Data Oriented Leadership – Are Shared Services Centres Gearing Up?

A change ahead Big Data and analytics are rapidly gaining in currency across many organizations, including shared services centres. This transformation will require some realignment in existing structures. While the data models will enable predictive intelligence it will demand a newer skill set including leadership to fully exploit the benefits of data analytics for organizational progress. An IBM Analytics study dated October 29 2013 and titled: IBM Analytics Study Reveals Big Data Equals Big Payoff reveals that one-third of respondents cited the lack of skills to analyse and interpret data into relevant business actions as the top business challenge impeding better value analytics within their organizations. Interestingly, a majority of the shared services centres mirror this fact and are yet to formulate a plan to overcome this challenge. To begin with, the larger adjustments or the balancing act will be evident at the cultural level for leaders. Big data will challenge leaders to make decisions based on facts and in real-time. Any procrastination or stone walling is likely to be detrimental and may impact customers. At the same time there will be less space for instinctive or impulsive/intuitive decisions. The situation will demand that leaders understand the methodology behind the data and then act on the predictive intelligence. Tom Clancy, Vice President of EMC Education Services in an article titled EMC Tackles Big Data, Cloud Skills Gap among IT Business Leaders (April 23, 2013) says, "There aren't just skill gaps among technologists, they also exist at the business leader and manager level." [inlinead] The existing and largely generalist leadership roles in shared services centres are likely to whither away. Fred Balboni, Global Leader and Partner, Business Analytics and Optimization, IBM Global Business Services in the IBM Analytics Study states that, "in order to unlock the value of data, organizations need to identify different C-suite champions to get fully behind the use of analytics. Emerging roles like the Chief Data Officer and the Chief Analytics Officer are helping companies build an enterprise-wide data strategy to gain competitive advantage." In the new environment, specialists will have the upper hand as leaders must be comfortable wearing multiple hats – functional, technical, data analytical, business, domain expert – to arrive at a decision. Furthermore, leaders must be well versed in the pros and cons of data decision models and toolkits to interpret the intelligence of big data. With increasing co-option of big data mathematicians, statisticians, and data scientists are likely to corner a larger space in the leadership layer. The walls of bureaucracy in shared services centres are likely to crumble as data becomes accessible to the larger organization. This will lead to a shift in power equations due to diminishing space for political manoeuvres. The unwritten rule associated with current leadership in shared service centres is that of an individual heading a larger team with weightier designations. In the new equation, a data worker or analyst could equally be powerful with his/her knowledge and expertise of data intelligence. At another level this will erode the importance given to designations in current shared service set-ups. The current approach to engaging with vendors and stakeholders by leaders in shared services centres may undergo a change. As flow of data will be seamless there will be a real time engagement between leaders, vendors and customers rather than the monthly/quarterly visits. Business metrics are likely to be revised often as data models could predict the shortfalls. For example, in finance and accounting, data analytics has the predictive real-time ability to highlight the customers who are likely to default on timely payments after analysing existing data for the accounts receivables process. Hence the leadership for accounts receivables process may have to revisit their targets on outstanding receivables and optimisation of working capital. Furthermore, leaders may have to be on their toes as a combination of data tools and business intelligence will enable future insights into fraud, spend and procurement analytics. Similarly, data analytics will enable foresight and visualisation into cost per FTE, net margins, transfer pricing etc., thereby challenging leaders to react quickly to business targets. Plus, data modelling will equip leaders with knowledge on workforce analytics, like role based dashboards and predictive models, and thereby shape future business strategy. To begin with there is skeletal evidence of data analytics teams or specialists residing in shared services centres. In case of a status quo this will limit the identification and grooming of talent for future roles in data analytics. Gartner has stated that by 2015 big data demand will reach 4.4 million jobs at a global level while an Info world article dated May 5, 2014 stated that demand for big data skills are on the rise, including Python and general cloud skills. Hence the future workforce must have a basic understanding and visibility into the big data landscape to perform their tasks. Finally, at the leadership level, shared services centres continue to invest in either Master’s in Business Administration; graduates in humanities, sciences, and commerce; or with specialized certifications like black belts, CIMA, chartered accountants etc. However, the changing skill set will demand investments in profiles like statisticians, machine learning, artificial intelligence, modelling, forecasting, social media etc. Shared services centres could benefit by preferring doctorates or post doctorates in these disciplines at the leadership level. EMC is trying to address the gap by offering two courses: Cloud and ITaaS for Business Transformation and Data Science, and Big Data Analytics for Business Transformation. Each comes in a 90-minute version for executives and a one-day course for business leaders, and offers a deeper dive. The effective use of big data is possible when leadership has the knowledge to evaluate the dimensions of the data. From my perspective, shared services centres are key and valuable repositories of process data for many large global organisations. To unleash new and incredible growth opportunities, shared services centres could exploit this data by leveraging big data tools. A data driven leadership is shaping up as a powerful intervention in management practices going forward. And the sponsorship to undertake this decisive step rests in cultivating a data oriented leadership in shared service centres.

Data Oriented Leadership – Are Shared Services Centres Gearing Up?

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