The Shared Services Center begins handling accounts payable, accounts receivable and certain human resource-related functions, like benefits transactions, on Aug. 4. Additional services will undergo review this fall before transition to the SSC during the Winter 2015 semester.
SSC Executive Director Pam Gabel said staff have participated in numerous job-specific training programs and will work in teams to apply their collective expertise to an array of finance- and HR-related transactions. The university currently processes more than 4 million finance and HR transactions each year to support its 44,000 faculty and staff.
U-M Shared Services Center
The SSC Contact Center can help with benefits and finance questions covering:
• Benefits programs and plans
• Change in coverage due to a life event (marriage, birth, adoption, divorce, etc.)
• COBRA administration
• Retirement
• HR transaction and reporting support
• Accounts payable/accounts receivable
• And more
Call: 734-615-2000 for personal assistance
(866-647-7657 toll free)
Web: ssc.umich.edu
“When the center starts operating, it’ll begin to consolidate some of those transactions and the existing expertise from academic and administrative units. As those teams collaborate, we’ll be able to collect data to more easily and continually improve services in ways that help the whole campus,” Gabel said.
Gabel has implemented and managed shared service centers in multiple industries and across numerous locations. She’s been preparing for the opening of the U-M SSC since joining the university in late April.
The SSC will include a Contact Center that combines the existing HR Service Center with a new finance contact center focused on answering accounts payable, accounts receivable and other finance-related questions. Faculty and staff will be able to reach representatives for both finance and human resources by calling the same phone number (734-615-2000) they have used in the past to reach HR representatives.
The processes moving to the center in August were reviewed and adjusted based on campus feedback. Senior Project Director Thom Madden said the campus wanted multiple channels and opportunities for feedback so the project team held staff meetings as well as faculty sessions in the schools and colleges. They reviewed each process and gathered feedback to help ensure that creating more efficient processes in one area didn’t create additional burdens in another.
“That’s a high priority for the winter implementation too,” Madden said. “In the fall, we’ll repeat the engagement process to review the next set of processes planned for the SSC sometime during the winter semester. We will finalize details and dates after we have input from the campus community.”
Project leaders emphasized that a successful center will provide valuable, high-quality services in an environment that offers new opportunities for its staff. SSC leaders have already collaborated with the Stephen M. Ross School of Business to host Shawn Quinn, executive education instructor, for SSC Leadership Day, when Quinn will offer training on positive leadership for the center’s supervisors and managers.
“The SSC can provide a systematic way for us to monitor how efficiently we are managing certain processes universitywide so that we can improve ourselves with that knowledge. But eventually it also could offer an established infrastructure for providing new services if campus needs and wants change over time,” Gabel said. “It’s an exciting step not only for the university, but also for our professional teams in the center.”
A new website for the SSC describes the center and the services starting up in August. Get an early peek at the site by visiting www.ssc.umich.edu.
CoE Princeton Tiger
I thought the faculty engagement was supposed to give faculty an opportunity for input. Faculty engagement has been a sham. Provost Pollack does not to listen to the faculty. Provost Pollack is too busy looking for her next job.
Jill Baker
The whole thing was handled poorly … and still is. What a mess.
H. Squash
The original plan (misguided or not) was to save money. The new plan saves no money but gives the Provost (who chaired and sponsored the whole effort) an opportunity to save face and get her contract extension from Dr. Schlissel. She came to my School in December and blamed consultants, finance and HR staff, and anybody she could when she is the Chief Budget Officer of the university. Apologies arent enough. Take responsibility Ms. Pollack! Just demoralizing for faculty governance.
Vern Logan
How much is the project expected to save after all of the compromises and backtracking? If zero or close to it, why bother?
Polly Payables
I’m moving to shared services and looking forward to it. Glad to get away from the arrogant, humanities creepers in LS&A who treat staff as indentured servants. Besides, nice facility!
Katie Platt
I’m moving soon! I’ve worked at the U for 11 1/2 years and have never seen so much positive energy about delivering superior customer service. Faculty can rest easy. This new model will be a success despite the Provost Office’s tendency to talk out of both sides of their big, loud mouths when it comes to AST and IT Rationalization. Nicely written article Mr. Reed!
BAG Veteran
The fact that sh. services is moving forward while saving now $ is simply mind boggling. The original plan was well thought out with significant faculty input on key committees (setting aside the humanities rebels that are against everything). The new plan is a joke. In my many years as a unit administrator, I can’t recall a time when there was less respect for the Office of the Provost. Is there any way Phil Hanlon could come back?
History Doctor
I still do not understand why Provost Martha Pollack continues to ram Shared Services down our throats. I thought Provost Pollack was supposed to represent us. Instead Provost Pollack blames everyone else but accepts no responsibility for promoting this idiotic idea and serving as the executive sponsor from the beginning of AST.
Peter Green
Is this the same Provost who is an expert in Artificial Intelligence? Yeah, its artificial alright!
School of Information was so much better off with Dean Mackie-Mason!