Education Shared Business Services (ESBS)
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Education Shared Business Services (ESBS)

What the Education Shared Business Services (ESBS) is

Education Shared Business Services (ESBS) is a business section in the Department of Education’s Major Operations Division.

The main rationale for the setting up of ESBS was to bring about a transformational change for both the Education and Training Board (ETB) and Higher Education Institution (HEI) sectors by the implementation of new technologies and systems.

Some of the Services currently provided by the ESBS include:

Benefits of the ESBS

Shared services generally relate to the consolidation of administrative functions. For example, prior to the migration to the shared service, Payroll and Finance were operated in ETBs using outdated systems which resulted in inefficiencies and duplication, and was a contributory factor to the delays in ETBs in the completion of annual financial statements. In many instances, these systems were at end of life and were no longer supported, which presented a significant and unsustainable risks.

The following table is provides an outline of the major anticipated benefits that are expected from the establishment of ESBS:

Benefit Description Measurement criteria
Reduced Staffing Costs Staff Reduction based on Process Reform FTE Counts; Salary costs; Running costs.
Focus on Payroll Core Activity
The development of Payroll Shared Services will allow for a comprehensive analysis of the payroll centre activities and the elimination of non-value added activities.
This standardisation of approach will free up ETB/HEI staff to be assigned to other core activities and will allow for synergies to be achieved in terms of overall ETB/HEI payroll operations.
Technology enabled solutions
Employee self-service has eliminated the requirement for any paper payslips. The helpdesk generally operates on an email only basis thus reducing the time spent in resolving queries and also providing an enhanced customer service for each customer.
Reduction in number of calls from employees and quick turnaround of queries. KPIs are in place to measure the performance of ESBS in this regard.
Process standardisation
Standard processes and automation will drive process efficiencies.
Volumes processed by employees will be greater and it will also allow for a significant reduction in errors due to the implementation of standardised processes and procedures
Improved management information
STimely and accurate management information supports decision making and will support budget management and reporting.
Standardised reports have been created and are available. Training is also provided to enable clients to write their own ad hoc reports as necessary. An overall revised Reporting Strategy is also being worked through in conjunction with the ETB Payroll and Higher Education Payroll Shared Service project.
Improved Business Continuity Planning
Business Continuity Planning that meets with industry best practice standards will be central to the shared service centre design.
Review and test of Business Continuity plans which have proven very effective in dealing with the remote working scenario brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Employee Satisfaction
The development of a customer centric shared service centre is anticipated to improve customer satisfaction.
Employee satisfaction with the service will be measured by way of surveys in due course however, it is notable that very few complaints have been received in respect of the ESBS and positive feedback has been received from the senior management teams in both ETBs and HEIs.

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