted population
Close coordination between COE and support center expedites innovation
Virtual Problem Solving
Distributed but connected
- Use of high definition video conferencing rooms for real time problem solving
- Connects distributed environment
- Higher touch with the internal customer
- Promotes team working environment
- Higher 1st contact resolution
Expand from Metrics to Analytics
- Metrics measures performance while analytics enables decision making
- Metrics takes a historical look back while analytics forecasting looks forward
- Metrics results in data while analytics results in insights
- Metrics is scorekeeping while analytics is storytelling
- Metrics reports while analytics understands
- Metrics looks at volumes while analytics is selective
- Metrics is reactive while analytics is proactive
The Data is Already in Your SSO
Financial:
- Customer credit risk
- Customer banking patterns
- Cash position
- Investment performance
- Debt interest rates
- Asset depreciation
Purchasing:
- Vendor quality scores
- Product demand forecast
- Category spend trends
- Inventory turnover/cycle
- Material purchase patterns
- New vendors/diversity
Information Technology
- Web hits
- Hand held device patterns
- Laptop/desktop spend
- Application value/usage
- Portal usage patterns
- E-commerce success
- Social media hits
- Data center peaks/valleys
Human Resources:
- Working patterns
- New hire trends
- Reasons for leaves
- Disability insurance usage
- Retirement demographics
- Time-to-fill positions
- Departure reasons/trends
- Worker health patterns
Where Does the Market Stand with Business Analytics?
- Novice
- Limited historical view of data, often through spreadsheets
- Aware that they can do better
- Experiences
- Show broader collaboration across teams, with both a historical and current view, as well as trending
- Leaders
- Employ defined operational and financial metrics across more than one department
- Masters
- Set top-down goals, allocating resources based on priorities and shifting dynamics
- Everyone knows the objectives na dhow they can collaborate
There is enormous potential to capture value and gain a competitive advantage
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Facilitate Coordination
Manage Business Expectations Through More Informal Reporting
- Providing performance transparency
- Develop common definition of success
- Evaluate the need for continued formal SLAs
Simplify Cost Structuring
- Demonstrate how line of business behavior influences SSO costs
- Provides lines of business with the opportunity to control their costs
Tie Chargebacks to Easy Logical Work Drivers
Cost Transparency is important to understand…
- Cost drivers so you can prioritize improvement initiatives
- Where you stand versus the market to make outsourcing decisions
- How to negotiate a contract when outsourcing decisions are made
- How certain behaviors influence overall delivery costs
The benefits of billing and enforcing penalties on BU’s do not outweigh the risks of creating non-productive internal work and tarnishing client relationships
Plan Your Visions for “Next Generation” SSC Operations!
The SSO environment is changing fast!
- Business unit demand for consultive services and business intelligence
- Diminishing focus on local/country SSO delivery and more on global/enterprise
- New emerging low cost markets
- More focus on process ownership
- Increased pace of multi-function design and build
- Demand for innovation in SSO services and delivery
To continue offering SSC value, define a vision, gather stakeholders, make the business case, layout detailed initiatives and move “step-by-step”