Shared Services in Government

Turning private-sector lessons into public-sector best practices

Governments around the world are facing an uphill battle to balance their books while responding to ever-increasing expectations from their citizens. But can governments cut costs while seamlessly improving services? Yes—and this is the opportunity that shared services presents. For the past 15 years, companies have been experimenting with consolidating and centralizing various back-office functions—such as finance, IT, human resources and procurement—to reduce costs and gain competitive advantage.

By following the private sector's lead, government agencies can enjoy these same advantages. This paper discusses the opportunity for adopting shared services in the public sector and highlights best practices from the private sector. It presents the key lessons for implementation—including how to overcome common public-sector barriers. Finally, it explores what the next generation of shared services might be.