Welcome to Old Mutual Group of Companies Shared Services Portal

At the beginning of 2010 we were midway in implementing the Link Project. The year saw us on an accelerated resourcing and recruitment drive. The complement is now close to the establishment. Only nine (9) positions remain to be filled, to bring us to full complement. Identification and engagement of suitable skills set for those positions is ongoing.  We expect the recruitment process to be completed by the second quarter of the year. We are part of the broad Old Mutual Group; however, as an emerging entity (incorporated in November 2009); we continue promoting “bonding” within the operating unit at all levels.

As intended under the Link Project, significant benefits are being realized; these range from a ‘right sized’ Group, economies of scale, multi skilling, optimizing on Group synergies and enhanced operational efficiencies, going forward. The envisioned ‘Shared Services’ company – the Group’s centre of excellence – is now a reality and fully functional as a unit.

Like a chick breaking out of the egg and facing the real world, on 1 January 2011, Old Mutual Shared Services (Private) Limited broke out of the Link Project mode and assumed the Business As Usual [‘BAU’] mode like any other business unit in the Group. Effectively, this sees the dissolution of the Link Project Steering Committee and assumption of management of the affairs of the company by a constituted board of directors. Our association with consultants from Madge Limited t/a CC Consultants, who had become part of the Old Mutual (Zimbabwe) family, consequently came to an amicable end on 31 December 2010; the consultants have since disengaged. In need, the consultants remain at the disposal of the company.

The year ahead has to be the year in which the Group fully realizes the benefits of setting up a ‘Shared Services’ business support unit. Our clients, the Old Mutual Group business units [‘BUs’] have come up with business strategies that focus on outrunning the competition and assuming dominance in all economic sectors in which the Group operates. Our strategic role is to be the unfailing enablers for the BUs to achieve, and even exceed, set targets by providing the appropriate ‘best practice’ business support services at minimal cost. A strong performance culture is therefore a non-negotiable imperative in our unit as we execute this role. We are in a privileged position given that we have no boundaries and operate in all units of the entire Old Mutual Zimbabwe Group. In that vein, whenever set key performance indicators are surpassed by any unit in the group, we should celebrate such success.

In view of the critical nature of our operation, i.e. service provision to internal clients, it is imperative that all of us execute assigned tasks on the basis of agreed performance benchmarks.