Photo © UNDP West & Central Africa

The clustering and optimization of HR and Finance business processes in the GSSC from September 2019 to December 2021, along with the rollout of Quantum in 2023, have driven significant transformations in UNDP’s operating model. These have laid the foundation for operational and cost efficiencies to be realized.

With processes and systems fully stabilized from 2024, the focus turned to reviewing the cost of fully centralized payroll and HR administrative services delivered by the GSSC. This review will result in a significant reduction in Payroll and HR Administration service costs from January 2025 for the UN agencies and entities we serve. Costs will be reviewed annually from 2025 onward, and cost recoveries will be adjusted accordingly.

This is coupled with the introduction of a new GSSC cost recovery mechanism that is aligned to the UN Sustainable Development Group (UNSDG) full cost recovery principles. The mechanism replaces UNDP’s previous Universal Price List (UPL) based charging structure for these two services, making costs more consistent across offices and projects, and much more transparent.

Additionally, as increased demand for GSSC services comes from other UN agencies and entities, the full cost-recovery model allows the GSSC to better accommodate these requests. If volumes and client numbers increase, the GSSC can scale quickly, with transaction dashboards in place to effectively measure productivity.

Looking forward to 2025, the GSSC will work on a cost recovery model for Recruitment and Finance services, given some process steps are performed at the Country Office and require a different cost calculation approach.