Shared service checklist: nine tips for a smooth transition

In his latest blog about the sharing of support services across local government Glenn Hammons reflects on his role as the finance lead on support service partnership discussions and provides a nine point plan for successful negotiations for partnering between councils.

Since the turn of the year a significant proportion of my time has been spent being the finance lead for LGSS in its partnership discussions with Northampton Borough Council to provide a range of support services including IT, finance, HR and legal. On 1st June the partnership went live. So having taken a well earned break in the Mediterranean sun with too much to eat and drink it is back to reality to consider what went well, what didn’t and what can be improved for next time!

Last year an outline business case had already been produced and approved by the cabinets of each council. This demonstrated significant savings could be achieved by sharing services. It was time for the run-in which would include the development of a partnership and delegation agreement, service level agreements, due diligence of the financials and finalisation of the TUPE list.

Here’s a checklist you may find useful when teaming up with fellow councils:

Councillor and senior officer ‘buy in’ from all partners.
Establishing a joint trust and shared vision is a must as without it you will encounter delays and there will not be sufficient will to resolve the inevitable issues when they arise.

Share the workload between partners.
After-all you are seeking to work partnership in the future so why shouldn’t it start at the setting up stage? However, it should also be recognised each partner needs to undertake individual and confidential work to satisfy their own stakeholders.

Involve the lawyers early…very early!
Engage the lawyers from all partners as early as possible in the process. Firstly, to ensure the essence of the words reflect that this is a partnership & delegation agreement and not a contract. This will ensure you stay on the right side of the procurement rules. Secondly, to agree the core principles of the partnership & delegation agreement early as it will save time and money later in the process.

Strong project governance and management.
This will be worth its weight in gold as it provides a clear route for escalating issues and keeps everyone focused on delivering what is required on time.

The detail is important.
It might not be seem appropriate to be talking about exit clauses and termination costs at the start of, what is after-all, a partnership, but it is imperative and really shows the strength of a partnership if parties are willing to be clear on what happens if the unthinkable becomes a reality.

Be willing to compromise but be clear about what you can’t budge on.
Enough said.

Agree the share of savings and costs early.
Ideally this should be done prior to the outline business case being approved. When developing the business case empower staff from both partners to work together to consider different ways of service delivery in order to maximise the savings possible.

Engage those staff who may be transferring early and keep them engaged.
You can’t solely be focused on the agreement itself, you also need to consider what happens after the agreement has been signed. Your key resource will be those staff transferring to the partnership, and they will be feeling anxious and have a fear of the unknown, so ensure they are engaged with regular briefings, events and opportunities to ask questions.

Expect the unexpected and a last minute issue!
No matter how much you plan you will still find something that raises itself as an issue that you hadn’t thought of. So adaptability and flexibility of the project team is paramount. As for a last minute issue I’m sure there will be one at the point you are trying to sign and seal the agreement. To ensure it can be resolved quickly make sure you have your whole project team around you to ensure it can be resolved immediately.

Glenn Hammons is Head of Finance at LGSS and Chief Finance Officer at East Northamptonshire Council