Keywords: shared services, finance shared services, SSO, Nimbus, shared services organization, SAP

SSO process improvement – Can social collaboration software help?

Susie West | Article | 17 September 2012

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A fascinating thing happened at the sharedservicessink.com “Aligning SAP with Finance Shared Services’ Needs” conference last week. The audience were asked to consider several tactics that might be employed to improve process performance within a Shared Service Organisation (SSO). 

The audience chose to sit in interactive groups to discuss Technology, Process or Social Software. What happened next was illuminating. There was a mass defection from the Social table. It seemed the audience was much more comfortable discussing other tactics besides Social. One of the defectors even said (I paraphrase); “Pfaff - Social isn’t ready for the business, it’s too immature.”

There seems to be a perception amongst SSO managers that social software is chaotic chatter, and that it could generate unpredictable and disruptive consequences. It’s easy to see why they might feel that way. After all isn’t the goal of a SSO to achieve consistency, efficiency and compliance? A proliferation of unstructured and ‘wacky’ service improvement ideas could prove disruptive to that very goal.

Tell us what you think.

Poll question: Why do you think the idea of social software to improve process performance is such a turn off for SSO professionals?

• Social technology is unstructured / chaotic
• Difficulty of access
• Engaging everyone is difficult
• Many vocal sceptics
• Lack of skills / experience

We will examine these topics and more on the upcoming webinar ‘5 Ways to get people ENGAGED in process’.