Shared Services

1
Shared Services

• A Quality and Cost Improvement Initiative for
  Ohio University

2
What is Shared Services?

• Shared Services is the convergence and
  streamlining of business functions
• Shared Services has a strong focus on
• Customer needs
• Effective and efficient service delivery
• Continuous improvement
• Running service activities like a business
• Delivering services to internal customers at
  competitive levels of cost, quality, and
  timeliness

3
Characteristics of Shared Services

• A large scale cultural and process transformation
  is often a key component of a move to Shared
  Services
• This transformation results in a better quality
  of work life for employees by reducing
  fragmentation, providing options for improving
  skills, and clarifying roles and responsibilities
• Two career tracks typically develop
• Transaction expertise
• Subject matter expertise

4
Characteristics of Shared Services

• Shared Services involves the convergence and
  consolidation of back office functions
• Appreciation of economies of scale within given
  functions
• Encourages multi-functional collaboration (e.g.
  linking HR and Finance together on processes
  where there is the potential to create
  synergies).
• Separates service from governance
• More than, and different from, centralization

5
Why Shared Services?

• Budget pressures will continue both revenue and
  expense
• University System of Ohio will focus on efficient
  use of resources
• Studies show that organizations underestimate the
  true cost of business transactions by 50 to 200
• Shared services offers the opportunity to
  simultaneously lower costs and increase quality
  of services
• Shared services is a proven strategy to increase
  both efficiency and quality
• Increase accuracy and compliance

6
History of the Shared Services Project

• In 2003, OU began to study business service
  centers, a similar concept to shared services
• The concept stayed alive in Finance and
  Administration, mainly as a strategy to handle
  the ever-increasing budget reductions.
• Earlier this year, the executive officers decided
  to more fully leverage the concept and the scope
  was expanded.

7
Participating Units

• Finance and Administration
• Intercollegiate Athletics
• Arts and Sciences
• University Advancement
• Communications and Marketing
• Office of Information Technology
• Student Affairs
• Participating in current shared services center

8
Project Timeline

• November 2007 Retain Consultant
• December 2007 Hire director of shared services
• Winter Quarter - Conduct baseline data collection
• Customer satisfaction
• Work distribution analysis
• Spring Quarter Identify initial services and
  staff the shared services center
• July 2008 Begin limited operations
• July 2009 Fully operational

9
Team Members

• Executive Oversight Team
• Brice Bible
• Joe Brennan
• Bill Decatur
• Jim Kemper
• Howard Lipman
• Ben Ogles
• Hugh Sherman
• Kent Smith

• Project Team
• Julie Allison
• Gwen Brooks
• Rich Carpinelli
• Chris Clifford
• Terry Conry
• Debbie Evans
• Anita Mondo
• Shelly Sheets
• Margaret Sheskey

10
(No Transcript)