Shared services center adoption for customer service continues to grow across enterprise and medium businesses. Organizations are embracing shared services in an effort to cut costs and improve operational efficiency. By not following best practices, these organizations set themselves up for disappointment and failure. So what are the most important best practices to follow when setting up a shared services center?

1. Shared Service Center
Best Practices 2011

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Shared Service Center Best
Practices 2011
1. Key Performance Metrics
Measuring performance is a critical factor in
achieving the objectives of a shared services
organization. The most common practice for
doing so is selecting and monitoring relevant key
performance metrics as early as you can in your
implementation.

3. ©Copyright 2010 Customer1 Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
Shared Service Center Best
Practices 2011
2. Service Level Agreements
Service level agreements facilitate a joint
understanding between the shared services
center and its customers in terms of
requirements and expectations. SLA’s should
identify what services will be delivered,
responsibilities, service delivery times, specific
requirements, and escalation procedures.

4. ©Copyright 2010 Customer1 Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
Shared Service Center Best
Practices 2011
3. Change Management
It is very important to identify and address the
impacts the services center will have and create
a transition plan. If people are not prepared for
change, they tend to resist it. Be proactive in
identifying, communicating, and transitioning
the cultural, personal, technology, and process
changes introduced by a services center.

5. ©Copyright 2010 Customer1 Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
Shared Service Center Best
Practices 2011
4. Sponsorship
Without buy-in and support from executives, a
shared services center cannot be effectively
deployed. An executive sponsor should be
identified and involved in the process as early as
possible and throughout center’s life-cycle.

6. ©Copyright 2010 Customer1 Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
Shared Service Center Best
Practices 2011
5. Clearly Defined Roles and Responsibilities
Roles and responsibilities should be defined for
both services center business units and all
stakeholders involved in the deployment early
on in the process. This makes sure there is no
duplication of efforts that could affect the
productivity of the center, and helps resolve any
disputes that may come up in the future.

7. ©Copyright 2010 Customer1 Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
Shared Service Center Best
Practices 2011
6. Staffing
Shared services should be staffed with people
who bring experience, skills, and effective
decision making for their assigned roles. Along
with processes and technology, the people you
select have the biggest impact on whether your
initiative will be successful.

8. ©Copyright 2010 Customer1 Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
Shared Service Center Best
Practices 2011
7. In-House VS Outsourced
A major decision to undertake early on in the
shared services process is whether it can be
done in-house, or needs to be outsourced to
another organization. Consider using a blend of
in-house expertise for processes you have a
handle on, and outsourcing any areas of
weakness.

9. ©Copyright 2010 Customer1 Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
Shared Service Center Best
Practices 2011
8. Workflow Optimization
A new shared services center is a great
opportunity to streamline and consolidate
business processes and workflows. How
effectively you are able to model and simplify
your processes will have a major impact on the
cost savings and efficiencies you realize.

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View the Original Blog Article
Shared Service Center Best Practices

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Business Shared Services: A Model for
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