Development of a Shared Services System in Higher Ed

Use this brief to learn about shared services structure and implementation on campus, including examples of best practices from partner institutions.

Shared services systems consolidate administrative activities previously performed by decentralized staff members into a single centralized delivery point. At peak maturity, shared services units continually improve service levels and efficiency, driving toward greater simplification, automation, and accuracy of workflows based on customer feedback and data-driven management. To optimize the structure and implementation of shared services systems, consider including transactional functions in the shared services structure (e.g. payroll, procurement), investing in holistic evaluation methods, using a “lift and shift” staffing method, and creating detailed and proactive communication plans.

Include units with high ease of standardization and high customer impact

Contacts at all profiled institutions chose to transition units to shared services structures that would have the greatest impact on their primary customers and that would be the easiest to standardize. For example, administrators at Institution A pursued a shared services structure to better support students. Thus, administrators transitioned key student-related units such as admissions, financial aid, and student billing to the shared services unit, leading to improved efficiency and service to students.

Use holistic evaluation methods to maximize benefits

Across all profiled institutions, administrators track the effectiveness of their shared services systems using at least one of three key measures: cost savings, employee productivity, and customer satisfaction.

Contacts at Institution B also highlight the value of assessing performance on these metrics before and after organizational changes. Specifically, these administrators explain that by evaluating employee efficiency before and after the transition to shared services, they have demonstrated large annual savings to other key stakeholders. 

Provide transitioning staff members with peer mentors

Contacts at Institution C, Institution D, and Institution E note that to best prepare staff members for the transition to shared services teams, they assigned staff members peer mentors who already worked within teams more similar to the new centralized teams. At Institution D, contacts report that assigning new team members to peer mentors within the shared services unit serves two purposes – new members can ask mentors work-related questions and mentors can help embed new team members within the existing team culture.

Develop proactive and comprehensive communication plans to minimize faculty pushback

Contacts at all profiled institutions highlight the benefits of prioritizing detailed and proactive communication in relation to the shift to shared services to address staff concerns as early as possible. For example, administrators at Institution E sent preliminary updates to leaders of impacted units almost a year in advance of the scheduled transition to the shared services structure. According to these contacts, giving these teams time to plan for the shift to shared services allowed staff members to process the change, ask questions prior to implementation, and understand the benefits of a shared services unit.

Methods Used by Administrators at Profiled Institutions to Communicate Shifts to Shared Services Systems

Emails

Website Updates

Informal Meetings

Formal Meetings