Ahead of this year’s Shared Services and Outsourcing Week Europe Autumn 2023, we spoke exclusively to Deborah Kops, Managing Principal, Sourcing Change, about effective stakeholder management, the need for investment in service experience, and the transition from a transactional focus to a capability-driven approach in GBS organisations.

In your opinion, what is the best approach to effective stakeholder management?

"The best approach is walking a mile in our stakeholders’ shoes. We think we know what's bothering them or what they expect but we never take the time to ask them and understand the root cause."

What key area do you think practitioners should be investing in over the next 18 months, and why?

"The key investment area should be the service experience. Fundamentally, GBS organisations are responsible for two things: exquisite delivery and helping our stakeholders embrace new ways of working. Experiences are key to that."

What are some of the key takeaways or insights that you gained from the panel discussions, roundtables or workshops at SSOW Europe 2023?

"When I added it all together, it was clear to me that GBS and shared services design, implementation, and operation are highly contextual to business conditions."

How do you see shared services and GBS evolving in the coming years?

"I believe we have transitioned from a focus on transactions to a focus on capabilities. Successful GBS organisations are now dedicated to cultivating robust capabilities that not only drive the success of GBS itself but also contribute to the overall success of the enterprise. As organisations, GBS entities actively pursue evolution. In the future, we can expect the emergence of new business models, but the primary emphasis and foundation will lie in exceptionally powerful enabling capabilities."

EUROPE’S NO.1 SHARED SERVICES & GBS EVENT - THE AUTUMN EDITION

16 - 18 October 2023 | Novotel London West, London, United Kingdom

As GBS and Shared Services continue to grapple with the pace of change, industry leaders have taken great steps in refining shared services business model, nurturing key capabilities, and preserving value through efficiency, productivity and resilience. In the meantime, new questions and challenges continue to emerge: What are the other value levers can we pull to deliver value in new ways? Is the GPO model finally sticking and delivering the end-to-end transformation promise? How will ChatGPT contribute towards the efforts of building intelligent GBS and shared services? How are we adjusting our people strategies and building the workforce of the future? Will BPOs play a bigger role in delivering transformation in 2023 and 2024?

The Shared Services & Outsourcing Week Europe Autumn 2023 agenda is developed around these key focuses and looking to explore and provide answers to these pertinent questions.

As the second touch point for the European GBS and Shared Services industry following the Lisbon Event in May, featuring 60+ speakers representing the best of the best in the community, this is a not-to-miss opportunity to get together with the industry leaders and get your finger on the pulse of the key trends and most recent transformation stories from the industry.

View the 2023 agenda here!

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