Jobs-to-be-Done (JTBD) for Shared Services: A Guide to Customer-Centric Standards
Implement transparent, outcome-focused processes to break down silos and improve internal operations.
Ever felt like you're navigating a maze when dealing with different departments in a large company? One department tells you one thing, another gives conflicting information, and you end up explaining your situation multiple times. It's a common frustration, whether you're an external customer or an employee trying to get internal support. Too often, internal "efficiency drives" optimize for departmental metrics but completely fail the customer's actual goal.
There's a better way. We need shared service standards that are transparent and designed around the customer's underlying Job-to-be-Done (JTBD) – what they are ultimately trying to accomplish – not just internal process checklists.
This involves elevating the level of abstraction. Instead of thinking about shared services as isolated cost centers performing tasks (like "process invoice" or "resolve IT ticket"), we should see them as enablers of a higher-level customer job, such as "Achieve my business objective smoothly" or "Get the resources I need without friction." In this future state, the complex web of tools and handoffs becomes invisible to the customer, often handled by a unified system or point of contact.
In this post, we'll explore:
The real problem caused by internal silos.
How a Jobs-to-be-Done lens clarifies customer needs.
Principles for designing transparent, outcome-focused standards.
How to implement this shift collaboratively.
The tangible benefits of this customer-centric approach.
The Problem: When Internal Silos Create External Friction
We've all seen the symptoms:
Inconsistent service levels: Getting fast support from IT but waiting days for HR.
Confusing processes: Different forms, portals, and contact points for similar requests.
Duplicated effort: Having to provide the same information repeatedly to various departments.
Lack of ownership: Issues falling through the cracks between departmental responsibilities.
Frustration: Both customers and employees get demoralized by inefficient, opaque systems.
Why does this happen? Often, it's because departments are incentivized to hit their own KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) without considering the end-to-end customer journey. Legacy systems, organizational inertia, and a fundamental lack of a shared understanding of the customer's ultimate goal contribute to the problem.
The costs aren't just anecdotal frustration. They translate to tangible business impacts: potential customer churn, a damaged reputation, lower employee morale, and significant internal inefficiencies often masked by seemingly 'optimized' departmental silos.
The Jobs-to-be-Done Lens: What 'Job' Are Customers Hiring Your Shared Services For?
Jobs-to-be-Done (JTBD) theory shifts our focus from the service itself or customer demographics to the underlying 'job' the customer is trying to get done in a specific circumstance. It's about understanding the goal they are trying to achieve, the struggles they face, and the outcomes they desire.
Applying this to shared services means moving beyond the tasks the service performs:
Instead of "Reset password," the customer's Job is "Regain access to critical tools to continue my workflow."
Instead of "Process expense report," the Job is "Get reimbursed accurately and promptly with minimal effort."
Instead of "Onboard new employee," the Job is "Enable new team member to be productive and integrated quickly."
We need to identify the core functional job (the tangible task) and related emotional/social jobs (how the customer wants to feel, like "Feel confident the issue is resolved," "Avoid looking incompetent," "Feel valued and supported").
Crucially, we must uncover the desired outcomes – the metrics customers themselves use to measure success when getting their job done. These are distinct from internal process metrics. Examples include:
Minimize the time it takes to get the job done.
Minimize the effort required to navigate the process.
Maximize the likelihood of achieving the desired result on the first attempt.
Maximize confidence that the process is moving forward correctly.
Minimize the need to follow up.
Designing Transparent Standards Around Customer Outcomes
Once we understand the customer's Job and desired outcomes, we can design shared service standards that truly serve them.
Principle 1: Define Standards by Prioritized Customer Outcomes. Base service level agreements (SLAs) and key performance indicators (KPIs) on the customer's metrics of success, not just internal process milestones. Prioritize the outcomes that matter most to the customer.
Principle 2: Ensure Transparency. Make the process, status, responsibilities, and expected outcomes visible and understandable to the customer. Use clear language. Provide proactive updates. This builds trust and reduces anxiety.
Principle 3: Elevate Abstraction & Hide Complexity. Design solutions that consolidate steps, eliminate unnecessary handoffs, and present a unified interface to the customer. The underlying organizational or system complexity should become invisible. This might mean a single point of contact, a unified self-service portal, or intelligent automation routing requests seamlessly. The goal is to make getting the job done simpler for the customer, even if the background processes remain sophisticated. Who interacts with the customer in this future state might be different – perhaps a cross-trained support agent or an AI assistant backed by specialists.
Principle 4: Standardize the Outcome Delivery, Allow Flexibility in How. Focus on ensuring a consistent, high-quality outcome and experience for the customer, regardless of which unit is involved. Allow for some flexibility in the specific internal processes or tools used by different units to achieve that standard, as long as the customer-facing experience and results meet the defined outcome metrics.
Example Contrast:
Traditional IT Standard: "Priority 2 tickets resolved within 4 business hours." (Internal process metric)
JTBD-Based Standard: "Customer confirms their workflow is unblocked within X hours (target based on job criticality)." + "Customer receives proactive status updates every Y minutes/hours." + "Customer effort score (CES) for resolution process averages below Z." (Customer outcome & experience metrics)
Implementation: Breaking Down Silos Collaboratively
Shifting to JTBD-based standards isn't just an operational change; it's a cultural one.
Cross-functional Teams: Success requires bringing together representatives from all relevant business units, IT, customer support, and crucially, individuals who directly understand the customer experience. They must collaborate to define the customer jobs, identify outcomes, and design the new standards and processes.
Technology as an Enabler: Shared platforms like CRM, service management tools, or unified portals are essential enablers of transparency and consistency. But the technology should support the customer-centric process design, not dictate it.
Phased Rollout & Iteration: Don't try to boil the ocean. Start with one or two critical customer journeys or shared services. Implement the new standards, gather customer and employee feedback, measure the impact on desired outcomes, and iterate. Learn and refine before scaling.
Benefits & Conclusion
Adopting a Jobs-to-be-Done approach to create transparent shared service standards delivers significant benefits:
Improved Customer Satisfaction: Meeting needs more effectively leads to happier internal and external customers.
Increased Operational Efficiency: Focusing on the customer's job often reveals and eliminates redundant internal steps, rework, and unnecessary complexity – leading to real efficiency gains.
Better Collaboration: A shared understanding of the customer's goals fosters alignment and breaks down "us vs. them" mentalities between departments.
Stronger Competitive Advantage: Companies known for seamless, transparent service delivery (even internally) attract and retain talent and customers better.
By elevating the level of abstraction and focusing on the customer's true job, you position your entire organization to deliver value more effectively. You move from managing internal processes to orchestrating customer success.
What's the biggest challenge you face with shared service consistency or transparency in your organization? Share your experiences or questions in the comments below!
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