Key Elements of a Professional Shared Service Center: Working Tools (that you use every day)

Studies have shown that more than 70% of IT initiatives fail, especially CRM initiatives. Why do they fail? Is it because they’re not using the right technology? Or is it because they’re not using the right framework? Based on my many years leading Shared Services, I believe it’s neither. I’ve seen organizations using the best of technology and getting advice from the best consultants but still failing to achieve targets that they set out to achieve; and on the other hand, I’ve also seen organizations using only average tools and systems, still achieving targets in a sustainable manner. So what factors distinguish these two extremes? Actually, it’s pretty simple. Let me illustrate with a real life experience that I went through when I was the captain of my high school basketball team. We were playing the first match of the season and were pitched against the most high-profile school of Bangalore (India). In our school most of our parents were working class and had just enough money to buy the average gear for our basketball practice. So when the oposing team arrived, we were aghast to see them emerge out of a posh van, wearing the latest basketball gear and brands. They looked like they were coming from the NBA. Our morale plummeted. Nevertheless, the coach and I told the team to give its best, irrespective of the outcome. When the match started, we drew first blood scoring within seconds of ‘Jump Ball’. By the second rally, we realized that though they were wearing the best branded shoes and gear, they hardly knew how to play Basketball. We went on to thrash them so badly in the first quarter that we actually let our ‘B’ string play for the remaining three quarters. The final score was 62-2 in our favor. The reason for this land slide victory was that, although we didn’t use the best gear, every single player on our team knew how to play basketball and we were very strong in dribbling, shooting, fitness and, more importantly, in working as a team. So it didn’t matter whether or not we wore the latest Nikes; what mattered was that all of us were very good at the key elements needed to win a basketball match. Similarly, for people or organizations to be successful they have to be very strong in elements that drive their particular profession. Coming back to Shared Services, organizations often forget the key elements that are crucial for success and instead focus on areas that are non-productive. So, what are these key elements and how do you leverage them? Many Shared Services professionals and organizations do not understand the power that these tools can provide if utilized correctly. They usually end up doing a lot of work but achieving low productivity and output – even if they have the fancy tools and brands. This low productivity, in turn, manifests itself in terms of stress and ultimately in attrition, which is so common in Shared Services Centers and BPOs. So, how do we inculcate these elements right at the heart of every Shared Services Center? I have been reading some very complicated and fancy theories on how to architect and operate a successful Shared Services. Somehow, we like to complicate our lives although at the end of the day it’s actually pretty simple. The solution lies in the tools that we use every day to dispense our work. In my 14 years in operations, I have noticed that people who have been really successful are people who make maximum use of simple tools such Outlook, Excel, Word and SharePoint. We probably use them in almost every field of our work, probably every second. If you are able to train your associates well, you will actually be able to reduce more than 50% of your operational costs by transforming efficiency. Let me tell you how they really make a difference in the Shared Service Framework, or for that matter, in any operations framework. Knowledge Management (KM) Knowledge Management is the principal key to a sustainable Shared Services. Many organization make a mess of it either by not documenting their processes or by over-documenting them to an extent that no one actually refers to these documents when it’s actually required. A good KM system should be precise, and all associates in the Shared Services should be able to use it dynamically and keep it updated at all times. The KM system should be able to provide instant and relevant knowledge, like Wikipedia. If the KM system is not built for dynamism, the entire KM system will soon be obsolete and will turn into a check box item, and not help in keeping knowledge current or relevant. Many organizations do not empower their associates to use and update their KM systems, which makes them obsolete. If an associate knows MS SharePoint and Word well, this can be just the magical combination you need to maintain knowledge in your organization without going in for expensive KM systems. Simple stuff like version controls, workflows, and collaboration through SharePoint can easily reduce 50% of the time that organizations spend on managing knowledge. I have seen – and have implemented – KM systems built on SharePoint that provide a one-stop solution for all knowledge requirements and bring all stakeholders onto a single platform. I have also seen companies use SharePoint as a dumping ground for storing documents, however, thereby defeating the very purpose of a collaborative tool. SharePoint or word in itself cannot enable KM; it is how every member of the organization is able to use SharePoint to tap it to its maximum capability that makes the difference. Operations Management Operations Management lies at the heart of any Shared Services. Some of the smaller Shared Services Organizations make use of Excel sheets to keep track of their operations, whereas some of the larger companies use advanced ticketing systems to keep their operations in control. However, despite having the latest technology, nothing can provide the power of dynamism that an Excel sheet provides. Whether it is doing customized reports or putting together a quick project plan, all of us rely on Excel sheets to get things done. But how many of us actually know how to use Excel to its max capacity? I have seen entire systems built on Excel – including workflow and reports generated almost instantly with absolutely no cost, greatly improving the productivity of teams. On the other hand, I have seen a majority of people using Excel as if they were writing a document. One of my classic experiences in Shared Services was with a project head who was co-ordinating an activity analysis on the various processes and transactions executed by the Shared Services Center. He had captured all this data in an Excel sheet and needed to come up with a cost and time estimate for all processes. He was getting this estimate by manually selecting the cells that captured the time and cost and then typing them into another cell. There were more than 200 processes that had to be calculated. At that rate he would have taken half a day to collate the amounts and time. I helped him to use pivots by categorizing and then managing the base data in the Excel sheets. It took all of 15 seconds for us to arrive at the costs and time taken for 200 processes. Though this example may seem extreme, it’s not. There are various reports/analyses/working sheets that Shared Services professionals are constantly working on and which either delay projects or stress out project/operations team members. All Shared Services professionals should be experts in MS Excel to succeed in their profession. Employees generally spend a lot of time preparing reports. If the whole operation is planned well, reports can be generated in an instant. Remember, Reports are not our work; Reports should be a byproduct of our work – they should be automatically generated while we work. Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC) GRC ensures that Shared Services delivery is on track. We all hate auditors and compliance teams as they are always finding fault with what we do, don’t we? But all leaders know that Compliance and audits are an integral part of an organization. So how do we develop compliance systems that are friendly and proactive? Many compliance tools are reactive, which implies that the controls are checked only after the event has occurred and not as and when they occur during the course of operations. Outlook can actually solve this problem through the Outlook Tasks Module. If designed well, the Outlook Task module can actually be converted into a centralized GRC module capable of proactive controls that help operations rather than stalling operations. I have seen this very simple yet highly effective governance model achieve 100% audit compliance due to its easy-to-use and intuitive approach. I have also seen most people use Outlook only as a mailbox and cluttering it with lots of e-mails, increasing the workload and stress. Outlook actually has the capability of running a small Shared Services, with no additional investment if used well by all members of the organization. Having advanced systems and people with strong working elements is the ideal combination for a high performance Shared Services Center. However, many leaders believe that bringing in advanced systems will automatically improve their business. This is the primary reason for 70% of business IT initiatives failing to achieve their targets. I have come across CEOs/Directors/Heads who have the latest gadgets, laptops and software, but still struggling to manage their operations, because of their inability to tap the power of these IT hardware and software systems. Every Shared Services Leader who wishes to be successful in their field needs to draw from the military domain. Every leader in a military organization is first trained thoroughly on the elements of military – such as handling of small arms, drills and discipline – before being trained in military warfare strategies. Only then will your strategy help and only then will soldiers march right on in the face of death to emerge victorious. Else you will have a team that will attrite at the first challenge rather than find innovative solutions through their work tools. So what do you want from your Shared Services Center? Trained professionals who fully utilize your tools and function optimally? Or amateurs, who stretch your processes and increase your costs? Note: if you'd be interested in learning more about how to maximize the simple tools already on offer, email me. [eventpdf]

Key Elements of a Professional Shared Service Center: Working Tools (that you use every day)

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