Improving organizational alignment and operating model for a federal shared services organization

The Parnin Group (TPG) conducted a program and organizational assessment of an internal shared services provider that supports agencies that support the mission of farm conservation. The objective of the assessment was to recommend organizational realignment and operational process improvements for delivering responsive, effective, and efficient business and enterprise services throughout the mission agencies.

The Parnin Group was tasked to conduct an in-depth evaluation of strategic, operational, and administrative functions, and articulate the range of services offered, complete with defined performance benchmarks. Furthermore, TPG supported the development of a continuous service improvement plan for the organization. This project required our team to work closely with the client’s leadership and customers, to include stakeholder insights and requests, and identify best practices for service delivery.

To meet these objectives, the Parnin Group developed a multifaceted approach, beginning with a comprehensive review of existing service agreements and thoroughly examining the expectations of the organization’s business partners and customers. We engaged in extensive data collection, collaborating closely with their employees, partners, and customers, to gather comprehensive and representative perspectives critical to our analysis. This transformative project showcases our team’s expertise in assessing, refining and optimizing shared service providers.

Impact

• Provided a comprehensive inventory of services and their attributes presently delivered by the Shared Service Provider, along with potential process improvements we discovered.

• Equipped the client with a clear understanding of its current service offerings and mapped those services to government-wide standard service groupings and definitions to help identify performance benchmarks.

• Advised and provided guidance on the creation of an electronic shared service catalog, enhancing accessibility and transparency for customers and prospective customers alike.

• Developed service-specific service level agreements and workflows, outlining objectives and expectations to ensure effective program delivery.

• Developed and launched a phased implementation plan which includes recommendations for program management and performance, governance, communications planning and strategy, stakeholder engagement, and change management.
• Developed learning agendas to assist the Shared Service Provider in identifying the organization’s knowledge gaps and answering priority topics.