Why your back office should be front of mind

  • Jenny McArdle
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Why your back office should be front of mind

Enabling services, core functions, support services – whatever you call them – if you haven’t reviewed and redesigned this part of your organisation since the pandemic, you’re likely missing a trick.  Our experience tells us you could be carrying 20% cost inefficiency.   

At the risk of stating the obvious, the public sector operating environment has changed a lot since 2020: remote working is a reality, AI is at our fingertips, and your own IT systems are likely to have changed or upgraded.  Has your back office moved with the times?  

Here are 7 opportunities that you can combine, not only to reduce operating costs but also to improve the quality of your core support functions. 

1. Be bold on value – do the right thing 

How much of the work from support services really adds value? The core business of support services is often not what internal customers want and need.  There’s an opportunity to redefine the offer, focus on value, and stop doing the low value activity that burns time and cost.  That includes stripping away layers of cumulative changes to define what is mission critical. That may well look like fewer FTE, but more fulfilling roles and better retention.

2. Blast the inefficiency – do the right thing well 

Almost 20 years since Gershon but there is still significant inefficiency in support services. One recent mapping exercise identified 30% of time wasted on searching for and manipulating information alone!  Not to mention duplication of effort and 10% of time fixing problems created upstream.  Your teams often know where the inefficiency is – but they need help and support to change it. Combining process, technology, and people levers gives a more sustainable solution. 

3. Design for change – fit for now, fit for the future 

While we can’t predict the future, we know it’s full of change and uncertainty.  A dynamic model that enables support services to transcend silos and rapidly adapt to organisational needs is essential. This reduces the time, effort and cost when you need to move quickly, address challenges, and take advantage of opportunities.  And flexible resourcing models mean no more formal restructures each time the organisation needs something different.  

4. Performance management – data-led 

Performance management has long been an Achilles’ heel for local government. Being data led – measuring demand and managing performance – underpins a flexible resourcing model and greater productivity for support services.  But it’s not just about analysing activity and stripping out duplication.  It’s about knowing the cost to serve and redefining what high-performing support services do – and don’t do – to deliver outcomes in a post-pandemic, digital world. And then designing the right model to make that happen. 

5. Design new roles – reimagined for the future 

With a new offer and a focus on customer value, come new roles and portable capabilities – unconstrained by traditional concepts or labels.  How about designing fluid roles that can navigate the organisation or system and challenge silos; roles that blend a commercial mindset with customer centricity; roles that integrate collaboration, creativity, and innovation with technical expertise.  

6. Technology – small innovations, big changes 

Yes, we have AI on our laptops and we’re all on MSTeams, but we see low digital maturity and the benefits of technology investment are often not realised.  If you still have work done ‘off-system’, on spreadsheets, that’s a flag…  From automation of transactional tasks, to AI minute taking, to self-service budget reports, or simply making the most of the system capabilities you already have – these simple innovations can be transformative for both support services and their customers.   

7. Pay attention to culture – it’s all about your people 

Whether it’s changing the offer, increasing self-service, or resetting roles and expectations, the level of culture change is likely to be as significant within support services as it is in the wider organisation.  But it doesn’t have to take years, and you don’t have to wait to get started.  Using service design to shape behaviours can deliver results sooner than you think; just look at the impact of the 5p charge for carrier bags. 


At 31ten, we are passionate about problem-solving and sustainable improvement. We provide a range of support in diagnosing, defining, and delivering back-office operating models. Whether you want a fast-track opportunity assessment, detailed design to reduce costs, hands-on support to realise benefits, or help with the leadership and culture change required to make it sustainable, we can create a tailor-made solution for you. 

If you are interested in a conversation about how we can help you, please get in touch with Jenny via: jenny.mcardle@31tenconsulting.co.uk or Campbell via: campbell.walker@31tenconsulting.co.uk

You can read more about 31ten’s approach to Target Operating Model design here: https://www.31tenconsulting.co.uk/our-expertise/target-operating-models/