How to Transform GBS into a Customer-Friendly Service Organization

In this article, CX expert Isabella Kosch breaks down the key factors that create a customer-centric GBS. To hear more from Isabella, and learn more about customer experience in GBS, you can join our CX and Service Excellence for GBS Virtual Summit. 

Digitalization Alone Won’t Fix GBS. Here’s What Actually Works.
I have seen it happen over and over. A company rolls out a new service management system. A few months later, there is a new interface, some automation, and a dashboard full of reports. But employees still struggle with processes. Customers still face delays. Nothing has fundamentally changed.

For Global Business Services (GBS), real transformation is not about adding technology. It is about delivering a seamless, customer-friendly service experience. Digitalization is the enabler, but without redesigning processes and focusing on the end-to-end experience, it will never live up to its promise. If employees and business units still struggle, your transformation is just an expensive IT project.

Overcoming the "Valley of Tears" in GBS Transformation
Every transformation faces an adoption barrier. Employees resist new systems when they feel forced to use them but have not yet seen the benefits. This stage, often called the “Valley of Tears”, is where frustration builds, and people look for ways to revert to old workarounds.

The goal is to move beyond forced adoption to a system that employees want to use. That happens when:

• Processes become easier, not more complicated.
• Automation eliminates frustration instead of creating new problems.
• Employees see immediate personal benefits, such as less admin work and faster issue resolution.

GBS leaders must require system use in the early phase but focus on making it the better option. If employees continue resisting after months, the problem is not resistance, but a broken process.

5 Signs That Your GBS Transformation Works

1. Customers Get What They Need Without Hassle 

When transformation is real, customers get service without extra steps, delays, or confusion. For example: HR service requests resolve instantly instead of bouncing between teams, or finance provides real-time forecasts without teams manipulating data in spreadsheets.

2. Workflows Actually Work Across Functions 

GBS is more than a collection of services. True transformation integrates processes across departments so customers are not stuck between silos. For example, procurement, IT, and finance collaborate in a single service flow instead of customers submitting multiple requests. Alternatively, ServiceNow or other unified systems trigger automatic actions to prevent bottlenecks.

If employees still spend time connecting the dots between departments, the transformation is incomplete.

3. Employees Use the System Because It’s Better, Not Because They Have To 

If employees avoid the system, it is not solving their problems. For example: if HR still gets emails instead of service requests, the process is broken. If finance teams still track numbers in separate spreadsheets, the ERP is failing them.

Watch for “Frictionless Fails”: Issues resolved before customers even notice them. A payroll system should detect errors before employees receive incorrect salaries.

4. Manual Work Disappears in Favor of Automation That Works 

Transformation should free employees from tedious tasks, not create more work. For example: shared services do not chase invoices because the system provides real-time tracking. IT is no longer overwhelmed with access requests because identity management is fully automated.

Establish low-code and no-code Process Optimizers: Employees who once spent hours fixing broken processes now use automation to create efficiencies.

5. Change Feels Natural Because It Just Works 

A successful transformation requires structured change management. Employees and business units may resist at first, but with the right guidance, enforcement, and visible benefits, they will shift from reluctant users to active adopters who rely on the system by choice. For example, employees do not ask where to submit a request. The process guides them effortlessly. GBS does not need to force adoption. People prefer the system because it saves time.

If no one remembers how things worked before, the transformation is complete.

When GBS Transformations Fail
The problem is rarely the technology. Transformation fails when companies:

• Automate bad processes instead of improving them.
• Introduce rigid systems that do not align with how employees actually work.
• Treat digitalization as an IT upgrade instead of a service experience shift.
• Ignore the need for end-to-end integration, leading to disconnected workflows.
• Fail to move past the "Valley of Tears" into a system that employees choose to use.

3-Point Reality Check: Is Your Transformation Customer-Friendly?

• Do employees and business units prefer using the new system over workarounds
• Can customers resolve their issues without escalating them?
• Is GBS seen as a strategic enabler or still just a back-office function?

Digitalization should not just make things digital. It should make work easier, faster, and better for everyone who relies on GBS. If that is not happening, you have not transformed anything. You have only digitized inefficiency.

Prioritize experience.

About the author: 

Isabella Kosch helps organizations turn GBS into a customer-friendly, experience-driven service powerhouse by combining digitalization, service management, and operational excellence. With over 20 years of experience, she is focused on solutions that truly work for the people using them.