Many agree agencies could benefit from using shared services for certain HR, IT and other needs but despite strong OMB support for wider adoption implementation has been limited, according to a recent report from the Partnership for Public Service.
“Helping Government Deliver II: The Obstacles and Opportunities Surrounding Shared Services,” was prepared with Deloitte and is based on interviews with agency leaders. It says agencies are wary of shared services (especially for business critical functions) because of past challenges, that they need more data to make a business case for using a shared service provider (typically another agency offering a service on a fee basis), and they would like to see workforce planning considerations play a greater role in whether to use shared services.
CFOs interviewed for the report said agencies can build support for shared services by designating someone to manage shared services and convening a leadership council, building accountability measures into the performance contracts of executives in charge of shared services for their agency, integrating shared services into workforce planning, and by starting small and demonstrating potential through early successes.
The report (available at outpublicservice.org) calls on OMB to establish deadlines for agencies and standard service agreements for them to use, carry out shared services pilots, and calls on OPM to publish a strategic guide for managing the transition to shared services.
