Creating a Sustainable Approach to Corporate Shared Services

As health systems across the country continue to face higher operating expenses and clinical staffing shortages, there is an increased need to assess corporate shared services to maximize efficiency and cost-effectiveness. Corporate shared services can range from 10% to 20% of a health system’s total operating revenue, representing an area ripe for savings and improvements. In order to realize and sustain meaningful savings, however, health systems must be thoughtful in their approach to redesigning shared services. Efforts to achieve expense reductions in these areas are often unsuccessful due to overly simplistic approaches, such as across-the-board percentage reductions for all functions, as well as a lack of ongoing transparency and accountability.

This session will address these challenges by providing an approach that considers the demand for services within specific functional areas, the context of industry benchmarks, and the operational and structural implications of an organization. Attendees will review a case study that featured a tailored approach to right-sizing corporate services, resulting in a 12% reduction in the shared services expenses analyzed, as well as an opportunity to reimagine a health system’s approach to the delivery of corporate services. Participants will also gain a better understanding of how to sustain a disciplined approach to corporate services over time through continued reliance on analytics and accountability structures.