Setting up, transforming and growing your GBS
Our interdisciplinary team is uniquely positioned to support Global Business Services in their journey to greater efficiency, bringing operational, functional, and technical expertise to both GBS setup and transformation, from strategy through execution.
Global Business Services (GBS) encompasses various organizational models, including shared services, outsourcing, Centers of Excellence, and hybrid models, all aimed at delivering business value. The GBS Service Catalogue can include operational functions such as Finance, People, Technology, Procurement, Legal, and Tax, as well as customer-facing roles like Customer Experience, Sales, and Marketing.
Central and Eastern Europe are the most preferred regions for GBS investments. This preference is driven by the availability of top-tier talent and a comprehensive investment support system in countries like Poland, Hungary, Romania, and the Czech Republic.
Leveraging the potential offered by Global Business Services (GBS) remains a significant trend in the global market. GBS centers provide numerous benefits, including cost reduction, continuous improvement of service quality and better organization of internal controls. Initially focused on transactional work, GBS now manages more sophisticated and knowledge-based processes reshaping the business model to focus on value propositions, boosting capabilities, and enhancing efficiency.
Leading GBS Centres actively leverage the latest technologies driving enterprise-wide digital transformation. This includes integrating artificial intelligence (AI) and robotic process automation (RPA) to improve efficiency and decision-making, shifting GBS from back-office operations to strategic business partners, enabling significant growth.
With the rapid development, Global Business Services (GBS) organizations face a range of challenges in the current business environment, including:
Balancing the need to reduce costs while investing in new technologies and process improvements.
Keeping up with rapid technological advancements such as automation, AI, and machine learning requires significant investment and expertise.
Finding and retaining talent with the necessary digital skills and experience in emerging technologies.
Navigating an increasingly complex regulatory landscape across different regions.
Protecting sensitive data across multiple platforms and systems against increasingly sophisticated cyber threats.
Meeting increasing customer expectations for personalized and responsive services.
Our approach enables solid foundations and continuous improvement at every stage of GBS development.
The step-by-step iterative approach covers strategy, design and implementation, as well as GBS transformation and reassessment regardless the current stage of the GBS maturity. Starting from the Process Scope Definition and Target Operating Model design, we can lead you to the large-scale business transformations, addressing the possible risks, helping you manage the change and providing project management at the highest level.
Throughout all the phases of your GBS development, it is essential to implement a structured, well-defined project management office (PMO). The PMO’s role is to establish and uphold the methodology and standards, while also monitoring, reporting and coordinating the timely progress on each project stage. It will assist in identifying, assessing and mitigating key project risks by implementing risk management frameworks and processes.
To successfully navigate individuals and the organization through this transition, robust and well-established change management activities are crucial for effectively executing the GBS implementation plan.
Involves assessing the optimal strategic approach for your organization by collecting and validating current time and cost data. This includes evaluating various strategic decisions such as location study, business case preparation support, target operating model definition, organizational structure design and transition approach validation. The feasibility study determines GBS viability by analyzing risks, benefits, and creating a high-level plan to ensure a successful transformation tailored to your business's unique structure and culture.
Whether you're exploring the potential to implement the Global Business Services model or looking to transform and expand your existing GBS, we have a solution for you.
Leveraging our extensive experience and expertise, we deliver tangible results that meet clients' needs and drive the business forward. We are ready to support and set you up for success with our proven track record and customized approach.
Depending on the GBS maturity, we can help you in Setting up a GBS or Transforming your existing GBS:
While developing your GBS strategy you will define governance models and reporting lines. The strategy will have to prepare the GBS to swiftly adapt to volatile and uncertain business environment, becoming agile and outcome-based when pricing its services. The Target Operating Model should be complex enough to ensure departing from regional set up and becoming more process based, meaning moving from country to process based organisations with end to end ownership and reporting transferred to GBS.
We can help you with:
While selecting a GBS location you will have to assess and compare different regions, territories or cities most suited to your needs. Understanding the risks and benefits of each location is key in establishing a new GBS Centre. To get such an understanding, we can support you with thoroughly conducted study that is aligned with company strategic objectives. Our Location Assessment provides an actual and current overview of the analysed locations in terms of geopolitical state, market saturation, access to talent, operational costs and others.
We can help you with:
Definition of location assessment criteria: parameters and reliable measurements
Detailed research & analysis
Cities assessment based on job descriptions and site visits in selected locations
Final report summarising the findings as well as considerations for making the final decision
Support in final location selection
Performing scope analysis and creating recruitment and implementation plan
Scope analysis forms a crucial groundwork for a successful GBS setup. Alongside thorough FTE analysis and roles design, it paves the way for a robust and effective GBS framework. Design and implementation of the key KPIs & SLAs early in the process helps monitor service delivery.
To ensure effective recruitment activities and deliver great candidate experience, plan upfront and launch sourcing as soon as possible. Retention strategy with incentives for key employees is key to prevent early departures.
In parallel with the above, design and prepare the new GBS facility, define governance model, gather IT requirements to avoid transition delays, and create an implementation plan aligned with strategic objectives.
We can help you with:
Implementation of the strategy means moving the scope from the original location to the newly established GBS in order to build high-value capabilities that will boost performance at lower cost.
One of the key success factors for the GBS setup is a structured, proven approach that will enable smooth transition while securing as few disruptions to the business as possible. Proper tools tailored to your organization's needs and a well-defined transition governance are key to navigate through the project phases. The duration of the transition depends on the function, processes and roles in scope and may vary between 16 - 24 weeks.
We can help you with:
Project mobilization: planning and preparing
Conducting Transition Orientation Trainings
Transition management and coordination of:
Knowledge Capture
Knowledge Transfer
Ramp-up
Stabilization
The best way to define where to begin the transformation of your GBS is to assess its current maturity. Consider factors such as operations, governance, processes, automation levels, technological advancements, team structure, management styles, and compliance.
Our GBS Maturity Assessment provides essential insights into how your GBS is positioned against other similar GBS organisations across 5 key dimensions: Strategy, Operations, Process & Performance, People and Technology. It helps answer the question of where to improve or expand, enabling further growth and optimization of your GBS.
The transformation journey may encompass the following elements:
We can help you with:
Attracting new scope of operations for your GBS can be driven by multiple factor. The main three are:
GBS Maturity: A mature GBS enables the acquisition of more sophisticated and knowledge-intensive processes.
Regulatory Changes: Shifts in regulations, such as ESG-related requirements, create opportunities for GBS to adapt and develop new roles that address these legal mandates.
Technological Advancements: Implementing cutting-edge technology can enhance GBS capabilities, making it possible to handle complex and data-driven tasks efficiently.
Whenever you consider expanding your GBS operations, it creates an opportunity to redefine the GBS strategy and Target Operating Model. Developing a comprehensive expansion plan and roadmap will ensure a structured approach and help mitigate recruitment and transition risks. By doing so, you can achieve a seamless and successful expansion of your GBS operations. To check how we can help please direct yourself to ‘Setting up a GBS’ section.
We can also support you through the PwC’s GBS. Learn more about PwC’s GBS Managed Service.
Improving GBS operations means innovation and showcasing the quality and efficiency. It requires identifying opportunities and measuring performance to re-evaluate roles and responsibilities. That can be achieved with the use of advanced technology solutions, standardisation and automation of business processes, as well as with well-motivated and digitally competent team. At this stage you will also have to ensure security by complying with regulatory requirements and protecting the confidentiality of data.
Enhancing the quality of processes will enable you to not only increase the efficiency of your operations, but also may keep your talents at the organization and involve them into more productive and interesting tasks. In this way you will remain relevant from the HQ’s perspective.
We can help you with:
Process optimization & improvements
Finance and Process Transformation
PERFORM (Operational Excellence – capability & capacity improvement)
Improvement of Process Governance
Technology Assessment, Development and Implementation
SAP/Cloud/Reporting Dashboard
RPA/AI/ BOTs
People Management and Development
PERFORM (Operational Excellence – capability & capacity improvement)
People and Organisation (eg. career paths and pay policy, employees satisfaction assessment, employer branding strategy, well-being initiatives, continuous learning & development programs, feedback culture)
Compliance/ Regulatory/ Data
Improvement of Internal Control System
Enhancement of Internal Audit function
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We understand the challenges GBS face and we can help you respond to them bringing our operational, functional, and technical expertise, also in specialized areas such as AI and Robotic Process Automation, Cyber and System Security Enhancement, SAP Implementation and Security. We can take you through changes by providing PMO and Change Management.
We know the Central and Eastern Europe GBS market, which is the top choice for GBS investments, thanks to the availability of highly qualified personnel and robust investment support systems in countries like Poland, Hungary, Romania, and the Czech Republic.
Our team in Poland has extensive experience
We are part of global network of GBS practitioners
