Has your organization decided to move to a shared services model? More than likely, you are already preparing for the massive changes ahead as you transform your service delivery model. Any change of this scale should be managed with care, as it can be hard on the customers you are serving as well as your staff. In many cases, it is wise to transition to a new service model using a phased approach, which will help to manage the change over time.

HR services has emerged from the back office to play a significant role in supporting CEOs’ strategic imperative to optimize human resources. In its new role, HR services is no longer just about effective recruiting and career management, however, but about developing and supporting talent, ensuring it’s productive, and providing the framework and tools to create improved value-add for the business. In line with operational excellence guidelines, the modern HR solution leverages strengths and knowledge where these are needed and diverts activities to self-service or automation where that serves the purpose best.

Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is being used by many organizations as an innovative way to improve business performance and gain process efficiency. RPA is a technology solution that allows you to automate repetitive, rules-based processes through use of computer software. In our previous white paper, “RPA: Innovative Transformation Tool for Shared Services,” we describe how RPA is “a transformational tool that has the ability to lower operating costs while simultaneously increasing efficiency, scalability, consistency, reliability, security, and transparency.” These benefits make RPA an attractive addition to your process improvement toolbox and allow you to take your shared services organization to the next level.

Healthcare organizations are faced with numerous human resources-related challenges, including talent acquisition, retention, and employee engagement, that are currently heightened issues in their industry. They also must address an extensive list of guidelines by The Joint Commission to ensure safe, high-quality care and service, in addition to complying with an enormous number of regulations to verify staff qualifications, provide orientation and ongoing training, and ensure staff sensitivity to cultural diversity.

According to the benchmarking results of a recent HR shared services organization (SSO) survey conducted by APQC and ScottMadden, understanding links between customer satisfaction and performance is seen as one of the most important keys to being a top-performing SSO. More and more SSOs have designed—and are administering on a regular basis—formal surveys to measure their customer satisfaction levels. ScottMadden has been conducting customer satisfaction surveys for our shared services clients for nearly 20 years and has captured multifunction, multi-year overall satisfaction data for SSOs to provide insight on typical trends in customer satisfaction.