Shared Service Centre Merger – UK Public Sector
Led the integration of two culturally distinct shared services organisations - aligning people, processes, and leadership to unlock long-term efficiency and employee engagement.
The Context:
Two public sector shared service centres were being merged: one mature, stable, and employee-led; the other newer, contractor-heavy, and change-saturated.
The goal was to unify processes, culture, and service delivery under a single operating model. But resistance was high. Legacy habits, fragmented tooling, and divergent employment terms threatened the merger’s success, and the retention of key staff.
Our Role & Approach:
We developed a detailed transition and stabilisation roadmap - split into countdown, Day 1, and post-merger phases
Created a workforce plan mapping critical skills, role continuity, and areas of attrition risk
Engaged directly with leaders, managers and frontline staff to shape the narrative and co-design ways of working
Developed and delivered the One Conversation campaign - a structured comms and engagement cascade built to drive clarity and reduce noise
Designed end-to-end service centre processes with clear accountability demarcation - eliminating duplication and confusion
The Result
Merger delivered on time and without major service disruption
Retention of 90%+ of critical roles through transition
Harmonised operating model adopted and embedded within 8 weeks of go-live
Staff engagement scores increased in both legacy organisations within the first quarter
Leadership teams credited the One
Conversation campaign with “breaking through the noise” and building common cause