Shared Services Center: Proof of Concept

Berkeley's proof of concept - 14 months to design and develop!

In fall 2008, the Administration division at Berkeley decided to do a proof of concept of a human resources shared services center (SSC) that would serve the entire division and test the notion that a SSC would reduce cost and risk, and improve service and efficiency. It will take a couple more years to fully test the model; however, here are some milestones passed along the way:

• May 2009: A select group of seasoned professionals from various campus units went to work for 5 months identifying the functions that define human resources at Berkeley, and finding out how much FTE we were then using to deliver these functions in a decentralized environment.
• October 2009: The decision was made to create an Human Resources Center that would serve approximately 3000 clients across three major divisions (the Office of the Chancellor, Administration, and Information Services and Technology).
• November 2009: A transition team was activated to begin the detailed planning needed to move major HR functions out of the departments and into the HR Center; and recruiting began for all positions starting with the Director.
• July 2010: The first HR Center of its kind opened 8 months later on July 1, 2010.