What is Global Business Services REALLY all about?

GBS: a true synergy for enabling back-office functions? Or an umbrella brand name for a range of otherwise disperse and different departments? Global Business Services has been around for over 10 years now, and large multi-nationals such as Proctor & Gamble, Unilever and, more recently, Coca-Cola, have pioneered its development as the natural next step in the shared services journey. Finance Shared Services was the first to evolve, in the late 1980s, followed by HR shared services in the latter half of the 1990s. And as courage, confidence, and technology developed, IT helpdesks and the outsourcing of transactional processes followed. Shared Services developed its transactional excellence by introducing the tiered model to create specialist customer service solutions via "Tier 0" intranet self-service, "Tier 1" service desk /centres, and "Tier 2" operational consulting and program and policy implementation for Corporate and the business units. So it was only a question of time before those companies with large geographic footprints and scale of operations and employee numbers would look for more back-office efficiency and greater G&A savings to sustain market competitiveness and maintain profit margins in a turbulent and troubled economy. GBS was born into those multi-national organisations. And several other companies are pregnant with the idea of GBS, seduced by the opportunity to reduce overhead costs and at the same time enhance the effectiveness of internal and external customer experience. So what differentiates an effective GBS organisation from one where the names on the doors and the business cards have changed ... but beneath the surface, traditional functional silos, departments, and division are still alive and kicking? I've worked with external business transformation consultants, consulted with heads of shared services functions, worked with individual managers, team leaders and employees across a range of companies over the past decade. Here, I've distilled some of the key success criteria, learnings, and things just to watch out for when building your GBS organisation. A good GBS organisation has: Evolved from an effective functional shared services background, where finance, IT, HR, procurement and other functions have worked towards a mid term strategic blueprint, yet first built and run operational effectiveness at the function level as a strong and successful foundation stone. Genuine partnership between the functions – HR & IT working together, Finance & Procurement working together, and all permutations of partnerships, each working closely together. The mindset is to think as one GBS team and also to think of each other as an internal customer whose needs are to be understood and met. At Coca-Cola, from 2007 onwards, I saw some great examples of collaboration between IT and HR to build Tier 0 and Tier 1 solutions and processes which leverage off each other. I also saw a strong partnership between Finance and HR in designing A-Z processes, and service centre structure to service common geographic regions. A leadership team which thinks across functions, ideally has worked across those functions, and is strongly customer service focused yet also stretches the box with strategic next-generation planning, embraces evolving technology, and enables the organisation to be freed up to focus on winning and growing business. A GBS leader with a clear and compelling vision who mandates collaboration and empowers their teams to be involved engaged and deliver results, is a critical catalyst for success here. A clear and transparent career and development path for its team, where operational excellence specialists can provide facilitation to generate process improvement anywhere and everywhere in the GBS model, intranets are aligned, help-desks have equally good service level agreements and customer satisfaction scores, and it is possible for Tier 1 team members to rotate and transfer across functions. What's also required is the honest recognition that for Tier 2 consultants to move from IT to HR or Finance and vice versa is not impossible, but that it is more of a challenge to climb a vertical technical career ladder than to achieve lateral growth or vertical growth up the management career ladder, where skills and knowledge are more easily transferable. The above, which represents many features of a true GBS DNA, can be found in those organisations that have invested time to build and evolve the model over several years and who balance effectiveness with cost efficiency at all times. It’s not a quick win, but a definite and well planned – and worthwhile – journey. Flip the coin from heads up to tails, and you see those organisations that are not there yet in reaching or even defining the GBS vision and goal. These are characterised by: Siloed functions still fighting for turf over time and cost for IT projects for Finance or HR improvement themes Arguing about who owns and pays for what, ending up disagreeing and doing nothing Choosing different vendor partners to different agendas at different times without leveraging their own procurement team skills fully Not moving talent across the enabling functions but keeping it where it is in the narrow functional towers, where sadly the best career development coaching often takes place when the head-hunter calls and talent is lost to other, more forward thinking organisations. Which side of the coin shows for your company? If you are global with large scale and are serious about improving customer experience, process effectiveness and cost efficiency through cross- functional synergy ... then call heads for GBS! [inlinead]

What is Global Business Services REALLY all about?

To continue reading this story get free access

Global Business Services (GBS) Events

What We’ve Learned from 50+ Agentic AI Implementations

Future of Finance & CFO Select Executive Leadership Summit

Shared Services & Outsourcing Week

Shared Services & GBS Select

Shared Services & GBS Select

Shared Services & GBS Select

Follow Us

Latest Webinars

The Unstoppable Momentum of Deductions and Disputes: Using Agentic AI to Stem the Rising Tide

When AI Does the Work: Designing the New Human + AI Operating Model for Accounts Payable

From 5% to 74% Touchless: How Motion LP Transformed AP Through Automation and Process Improvement

Recommended

Securing the Boardroom Seat for GBS: Mastering the Language of Influence

Why GBS Transformation Needs a Special Kind of Leader

The Future of Business Services

Why Service Portfolio and Catalog Are the Gateway to GBS.ai

Fearless Leadership in Uncertain Times

When to Switch BPO Providers and When to Fix the One You Have

Why BPO Relationships Plateau After Go-Live – And How to Prevent It

Reflections on Shared Services and Outsourcing Week Europe 2026

Leadership Lessons in Technological Change

Outsourcing in the Age of Accountability: Security, Fraud & AML at the Core

Next Generation GBS: The Missing Who

Built to "Transform." Designed Not to Be Questioned

FIND CONTENT BY TYPE

SSON COMMUNITY

ADVERTISE WITH US

JOIN THE SSON COMMUNITY

What is Global Business Services REALLY all about?

To continue reading this story get free access

Global Business Services (GBS) Events

Follow Us

Subscribe to our Free Newsletter

Latest Webinars

Recommended

FIND CONTENT BY TYPE

SSON COMMUNITY

ADVERTISE WITH US

JOIN THE SSON COMMUNITY