We must be clear about what we mean by shared services

For those staff working collaboratively it is important that they are clear about the type of shared working model they are involved with, as different terms can mean different things. In the last few decades we have been introduced to inter-agency and multi-agency working, networking, partnership working, and more recently joint commissioning. All of these terms suggest that sharing and collaboration is a positive thing but it can be unhelpful if the terms are used inter-changeably.

As the latest term in collaboration, shared services is reminiscent of these earlier terms that predicted positive outcomes, but did not always deliver the value that was promised. The studies highlighted here provide much that can be welcomed, including financial savings, good working relationships and trust between partners. However, they also identify the continuing themes that undermine collaborative work, including an organisation’s motivation to collaborate, the domination of one partner over another, and the challenges of evaluating and evidencing the benefits of shared services.