Challenges and Pitfalls in Establishing Successful Shared Services in Local Governments

Due to a lack of knowledge about service offerings and capacities, it may be difficult for local government officials to find appropriate partners necessary to leverage shared services opportunities.

Many local governments are run by politicians whose priorities may not always align with the efficiency goals of shared services. For certain types of services considered for sharing, local governments risk push-back from community members concerned about losing their local identity.

Moving to shared services often involves difficult adjustments in staffing. If not managed properly, poor staffing decisions can create resistance to change, undermine commitment, and erode potential cost-savings.

The inability to ensure buy-in of all participants can lead to turf-wars and sandbagging.

Bringing resources and personnel together in a successful shared arrangement requires a myriad of planning decisions and a detailed understanding of efficient service delivery that may be lacking among some local government leaders and managers.

Service baseline data is needed to determine (1) which services are good candidates for sharing and (2) whether an implemented shared service successfully led to improved service and/or cost savings.