SSON Digital 2022 Year in Review
You might be familiar with Spotify Wrapped, or Google’s Year in Search video, and now SSON Digital will make an attempt at compiling a year in review.
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2022 was a strong year for the continuous growth of shared services, and its best-in-class model Global Business Services (GBS). Just under half of respondents in SSON Research & Analytics State of Shared Services Survey are already operating to the GBS model or are transitioning to it, while another quarter are planning to operate a GBS in the next 3-5 years. This growth is exciting and displays the need for SSON Digital’s informative articles, columns, podcasts and reports.
SSON Digital’s content over the past 12 months displays both the current needs of shared services practitioners and where the industry is headed, whether it be the rising persistence of HR shared services or emerging technologies driving process optimization. Below are the pieces of content that YOU have found most engaging this year.
Column of the year
SSON is fortunate to have a group of talented columnists covering every topic in the shared services space. Whether your interested in the future of work, solving GBS problems or implementing the latest AI solutions, SSON columns have something for you. One column that really stuck out to readers was from the “Addressing Wicked GBS Problems Series” during which Frank Schüler, Managing Director Global Service Center (GSC) at DHL Global Forwarding, explains how to shape the shared services leaders of the future. “A Win-Win Approach to Developing Leadership Within GBS” laid out the skills and capabilities needed to be a successful leader in shared services, as well as gave a look for how businesses can develop the type of talent they are seeking.
Honorable mentions:
“Roadmapping Global Capability Centers’ Communication Priorities and Progression” by Aniisu Verghese
“The Future of Intelligent Automation in Shared Services” by Ed Challis
Podcast episode of the year
Like most forms of content on the SSON website, the SSONext podcast series thrives on its ability to cover a variety of topics and viewpoints. The most popular installation of the SSONext series this year was “Why 6 out of 10 Shared Services are actively outsourcing – with Sandeep Poddar”. [EB1] In the episode Barbara Hodge, Head of Editorial at SSON sat down with Sandeep, Head of GBS India Center for AkzoNobel, to discuss where the industry currently stands with outsourcing. During the show, Barbara and Sandeep talk about the importance of selecting the right business process outsourcer (BPO), and how to manage BPO relationships.
Honorable mentions:
EP22 - A sense of optimism and confidence in the GBS and shared services industry
EP 1 - The importance of change management and communication for GBS
Article of the year
This year SSON published well over 50 articles, but a few in particular stood out. As the prevalence of GBS and shared services grows so have the functions shared service organizations (SSOs) are taking on. What started as an entity focused on serving finance and accounting teams, shared services has expanded to HR in recent years, where it creates centralization for all services that HR typically covers. “Pros and Cons of HR Shared Services” by SSON Network is an extensive article looking the areas that need consideration before establishing an HR shared services, and was the most read article on the SSON website in 2022.
Honorable mentions:
“A Beginner's Guide to Global Business Services (GBS)” by SSON Editor
Top listicle of the year
Who doesn’t love a top ten list? They are often quick reads where the main points jump out of the page and are often easy to retain. This year readers of SSON Digital were most interested in “The Top 10 Problems with Outsourcing Implementation” by Shawn McCray. Outsourcing implementation is the first 6-18 months following a change in outsourcing relationships, or as Shawn says “when the rubber hits the road”. In his article Shawn explains why change management and governance are critical to the success of outsourcing implementation yet are often the two areas that are often overlooked during the process.
Honorable mentions:
“Top 10 Tips For a Smooth Contract Renegotiation” by SSON Network
“Top 10 Problems with Global Business Services” by SSON Network
Infographic of the year
One of the top objectives for many shared services professionals in 2022 was achieving end-to-end process excellence, which means improving processes in a manner that creates and delivers value to customers. In order to achieve this goal, SSOs have to rely on process exploration tools that make it easier to map and understand the processes they are hoping to improve. Despite its importance, only a third of SSOs have implemented a process exploration tool. “Process Exploration Tools Explained” is an infographic that shows the difference between popular tools such as process mining, process discovery, and task mining.
Honorable mentions:
“Advice for Running an Effective GBS Organization” by SSON Editor
“Benchmarking Accounts Receivable” by Evan Beebe
Webinar of the year
SSON’s webinars offer specific insights into one of the many areas of focus for shared services, and whether they serve as a case study or are analytics based, they always offer valuable information. This year’s most registered for webinar was “The Challenges and Complexities of Running HR in Global Services Operations” during which Simon Brown and Gerard Hussey, two HR professionals, discuss the clear opportunities to ramp up HR services as a value- and performance driver.
Honorable mentions:
The 2022 Outsourcing Report: A New Opportunity for the GBS Model
Agility, Diversity & Exceptional Talent: Learn How Kerry Group Solved Their Skills Shortage
Report of the year
It likely comes as no surprise that the most downloaded report of 2022 is SSON’s largest and most encompassing report, the “Global State of the Shared Services & Outsourcing Industry Report 2022” is SSON’s yearly look at what the state of industry survey tells us about where the industry is, what its top priorities are, and where it will be headed in the future.
Honorable mentions:
Summary Report: Top 20 Most Admired SSOs & GBS 2022 Benchmarking Analysis
The State of Intelligent Automation Global Market Report H1 2022
LinkedIn post of the year
One of the best means of communication SSON has with its followers is through social media, specifically LinkedIn. This year SSON‘s LinkedIn saw its following grow by over 3,500 people since the year prior, and as a result, many of the posts saw more engagements than ever before. This year’s most popular post was announcing the results of the Top 20 Most Admired SSOs and GBS in 2021. If you are interested in a more updated list of the most admired GBS organizations, be sure to download the 2022 analysis.
Next year, look out for an expansion in the podcast space with the Careers Corner with Sally Fletcher series, as well as more talk on outsourcing and an increase in business resiliency across articles, podcasts and more. Also be sure to Get updates on fresh and upcoming content with our newsletter - sign up here if you don't already receive it.
