Note: This is the first post in a series focusing on the continuous improvement of Shared Services.

Creating and deploying a Shared Service Organization is a major initiative that requires substantial commitment from an organization.  Yet the deployment of a Shared Service Organization is only the beginning of the journey to create a high-performing service organization that partners with the Business Units and continuously creates value.  True value creation occurs over time.  As part of an on-going commitment, the following ten areas should receive management’s attention to drive value creation in the Shared Service Organization.

1.  Engage in Consistent Governance

As part of the planning process for the Shared Service Organization, a governance structure should be created to ensure appropriate oversight of the Organization.  If the Shared Service Organization has multiple service centers globally, the governance program will guide the entire Organization as well as the individual centers.

Governance committees should exist for the entire Shared Service Organization and for the processes within the organization.  The Steering Committee should be comprised of senior level executives with overall responsibility for the Shared Service Organization.  They resolve issues that haven’t been resolved at lower levels, provide continued funding of the organization,  and guide the expansion  of the Organization to incorporate additional functions that will drive valuation creation.

Process councils should be created to give oversight to each major process handled by the Shared Service Organization.  For example, the Procure-to-Pay process would receive oversight from executives in Procurement and Finance to ensure that global processes were as consistent and efficient as possible, to help resolve any conflicts that arose between organizational units, and to continue evaluating additional improvements that will drive efficiency while delivering value to the Business Units.