SSONext

In a special episode of SSONext, we sit down with a few of the solutions providers of SSOW Orlando to discuss key insights from senior executives.

Conversations covered some of the most pertinent topics of the event, including:

• Key takeaways from the Environmental Social Governance boardroom
• Top Insights into corporate spending trends and risk in 2023 and the power of analytics and AI to identify and navigate risk
• How AI is delivering the Future of Work and how it defines itself from automation
• Trends in the Future of Finance, from new skillsets, emerging tech and AP error detection and prevention
• Drilling down into the critical role process management will play in the modern shared service organization

Kai Eberhard Lueg is the Chief Operating Officer, Global Business Services, Siemens AG. He has vast international experience in the Siemens Shared Services environment in various leading positions such as Head of Business Process Shared Services and Finance Shared Services as well as CFO of Global Shared Services. Siemens Global.

Prior to these engagements, he was acting as global CFO of the Siemens Wind Power Division. He has been a long term supporter of SSON where he has generously shared Siemens GBS story of cutting-edge digital transformation and end-to-end process excellence. In 2022, for the 6th year running - Siemens GBS made the list of SSON's top 20 most admired Shared Services Operations.

In this conversation, Kai shares:

• How Siemens GBS have gone beyond traditional services to take on technical activities such as Engineering
• The importance of demonstrating integrity and work-life balance during a GBS job interview
• The wealth of opportunity a career in GBS and Siemens has to offer

SSON Research & Analytics reports that Order-to-Cash is the second most popular service provided by 66% of surveyed SSON members. With the present focus on process transformation and the rise in consideration for the customer – two topics that were certainly front and center at the recent SSOW Orlando event – O2C is posed to be the next site of customer-centric service delivery.

In conversation with three senior leaders from Sidetrade, this episode covers:

• The emergence of a 'secondary' customer; the government tax collection agencies, and how that affects Time to Invoice and Customer Experience
• Leveraging AI and prescriptive analytics for better collection outcomes
• The relationship between the customer and cash applications

It's been an exciting couple of days at SSOW Orlando 2023! I sat down with Barbara Hodge, Global Editor of SSON to discuss our key learnings onsite and the magic of a live event.

In this episode of GBS Careers Corner we talk to Edoardo Peniche, VP GBS at Aptiv. Edoardo is a master shared services leader with extensive global experience establishing world-class operations. He led critical initiatives that included design, implementation, development and transformation of multiple Global Shared Service Centers since 1996, establishing operations in Mexico, Costa Rica, USA, Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, China, India, Philippines and Egypt. In this episode Edoardo delves into his 27 year long GBS career honing in on:

• The importance of making mistakes and making your team a safe place to fail, innovate and come back stronger
• How leaving his home country, Mexico and getting international experience transformed his career trajectory and shaped him as a leader
• How GBS can be a multi-faceted career option allowing you to explore finance, customer experience, sales, marketing and much more!

Christy has been with Mastercard for 7 years. In her current role as Director of Engagement and Communications for Mastercard's shared services group, she leads a customized framework aimed to optimize the employee experience, and ultimately the customer experience. In the last year, phrases like quiet quitting, burnout and disengagement have become all too common in discussions around workforce productivity. With this in mind, SSONext sat down with Christy to probe a little deeper into what a people-centric culture looks like in practice.

Key Areas Covered Include:

• Defining and measuring nebulous terms like employee engagement
• What does a healthy workforce look like?
• How the modern workplace needs to change in order to prevent disengagement

In this episode of GBS Careers Corner we are joined by Dr Frank Schühler. Frank is the Managing Director for DHL Global Forwarding's, Global Service Center which was recently named one of the top 20 most admired SSOs by SSON Research and Analytics. The shared services organization operates with 4600 employees located in Bogota, Mumbai, Chennai, Chengdu and Manila augmented by many bots operated by a Virtual Delivery Center based in Chennai. He has a wealth of experience in leadership, digital transformation and finance.

In this episode we discuss Frank's career path from military service to Global GBS Lead, focusing in on his advice on:

• Gaining international experience
• Use shared services reputation as an underdog to generate pride, energy, belonging and comradeship within your team
• Translating technology into tangible business benefits

Egypt is a rapidly growing economy and labor market, with key skills in the IT and outsourcing industry. In this episode of SSONext we welcome to the podcast Ricardo Langwieder, the Regional Lead for Middle East and Africa at Alorica. Ricardo has over 20 years of international corporate and entrepreneurial experience. He's lived and worked in Europe, South America, the US, Asia, and he has worked in the MENA region just shy of ten years, making him the perfect person to probe deeper into how Egypt compares on the global stage.

In this episode we spoke about:

• What makes Egypt such a competitive location for outsourcing
• The partnerships and infrastructure the government has built to promote ease of business
• The fast-growing and highly educated workforce whose skillsets compliment many of the services provided by BPOs

In this episode of GBS Careers Corner we welcome to the podcast Dennis Lui, Chief Executive of VITAL Shared Services. VITAL is the shared services arm of the Singapore Public Service. It serves over 100,000 public officers today across 100 Ministries, Departments, Organs of State and Statutory Boards in the areas of finance, human resources and procurement. It has become an award winning hub for innovation and a fantastic example of creative technology use which has been showcased at events worldwide.

In this episode we spoke about:

• Collaborating with tech vendors and educational institutions to provide top level training which will enthuse your staff and give them purpose
• The three skills a shared services leader must develop
• Using RPA and low-code technology to empower employees and give them powers of creation

In this episode of GBS Careers Corner, Sally Fletcher talks to Paul Bryanhill. Until recently Paul acted as the VP, Finance Operations at NBC Universal. He has over 30 years of experience in shared services and finance roles where he has been responsible for design, establishment and operating both captive and outsourced services. He now spends his time mentoring to help support and develop careers for future shared services leaders.

In this episode Paul shares with us the highs and lows of his illustrious career in shared services, honing in on topics such as:

• How to demonstrate your vision and ideas to your manager
• The importance of keeping a learning mindset throughout your career
• Mentoring and reverse mentoring, the benefits of taking feedback from unexpected sources
• When to switch jobs and companies and how to pick the right one