Archive for April, 2010
Is it the people or the process?
Hardly a day goes by that I do not hear somebody complain about government. The circumstances may be different but the complaints are all the same, government is too slow. This is particularly the case with claims processing. What ever the claim, you are guaranteed two things: it will take forever for the claim to be processed and the claimant will get little or no visibility into the status of the claim or the process for handling the claim. Now I am convinced that there are plenty of hard working, dedicated people in government who want to do their best and try to do their best. But what prevents them from doing their best? Broken and inefficient processes.
No CommentsThe Case for Government Shared Services
The economy has not fully recovered yet. Action of an unprecedented scale and scope is needed to add to the momentum. Putting together a stimulus package isn’t easy. Building consensus on what should be done to create job is just one of the challenges. The other challenge is finding the money to finance stimulus projects. This can be done by increasing revenue (read higher taxes) or redirecting dollars from one project or line item to another. This is where shared services comes in.
Government can and should be made more efficient. The times demand it and we, as citizens, deserve it. Government efficiency means providing the same (or better service) to the public at lower cost. You can do this by: 1) pruning inefficient or ineffective programs that are at the heart of an Agency’s mission; or 2) by getting better at administrative support functions that are not at the heart of an Agency’s mission then redirecting resources to mission or other national priorities. You can do both. The first should be done. There is waste and inefficiency in Government. Virtually every Administration has said that programs that do not work should be eliminated and those dollars redirected to programs that do. This is absolutely the right thing to do but it will take time, it will be hard, and it will be controversial. Why? Because to do this you must engage each Agency in their niche. Those who must make recommendations about what funds should be redirected and where to must find or grow experts in all types of things. But the road is easier, the approach is less controversial and progress will be faster on the administrative support side.
No CommentsWhat Is Shared Services?
In overly simplistic terms, shared services is pooled resources that provide common services to different components (departments, divisions, units, etc.) of an organization. Not everyone will agree with this definition but all of the more precise definitions of shared services fit within this construct. One can hardly resist the urge to use centralization when defining shared services but today shared services has evolved beyond simple consolidation of services. Shared services is more efficient than this although centralization is a typical attribute of a shared services organization. Shared services is a business model for delivering cross cutting support services.
No Comments