Shared Services - A River Runs through it...

Just as water is essential to life, a healthy workforce is the heart of a successful, thriving company. Putting the right pieces in place to assist employees in their HR needs goes a long way towards increased productivity and morale – and a happier, more connected workplace.

"Shared Services is a business model that enables resources to be leveraged across an entire organization resulting in lower costs with agreed upon customer-service levels. In many instances, Shared Services is a separate business unit created within a company or agency accountable for delivering a suite of services to both the operating business units and the corporate functions," according to 'What is Shared Services?‘ as posted on Peerosity.com – researcher for Shared Services Professionals.

There are many benefits to implementing Shared Services, including reduced costs through economies of scale, process standardization and adherence to best practices. The efficiencies gained enable the organization to focus more on initiatives that serve growth of the organization, and its ability to execute at a more strategic level.

Shared Services Solutions have continued to evolve over the past several years according to Peerosity.com - from starting out as “Single function Shared Services for Accounting and Finance' through Multi-Functional Shared Services for HR, IT and Procurement to today's Integrated Shared Services - organizations created a Shared Services Operating Unit, usually distinct from any particular functional area."

Innovative Shared Service Centers for Finance Operations feature automation for finance processes such as supplier onboarding, and electronic document management for invoices, purchase orders and contracts. Integrated modules that work seamlessly together also provide functionality for supplier engagement management and data-rich portals, a finance helpdesk to monitor and manage all requests and processes within the service center and detailed analytics with dashboards and reports providing audit information in real-time.

Building a world-class HR Shared Services organization enables companies to reduce operational costs and enhance employee satisfaction by optimizing HR processes through a flexible solution that grows with the organization. Integrated Business Process Management tools help the organization run more efficiently while Business Analytics monitor that efficiency and identify areas for improvement. Self-service portals increase the “flow” of efficiency by giving employees the capability to find answers themselves, and initiate more tasks without involving HR resources. Keeping an ongoing positive flow of productivity and employee engagement is a priority for an organization. Shared Services and their supporting technologies offer a solution to help turn the tide in your favor.