Broadening Talent Skill Sets for Organizational Effectiveness in GBS

What is the balance between people, process, and technology for GBS to be really efficient? While technology has always been a key driver, in the last 3 years, technology has been on overdrive for all companies, particularly those in the shared services space. As the world, and our industry, emerges from a post-pandemic state and enters a recession, how is the balance changing? 

For any successful shared service, the fact remains that they have to be process-driven. Often, a strong process and standard approach is what precedes successful technology that can deliver massive efficiencies. And underlying it all is a firm need for talented people. After challenging years of resignations and disengagement issues, indications in the industry certainly point to the fact that the balance is tipping towards people. Finding, keeping, and growing superb talent is a priority for leaders.

To offer insight into the topic of broadening the skill sets of your people, Barbara Hodge, Global Online Editor of SSON, and Host of the SSSONext Podcast, sat down with Jennifer Kelly Greene, Senior Director of Global Payroll at Otis. Jennifer is a seasoned strategist with proven superior problem resolution, communication, and leadership skills. Jennifer is known for her ability to be able to align teams and prioritize goals while focusing on continuous process improvements and efficiencies to maximize revenue for GBS.

What is the business case for focusing on broadening the skill sets of our existing talent base?

An often overlooked part of the talent strategy within shared services is the nurturing and growth of our current talent. How can we offer our own people more ways to capitalize on learning and growth opportunities? The answer perhaps comes down to creating an environment where talent is encouraged to always be looking at what's possible. Jennifer stresses how important it is for leaders to understand that additional learning resources, and opportunities to network with their peer set, both within and outside the organization, is key. “Benchmark, learn about best practices, and really encourage your people to broaden their skills as well as their network,” Jennifer said.

The role of people analytics in delivering employee experience 

One area that comes up often in the surveys run at SSON is that people analytics (ie: data) is still not very strong within organizations. And the more global the organization, the more the opportunity cost. Jennifer suggests when you look at people analytics across the entire organization, leaders need to dig deeper. “Get focused on what your HR operations need and what's within your control. Once we know what our business partners and customers really need from us, we can start thinking about how we measure how we're doing against those requirements. Process expertise comes from understanding what a colleague experiences. For example, within payroll: How do I feel when I receive my payslip? Is this correct? Do I understand it? Do we get a lot of feedback? We need to focus on making that employee experience as consistent as we can by aligning on our expectations and service delivery.”

Every employee touchpoint is an opportunity for the GBS organization

A key takeaway for leaders is that within GBS and shared services, every touchpoint matters. And if we’ve learned one thing in the last three years, it’s that excellence does not begin with the customer. Organizations need to focus on enriching the employee experience and trust the customer experience will improve soon after. During COVID and into ongoing challenges, leaders have been aware of wellness and mental health challenges that their people have struggled with. The health of people - mental and physical - feeds into everything. As organizations, we touch many parts of an employee’s day; and every touchpoint is an opportunity to do something right.

Enjoy the audio medium? You’ll find a lot more detail in this full discussion between Barbara Hodge and Jennifer Kelly Greene on Spotify.