Shared Services Handbook Hit the road - Deloitte

1 Shared Services HandbookHit the roadA practical guide to implementing Shared servicesContentsForewordDeloitte s Shared Services Leaders explain why they vecreated this Handbook to capture some of the keypoints and lessons learned over our two decades ofhelping companies through the complex, demandingjourney that is a Shared Services consider Shared Services ?How does the concept of Shared Services differ fromoutsourcing and centralisation? What benefits can youexpect and which Services are a good fit?3 Phase 1 Assess feasibilityMost organisations start their feasibility study withouta clear vision of what they can achieve. You should usethe feasibility phase to develop your vision, define howprocesses could be split between local businesses andthe Shared Services centre (SSC) or outsourcer, define the technology to use, assess possible locationsand agree the most appropriate solution.

2 By the end ofthis phase, your business case should set out financialand non-financial benefits so that you can make aninformed go, no-go 2 DesignDuring design, you need to build a detailed picture ofwhat your future processes will be: who will do what,where they will do it and how. Technology is likely tobe a key process enabler and detailed technologydesigns are likely to be required to support your processes. This project will have a huge impact onemployees, so it s important to identify and engage all stakeholders, so you can plan for and overcomeresistance to change. To clarify the relationshipbetween the SSC organisation and its internalcustomers (typically the local businesses units), servicelevel agreements and performance measures will 3 Build and testThis phase is when everything comes together: it requires the close integration of process designs, the technology tools that support them and the userswho will operate the SSC day-to-day.

3 You ll be creatingpolicy and procedure documents, user guides, training materials and detailed job descriptions, as well asselecting staff for new roles, communicating with allemployees whose jobs are affected by the SSC andtraining employees in the new processes andtechnology. Testing it before the go live date isessential make sure you allow sufficient time for this. 49 Phase 4 Implement and roll outUp to this point, a great deal of work has been donecreating on paper processes that are efficient in a testenvironment. Going live, however, will be the acid phase is about making sure your solution actuallyworks, the business is in a ready state to transition andthat the migration itself is managed and ll need to decide whether to go for a big bang orphased approach to stagger the migrations over time,and support knowledge transfer from the oldorganisation to the new.

4 It will be challenging toprocess business-as-usual transactions whiletransitioning to the SSC, but clear planning andadequate resources will overcome 5 OptimiseEstablishing the SSC is not the end of the you will have accomplished a great deal bythis point, there are always new opportunities tooptimise working practices. Once your SSC hasstabilised, and a strong business partner relationshipbetween the SSC and the Local Business Units (LBUs)has bedded in, you can move forward by building apermanent culture of continuous improvement. We arecurrently witnessing a growing trend where the moremature centres are revisiting their Shared servicemodels to derive higher levels of service and costefficiency. By focusing on continuous improvement andperiodically reassessing your Shared Services model , youcan ensure that you continue to reap the benefits foryears to closing thoughtsIs there a future for captive SSCs in today s maturebusiness process outsourcing (BPO) market?

5 We believethere is, for risk averse organisations with processesthat are not yet stable or standardised, and also thoseinterested in moving up the value chain and sharing more than transaction processing. Global BusinessServices, where one organisation provides all supportservices to all business units worldwide, will becomemore prevalent but it is not a solution that will workfor all organisations and the implementation risks can be Handbook provides a practical overview of the key aspects involved in considering, designing, building and implementing a Shared Services centre. It is based onthe cumulative experience of our team gained over the last ten years helping more than 500 companies with their Shared Services programmes.

6 The narrative sectionof each chapter contains a case study about a company, Hi-Tech plc. Hi-Tech is not a real company and any similarities to existing organisationswith the same name areentirely coincidental. This Handbook does not include an exhaustive analysis of all the steps required to implement Shared Services ; therefore, it should not be, andwe take no responsibility if it is treated as advice or relied on as a guide for designing, building or implementing a Shared Services centre (SSC). Any person intendingto design, build or implement an SSC is advised to obtain and should rely on advice provided by that person s own relevant professional advisers, who haveknowledge of that person s specific requirements and have been implementing Shared servicescentres (SSCs) since the mid- 1980s , but there is stillmuch interest in the topic.

7 We think this is becauseorganisations continue to recognise the strategic valueof implementing SSCs as well as reducing their costbase, improving controls and enhancing service you are still evaluating your options aroundshared Services , or considering a radical overhaul of anexisting SSC, this Handbook is for you. We created it to capture some of the key points and lessons learnedover two decades of helping companies through thecomplex, demanding journey that is a Shared servicesimplementation. While we can t include an exhaustivelist of all the steps required to make your implementationa success (the full Deloitte SSC methodology runs toseveral hundred pages), we have tried to give you a feelfor some of the key issues you will face at each stageand how to proceed.

8 In the opening section, Why consider Shared Services ,we briefly assess the benefits of Shared Services andoutsourcing, and what functions and processes theymight include. We also introduce a methodology forimplementing Shared Services and each subsequentsection covers a phase from assessing feasibility,through to design, build and test, implement and rollout, to optimise. Whilst we have included someelements of outsourcing in the feasibility phase,subsequent phases concentrate solely on SSCs. In each section, you ll find a number of quotes fromcompanies such as BP, Shell, Pfizer, Procter & Gambleand Oracle that have successfully implemented sharedservices, as well as a hypothetical case study thathighlights the issues a typical organisation is likely toface.

9 For simplicity, this case study is based on a singlefunction SSC for finance. We then assess how thecompany in our case study is doing before introducingthe key steps your organisation will need to take andthe issues you may encounter. Each section concludeswith a checklist of things to consider before progressingto the next phase. Ultimately there is no substitute for experience. Deloitte has an experienced multidisciplinary team with global coverage to assist in all phases of sharedservices programmes. This means we help not only withprocess, technology, change and project managementbut also with the important associated matters such asevaluating the tax, site selection and internal controlimplications of a Shared Services strategy.

10 And ourglobal coverage ensures we have people with the rightlocal skills and experience for multicountryimplementations. It often seems that wherever you are in your sharedservices journey, you still have a way to go. But thejourney is always easier if you have sorted out thefundamentals, and we hope this Handbook is useful. If we can be of further assistance, we look forward tohearing from you. Peter MollerEuropean Shared ServicesPractice Leader, London, UK+44 20 7007 3973 GoldenAmericas SharedServices PracticeLeader, New York+1 212 618 WalkinshawAsia Pacific SharedServices Practice Leader,Singapore+65 62327 consider Shared Services ? Shared Services HandbookHit the road3 AnalysisThe story so farLet s consider how Hi-Tech Plc* is doing:Hi-Tech Plc* Richard s high expectations still surprise me, even afterso many years, thought Paul after Richard, the chieffinance officer (CFO) of Hi-Tech plc, left the room.