Back by Popular Demand! After its success at SSOW Autumn 2024, the Innovate-a-thon returns in 2025 - offering a unique and dynamic space for creative problem-solving, deep collaboration and fresh transformation insights.

In this interactive 3-hour session, you'll team up with like-minded peers, tackle a specific challenge and develop innovative solutions together. All while competing for the winning title and having fun together!

How It Works:

• Teams of six select one specific Challenge Statement, define their group ethos and develop a solution
• Craft your strategy and pitch your ideas, leveraging visualisation tools
• Top teams in each group will be awarded a prize to kick-start your SSOW Autumn in style!

Challenge Statement One: Defining, Measuring and Communicating the GBS Value

Leaders: Phil Priest, Head of GBS, Rolls-Royce

Leaders: Mira Viswanathan, GBS Programme Office Director, Imperial Brands (formerly Imperial Tobacco Group)

Challenge Statement Two: Identifying Agentic AI Application Use Cases

Leaders: Jacob Jensen, Strategy and Transformation Lead, Global Services & Solutions, Syngenta Group

Challenge Statement Three: The Challenge of Doing More with Less

With the pace of change accelerating, the traditional experience-based talent model is no longer sufficient. Future-ready organisations need to base people decisions on skills more than jobs – and having a scalable, manageable, and more equitable way of operating. A skills-based organisation turns talent management on its head, redefining and reimagining every talent practice to be based more on skills than on jobs and setting a new direction for the future of work: agile, tech-enabled and democratised. This is no longer a vision, but a mission and reality set in motion within pioneering GBS organisations. Join this panel to hear how you can build a skills-based organisation in your shared services and GBS set up:

·       Building a skills-based organisation to be able to anticipate and effectively respond to new capability building initiatives

·       Shift the focus from jobs to skills – what are the key steps?

·       Redeploying resources impacted by the automation of transactional activities and processes