HR Shared Services centres are posited as a way to reduce costs and increase efficiencies in administration, but setting up such arrangements can be a daunting task.
HR case management firm Dovetail Software has identified five areas that it says are often overlooked but critical to success. These are:
Standardizing common HR processes including defining a unified process around HR service delivery: “This is a critical first step in the implementation process and probably the most time consuming. Each location should have a representative involved in defining and standardizing those processes to work for the entire organization.”
Re-defining roles, responsibilities and performance goals for professionals at every level in your HR organization: “The goal of an HR SSC is to allow HR specialists to reduce time spent on administrative tasks and focus on more strategic and value add projects that impact the organization. To accomplish this, well-trained professionals in every tier in the HR SSC should have defined responsibilities and performance goals they’re capable of meeting.”
Putting the right technology in place to manage employee requests effectively through the HR SSC: “You will need an HR Case Management and Help Desk system that delivers employee self-service, a knowledge base for capturing solutions that can be searched by Tier One advisors and employees through the employee self-service portal, and a central, easily accessible repository of employee interactions with HR.”
Measuring Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), such as HR Service Level Agreements, First Call Resolution rates, response times, time to resolution and the number of incoming requests being resolved by HR SSC advisors: “You cannot manage or improve what is not measured. To ensure your HR SSC is accomplishing cost savings and increased efficiency of service delivery and to prove it to your board of executives, you will need to identify your KPIs and ensure you are able to measure them accurately and efficiently.”
Using those KPIs to improve your service delivery model: “You will need the ability to identify trends and gain insights into areas within your HR SSC that could be improved and evolved.”
You can download the full 5 Tenets of Successful HR Shared Services Centre Implementation report here.
