Leading practice in shared services

Next-generation service design and delivery for school trusts

This CST masterclass is designed for trusts that have already implemented shared services in areas such as finance, HR (and potentially IT or estates) and are seeking to evaluate and further enhance their effectiveness.

This course explores what leading-edge shared service practice looks like in today’s school trust environment, building on our designing central and shared services masterclass. No prior attendance is required – a background pack summarising key theories will be provided.

Who is it for?

Chief executive officers
Chief operating officers and trust operational leads
Directors of HR, IT, and estates

What you will gain

This course will give you:

The opportunity to understand, contribute to, and take away a best practice rubric - setting clear definitions and benchmarks for shared services in finance, HR, estates, and IT
Advanced strategies for enhancing shared services, including:

Developing service catalogues
Implementing helpdesks, "corporate brain” resources, and effective FAQs
Leveraging AI and automation for smarter service delivery
Building a unified "one team, one mission” culture across your trust

Practical methods for reviewing and evaluating the effectiveness of your own shared services, using data and feedback for continual improvement

Meet your seminar leader

Chris Kirk, Director, CJK Associates

Course overview

Throughout this masterclass, you’ll hear from leaders in trusts with highly developed shared service models, giving insight into what the next generation of leading practice shared services can mean for your organisation.

Seminar content

Seminar one: Best practice framework