IAFEI Quarterly - 34th Issue

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Misconcepon 1: There is no need for talent in the
shared service center industry.
When I took my first job in the outsourcing industry,
one of my mentors, a senior finance manager from GE,
predicted to me that this would be a wrong move for
my career. Reality is that this industry is at the heart of
many business transformaons. This industry has been
developing, growing and adapng at a very high speed
and with constant higher demand in terms of customer
expectaons. This has only been made possible through
aracng and retaining talented individuals.
At the end of 2012, the ACCA (The Associaon of
Chartered Cerfied Accountants) undertook a global
survey about « talent pracces in finance funcons with
shared service operaons ». On one hand the majority
of the respondents recognized the crical importance
of talent management strategies to be effecve in a
finance model with shared services. On the other hand,
a surprising 72% of the same respondents declared that
either their finance funcons did not implement talent
management programs or that they were unaware of
such programs.
If you want to set up an internal shared service center do
make sure that you put talented people to implement it
and to run it!
Misconcepon 2: The shared service industry does not
develop leaders.
Some of the pivotal roles within a service center
environment are great opportunies for leadership
growth. They provide the field for developing numerous
skills in a challenging and demanding environment. An
Operaonal Manager (in charge of managing a team
leading a process) or a Transion leader (in charge of
transioning a process from an environment to another)
will have a vast range of development opportunies:
- The need to wear mulple hats. They learn on the
ground the art of being both strong team leaders and
to manage customers’ expectaons, relaonship and
experience. They are o"en faced with situaons that
required them to be agile, open, great listeners and
innovators. More o"en than not they are dealing with
mulple customers (internal or external).
- A fast moving environment for accelerated learning.
Ranging from mentoring programs to learning centers,
or to consulng assignment abroad, they do have the
opportunity, for the most ambious, to expand their
knowledge and competencies at an incredible speed.
- The necessity to be an expert. They must know and
understand end to end processes. They are o"en part
not only of the day to day operaons but they o"en
contribute to the team designing the soluon that was
put in place or reengineering processes.
- A requirement to constantly evolve. New skills are
being developed as part of the curricula such as Process
Excellence, Controls, Analycs and Automaon. In the
next few years, automaon or arficial intelligence will
become a game changer for outsourcing providers.
The industry and the people composing it will need to
adapt and to perform in an environment more and more
demanding and completely different.
- A requisite for internaonal exposure. Many jobs in
a shared service center or in the outsourcing industry,
de facto, include an important internaonal component
and the capacity towork in amul-cultural environment,
in a global and virtual se#ng.
Shared Service Centers are a great field for developing
leaders. Either within the ‘outsourcing’ industry players
or within Mulnaonal shared service centers. They are
o"en an important part of the strategy of a business,
directly connected with operaons, client care, and
funconal support.
So what does this mean for leaders engaged or willing
to engage in a Finance Transformaon project with a
Shared Service Center (or outsourcing partner).
I think that those two misconcepons, these beliefs
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