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Building a Business Case for Shared Services
This document discusses key concepts for building a business case to evaluate the feasibility of implementing shared services. It provides an overview of how to calculate costs and benefits, collect current state metrics, and consider sensitivities. Calculating benefits focuses on headcount reductions through process efficiencies and benchmarks. Costs include labor, technology, consulting, and site-related expenses. Non-quantifiable benefits like improved customer service and controls are also noted. Current state metrics involve analyzing headcounts, volumes, and costs by activity. Interviews provide context.
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Building a Business Case for Shared Services
- 1. Building a BusinessCase for Shared Services A Discussion of Key Concepts in Evaluating the Feasibility of Shared Services June 2011
- 2. Copyright © 2011by ScottMadden. All rights reserved. Agenda About ScottMadden Business Cases in a Shared Services Context Collection of Current State Metrics Benefits Calculation Costs Calculation Sensitivities Lessons Learned 1
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- 4. Copyright © 2011by ScottMadden. All rights reserved. Who We Are Practice Areas Our Commitment to Our Clients Since 1983 We will place the long-term good of our clients above our own interest. We will do what we say we will do, we will do it extraordinarily well, and we will exceed our clients’ expectations. We will be known for the surpassing quality of our service and the integrity of our relationships with clients. Energy Sustainability Corporate & Shared Services Federal Government 3
- 5. Copyright © 2011by ScottMadden. All rights reserved. What We Do – Corporate Services ScottMadden has been helping clients create greater value for their corporate services organizations for nearly 30 years. Our highly efficient, collaborative teams employ measurable, award-winning methods and deep cross-functional expertise to improve operational performance. 4 Finance & Accounting Human Resources Information Technology Supply Chain ScottMadden can improve process efficiency and automation to ensure accurate & timely financial information and compliance. ScottMadden designs, builds, and implements HR Service Delivery models to ensure efficient and effective HR operations that meet business needs. ScottMadden helps organizations create measurable IT value by focusing on business engagement to improve IT decision making. ScottMadden can craft new supply chain strategies and deliver improvements in operations, increasing the value delivered to customers.
- 6. Copyright © 2011by ScottMadden. All rights reserved. What We Do – Shared Services Decide Design Build Improve 5 Our Shared Services Practice We are the leading shared services management consulting firm.
- 7. Copyright © 2011by ScottMadden. All rights reserved. Decide Design Build Improve What We Do – Shared Services (Cont’d) 6 Our Functional Expertise •Strategy development and integration •Benchmarking •High-level business case •Change management •Service delivery model •Detailed current state, future state, and business case •Sourcing model •Organization design and staffing •Change management •Project planning and management •Service/transaction center •Process redesign •Technology design, selection, and support •Change management •Process improvement/cost reduction •Operations/ technology assessment •M&A integration •Benchmarking •Customer and employee surveys •Change management Finance & Accounting Human Resources Supply Chain Management Information Technology Real Estate & Facilities Multi-Function Engineering Services Administrative Services
- 8. Business Cases ina Shared Services Context
- 9. Copyright © 2011by ScottMadden. All rights reserved. Business Cases in a Shared Services Context The development of the business case to evaluate the feasibility of shared services will most often follow a common set of steps regardless of the functional area of study. 8 Assessing the Current State Understand current processes, activities, and technologies used Analyze time activity information to understand headcounts, FTEs and costs for current processes and activities Collect volume metrics to benchmark and assess current productivity in area of study Creating the Resulting Business Case Leverage current state and future state headcount and FTE analysis to identify labor changes Use baseline of sites to evaluate future labor cost structures and potential site costs Create baseline implementation timeline Collect technology cost data for both current and new technologies Assess range of potential implementation results Developing the Future State Identify areas of opportunity for process efficiencies Analyze results of assumed process efficiencies on headcounts, FTEs and costs Understand future uses of technologies (current and new) Develop range of possible sites for future shared services location
- 10. Copyright © 2011by ScottMadden. All rights reserved. Business Cases in a Shared Services Context (Cont’d) Developing the business case can be broken into three elements – calculating the benefits, identifying the incurred costs, and developing the necessary sensitivities. 9 Questions to Consider Benefits What is the best approach to benchmark process efficiencies for the given function or functions? Beyond headcount reduction, what other quantifiable benefits can be achieved in implementing shared services? Costs How does the business want to view the costs – incrementally to the project or incrementally to the business? What major groupings of costs should be considered? Is it important for the business to separate recurring costs from non- recurring ones? Sensitivities What are the key variables the business is most concerned about? (e.g. technology costs, ability to reduce headcount, site location, etc.) How does timing impact the initiative’s ability to generate benefit for the company?
- 11. Copyright © 2011by ScottMadden. All rights reserved. Business Cases in a Shared Services Context (Cont’d) Business cases will typically have several financial metrics which are used as reference points for comparison to other cases or internal projects, as well as performance “take-aways” for the business. 10 Guidance/Definition Impacted by… Net Present Value (NPV) Dollar-value of the initiative for the organization – how much the organization will make on this initiative, accounting for time Time horizon of business case Speed of implementation Size of investment (and benefit) Discount rate Payback Period Speed of implementation Size of investment (and benefit) Time (often in years) it takes for the cumulative benefits to equal the cumulative investments Internal Rate of Return (IRR) Time horizon of business case Speed of implementation Annual rate (percentage) which is returned by investing in the initiative; essentially provides the yield for the investment
- 12. Collection of CurrentState Metrics
- 13. Copyright © 2011by ScottMadden. All rights reserved. Current State Metrics In order to develop a baseline of the current state, and use this to compare against external benchmarks during future state, three key elements are required for success. 12 Purpose/Intent Obtain headcount cost by service area and activity Understand how many people are doing certain activities ―Often done through use of time studies of services and activities ―Can be further supported using organizational charts Develop current state costs for certain activities Collect applicable benchmarks Identify readily available benchmarks for the functional areas of focus Collect those metrics that are applicable, factoring how recently the benchmark was created, participants in benchmark study, etc. Gather metrics for comparison Identify the metrics required to supplement headcount Gather internal metrics (beyond headcount) to foster comparisons (to internal measures, to external benchmarks, etc.) ―Can include volumes, dollars, etc. – not restricted to particular types of data Current Business Case Future Support data with deeper understanding of services, activities and process through interviews with key subject-matter experts within the organization Validate and support data collection with interviews
- 14. Copyright © 2011by ScottMadden. All rights reserved. Current State Metrics – Headcount by Activity Headcount, or FTEs, are often the basis of many benchmarks and therefore a critical ingredient for any future state analysis to drive the business case. 13 Current Business Case Future Service and Activity Surveys Organizational Charts Enables calculation of FTEs by specific service and activity Captures actual rather than perceived time-spend data across the organization Cuts across the organization, regardless of function or service Provides job-specificity within a given service area Provides structured headcount by group Aids in identifying those employees who are functionally focused on a given service, irrespective of their time-spend data SVP Human Resources Vice President Talent Management Vice President Employee Relations Director HR Technology Director Employee Services Admin. Spec.
- 15. Copyright © 2011by ScottMadden. All rights reserved. Current State Metrics – Metrics for Comparison Through the collection of metrics from the organization beyond headcount, comparisons to benchmarks can be made which enables a transparent analysis of potential future state options. 14 Current Business Case Future Sample data obtained from headcount analysis Sample metrics collected from organization Calculated data for benchmark comparisons Total headcount cost conducting payroll runs Total count of employees in each payroll run Cost to run payroll per employee Total FTEs that process AP invoices Total number of invoices processed per month Invoices processed per processor FTE Total number of recruiters in human resources’ talent acquisition department Total requisitions per period Requisitions per recruiter per period
- 16. Copyright © 2011by ScottMadden. All rights reserved. Current State Metrics – Interviews and Process The use of interviews can support data collection efforts by providing context and details that will enable better understanding of assessment results. 15 Current Business Case Future Collect costs across key areas to obtain headcount and benchmark information and enable process and service comparisons across business units. Specifically collecting: Activity data by person Transaction volumes Organization cost and budget Data Collection Interviews conducted with subject-matter experts over the course of several days allows the organization to: Develop context to interpret the data Understand key business drivers of the business that might impact benchmark comparisons Review in detail processes and structure Interviews Using a quantitative, data-driven approach combined with the qualitative interviews, the current assessment can ensure objective analyses are done while still retaining a broader understanding of the business drivers for the organization Current State Assessment
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- 18. Copyright © 2011by ScottMadden. All rights reserved. Benefits Calculation In quantifying the benefits the organization can receive from implementing shared services, the reduction in headcount is often the largest and most important. 17 Headcount Benefits (Labor) Typical headcount benefits by the numbers: ―70 – 75% of total savings are derived from labor ―15 – 30% reduction in headcount through implementation of shared services is typical Labor arbitrage opportunities create benefit beyond simply reducing headcount. Labor arbitrage comes from: ―Better alignment of employee level with type of work performed ―Moving certain operations to lower labor cost geographies Other quantifiable benefits can include… Technology ―Savings associated with sunset of older or unused technology ―Savings driven by reduction in licenses and maintenance required for given technologies ―Savings through harmonization and reduction of instances ―Reduction in technology support costs Vendors ―Savings associated with consolidation and optimization of contracts across the organization Site ―Savings associated with departure from a building or lease of a floor Current Business Case Future
- 19. Copyright © 2011by ScottMadden. All rights reserved. Benefits Calculation – Labor Using benchmarks for labor reductions maintains an unbiased and transparent approach to set savings. 18 Conservative Savings Aggressive Savings Benchmark Internally Benchmark Against Industry Benchmark Against Leading Practice Advantage Disadvantage Ensures easier acceptance that change and implementation is possible Allows implementation to leverage processes and tools based on leading processes within the organization Enables improvements without wholesale process re-engineering Hinders ability to show potential for large gains in the business case Minimizes benefit for leading internal group as they are the benchmark Limits the realm of possibility for the organization, potentially providing only a short-term solution Forces business to look externally for comparisons Limits comparisons to similar companies with similar demands Provides potential benefits to all internal groups Hinders ability to show potential for large gains in the business case Minimizes potential benefits to achieving current industry best practice Provides leading comparisons to force business to consider all possibilities Ensures business takes a more aggressive view towards change Maximizes savings potential and provides strong business case Requires more effort to drive internal buy-in on savings potential and potential for success Maximizes potential change required to reach leading practice Increases potential technology investments Current Business Case Future Benchmarks should not reduce or eliminate the use of “common sense.” Outside experience and expertise should be leveraged to determine savings potential.
- 20. Copyright © 2011by ScottMadden. All rights reserved. Benefits Calculation – Non-Quantifiable Beyond quantifiable benefits there are also a number of intangible benefits that should be considered, even if they cannot be included in the business case itself. Increases customer orientation Provides strong customer service with a balance of human interaction and self-service tools Improves accountability for service and facilitates continuous improvement through the use of metrics and dashboards Improves customer satisfaction among recipients of service Creates a “one-stop-shop” for customers with improved accessibility Improves controls Introduces more accurate and predictable costs for the function Incorporates more consistent internal controls across the business Reduces risks and increases transparency and compliance in processes Enables strategic decision-making Allows functional business resources (e.g., HR business partners or financial analysts) to perform more strategic work Improves scalability and nimbleness for acquisitions and major change Accelerates the adoption of leading practices Permits better and faster decisions based on company-wide metrics Enables further, indirect efficiency Eliminates redundancies among different business units Reduces cycle times of transactional processes, potentially impacting external stakeholders (e.g. suppliers) Reduces overall operating costs while improving accuracy and speed of service Reduces potential employee training for new hires or transitions 19 Current Business Case Future
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- 22. Copyright © 2011by ScottMadden. All rights reserved. Costs Calculation As with benefits, labor can get a significant amount of attention when calculating costs for the business case. However, unlike the benefits, costs are more evenly spread between the different labor categories. 21 Headcount Costs (Labor) Labor costs are impacted by, and should therefore consider: ―New hire salaries, by position ―Retention rates of current staff, by position ―Timing of hires and termination ―Cost to hire and severance ―Transfers in and out ―Internal project team costs and composition Other costs can include… Technology ―One-time implementation or set-up costs ―On-going maintenance and service costs ―License or hosted costs Consulting and Project Team ―Support for design and implementation Marketing and Training ―Development and execution costs Site ―Leasing and renovation costs ―Furniture, fixture and equipment costs ―Site selection travel costs Care should be taken with costs to understand if the organization is looking for: Incremental costs to the project or business – these can significantly impact non-labor costs, especially associated with technology implementation (e.g., internal IT personnel time and effort). Recurring and non-recurring costs – this becomes more important if costs are ultimately going to be passed on to each individual business unit, rather than handled by the parent organization Current Business Case Future
- 23. Copyright © 2011by ScottMadden. All rights reserved. Costs Calculation – Recurring and Non-Recurring Differentiating between recurring and non-recurring costs can facilitate comparison of current and future costs, support any cost allocation discussions, and help the internal project team sell the shared services concept. 22 Overall Cost Recurring Non-Recurring On-going costs to run and operate shared services for the given functions. Typical costs can include: End-state staff costs for the function or shared services operation Technology maintenance costs Monthly lease costs for the site One-time costs incurred to build and set-up shared services for the given functions. Typical costs can include: Severance for terminated staff Relocation for retained staff Redundant staff costs during overlap Technology implementation costs Site refurbishment costs Identification of per-transaction costs permits business unit comparison of current and future costs Separation of one-time implementation costs provides clarity to future, end-state costs (often much lower than one-time costs) Establishment of non-recurring costs facilitates cost allocation discussion between parent group and business units Clear inclusion of cost elements into non- recurring costs ensures the organization is consciously working to identify all possible cost elements in implementation Current Business Case Future
- 24. Copyright © 2011by ScottMadden. All rights reserved. Costs Calculation – Labor In calculating labor costs, several assumptions are required and need to be included in the business case to ensure transparency and flexibility when identifying final costs. 23 End-State Headcount Retention Rates (where possible) Average Salary Rates for New Hires Process Area Current FTEs (Activity Analysis) Proposed Future State FTEs Difference % Change Talent Management 160 101 (59) -37% Employee Services 120 72 (48) -40% Payroll 117 69 (48) -41% Employee Relations 130 108 (22) -17% Question and Issue Management 144 101 (43) -30% Shared Services Infrastructure 0 45 45 100% Total FTEs 671 496 (44) -26% Position Retention Rate (%) Administrative 10% Business Partner 10% Manager 30% Director 30% Position Current Salary Averages ($) New Hire Salary ($) Change (%) Administrative $54,528 $35,000 -36% Business Partner $79,711 $60,000 -25% Manager $86,637 $80,000 -8% Director $153,258 $110,000 -28% Executive n/a $190,000 n/a Retention rates are defined as the percentage of current headcount that will be retained in moving to the service center. In the instance where the retained headcount is higher than the end-state headcount, the end-state number is used. Salaries for each future state position should be validated through research of similar positions in targeted geographies. Current Business Case Future Note: FTEs, salaries, and retention rates are notional
- 25. Copyright © 2011by ScottMadden. All rights reserved. Costs Calculation – Technology Technology costs need to be separated by their inherent cost drivers to ensure the appropriate variables can be managed and changed through the business case. 24 ACD, CTI, and IVR Case Management Knowledge Base HRIS Application Imaging and Workflow Time Collection License-based Technologies* Transaction-based Technologies* One-Time Implementation Technologies* Expansion of licenses Cost per license One-Time Configuration Cost 20 $12,500 $250,000 Year 0 Total Recurring Annual Total 20 $10,000 $200,000 20 $20,000 $400,000 $140,500 $20,000 $103,125 $25,500 $92,500 $40,000 Additional HRIS Reports Cost per Report One-Time Reconfiguration Cost Year 0 Total Recurring Annual Total Implementation Cost Recurring Cost Sunset Cost Saving 40,664 $4.34 $80,000 $168,197 $176,395 Year 0 Total Recurring Annual Total $574,750 $(61,000) $550,000 $99,000 $160,000 $2,075,000 $(500,000) $2,000,000 $300,000 $800,000 Dashboard Reporting 20 $10,000 $200,000 $70,900 $20,000 Current Business Case Future *Costs are notional
- 26. Copyright © 2011by ScottMadden. All rights reserved. Costs Calculation – Consulting and Project Team Explicitly allocating costs towards the internal and external team to support design and implementation of the shared services initiative ensures these costs are consciously considered early in the process. 25 Current Business Case Future Internal Project Team External Consulting Team Project Implementation Team FTEs Administrative 0 Individual Contributor 3 Business Partner 3 Manager 3 Director 1 Executive 1 Typically, a team of employees should be dedicated to the implementation of the shared services operation. Beyond an internal team, the business case needs to consider required consulting resources. External Consulting Team 2010 2011 Number of FTEs 5.25 4.5 Number of hours per week 45 45 Number of weeks 50 50 Average rate $350 $350 Associated T&E costs 20% 20%
- 27. Copyright © 2011by ScottMadden. All rights reserved. Costs Calculation – Site Basic assumptions on the site are required, and will be dependent on the possible areas for consideration to clearly identify lease and refurbishment costs. 26 Leasing Costs and Savings Furniture, Fixtures, and Equipment The business case should include costs to furnish and equip the space. This includes office furniture, cubes, seating, breakroom and conference room furniture, computers, headsets, copiers, printers, and similar items. Building Renovations In order to ensure the leased space is configured to support the shared services operation, a one-time renovation cost should be included in the business case Task Assumption Square footage required per FTE 200 Lease rate (per square foot) $22 On-going maintenance costs (as % of lease cost) 20% Space recaptured from vacated space (%) 50% Lease rate for vacated space $40 Site Selection Travel Task Assumption Number of trips required for site selection 2 Number of FTEs per trip (non-consultants) 3 Average number of nights per trip 2 Average airfare per trip $700 Average hotel costs per trip $150 Average per diem per trip $50 Total Site Selection Cost $94,200 Current Business Case Future
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- 29. Copyright © 2011by ScottMadden. All rights reserved. Sensitivities Review Developing comprehensive sensitivities for the business case enables the project team to sell the concept internally in the organization by showing the range of possible results from the initiative. 28 Cumulative Net Cash (in $000s) Cumulative Net Cash with Sensitivities $(15,000) $(10,000) $(5,000) $- $5,000 $10,000 $15,000 $20,000 $25,000 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 $(15,000) $(10,000) $(5,000) $- $5,000 $10,000 $15,000 $20,000 $25,000 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 Cumulative Net Cash (in $000s) Cumulative Net Cash without Sensitivities It is easier to disagree and dispute a single dollar-value result, and much harder to dispute a range ― Enough assumptions are made that won’t all result as predicted in the business case Sensitivities ensure ranges can be calculated and reviewed to understand the largest areas of risk, and gauge what it would take for the business case to no longer be appealing Intent is not to give the appearance that all the variables have been figured out ― Sensitivities help convey that there can still be areas of change Current Business Case Future
- 30. Copyright © 2011by ScottMadden. All rights reserved. Sensitivities Review (Cont’d) Beyond providing the range of reasonable results, sensitivities also provide leadership with insight into what levers to pull to pursue certain financial goals. 29 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 $8,000 $9,000 $10,000 $11,000 $12,000 $13,000 -25% -20% -15% -10% -5% 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% Technology Cost Sensitivity Technology Savings Sensitivity Change in Current Technology Cost Estimates NPV (in $000s) Payback Period (years) Payback Period NPV Business Case Base 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 $8,000 $9,000 $10,000 $11,000 $12,000 $13,000 -25% -20% -15% -10% -5% 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% NPV (in $000s) Payback Period (years) Payback Period NPV Business Case Base Change in Current Technology Saving Estimates Example suggests that technology costs and savings can be adjusted to achieve different financial goals ― If business is under pressure to break-even on cash quickly, focusing on cost will provide greater impact on payback period ― If business is under pressure to prove long-term value of initiative, focusing on savings will provide greater impact on overall NPV Current Business Case Future
- 31. Copyright © 2011by ScottMadden. All rights reserved. Sensitivities Review (Cont’d) A few sensitivities are recommended to include in a business case due to their ability to impact the business case and their high potential for variability when implementing. 30 Don’t Limit Which Variables to Include Identifying key concerns regarding the business case or the implementation, will help identify further areas where sensitivities might be required to be performed. Headcount Future state headcount Retention rate by role Salary by role Timing Implementation start Phasing of implementation Speed of implementation Technology Costs Savings Current Business Case Future
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- 33. Copyright © 2011by ScottMadden. All rights reserved. Lessons Learned Keeping in mind a few lessons can help ensure the development of the business case is successful. 32 2 Think backwards by preparing for the business case during current state Collecting the right metrics during current state can support and speed up benchmark comparisons during future state and business case 5 Build in more flexibility than you believe you need Including a range of variables will support analyses to satisfy multiple constituents and requests (and be clear about defining all of them) Linking common variables can force the business to understand and evaluate the key drivers of cost, and benefit, in the initiative 4 Costs are important, but make sure to spend time on the benefits, too Using benchmarks enables un-biased, transparent approach to developing labor benefits Focusing on savings beyond labor, including technology or site, can make the case more realistic and provide for greater benefits 3 Develop a solid understanding of implementation process to build a better business case Understanding the details of implementing will ensure that as many variables can be included in the business case, making it as realistic of a model as possible 1 Don’t skip the business case Understanding that someone will ask for, or require, a business case eventually should encourage the organization to complete the analysis