The future of GBS – embracing change

Re-inventing GBS is all about being bold in leveraging new and disruptive technology to embrace change.

Leading research advisory firm The Hackett Group recently held a Capgemini-sponsored virtual round table bringing together Global Business Services (GBS) leaders across industries in North America, Hackett analysts, and Capgemini experts to discuss how GBS can become an agent for change for the future in disruptive technology for business operations.

The roundtable focused on:

• How GBS can pivot to become the front office for enterprises
• How adding value doesn’t mean just adding new scope into GBS, but adding value to the enterprise via a “transformation first” approach
• How internal organization silos are being broken via a “data centric” approach that drives transparency with a focus on business outcomes
• How GenAI isn’t just a buzz word, but something that GBS can be at the forefront of deploying across all areas of the business
• The new relevance of GBS as an agent of change

This article summarizes the discussion and findings from this roundtable.

The evolution of GBS

Ever since its inception over two decades ago, GBS models have combined internal shared services and third-party outsourcing, driving optimized back offices through optimizing cost, improving compliance, and industrializing operations.

But with the advent of Generative AI, shared services as we know it has been challenged for its lack of value creation. The old pyramid model is no longer relevant for ambitious enterprises, with The Hackett Group proposing a four-stage evolution model that takes GBS organizations from a single-function, consolidated model right through to a digitally enabled one. GBS organizations that maximized cost and efficiency levers – taking that consolidation step and generating a business case – were previously perceived as being transformational.

Today, with GenAI accelerating the concept of the Connected Enterprise, the focus is on genuine business transformation that drives value and business outcomes. This shift is leading to a future where GBS is evolving to become a fully realized center of excellence (CoE) that drives data-driven insights and decision-making.

But what does this mean for the GBS of the future?

Adopting automation and technology to re-invent GBS

GBS leaders participating in our recent roundtable discussed how a controlled automation CoE has accelerated transformation across their organizations. Leveraging a federally hybrid model with a workforce community that acknowledges the challenges of GenAI and has the right tools and structure to remove any barriers has ensured consistent automation adoption.

While almost all the leaders expressed a common interest in achieving an autonomous state for their organizations, they recognize massive change management is needed within the GBS before and during this journey. GenAI cannot simply be the research agenda of a singular workstream. It needs to be part of an organizational agenda with a shift towards genuine outcome-based models and accompanying investment to create a minimum viable product.

This is reflective of a cultural shift in the mindset of the people who become part of the GBS organization. In order to attract the right talent, GBS needs to re-invent itself as a “cool and exciting place to work.” The concept of a citizen development program embraces a culture of innovation in which people signing up for it would be able to help move the enterprise in the right direction.

Embracing change is the future of GBS

Participating GBS leaders agreed that the old debate of business vs. IT is a thing of the past. A joint, interconnected organization is the most effective way to ascend the value curve of embracing a generative enterprise.

Participating GBS leaders also agreed that experimentation is the norm for GBS. It’s not about just wanting to “do” transformation. It’s about being willing to drive and embrace new and disruptive technology without the time-tested case studies that can evaluate success.

It’s about being bold in taking experimental steps and showcasing resilience in embracing change.

To learn more about how Capgemini’s Frictionless Finance can transform your GBS operations through leveraging a business outcomes model to deliver enhanced business outcomes, contact: priya.ganesh@capgemini.com