Shared Services News magazine contains best practice case studies, strategies, lessons learned, member profiles, interviews, legislative reviews and much, much more. There are 10 issues published every year exclusively for SSON premium members.

Shared Services News, June 2008

“Multi-Functional Services”

Holy Grail or Pipe-dream? Well you may ask!

Too few SSOs are managing to be all things to all people. A multi-functional services seems the obvious way to go, especially if you are in the enviable position of setting up a greenfield site, as Mike Gibbs from EquaTerra points out in this month’s Roundtable discussion (see p.12). But greenfield developments are rare these days, as organizations reassess their existing sourcing options. Instead, we are apparently witnessing an “under-utilized concept.” 
 
It all hinges on leadership. While we are putting functional leaders in charge, who’ve come up via traditional organizational charts, we won’t be witnessing SSOs achieving their full potential anytime soon. What we need, say those who should know, is a healthy injection of general managers – those equipped with project management, people management, customer focus and innovation skills. That’s when we’ll see more of an understanding of what a comprehensive, multi-functional approach can do for a business.

Upcoming Issues

July/August 2008
Transformation - With economic woes striking global markets, shared services have an opportunity to really shine. Much as cost considerations may focus the Board’s mind on the bottom line, those running SSOs know that they have the data to really drive through effective changes. This issue considers how shared services models are evolving to partner with the businesses they serve and transform “the way we do things.” Organizations sharing their insights include 3M, Disney, and Citigroup. Topics covered range from leadership as change agent to driving transformation via an outsourcing partner to transforming your supply side relationships…

September 2008
Customer Satisfaction – Who is today’s shared services customer? What are their expectations? How do you differentiate between the “payer” and the “end user”? These are just some of the questions our research came up against. Globalization brings its own unique challenges – much of it centered on how to overcome the technical and operational challenges that get in the way of providing a superior global service experience. And then there is the SLA debate. Should it form the basis of a good customer relationship – or does it hinder fluid teamwork?

If you'd like to contribute to these or any future issues of Shared Services News, please email the editor, Barbara Hodge, with feature ideas.