In the face of a global crisis, well-prepared SSC needs to mitigate the effect of COVID 19 through key action in business.

Adopting to new way of work style:

Companies are actually exploring how remote working is possible now in different sectors except the one’s where the physical presence is utmost important. The future of work productivity will be based more on trust and result basis rather than increasing man-hours and supervision. This will increase the emphasis on the use of digital technologies and the way we consume technology & business services. Many SSC already leveraging remote-working and video conferencing a lot these days. For instance, automating most of rules-based processes with RPA such as data entry, reconciliation, data transfer, report generation, data processing, archiving and data mapping to help improve turnaround time and touchless processing of finance & accounting processes across P2P, O2C, A2R and other relevant IT functions .

Centralization a new focus:

For companies that have already implemented GBS successfully and are able to scale up, are witnessing the benefit of having a globally shared service model. Whereas centralized processes continued with the same quality and accuracy immediately at the commencement of pandemic restrictions, not centralized processes of the same group faced extra effort, extra preparation or even firefighting to meet expectations. Companies are also realizing that it may even make sense to centralize some more processes, because the more geographic spread you have the more these processes are dispersed across the globe. However it seems that future centralization requires more digitalization and less office space.

BCP Solutions:

SSC must rethink how straightforward and practical are their BCP Solutions to implement? Does the current BCP Solution working and passing the parameters of testing? Are we prepared for latency issues? Are we able to meet emergency service levels for all services to our customers? These are just some of the questions shared service organizations on a global scale should be asking themselves. Some will realize that working from home is the best and easiest solution, whereas others will see value in setting up alternate sites – every situation is unique and requires careful planning and consideration. Some companies took the decision to move to a work-from-home model in response to current circumstances, and certainly there will be many other companies who invested in BCP planning many years ago and will now see those benefits.

Focus on Outputs versus observation time

In a post-COVID-19 world, employees and productivity will be measured on what gets done and the value of their work rather than on the individual tasks and the time it takes to get the work done.

Leaders must provide short and effective, outcome-driven expectations so that their people can deliver on goals successfully. Motivating employees to perform will require modeling and measurement of their outputs and being clear on those metrics. Companies must level-set expectations for what drives organizational priorities and goals, rather than discrete tasks.

Moving to new work-life practice

Companies have to be adaptable to new way of flexible working hours instead of conventional 8AM to 5PM timings . If leaders can place greater emphasis on flexibility for people to accomplish their best work. When and how it meets their personal needs as well as the needs of the company. They can reinforce the cultural shift of measuring staff based on performance, which can result in exponential benefits for the organization.

Organizations must be more approachable and support employees’ needs to make time for self-care –including exercise, meals, and family time. Policies and procedures need to reflect these shifts, and leaders must model a true work-life balance so that it becomes part of the company culture.

Effective communications

Now that companies have gone fully virtual, individuals are communicating more efficiently and more frequently across a networked environment. To do this well, everyone, at every level, must make opportunities for dialogue by employing numerous channels.

Leaders can make communication easier for their people. They can remove roadblocks, create a governance structure that pushes decision-making out and down, and provide employees with the tools and training they need to empower them for ongoing communication and local decision-making.