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optimisation
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this communication does not constitute advice and should not be
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on the information does so at its own risk. Liability limited by a
scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation. of shared services

May 2013
 1
“The traditional outcomes targeted by shared
services remain important; cost reduction, Executive
efficiency and capability improvement. However, summary
organisations are now looking to gain more
value from their shared services operations.
The ability to scale up (or down) back office
functions in response to acquisitions, mergers,
divestments, growth and decline is a valuable
commodity in today’s uncertain economic
We live in an increasingly competitive economic environment. Wider variation in market
climate and a characteristic our clients are performance, greater market volatility and ceaseless pressure on margins has compelled
organisations to intensify their focus on operational agility and cost competitiveness.
increasingly looking for.” Governments are also looking to make productivity improvements as they struggle to
work through a tough fiscal environment. To help achieve this, organisations have also
David Fincher been transferring activities into Shared Service Centres (SSCs) — which are now very much
part of the fabric of leading organisations.
Partner, Ernst & Young Advisory
However, 28% of organisations are yet to embrace SSCs and of those that have over
50% are immature (under two years old)1. For more mature SSCs, common issues are
restricting their performance and limiting their ability to help organisations ride out the
current economic storm. Similarly, in the government context the effectiveness of many
SSCs is being questioned as they struggle to build larger scale economies.
Organisations with high—performing SSCs are considerably better placed to handle the
uncertainties of today’s market place and deliver better results for stakeholders. For
organisations implementing SSCs for the first time and those with underperforming SSCs,
a strategy that focuses on standardisation, scalability and scope will deliver the greatest
flexibility and agility for their organisation.
1. Standardisation increases flexibility by improving the organisation’s ability to
integrate new operations (such as acquisitions) or remove activities no longer required
(such as divestments).
2. Scalability is achieved through centralisation and performance management.
Centralisation increases the visibility of resources and their responsibilities,
supporting effective management. Performance management provides clarity over
who is doing what, where, how and at what cost. It enables faster, more effective

Contents decisions to be made.

3. Greater functional and geographic scope increases agility and flexibility through
1 Executive summary 1 increasing the influence of the SSC over operations. It is also much easier to take
advantage of alternative sourcing options whether offshore and/or outsourced.
2 Uncertain economic conditions demand flexibility 2
Achieving these changes can feel daunting. They can encompass all elements of the back
office operating model, from technology to people. The first step is to really understand
3 Great SSCs deliver business flexibility and agility 7 how the SSC operations are performing today against a simple set of criteria that
determine the opportunities an organisation has to rapidly improve performance and
4 Achieving high performance 12 flexibility. Ernst & Young’s rapid assessment methodology provides SSC organisations
with the foundation for making a step change in performance and establishing an
5 The next steps 18 SSC that is best positioned to support the organisation ride out today’s uncertain
market conditions.
Appendix A — SSC maturity matrix 20
1 ACCA ‘Finance leaders on sourcing success’ May 2012

Shared services optimisation  |  1

 2

2 Uncertain economic
conditions demand flexibility

Managing performance The SSC concept still presents

in uncertain times significant opportunities for
Organisations today are facing a constant dilemma. How can they organisations to improve performance
contain costs in stagnating, developed markets whilst exploiting
Although the value of SSCs has been recognised for many years, most
the potential of high—growth emerging markets? There are risks
organisations are not fully exploiting the concept, leaving them more
and uncertainties inherent in achieving both of these conflicting
exposed to today’s economic uncertainty. In a recent survey by the
objectives, which only the most agile of organisations will
ACCA2, 28% of respondents had not implemented shared services
successfully mitigate.
or leveraged outsourcing. This percentage increased to around 45%
Remaining competitive, growing the business and building for smaller organisations (under $100m of annual revenue). Where
a foundation for less uncertain times in the future is a huge SSCs have been established, they are often immature —over 50% of
challenge. The characteristics of organisations most likely to respondents implemented their SSCs in the last two years presenting
succeed in this environment are: further opportunities to improve performance.
1. Flexibility: 
can quickly exploit new market opportunities and Even for mature SSCs that have been in place for five years or more,
effectively integrate these into existing operations many fail to maximise their return on investment. This can undermine
the SSC and in turn limit support for further investment, because the
2. Leanness: operate at high efficiency, ensuring that revenue
broader organisation does not recognise the value it can deliver.
delivers the greatest possible profit
3. Scalability: able to change the size of operations up or down
at speed, in the face of downturn or recovery, What is driving the public sector
divestments or acquisitions.
shared services agenda?
Shared service models are an excellent way for organisations
to support these objectives. The consolidation of activities and The business case for shared services in the public sector is just
visibility of performance they offer make it simpler to reduce as compelling. In a tight fiscal environment where government
costs, make more of the cost base variable and allow for a faster revenues continue to fall, costs are increasing and community
response to changes. Strong shared service models provide expectations are at an all time high, there is increasing pressure on
a great opportunity to move towards more sophisticated governments to focus on improving productivity.
outsourcing arrangements, as more and more activities can be
The key drivers for implementing SSCs within the public sector are:
consolidated and ring—fenced in preparation for the next step in
1. Cost savings
cost and efficiency gains that outsourcing brings.
2. Human resource efficiencies
3. Better service for the end customer
4. Access to new capabilities
Linked to these drivers is the concept that, freed from the need to
perform their own non—strategic functions, government agencies
will be able to focus more on their core activities, improve their
performance and focus their resources on high impact areas
targeted towards delivering results for the community.

2 ACCA ‘Finance leaders on sourcing success’ May 2012

2  |  Shared services optimisation Shared services optimisation  |  3

Uncertain economic conditions demand flexibility 2

A typical shared services evolution path is depicted in Figure 1 Organisations can assess whether their SSCs are stagnating by
below. Many SSC’s complete the transition and stabilisation phases, comparing them to some of the typical indicators listed below:
but then never exploit the new model that has been implemented
through continuous improvement and expansion.

►► Users complaints

Cost and
Quality
►► Business case not achieved
►► Business units take back or duplicate process activities
►► Lack of business trust

Minimal performance ►► Manual processing and reconciliation activities

improvement post

Process
►► Business unit/geographic processing ‘silos’
initial deployment
►► Process standardisation not completed
►► Policy execution weak

Transition Stabilisation Stagnation

►► Key person dependencies
Performance Level

People
►► Inability to attract and retain appropriate staff
►► Retained team performs low value transactional activities
►► Limited career paths into and out of shared services
Many SSCs Time
today

Organisation
►► Different regional business models
►► Different functional operating models
►► Multiple IT systems and interfaces
Initial shared services
deployment
Control and
governance

Figure 1: Typical shared services evolution path ►► Unclear or insufficiently visible SLAs and KPIs
►► Weak process control and associated management information
►► Irregular and informal interactions between SSC and BU leadership

Table 1: Indicators of stagnation in mature SSCs

4  |  Shared services optimisation Shared services optimisation  |  5

Uncertain economic conditions demand flexibility

Great SSCs deliver business

flexibility and agility 3
Implementing shared services
in the public sector
Experience demonstrates there is no silver bullet to implementing SSCs therefore present one of the best and most well—understood
SSCs successfully; in fact it is often difficult. Many organisations models that can be deployed to help organisations ride out
have approached the challenge differently with some seeking economic uncertainty and exploit new markets. However, many
to centralise initially and drive process standardisation before organisations either have not implemented them or are not
addressing technology consolidation. Whilst others have sought realising the greatest return on the investments they have made in
to take a ‘big bang’ approach and initially drive technology this model.
reform. Research conducted has found that successful SSC
Organisations that are yet to implement SSCs should target
implementations follow five vital rules of engagement:
moving directly to a ‘second generation’ SSC operating model.
1. Benefits to all stakeholders: business cases must be Second generation SSCs incorporate a greater number of
strategic, offer a clear plan and provide incentives for all functions beyond the traditional areas of HR and finance such as
stakeholders beyond aggregate cost reductions. IT, procurement, risk, etc. and more ‘high value’ activities such
as treasury, management accounting and tax analysis within
2. Strong leadership and support: a shared services strategy
the finance function. In addition, the global reach of a second
must have active high—level support and sponsorship from
generation SSC is much greater than that of earlier SSC models
senior executives and politicians. Successful implementations
with fewer outliers beyond the boundaries of the SSC’s operations.
include appropriate consultation and participation, while
avoiding the trap of ‘death by committee’. Organisations with new or mature but stagnant SSCs should
refresh their SSC strategy and business case. The refresh should
3. Align timelines to capacity to implement: implementation
focus on:
strategies must be credible and provide certainty around the
benefits they deliver (even if these benefits come in stages, ►► Extending functional and geographical scope
over a number of years).
►► Improving the scalability of the existing model
4. Strong change management and transition skills: change
►► Improving levels of standardisation to support future
management and transition requires meticulous execution
business integration
to prevent cost blowouts, delivery on customer needs and to
ensure stakeholder satisfaction. The key to success is a focus ►► Opportunities to take the next step to outsourcing their
on instilling a service and continuous improvement culture. shared service activities to leverage capability and scale

5. Get the governance right: A good governance structure

requires a clear delineation of roles and responsibilities
between the purchaser and provider of shared services.
►►

6  |  Shared services optimisation Shared services optimisation  |  7

Great SSCs deliver business flexibility and agility 3

Standardisation, scalability and High performing SSCs achieve excellence through continuous improvement
scope build flexibility The traditional path can be altered by refreshing the SSCs strategy and objectives and ensuring they are aligned to those of the
organisation. This strategy must be supported by an empowered management team, board level sponsorship and investment in
Flexibility and agility are characteristics that are vital for an A successful SSC model builds in scalability through centralisation
continuous improvement initiatives.
organisation to successfully respond to and exploit changing and performance management. Centralisation increases
external markets. An SSC delivers these traits through the visibility of resources and their responsibilities, enabling Figure 2 below demonstrates how an organisation can build on the investment in SSC’s to deliver greater performance.
three key factors: management to effectively increase or decrease numbers as
required. Flexible outsourcing arrangements and locating SSCs
►► Standardisation
in locations with good resource pools also increases flexibility.
►► Scalability Quality performance management provides clarity over who Possible
is doing what, where, how and at what cost. This knowledge Target SSC
►► Scope
enables faster, more effective decisions to be made when scaling
operations up or down.
Standardisation
The standardisation of process, technology and people (roles Scope
and responsibilities) increases flexibility by improving the ability
Greater functional and geographic scope increases agility and
to integrate new operations (such as acquisitions) or remove
flexibility through increasing the influence of the SSC over the
activities no longer required (such as divestments). Through
organisation. A broader base of activities and geographies served
consistent ways of working, new staff can be trained quickly and
by shared services increases standardisation, centralisation and
at low cost. New activities can be integrated rapidly with existing
visibility of activities, enabling change to be implemented faster
technology and processes. This allows economies of scale to be Transition Stabilisation Optimisation
across the entire organisation.
realised in the fastest possible time while also minimising risk.

Performance Level
The SSC should take on as many of the scalable, routine activities
Scalability as possible from business unit teams to leave them the time to
focus on high—value decision support activities. The organisation
The success or failure of many an organisation is linked to its
benefits from having high—quality analytical support resources
ability to manage its cost base quickly in response to market
close to operational teams whatever their functional (HR, finance,
changes. Revenue growth should be accompanied by a relatively Many SSCs Time
procurement, etc.) domain.
smaller increase in costs as the organisation exploits increased today
economies of scale. Revenue decline or divestments should be
linked with rapid, visible and controlled reductions in overheads.
Both these scenarios are often not achieved.

Initial shared services Evolution to second

deployment generation shared services with
optimised performance

Figure 2: Alternative SSC evolution path

8  |  Shared services optimisation Shared services optimisation  |  9

Great SSCs deliver business flexibility and agility 3

SSCs that deliver the greatest value focus on aligning their strategy to the organisation,
extending their scope and influence and supporting the retained functions to focus on
higher value services. The following seven components describe what high performance
SSCs can achieve (see Appendix A for full maturity framework):

7 IT and processes
are consistent to Strategic direction 1 ►► SSC vision and strategy is a sub—set of the organisation
►► Single globally—accessible IT platform strategy and clearly articulated
support acquisition targets flexibility
►► Globally consistent processes with high degree integration and and  agility ►► Increasing standardisation, scalability and scope are central
of automation organic growth to the strategy
►► Globally consistent and governed data structures ►► The business case is regularly tracked and achieved, new
SSC initiatives are wholly driven by benefits cases
People and organisation Functional scope
roles are standardised is extended to give the
and staff co—located to SSC greater control
enhance management over back office
SSC
6 2
control operations
►► Roles and responsibilities standardised, resources
co—located and co—managed component ►► Multi—function shared services are implemented covering
finance, HR, IT, procurement, legal, sales and marketing
►► Advanced talent management programs deployed
to retain the best staff Global scope ►► Services extended to include high value—add processes
Control and governance is extended to ensure (e.g. FP&A, PB&F, management accounting commentary,
►► Individuals motivated and incentivised to deliver regional variation that analytics)
is standardised,visible
great customer service and incentives are aligned reduces agility is limited
to increasing agility
Retained function
is freed to focus
on high—value

►► Common scorecards used by SSC and business units 5 activities to enable

faster and improved 3 ►► Globally consistent approach for all regions deployed
to increase visibility of performance decision making
►► SSCs provide round—the—clock support from
►► SSC is incentivised to improve business performance
low—cost locations
and to support business partnering

4
►► Specialist centres for major transactions (e.g. AP, AR)
►► Shared services seen as an integral part of the
provide global service
organisation, regularly represented at C—suite meetings

►► Retained team focus on leading the organisation; ►► Centre of excellence structures in place to gain
all low value activities performed in the SSC greater specialism and deliver improved service
►► High—value teams provide true business
partnering (e.g. decision support, investment Figure 3: Features of an agile, high performance SSC
appraisals, customer analytics)

10  |  Shared services optimisation Shared services optimisation  |  11

 4

4 Achieving
high performance

Practical and pragmatic steps can be taken to increase performance

Each of the components present different opportunities for improving performance. An SSC that is targeting a step change
in performance should be evaluated against each lever and the opportunities prioritised based on which best support the
organisation’s overall strategy.

►► Empower SSC management to implement strategy

►► Fund a continuous improvement team targeted with
►► Ensure board level sponsorship and visibility of SSC
resolving the top ten issues faced by the SSC
►► Align SSC strategy directly to organisation strategy

►► Identify critical ►► Target transitioning the

7 1
SSC staff and highest cost functions
IT and Strategic
develop individual not yet deployed in
process direction
retention plans the SSC (e.g. HR, IT,
procurement)
►► Implement recognition
and incentive plans People and Functional ►► Revisit existing
for all staff based on organisation scope activity scope, target
6 2
KPIs and achieving SSC activities not originally
strategic aims component transitioned to the SSC

Control and
Global scope
governance

Retained
►► E
► nsure management 5 function 3 ►► Refresh the business
incentive plans are cases of geographies
aligned to the strategy not yet transitioned,
►► D
► eploy and report 4 target bringing them
simple KPIs monthly into the SSC

►► P
► erform an analysis of the retained teams’ activities
►► I ► nterview business leaders to assess the value
provided by the retained team and what they need
►► B
► uild gap between the two into the case for change
for bringing more activities into the SSC

Figure 4: Practical step to increase performance

12  |  Shared services optimisation Shared services optimisation  |  13

Achieving high performance 4

Focus on critical areas to make the Typical actions required to deploy true business partnering include:
Case study 1
biggest changes quickly 1. Clearly define the role of the business partner.
2. Remove activities from the retained team that block business
All seven areas should be addressed when looking to shift partnering (for example, payroll, financial reporting and Leading international packaging company
performance to the level of a second generation SSC — the regulatory reporting). It is often best to outsource some of
following areas should be prioritised: these last remaining activities. Following a downturn in its sector, the client decided to Ernst & Young was brought in to perform a rapid feasibility
review its finance function in a bid to restructure costs whilst study to assess options that would drive further improvements.
3. Conduct detailed staff impact assessments, develop and
Control and governance deploy training and redeployment initiatives.
also preparing for future growth by building in to the model In a joint effort, the client and Ernst & Young developed a new
greater scalability. The company had previously streamlined its finance operating model based on:
Ensure SSC management are motivated, empowered and
finance function by introducing three country—based shared
supported to deliver an SSC organisation that delivers flexibility ►► Consolidating remaining local transactional activities into
and agility.
Functional and regional scope service centres. A lack of governance and alignment between
one SSC and consolidating country accounting services
Extend functional and regional scope to give the SSC greater the centres meant that the benefits derived from them had
The motivations of the SSC management team should be control over back office operations and reduce regional variation plateaued. ►► Centralising and aligning controlling operations
reviewed to ensure that they are clearly aligned to the objectives that can limit flexibility. ►► Outsourcing major parts of transactional finance using a
of the organisation and SSC. Measures and incentives should be
The ability of an organisation to scale up or down its back office combined near shore/offshore solution
implemented for critical staff to align personal and organisation
objectives. Staff should be empowered to make the changes and operations quickly and in line with changes in revenue is limited by The combination of these measures led to a cost reduction of more
be supported by board level sponsorship to drive through change the scope of the functions and geographies managed by its SSC than 30%, and increased quality, standardisation and scalability.
initiatives. organisation. Where the SSC organisation controls the back office
operations for the majority of functions, processes, geographies
and business units, the control it has over these activities is high.
Retained function Therefore, it is able to adjust the scale of these operations quickly.
Ensure the retained teams are truly freed from traditional,
lower—value activities enabling them to focus on business
SSCs with an objective to increase flexibility should strive to Case study 2
expand their geographical and functional scope as fast as possible.
partnering.
Often, the business case for an SSC includes a plan to free up the
Targeting less traditional functional areas such as IT, and the Global professional services firm
higher value processes such as management reporting or
local ‘retained team’ to become business partners. When properly recruitment, are good initial objectives. Ensuring that global and
implemented, business partners add great value by ensuring This private equity—owned business wanted to redesign its Shortly after the new model was implemented, the global
business unit coverage is complete is also highly recommended.
that high—quality analysis and decision support is available close global operating model (operating in over 22 countries) to financial crisis of 2007 hit this business hard. Revenues declined
to where the organisation needs it. In reality, this objective is support 100% revenue growth over the next two years and a by nearly 50% and the business was close to missing critical
frequently not achieved. The reasons for this include many ‘lower— 25% reduction in the corresponding cost base. banking covenants. One of the main factors that enabled this
value’ activities still being left in local operations; staff not being business to survive was the flexibility it had built into its back
Ernst & Young designed a new agile operating model utilising
trained or redeployed; and the lack of role definition. An analysis and front office operations. It was able to quickly reduce its head
SSCs for finance and customer contact in three regional hubs.
of what the retained team should be focused on versus what they count and cost base in line with declining revenues, maintaining
The model offered the client 25% cost savings and delivered
are actually doing is the first step to the successful implementation margins and cash.
flexibility through the standardisation of core processes,
of business partnering. consolidation of activities into three sites and visibility of The business has now grown back to revenue figures greater
performance. This new structure produced a clearer view of than the period prior to 2007 through mergers, acquisitions and
operations and provided the Board with a platform from which organic growth. Recently, it has been successfully sold by its
to launch new customer solutions. private equity backers to a US firm, and is now quickly integrating
its back and front office operations into the existing SSC model.

14  |  Shared services optimisation Shared services optimisation  |  15

Achieving high performance 4

A rapid SSC health check provides

leadership with the information Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5

required to drive change fast Rapid assessment Diagnostics workshop Action plan
Understanding your current situation and the options you have to
improve quickly is the first step. Ernst & Young’s five week SSC Phase 1 Phase 2 (Workshop 1/2 days)
Rapid Health Check delivers this. Highlighted outputs are: ►► Strategy review: ►► Functional assessment: Attendees Action Plan
determine alignment of interview functional leaders to assess appetite
1. Rapid independent assessment of the current state mapped ►► Functional heads ►► Prioritise transformation
Strategic Direction business and SSC strategies for change
against our maturity framework initiatives, validate with
►► Financial case: ►► SSC leadership
►► Business case review: executive stakeholders
Strategy & Scope

2. Prioritised opportunities for change analyse performance develop directional financial case for increasing ►► Ernst & Young Rapid Health
regional and functional scope ►► Develop 10, 30 and 90 day
3. Alignment of SSC leaders on the required next steps against original Check team
action plans
business case
4. Pragmatic, action orientated 10, 30 and 90 days plans Functional Scope ►► Design long term roadmap
►► Scope analysis:
document full scope and Objectives for transformation
compare to potential scope ►► Assess SSC strategic objectives

Review findings against Maturity matrix

(regionally and functionally) vs. those of the broader
organisation
An accelerated approach Global Scope
►► Agree key issues and
opportunities, focused on
Our SSC Rapid Health Check is supported by tools that enable a
the seven levers
fast yet deep assessment of existing performance. Our leading ►► Governance review: ►► Retained team scope assessment:
Users & Performance

Take action
practice and case study database enables real, tangible options compare KPIs/SLAs and complete activity analysis of retained team ►► Agree prioritised next steps
Retained Functions governance approach to
for change to be presented and considered by the SSC leadership ►► Voice of customer:
leading practice
team. Underpinning the approach is the SSC maturity framework capture objectives and requirements through
interviews with sample stakeholders Actions
which is detailed in the Appendix.
►► Retained team interviews: ►► Present key findings and
Control and meet sample retained teams to understand opportunities
Governance performance/issues ►► Discuss and align on the main
issues and opportunities

►► Organisation Assessment: ►► Interview SSC staff: ►► Determine critical next steps

People and compare structure to understand issues and opportunities
People, Process & Tech

Organisation leading practice

►► Issue log analysis:
Efficiencies
►► People pulse check: review issues, identify IT/process needs
review retention plans,
churn rates, exit interviews
and incentive schemes
IT and Process ►► Continuous improvement:
Efficiencies assess scope and
quality of continuous
improvement teams

16  |  Shared services optimisation Shared services optimisation  |  17

 5

5 The next steps

Conclusion Why Ernst & Young?

SSCs are widely recognised as excellent ways to reduce costs and Ernst & Young has a strong track record supporting clients move
improve performance, however, many organisations have not fully to leading class standards. We believe that the following are the
embraced this delivery model and are not maximising the returns main drivers for our project successes.
on their investments. More than ever, SSCs are crucial to helping
►► Client centric account organisation that helps to tailor project
organisations ride out the current economic uncertainty. They
approaches around client needs.
can deliver greater flexibility through improved standardisation,
scalability and scope. Organisations should revisit their shared ►► Global network of shared services and outsourcing
services strategy to ensure that they are utilising their SSCs to the practitioners undertaking continuous knowledge exchange
greatest advantage. They should move fast to increase flexibility with leading organisations.
and understand where opportunities exist to leverage offshore
►► Strong focus on alignment within the client leadership team
and/or outsourced capability from a strong shared services base.
and stakeholder change management within all areas of our
approach.
►► Specific second generation shared services methodology to
move clients to the next performance level.
►► Detailed function—specific process expertise to drive process
standardisation and simplification.

The authors of this report and key contacts for

more information are listed below:

David Fincher Ian Rakich

Partner, Sydney Partner, Perth
+61 410 679 000 +61 412 725 424
[email protected] [email protected]

Richard Keany
Partner, Melbourne
+61 418 813 223
[email protected]

18  |  Shared services optimisation Shared services optimisation  |  19

Appendix A — SSC maturity matrix

Understanding current performance levels is the An honest, critical evaluation of current performance is necessary to determine how an existing SSC can be developed to better
support a business’s objective to build flexibility into its operating model. The following framework provides a summary of performance
foundation for developing a high performing SSC maturity against each of the categories that a business should focus on when striving to embed flexibility into their organisation.

Category Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4

Strategic ►► Role and purpose of SSC not identified or clearly ►► Role and purpose of SSC identified but ►► Comprehensive set of SSC strategic objectives in place ►► SSC vision a sub—set of corporate strategy, increasing
articulated not clearly communicated and known to all standardisation, scalability and scope are central
direction
►► Inconsistent approach to serving customers ►► An increased focus on contributing real value ►► Consistently strong level of service to customers ►► Delivery approach focused on exceptional customer service
to customers
►► Benefits cases loosely defined ►► Business case tracked, continuous improvements in place to realise ►► The business case is regularly tracked and achieved, new initiatives
►► Few components of the benefits case achieved majority of benefits are wholly driven by benefits cases
►► No partnering or outsourcing strategy defined
►► Point partnering or outsourcing in place but ►► Some consistent partnering or outsourcing approach in place ►► Comprehensive partnering and outsourcing strategy
not consistent

Functional ►► Limited functional scope of processes that typically ►► Functional scope grown to include some HR ►► Extended functional scope of processes that includes finance, HR, IT ►► Multi—function shared services (finance, HR, IT, procurement, legal,
includes just finance processes in addition to finance and procurement sales and marketing)
scope
►► Low depth of processes within functions (e.g. AP and ►► Processes are offered to an increasing level of ►► An advanced level of complex processes offered within each function ►► Services extended to high value—add processes (e.g., FP&A, PB&F,
AR only for Finance) complexity within functions management accounting, analytics)

Global scope ►► Local, country—focused SSCs in place ►► Regional SSCs providing support for most countries ►► Fully regional model, no country—only SSCs ►► Globally consistent approach for all regions
in a region
►► No linkage between individual centres ►► Some regional consolidation of processes, multi—regional support ►► Connected SSCs provide round—the—clock support
►► Some regions still have country—focused SSCs from single SSC
►► Specialist centres for major transactions (e.g., AP, AR) provide global
►► Regional SSCs not linked service

Retained ►► Limited or no business partnering activity happening ►► Inconsistent and low levels of business partnering ►► Increased level of business partnering activity, with some ►► Retained team focus on leading the business; all low value activities
within the retained team activity in place centres of excellences implemented for certain specialist skills performed in the SSC
functions but not consistently
►► High proportion of low—skilled resources still exist in ►► Increasing proportion of medium—skilled resources ►► Retained team are highly skilled providing true business partnering
retained team in the retained team ►► Retained team increasingly made up of a small number of specialist, (e.g., decision support, investment appraisal, customer analytics)
high—skilled resources
►► More transactional activities transitioned to SSC and ►► Centre of excellence structures in place delivering greater specialism
plans in place to transition more

Control and ►► Few or no KPIs, SLAs or OLAs in place ►► Small selection of KPIs, SLAs, OLAs in place ►► Comprehensive suite of KPIs, SLAs, OLAs in place ►► Common KPIs for SSC and business increase performance visibility

governance ►► Internal SSC perceived as a ‘no alternative, must— ►► SSC produces output that is consistent and reliable, ►► Root—cause drivers for improved business performance are regularly ►► SSC incentivised to improve operational performance and
use’ function that offers little added value but offers little added value identified by SSC business partnering

►► Pricing for SSC is on a cost recovery basis ►► Pricing for SSC is on a process—usage basis ►► Pricing for SSC is underpinned by KPIs and metrics ►► Pricing for SSC linked directly to performance and used to incentivise
behaviours
►► Minimal controls, and overlap between segregation ►► Several high—level controls in place to provide ►► A comprehensive set of controls in place, that flag any level of
of duties oversight on major operational risks within the SSC operational risk within the SSC ►► Global risk and compliance services delivered through
shared services
►► Loose governance structure for operating the SSC ►► Governance structure is in place but shared services ►► Governance is applied actively to shared services, including use of
concepts not yet incorporated metrics and reporting ►► Shared services seen as an integral part of the organisation, regularly
represented at executive meetings

People and ►► Duplication of effort between process teams which ►► Simple processes delivered by single teams for all ►► All processes delivered by single teams for all business units ►► Roles and responsibilities standardised, resources co—located and
are organised by business units for simple processes business units in a region co—managed. All processes delivered by single teams for all business
organisational units globally
►► No talent management in place ►► Some talent management in place, ►► Growing talent management infrastructure
efficiencies but inconsistently applied ►► Advanced talent management programmes to retain the best staff
►► Culture of ‘turn up and do it’ amongst SSC staff ►► Leadership culture developing that links performance directly to
►► Improving culture of taking responsibility service improvement ►► Culture of personal leadership and development with individuals
for service improvement motivated and incentivised to deliver great customer service

IT and ►► Multiple legacy applications ►► Legacy applications integrated into a single location ►► Single platform, accessible locally ►► Single globally—accessible platform

process ►► Processes not standardised ►► Some level of process standardisation ►► Process standardisation within region, but not globally ►► Globally consistent processes

efficiencies ►► Fragmented and misaligned data structures ►► Limited level of coherence between data structures ►► Data structures are consolidated and aligned, but can differ ►► Globally coherent data structures
between regions
►► Inconsistent quality of data ►► Data quality globally governed

20  |  Shared services optimisation Shared services optimisation  |  21