Then and Now: A Career In Shared Services

When Unisys launched its North American SSO in Bismarck, North Dakota, in 1993, Shared Services was still a relatively unknown phenomenon. Angela Arntz was hired to work in the Travel Accounting department. Today, after several promotions, Angela manages the Global Travel department and External Clients Department proving that, yes, there are really long-term careers in Shared Services. We ask her: How has the job changed? With so much talk about transactional work being brought into, and then – prompted by process automation and providers building up their capability – moving out of shared services again, the question of whether or not a shared services organization offers a long-term career is a valid one. Only recently, at SSON’s European flagship conference, the leader of a large, European-based shared services center complained that it was difficult to retain graduates impatient for career progression. And in Central and Eastern Europe, as well as Asia, where Shared Services are still expanding faster than they are in their home countries, centers are not immune to attrition, as competitors anxious to hire away experienced staff are waging somewhat of a salary war. However, those companies that take their SSO strategies seriously have expanded the scope of their centers and driven greater responsibility, and financial reward, to staff. We’ve known dozens of people, over the years, who have 10-20 years’ experience in Shared Services at their current organizations, and whose roles have grown exponentially as technology has leveraged the added value they contribute to a process. [eventPDF] In this series, we are introducing the people who started in shared services more than a decade ago, and whose careers we now track with interest. First up, introduced to me by industry and Unisys veteran Chris Gunning, who heads the GBS team there, is Angela Arntz. Angela joined Unisys’s Bismarck, North Dakota, Shared Services team in 1993 – just as the center was being launched. Today, she heads the Global Travel and External Clients teams, and oversees a thoroughly modern operation. Here's an extract from a recent phone call SSON's editor, Barbara Hodge, had with her. Angela Arntz "Today" [photo courtesy of https://www.beccasabot.com] "Angela is a real, living example of someone who has had great career in Shared Services,and has now blossomed into one of our strong global managers. She has seen not just great changes in Shared Services and specifically the Bismarck center, but has witnessed, first-hand, how technological innovations and partnering with providers like CONCUR are driving leaps in productivity." Chris Gunning, Vice President Finance, Global Shared Services, Unisys Barbara Hodge: Angela, describe your interview with Unisys in 1993, when you were applying for the job they had posted. Angela Arntz: I knew very little about Unisys when I applied. There were red flags that my current employer was close to disbanding the company so I was more interested in finding employment than specifically choosing a new company to work for. I was interviewed first by the General Manager and Human Resources; then I met with one of the coaches (traditionally known as the manager). I left the interview feeling upset that I had not done a better job during the interview. However, I received a call about an hour later extending me the position. Barbara: What kinds of questions were you asked in the interview? What do you think they were looking for? Angela: The interview wasn't really about the job, it was more about scenarios. One of the important things at Unisys is the idea of being a self-directed team, and managing yourself and your interactions with others. There were a number of questions on how I would resolve conflict with colleagues, for example. Teams were empowered to make decisions and handle the day-to-day work, including complaints and conflict amongst themselves, with guidance from their coach (manager) if they needed it. This can be a difficult transition if you are accustomed to the traditional management structure. It can be an uncomfortable situation to work directly with someone that you may not see eye-to-eye with. But that's what we were trained to do. We also handled our own hiring and our own dismissal of fellow employees. This structure and opportunity offered me with a world of experience which I am still benefiting from today. Barbara: So if the organization was not strongly hierarchical, what was it like? Angela: We didn't have managers but instead we had coaches. These coaches helped us through difficulties, where they were needed, but we were encouraged to work through any situation we faced ‘together’ as a team. Not everyone rose to the occasion but I, for one, love that concept of empowerment. Within the organization "Starpoints" were a key element for managing tasks and responsibilities, which were typically the responsibility of the manager. Each department had a team member that held a "Starpoint" role, which was part of a larger team encompassing the entire facility. For example, we had an HR Starpoint, offering guidance on all HR issues. Then there was a Finance Star Point, managing our metrics and keeping us on track. We each received training on our individual Starpoint areas and could seek the assistance and guidance from the coach (manager) assigned to the Starpoint. After 6 to 12 months the Starpoint went through a rotation to allow others the opportunity to gain experience. It exposed you to a lot of responsibility that you would not otherwise have faced. There was, for example, a Communication Starpoint whose role was to manage and facilitate team meetings. Again, not everyone is comfortable with this, but it did develop an all-round skill set and facilitated growth. Barbara: You have now been with the shared services center for 19 years. What kept you there? Angela: I have to say that I am one of a handful of people who are still here from the early days. I love feeling empowered and responsible for managing the work. To this day, I still foster and encourage this empowerment with the team members that I manage. I believe it's what makes us an effective and well-rounded team, the ability to make our own decisions and act on them. You learn from your mistakes and you move forward. I always tell my team that there is nothing we do that cannot be fixed; it's just the extent of pain that we have to manage to fix it. When a team feels empowered to make important decisions it fosters buy-in and a sense of ownership. When you feel responsible for your job and the process you want to be successful! Barbara: Describe your job in 1993. Angela: My title then was Travel Expense Auditor, and the job was to process expense reports. What I remember most vividly from those days is that every morning started with us opening huge amounts of mail. We had to log all the documents manually. We also completed a 100% audit across the company, meaning every expense report was audited. Back then, we made a lot of handwritten notes because the space in the system to make a note was very restricted in character width. When you pulled the paper documentation to review the expense report you’d typically see several handwritten notes across the top. We also tended to call employees on the phone directly to ask questions, as opposed to using e-mail. But, as I said, what I remember most vividly was the huge amount of paper, the filing, making copies, pulling reports, paper, paper, and paper… Barbara: And what's the job like today? Angela: Today I manage the Global travel department with teammates located in Bismarck and Bangalore, as well as managing the Unisys External Clients team. In all, I have 31 team members that fall under my responsibility. Although it's effectively the same job, everything has changed. Our expense reports are now scanned and automated, the system offers fields for comments, and reports are sent back systematically, as opposed to us holding and fixing them. The biggest change is that we are more connected today. We work in a paperless environment and everything is online. Employees scan reports into the system and we take it from there. We no longer make photocopies, we download PDFs. From my view, the greatest impacts are the controls that the system enables us to implement. What this means is that we have rules for certain expense types, and expenses over a certain receipt threshold are automatically flagged for audits. So, while we audited 100% of expenses in the early days, today it's just a small percentage of what’s submitted that are stopped systematically in the back office by the T&E tool. Another difference is the team size. When I started with Unisys, there were between 20-30 team members processing expense reports. Today, the Global Travel team consists of 5 processors in Bismarck and 4 processors in Bangalore. With the elimination of the manual effort in the process, it has saved us a lot of time and simplified the workflow. Barbara: How are you using all this extra time? Angela: Well, the role has changed significantly. Back then we were auditors, now in addition to applying company policy to expenses we handle research, account reconciliation, manage adjustments and we are responsible for testing and releasing new system functionality – a task held by IT in the past... it's no longer just about auditing expense reports, we are broadening our horizons and looking at the big picture to determine where we can add value to the company. The responsibilities have expanded. This variety has added additional levels of value to the role and ensures the job is no longer mundane or repetitive. It's the reason I have stayed and the reason I love my job. I'm pulled into so many different areas through my job that there's never a dull moment. I thrive on the challenge! In addition, the scope has changed: Then, I was responsible for covering just a piece of North America but today my role is Global. This was made easier as we switched systems and adopted standardized processes, so we were able to bring in additional countries. Now, we have one Global Travel policy with country specific guidelines, where applicable, to manage our T&E program with the responsibility being centralized. Barbara: How has the building you are in changed over the years? Angela: The cube structure is still the same, but with the reduction in headcount we only occupy half of the building. Barbara: What's the main value add from your perspective? Angela: There is one point of contact globally, and we have a global view. In the past we were so segregated that we missed opportunities to save the company money and streamline processes. For example by standardizing expense workflow as part of a global policy, we have saved significant costs. One of the areas where I believe we contribute the most value is when it comes to analyzing data. Today we use a corporate AMEX card for travel and expense, which simplifies reimbursements, but which also increases our visibility into use, spending patterns, etc. Our data analysis has exposed that in the past there was not sufficient visibility over how the card was used. Having access to data and being able to analyze it means we can focus our attention on the right use of the corporate card, and this helps us to drive better behavior from our employees. Another area in which we’ve made great progress is in our electronic payment system that connects us to our suppliers. Instead of paper receipts, documents are now scanned and can be easily ‘attached’ to an expense report. In the past we had complicated manual systems, but today the system we use has significantly taken the front-end manual effort out of the process. Barbara: Thank you Angela, and continued success at Unisys. Angela Arntz "Then" About Angela Arntz: Professional Joined Unisys in June 1993 as an internal Travel Expense auditor Positions held include: Internal Expense Auditor, Database Support Analyst and Team Lead Vendor Relationship Management: Amex Travel and Card programs, Concur, Quipsound and AIG Ambassador Program The diversity of my job gives me the opportunity to help our Travelers and support my team to be successful! Very passionate for what I do – I absolutely LOVE my job! Main functions of the Global Travel department include: –Global Amex Program Administration: application processing, delinquency handling, credit balance research and user support –Concur Travel: second level reservation support, preferred supplier system management –Concur Expense: expense processing, payment research, employee reconciliation, user system support –System Support: reporting, system enhancement testing and implementation for Concur and Deltek, new process transitions, Amex allocation processing, workflow and configuration changes for the Concur Travel & Expense system supporting 43 countries. –Deltek Expense processing for our Federal Systems Group Fun facts: Oldest of seven children Free time is spent with family and friends, being creative and enjoying the outdoors. Met her high school sweetheart 29 years ago and married him 10 years later. Has three children: Krysta (11); Aidyn (9) and Logan (5) Owns and operates a small vinyl graphics business with her husband, specializing in RV graphic design and installation – just for the fun of it. Note: Do you have an employee you'd like to profile in SSON's "Then and Now" series? Email Barbara Hodge now.

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