Introduce shared services incrementally, rather than with a “big bang”
Except in rare circumstances (e.g., financial distress, wholesale ERP implementation), consolidating support staff into shared services all at once does more harm than good. To minimize the risk of stakeholder resistance halting migration efforts, leading practitioners incrementally introduce shared services. They begin with a smaller and more controlled environment to fine-tune shared services before expanding to other parts of the institution.
Common shared services hurdle: Ghosts of "lift and shift" shared services past
Shared services developed a bad reputation in higher education in part because many early movers followed the private sector lift and shift model, “lifting” administrative personnel from units and “shifting” them to the new shared services organization all at once. In most cases, top-down mandates and mass migrations to shared services are neither desirable nor practical.
This resource is part of the Ease the Transition to Shared Services with a Plan for Change Management Hurdles Roadmap. Access the Roadmap for stepwise guidance with additional tools and research.
Solution: Incrementally introducing shared services
Given that “big bang” consolidations are unrealistic, campuses should instead design multi-year plans to migrate service delivery and staff to shared services. This gradual implementation reassures stakeholders that the new shared services model can function effectively, garnering greater support over time.
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