DEAN SMITH, FOUNDER ASSURING BUSINESS – SHARED SERVICES

Dean Smith, Founder, AssuringBusiness has joined Corporate Parity’s Shared Services & GBS Summit as Chairperson & will also be contributing as a speaker covering: 

‘KICK-STARTING YOUR RPA STRATEGY AND DELIVERY FRAMEWORK.’

“Having collaborated and liaised with many in the Shared Services space, I can see that there is an increasing zest for innovation to drive quality, effectiveness and efficiency. Starting a Shared Service Centre (SSC) or Global Business Services (GBS) operation takes plenty of our precious time and energy. And keeping it performing at optimum levels is a constant imperative. It is wise, therefore, to regularly consider how best to implement and evolve our operations to optimise our goals, manage costs and continually exceed the expectations of our stakeholders and customers.

Whether internal, outsourced or hybrid operations, the experiences of our peers and the thought- leadership of those challenging the norms are excellent stimulants to help each of us innovate, often in ways we had not considered before. When an event such as this Shared Services & GBS Summit specifically targets leading-edge innovation and design-thinking concepts, it certainly makes me take an active interest. It was a very pleasant surprise and honour to be asked to Chair this event where I also intend to share and continue to learn as much as possible.

Although the world has been going through the digital revolution for several decades, this decade has seen a huge leap forward in the development and application of digital technologies affecting many aspects of our home and work lives. I believe the reality of the new digital world, with useful cost-efficient applications, is clearer now than at any time in our history. Seeing the current and potential future impact on SSC/GBS operations and BPO engagements, the time to plan and leverage digital thinking is here and now. This event will help to illustrate many of the digital options in flight and in a plan.

But we must not forget the fundamentals that can make the difference between success and failure; our people and processes. Automating poor processes will often bring benefits if executed well, but automating great processes will bring more robust longer-term rewards. There are practical evolutionary journey possibilities, as well as the more radical transformation options to consider. This event will present a balanced view of all options with inputs from wide-ranging business segments and sizes.

The core of success is always going to be the people. Harnessing their knowledge, motivating performance in an often-repetitive role, and equipping and engaging the workforce for continuous improvement and strategic change is not something we can take for granted. With a well- motivated team, we can do wonders. But if the opposite is true, attrition, process degeneration and productivity decline will ensure that our stakeholders and customers vigorously question the need for an SSC/GBS. This event will provide great case examples and best-practices to leverage on home turf.

In summary, I believe that through this event Corporate Parity is striving to equip each of us as current or potential stakeholders or actors in the SSC/GBS space with the tools to enable great results. We all have something to contribute and learn and so I look forward to seeing you there; Imagineers, innovators, performance drivers, transformations and evolutionists alike.”

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