Module 1: The UN Development System Reform

Video Transcript: Common Back Offices

Lesson 3: The UN Development System Business Operations Reform

So let's talk about Little bit about the Common Back Office. What is a Common Back
Office? Now, when the BOS works about collaboration, we work together, nobody's giving
anything up, but we share our LTAs, we pool our volumes, we might share the ICT support
services or the facility management services such as the reception. The Common Back
Office takes it one step further. Now, Common Back Office important is that under the
BOS, there is a natural cap with regards to how many services can be provided. Because
the BOS is managed by the operations management team, they do that on top of their
normal work. Now, even though the BOS might outline a whole range of services, where
it would make from a economical sense to do it jointly because the cost will be lower, or
what would make performance sense because the service may be better. Under the boss,
you won't be able, there is a limit to how much you can scale because it comes on top of
the workload of the operations management team. And only so much extra they can do.

This is where the Common Back Office comes in. It takes it from collaboration to actual
consolidation. So it would be a dedicated what we call a single service center one
dedicated team within the country who provides the services that have been identified
under the BOS that could be all services or most services. Services, like for example, a
consultants database might make a little bit less sense to put it under Common Back
Office. There's no added value to put that in central team. But other services such as local
recruitment, fleet management, the whole procurement the portfolios, ICT support,
facility management, for sure, anything related to your buildings that can be run through
a dedicated service center. What that does, it takes the workload off the OMT so that you
OMT can focus on that program implementation and that agency mandate work, while
the day-to-day operations are being managed by that single service center. So you can
do many more services, you can scale the services up across the whole UN presence at
a country level.

It may also be that all of a sudden the Common Back Office engages in additional services
such as, for example, on the procurement doing market canvassing every one or two
years to see has the market evolved? Are there new suppliers is there more value for
money that the UN can get out of the market? So these regular annual or every two year
reviews of the marketplace are of added value to the UN country team that is something
a CBO can do. But for an OMT, it would be yet another work item that comes on top of
their normal work. Another elements, for example, Strategic Procurement planning that
a strategic procurement plan is being developed for the UN system, which would be
difficult for their OMTs to do again due to time constraints. So the Common Back Office
provides location-dependent services, services that are relevant within your country. So

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Module 1: The UN Development System Reform

the location-independence services are provided by Global Shared Service Centers.

Those provide services where it doesn't really matter where it sits, it doesn't really have
a tie to a country.

These are just high volume transactions such as payroll, such as often international travel,
or international recruitment. They are done centrally. They are done. They're referred to
as location-independent services. They're usually being executed by the Global Shared
Service Centers. CBOs deal with the location services that must be within the country
because they have a direct tie to the country. Last thing I want to say about CBOs is that
CBOs deal with the day-to-day operations. It will never be the case where strategic
operations such as for example, food procurement, for WFT or medicine, procurement
for WHO or UNICEF, or procurement of bed nets. Those are strategic operational
procurement elements, they will never be done by a CBO and why because those entities
are very well equipped to do that there won't be a business case. Why this would be done
by CBO? So a CBO deals mainly with your day-to-day operations so that agency
operational staff can focus on the implementation and support directly to their programs.
That is the essence of a Common Back Office. Common Back Offices are mandatory just
like the BOS. By the end of 2022, every country must have a Common Back Office. But
not each agency will have to buy all the services under a common back office. So as an
agency, you can choose where it makes business sense for your entity to get services
from a common back office. So while it is mandatory, we must have hundred and 31
common back offices by 2022. Not all agencies need to buy all service that is still driven
by a business case for you, for your agency or your entity.

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