From Decentralisation to Centralised GBS: Lufthansa, Two Years into the Journey

Interview with Astrid Hartman, SVP GBS – Lufthansa

How to move from an organization that has long been used to decentralised decision-making to one of shared services is a huge challenge. It’s one Astrid Hartman, SVP of Lufthansa’s 2-year old Global Business Services organisation has been working on for a while.

"The new shared model represents quite a culture clash for Lufthansa," she explains. "Don’t forget that this is an organization that has been developing on the basis of a decentralized model for a long time."

State-owned until 1994, Lufthansa’s board mandated a GBS model 2 years ago, to replace what had until then been a fairly successful nearshore SSO, but one which business units were not obliged to use. Today, it’s a different story, and change management has supported the transition.

The main challenge has been balancing the benefits of standardisation with customer satisfaction – usually contingent on tailored services.

"We try to make up for it through service," explains Astrid.

Watch the interview below.