Operating Models and Governance
How shared service functions are set up, run and reviewed.
Start here · Essential guide
What a shared services function is, which kinds of work suit it, how it is structured, and what it costs in local flexibility, with a balanced look at the trade-offs.
How chargeback bills internal customers for services while showback only reports their usage, with the advantages, drawbacks and a simple illustrative example of each.
Recurring shared services pitfalls such as scope creep, lost local knowledge, queues and customer distrust, with general, practical remedies for each.
How to write internal service levels that set clear expectations, stay short and readable, and get reviewed, rather than becoming legal documents nobody opens.
Feedback loops, governance forums and escalation paths that help a shared services team keep internal customers heard, with practical cautions about each.
How to describe each internal service in a usable catalog: what it is, who can request it, what inputs are needed and the expected turnaround, plus upkeep tips.
A staged approach to setting up a shared services function, from scoping and baselining work through design, transition and stabilization, with risks to watch.
How keeping work in house in a shared center differs from contracting it to an outside provider, with the questions about control, cost, risk and flexibility that separate them.
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