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The Service Center of Excellence

The Division of Finance and AdministrationAugust 2015

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What is a Service Center of Excellence? The Division of Finance and Administration’s

name for its shared service center

Educational Advisory Board’s definition of shared service centers:– “Models for providing business service delivery within an individual institution, whereby a single provider absorbs transactional activity previously performed by generalist staff across campus. Through simplification, consolidation and automation, these task-specialized models leverage economies of scale to increase service quality of back-office functions.”

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Service Center of Excellence Team

Meredith Weiss, Senior Associate Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration

Carly Perin, Director of Finance Bill Stockard, Director of Human Resources Ray Reitz, Director of Information Technology Allison Reid, Director of Marketing and

Communications

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Initial Stages Full Implementation Maturity

Institutions Implementing SSCs

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Shared service centers are designed to capture the efficiencies available through consolidated services, but still remain accountable to the customer.

• Higher costs• Variable standards across

departments• Different control

environments• Duplication of effort

Decentralized Services Shared Service Centers Central Services

• Independent from schools/units and central administration

• Pooled experience• Enhanced career progression• Lean, flat organization• Specialization• Dissemination of best practices• Environment of continuous

process improvement

• Perceived as unresponsive• No school/unit control of central

overhead costs• Inflexible to school/unit needs• Remote from customer

• Schools/units maintain control of decisions

• Recognition of local priorities• Responsive to customer needs

• Common systems, policies and procedures

• Consistent standards & control• Economies of scale• Critical mass of skills

Through regional distribution around campus, a governance board, Service Level Agreements and ongoing metric assessment, shared service centers will maintain high

levels of responsiveness and service to their customers.

How are shared service centers different than central services?

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Service Centers combine advantages of centralized and decentralized orgs

Most appropriate when...• Staff advise units on

crucial business decisions• Co-location improves

effectiveness• There are efficiency gains

with scale• Activities require expertise

in a particular field

Most appropriate when...• Activities are

transactional • Activities have high level of

standardization • Benefits from

coordination across units outweigh unit-specific expertise

• Cost-savings outweighs benefits from physical proximity

Most appropriate when...• Activities influence

university-wide policy or strategy

• Activities require appropriate monitoring and controls of units

• Cross-unit initiatives must

be managed

In Central Administration

In a Shared Service Center

Most appropriate when…• Activities influence unit-

specific philosophy or policy

• Benefits from unit-specific expertise outweigh benefits from centralization

• Increased accountability, proximity and flexibility to a unit outweighs benefits of lower cost

In the unitsTransaction Center Expertise Center

• Improved capturing of economies of scale• Higher service levels and customer

satisfaction due to market-based relationships and increased customer orientation

Benefits of Shared Service Centers:

• Increased standardization and better use of new technologies

• Increased skills and competencies of staff with better career paths

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Service Center of ExcellenceGuiding Principles

Service Excellence

Innovation andContinuous Improvement

Collaboration and teamwork

Healthy, High-Performance Culture

Prudent Management and Leadership

What might be in a service center of excellence?

What services will be provided in the various organizations?

We need your help to define the specific services provided by our Service Center of Excellence. Participate in our information-

gathering meetings, focus groups and activity assessment survey.

Financial transactions and consulting Human resources transactions and

consulting

Communications Information Technology

What organizational structure and reporting relationships will exist?Service center staff will report to service area directors.Service center directors report to senior associate vice chancellor for finance and administration.Advisory/governance committees will be in place for each service center.Service level agreements with AVCs.

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The Planning Process Information gathering:

– Conduct research Staff survey of time spent on activities Information gathering meetings and focus groups

Planning:– Work with F&A staff and advisory groups to design service center and processes.

Staff at departments Staff at shared service center Staff at central administration

Implementation:– Implement Service Center of Excellence

Announcement of Service Center of ExcellenceJuly 2, 2015

Kick-off MeetingAugust 13, 2015

Advisory Committees Formed

Services Plan Complete

Personnel Actions Begin

Implementation Complete

Information GatheringJuly - September

Staffing Plan Complete

Staff Relocation Plan

Phase 1 Summer 2015 Phase 2 Fall 2015 Phase 3 December 2015 – Spring/Summer 2016

Project PlanningSeptember - December

Project Implementation and Continuous Improvement

December 2015 – July 2016

The Timeline

Core Transition Teams Implemented

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EMERGING FEEDBACK

PEOPLE ARE EXCITED ABOUT: Better reporting. System and service improvement. Gaining operational consistency. New services. Access to expertise. Project and consulting help. Opportunities for career development

and cross-training. Strategic planning support. Business process improvement.

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EMERGING FEEDBACK

ISSUES OF CONCERN THAT WE NEED TO ADDRESS: Relocation of staff raises concerns of proximity,

responsiveness and subject matter expertise. Role of job specialist vs. generalist. Unknowns related to changing job responsibilities,

autonomy and reporting lines. Resource control. Services provided vs. services left at unit level. Source of funding. Change fatigue.

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EMERGING FEEDBACKMUST HAVES TO BE SUCCESSFUL: Communication and transparency. Advisory committees to ensure needs are being

met. Metrics. Meaningful ownership by staff of the transition

process. Adequate funding. Training and professional development to support

new roles. Director and staff support.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Anticipate and mitigate risk– Listen and encourage open honest two-way communication

Accelerate adoption– Engage key influencers early and at all levels within your organization

to build an uninterrupted commitment

Make this your top priority– Invest sustained attention, personal credibility and political capital

and assign the best people with sufficient time to serve in key roles

Establish a ‘fair process’– Empower people to make proposals and apply a transparent

decisions process

Will Service Center of Excellence employees be placed or assigned from their existing unit, or will a search occur?

What if the work that I currently do is being moved to the Service Center?

Where will the Service Center be located?

How will the Service Center improve service in my area?

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What can you do?Speak Up.– Give us your feedback as you learn more about the process.

Survey located at https://sharedservices.unc.edu/.

Take ownership.– Influence the direction of this transformative initiative.

Participate.– Join committees, take surveys and participate in focus group conversations.

Educate.– Learn more about the process as we update the website athttps://sharedservices.unc.edu/.

Ask questions.– Email us with any questions.

Fasharedservices@unc.edu

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Discussion