Service Center Personnel

A new business model

A "Service Center Personnel" emerges from turning a pay-as-you-go financed personnel department into an organisational unit, which self-finances fully, or at least to a large extent, through provision and marketing of personnel services for money. Primarily, purchasers are in-house customers or, as the case may be, also external customers.

Implementing the guiding principle:

The guiding principle is simple, but the implementation is rather difficult.

Model versions:

• the "Value Added model", characterised by mixed financing of the traditional personnel department; (reduced) pay-as-you-go financing and self-financing through defined personnel services, e.g. advanced training
• the "Shared Service Center model", characterised by bundling previously locally performed personnel duties in a group of companies and by conferring these tasks upon a central organisational unit, the Shared Service Center Personnel; a fee is charged for claiming these benefits
• the "Spin-off model", here, personnel duties are outsourced and provided by an outsourcing partner who charges fees for calling upon this service
• the "Service Center Personnel" in the literal sense (so far only implemented in a few cases)

Consulting focuses:

ISPA consult supports innovative companies on their way to becoming a Service Center Personnel (SCP) with process and/or content consulting:

• SCP market research
• SCP product design and product planning (service provision)
• SCP product marketing
• SCP controlling, e.g. with a customised HR Balanced Scorecard

Instruments/Methods:

• customer survey and satisfaction measurement
• service quality measurement (SERVQUAL)
• comparisons self-perception - interpersonal perception
• Service Level Agreements
• method-based pricing
• benefit-cost analyses etc.

Reference projects:

• introduction of internal customer surveys for personnel service providers in industry and service companies (including follow-up service)
• introduction of the internal customer survey for the central purchase department of an international automotive supplier