I’m a gadget junkie.  I have a Palm Pre phone with everything on it, including the ability to create a wifi hotspot that can support up to 5 devices, a Jawbone bluetooth earpiece, an iTouch, a GPS, Kindle book reader, my laptop of course, and most recently I acquired an iPad.  I maintain umteen (is that a word?) lists – addresses, books to read, music to download, workout routines, etc.

But, despite all this, the one thing I value most is my hardcopy calendar book, in which I also hold my business cards, and an untold number of scraps of paper onto which I scratch notes and various other ideas I come across when reading the too many magazines I have subscriptions to (Business Week, Time, Newsweek, WSJ, etc.).  All in the belief that these tidbits of information will be valuable reference material, readily available when I need them.

OK, so what does all this have to do with Shared Services – goals, drivers, and deliver channels?  Well, one of these scraps of paper has notes about just that.  Not sure where I got this info – probably a webinar I listened to.  If you recognize this and know the source, please let me know and I’ll be happy to cite a reference.

So, with this entry, I begin my “Scrap Notes” series.  Sure to become the next great cure for insomnia.  Enjoy!

Shared Services Goals

1. Administrative/transactional cost savings
2. Enable HR transactions
3. Improve capabilities
4. Improve customer service
5. Facilitate integration of mergers and acquisitions (hmm, not sure I get this one)
6. Achieve process and system standardization
7. Ensure better regulatory compliance

Shared Services Delivery Channels

1. Telephone
2. Cases via web
3. On-line chat
4. eMail
5. Forms via email, mail, fax
6. In person

Shared Services Drivers

1. Centralization/consolidation
2. Job restructuring, specialization of labor
3. Work relocation
4. Automation/self-service
5. Work flow redesing
6. Policy/Program/Process standardization
7. Functional Best practice adoption
8. Demand Management