No “one-size-fits-all” approach to implementing and growing shared services in higher education

Phil Searle, CEO & Founder of Chazey Partners recently presented at the 2017 California Higher Education Collaborative (CHEC) Conference (a collaborative event across the three California State public higher education systems – University of California, California State and California Community Colleges), where Shared Services was one of the key topics.

The trend towards leveraging shared services in higher education continues, but the pace differs greatly between systems and individual institutions.  There are a growing number of successful shared services implementation examples in higher education, both in California and across the United States.  But it is also still very clear that there is no “one-size-fits-all” approach to implementing and growing shared services in higher education and there are often significant barriers to overcome.  These barriers are absolutely surmountable, but must be identified, understood, planned for and addressed appropriately in each instance.

After the event, Phil commented: “Managed and implemented properly, a shared services project involves four critical success factors – people/organization, process, client (internal and external), and technology.  These four success factors are each important, and need to integrate and come together to enable success, accountability and to ensure continuous improvement.  The move towards shared services must also be supported by a strong institutional mission, clear vision and leadership buy-in and support.”

Phil has also shared with the audience s a series of interviews and presentations on Chazey’s website focused on Unlocking Operational Efficiencies in Higher Education Through Transformational Change. The series includes a broad range of higher education and public sector experts sharing best practices, strategies and case studies.  All the sessions are available for complementary viewing.

To gain access to Chazey’s presentation from this conference, click “Shared Services – Your Clients Is What Ultimately Matters”