Calvin Turner Jr.

As shared services expand, complexity multiplies and new opportunities to incorporate business functions into the shared services model emerge. As these new functions are added, stakeholder groups grow, and legacy structures strain under broader mandates. What once worked for a focused operating model has the potential to reinforce silos, fragment accountability, and dilute the enterprise promise of shared services. At a certain point, incremental process fixes are no longer enough. Leadership and the organizational model itself must be reimagined

In this hands-on workshop, Calvin Turner, Interim of University of California’s Systemwide Shared Services, will share the University’s transformation journey to align the retiree services center and active employee payroll, benefits, and WFA operations under a consolidated shared service business unit. This realignment resulted in growing demand and heightened scrutiny from stakeholders and became the catalyst for structural change and the need for tighter cross-functional coordination and accountability. UC reexamined its leadership and operating models, governance structures, and funding sources, and the result was not simply a reshuffle of reporting lines. Rather, UC embarked a deliberate shift toward systemwide accountability, increased transparency across the hire-to-retire lifecycle, and stronger collaboration between HR, payroll, benefits, and retiree service operations. 

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