Is it Time for Shared Services?

Increasing expectations and decreasing resources are forcing higher education institutions to learn how to do more with less. Across the nation, schools are being called upon to improve completion rates despite disappearing resources. They're required to expand IT services despite shrinking budgets. They're expected not to just survive these hard times, but to thrive in spite of them. Faculty and staff are working harder and taking on broader responsibilities, but the expectations, it seems, are beginning to outpace reality. As a result, institutions are realizing that if they want to remain competitive, they can't just work harder, they must work smarter.

A shared service is a collaborative arrangement between multiple institutions to use a central resource to perform a common function or process, thereby reducing administrative burden. The shared service can be a process-based function, like Human Resources or IT, or a knowledge-based role, like chief information security officer. By working together to leverage efficiencies, institutions not only free up human and capital resources, they provide their students with opportunities they couldn't have otherwise offered. In this way, shared services help students become more successful by making institutions more successful.

Shared service collaborations begin with planning and analysis. Business processes must be reviewed to identify efficiencies, shared procedures must be developed to ensure a smooth partnership, a charter and/or a governance model must be created and implemented to establish authority and accountability, and funding allocations must be established based on each institution's needs.

A strong champion is essential for garnering executive support and moving the initiative forward. However, some institutions find that they don't have the knowledge or resources required to bring all of the components together. In these cases, working with a neutral third party—such as a consortium or outsider manager—will ensure the shared services arrangement is executed effectively and optimized to fully serve the needs of each partner.

Is your institution able to effectively and efficiently meet the growing demand for IT services?
Do your students have access to all of the services they want and need?
Does your institution have the resources it needs to focus on its mission?
Is your institution providing the best possible experience for its students?

If you've answered No to any of the above, it might be time to evaluate how shared services can help your institution do more with less.

Join us at CCBO's 33rd Annual International Conference September 19-22, 2015 in Las Vegas, NV, where CampusWorks will present "Is it Time for Shared Services?" This interactive discussion will examine the drivers and inhibitors of shared services and teach you how to design these services for success.

Liz Murphy is the CEO of CampusWorks, a strategic consultant dedicated to helping higher education institutions overcome the business and technological challenges that stand in the way of student success through shared services and other solutions.