In the last week, Ellevo gathered in Blumenau-SC the main names in Brazil when it comes to Shared Services Centers (SSCs). The first edition of Shared Service Talks provided a meeting with author and consultant Carlos Magalhães, as well as a chat with executives of Bunge, GRSA/Compass, Renault and Energisa. Check out the post-movie edition here. There is more: in the coming weeks, we will bring a series of contents to those who want to know more about the subject.

We will talk about SSCs applications, advantages, challenges, and results, as well as presenting cases and innovations in the segment. And for those who were not able to attend or left the event wishing to learn more about the subject, in this post we will list the highlights of Shared Services Centers presented in the Shared Service Talks. Check it out:

The concept of SSC is not new but it is constantly evolving

The idea of creating Shared Services Centers for service control and process management emerged in the 1990s in the United States. The information below describes the broadest concept of SSC and its main results:

The concept is not recent and has been widely used there, especially in companies with more than one unit that need to control processes occurring in multiple locations, maintaining unanimity in the performance.

Although it is not recent, the idea of SSC is still little known in Brazil. Creating a center to manage services that are shared by various segments of the same business is not part of many companies’ routine yet. However, those who adopt the model realize that it is possible to reach a higher level when talking about process evolution, improvements, and gains in the reduction of costs, productivity, control, and management.

Then, what makes Shared Services Center a model that keeps growing? Because it is broadly evolving. The SSC is a methodology that adapts to technological changes. Tools such as the Ellevo platform, for example, can be easily implemented in physical centers or support the construction of digital SSCs because they are always evolving, bringing new technologies and services, and improving processes.

There are evolution and maturity levels for an SSC to become profitable

It is not enough just to set up a service center. It is necessary to monitor it closely in order to pass through its maturity levels, evolving along with the business. During the event, we talked about the challenges of this evolution. An SSC commonly goes through four evolutionary levels: scalability, adaptability, credibility and agility, simplicity and transparency.

We will soon be addressing each of these levels and what happens in each of them. To receive a special report about the topic, leave your contact here.

During SSC evolution, it begins to have more added-value to the business and is no longer a unit of transactional activities. The result of this evolution is customer-focused action, process simplification, and a more solid business.

Efficient SSC is all about organizational culture

There is no point in having the best concept and tool, cutting-edge technology and budget to invest in SSC if there is no concern for organizational culture. Creating a shared services center means changing the mindset of people connected to your business – especially leaders, who should be partners in the project. This change sustained by people’s support takes place in three stages:

It is necessary to act for a change in the organizational culture. By using an SSC to control processes and improve work routines, it does not mean that the professional is going to lose their autonomy. Actually, it means better-designed processes, with credibility, data stored for the application of automation, and people focused on strategic matters and less on operational actions.

Without teams’ involvement, your SSC may not even get off the drawing board or may become a failed project. Bringing people and technology together is the key to this journey.

It is not possible to use technology that does not support the changes in a Shared Services Center.

Speaking of technology, a system that supports the growth of your SSC and the continuous improvement of processes is essential. Nowadays, automation comes by using chatbots and RPAs and they have turned the routine of companies into much more agile actions and sharp reduction of human error. It is a win-win strategy: the SSC now works 24/7 with machines acting in the operational, leaving the teams by managing and conducting their time for strategic action.

We have already spoken about RPA here. See below how technology has changed the SSC scenario and the gains it has brought:

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Source: this content is the summary of the lecture “Defina corretamente sua estratégia, planejamento, implantação, automação e evolução de um Centro de Serviços Compartilhados” (Correctly define your strategy, planning, deployment, automation and evolution of a Shared Services Center) by author Carlos Magalhões, held at Shared Service Talks 2019. –www.xcellence.com.br