Archive for February, 2008

Show #004: Shared Services

Published by Karen Wormwell on 7 February, 2008 in Shared Services. 1 Comment

The drive for greater efficiencies in the Public Sector is stronger than ever and this month, we look at how ’sharing services’ can be the cornerstone of achieving some pretty impressive results in this area.

To listen to the podcast, click the grey arrow below.

 
 Standard Podcast [20:39m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Graham White has just moved from Surrey Councy Council, to head up HR at Westminster Council. He joined Surrey CC as Head of HR and OD from Ulster Bank in 2002 and spearheaded an organisational restructure that has turned the council on it’s head. 

Some of the key benefits that Graham has experienced include:

  • SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION IN OVERALL STAFFING - work is now being done in a single place, with 1/4 of the staff

  • CULTURE CHANGE - “I’m doing more of what I’m paid to do” mentality

  • SERVICE DELIVERY MODEL IS ON AN UPWARD CURVE - more people are cared for, more potholes get filled in and less street lights are not working - all at no extra cost

  • SPOTLIGHT EFFECT - when you put everything in one place, you can see what isn’t working efficiently

  • SAVINGS - overall savings for the whole period are nearly £50m

Some key pieces of advice from Graham are:

  • LEARN FROM OUR MISTAKES FIRST - you cannot tell your people enough what you are doing and no matter how much you communicate, assume you haven’t done enough

  • DON’T GO INTO THIS IF IT’S TO SAVE MONEY - if that’s your paramount reason, your going to fail

  • KNOW THE DIFFERENCE - between organisations trying to sell you shared services and those looking to partner with you.  Partnering allows you to share both the benefits and the risks

You can find out more about shared services at Surrey County Council from their website www.surreycc.gov.uk. There are also many resources to be found on the internet.

Another shared service story in the news this month, is a joint initiative between Rushcliffe Borough Council and Charnwood Borough Council. They are aiming to be the first in the country to share services across county boundaries with a private sector partner.

I spoke over the phone with both Allan Graham, Chief Executive at Rushcliffe and Brian Hayes, Chief Executive at Charnwood to find out more about their plans.

The short term objective is to start small and standardise the back office functions for the two councils. The long-term vision is much larger. Together with the private sector partner, they are looking to develop a Regional Development Centre that can provide skilled staff for both the public and private sectors across the country.

The first phase is due to go live during summer 2008 and you can find out more about their vision by checking out their websites at www.rushcliffe.gov.uk or www.charnwood.gov.uk

Listening to the show is simple, you can do it in a number of ways and you don’t need an iPod or MP3 player. Simply click on the grey arrow underneath the show heading and it will play through your computer.

Alternatively, you can easily download the file and listen to it later, or transfer it onto an MP3 player, just right click on ‘Download’ and select ‘Save Target As…’ The show can also be played on iTunes.

To make sure that you never miss an episode, you can subscribe free via email, or by clicking the orange RSS icon or iTunes button. Each new show will then be delivered automatically to your computer, along with notes about the show, useful contact details and links to additional information.

I would love to hear your feedback and any suggestions for further shows. Either email me directly at karen@publicsectorhrpodcast.co.uk or click on ‘Comment’ underneath the show title and type away.