What is a career in shared services? Since its inception in the 90s, the answer has changed dramatically as the growth in opportunities matches the expansion of services and the technologies used to deliver them. Whereas once a shared services career would have meant long periods in transactional, repetitive roles, and with cost-saving as the sole driver, this is no longer the case. The introduction of digital technologies and value-added services means you can now find newer roles in fields such as data analytics, marketing, digitization, customer experience, and traditional finance and IT jobs.
Working within a GBS environment provides a unique opportunity from which to gain perspective over the entire organization. Furthermore, unlike in many career paths (where once you get a few years under your belt, moving roles means a drop in salary or responsibility), because of GBS’ need for rapid growth and flexibility, non-conventional moves are possible. I’ve seen accountants take on digital transformation roles, recruiters morph into customer experience managers and finance take on data analytics. Indeed, the ability to be agile and go where needed is an incredible strength for shared services professionals who want to get ahead.
But although GBS provides incredible career opportunities it does require the right skills to be honed and work to be done. Continuous improvement is part of shared services DNA and that includes continuous improvement of yourself, so learning from those who’ve reached the top is essential.
That’s why SSON has developed the GBS Careers Corner. A series of interviews with senior-level GBS professionals talking about their own career paths, what they did to get noticed, what made an impact and their advice for the next generation. These interviews have been released weekly as part of SSONext (SSON’s podcast).
The goal of this booklet is to summarize the three key takeaways from each of the interviews conducted so far. If you read closely you'll notice trends have emerged in mentorship, gaining technology skills, and being open-minded about where you work.