Horizons Fall/Winter 2019

employee might be considering. All of these factors can cause colleges and universities challenges with talent acquisition.

Shared services, at the level of these two institutions, has led to a broader array of academic choices, more in-depth I T departments and significant cost savings and efficiencies.

Shared Services One way a college or university can address talent and acquisition needs is through the use of shared services between organizations. The College of Saint Benedict, a women’s college in St. Joseph, Minnesota, has partnered with Saint John’s University, a men’s college in St. Joseph, Minnesota, since the 1970s through sharing services and personnel. The institutions operate with separate leadership and governance teams; however, they are able to share approximately 60% of the workforce between the two institutions. Most employees, when signing on to work at one of the institutions, acknowledges the expectation to provide services to each of the organizations. The College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University operate their model of shared services through a memorandum of understanding and bill each other for services provided based on the levels of the services provided. The agreed-upon rates in the memorandum of understanding are evaluated at least every few years. The two institutions are able to share services in academic programming, technology services, admissions, human resources, library services, counseling, bookstores, budget analysis and academic advising. Shared services, at the level of these to institutions, has led to a broader array of academic choices, more in-depth IT departments and significant cost savings and efficiencies. The nature of these institutions as separate women’s and men’s institutions of higher education and their proximity to each other allows these schools to work together while avoiding competition for students.

Not all organizations have similar type organizations that operate in their industry and that they don’t compete with closely. However, there are many functions such as HR, payroll or IT services that can be shared with organizations that can be done remotely or by employees of other organizations that operate in different industries. Organizations may also consider that even if another organization operates in the same industry but doesn’t compete in the same way, there may be opportunities for shared services. For example, a dental school may consider working with a chiropractic school to share services. Outsourcing If an entity is having a difficult time finding the right talent and a shared services approach does not seem viable, then outsourcing certain functions on a temporary or permanent basis may be another option. Outsourcing certain work areas can allow the college or university to gain access to a higher level of expertise than currently employed. In addition, the college or university may learn additional vantage points or other perspectives that could be beneficial given the outsource provider’s broad experience in a specific space. Areas that are ideal candidates for outsourcing include highly specialized functions such as cyber security services, internal audit, financial statement and tax preparation as well as payroll.

Fall/Winter 2019

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