Being Future Relevant

Editor's Note

Due to the Covid epidemic, the need to insulate oneself, and its related lockdown has created unique situations for us humans. We, as individuals, families, society and industry have had to face situations where physical connects need to be kept at a minimum, if at all. This became quite a challenge given that we are essentially a social bunch. Maybe it is Providence that the corona pandemic has come at a time when mankind is better placed to handle it. Though we may not have been prepared for it, the timing was such that we can possibly dare we say that we were somewhat ready, thanks to technology and connectivity. When the pandemic exploded, it took the world by surprise – shock even. We were just not prepared for it, mentally and even physically. All the BCPs that we had thought of, either personal or business, came crashing down. Humans had to quickly look around and work out ways to survive, support and grow. The services sector could handle things virtually, but the ‘physical’ industries like manufacturing, mining, travel, hospitality, tourism, etc. have had a severe impact.

Eventually, it turned out that we got ourselves ready to face the fallout. While on the one hand the medical world rallied around to prevent and cure the ailment, the business world was almost hand-held by the technology syndicate to provide alternate workable solutions. It turns out that we have had the technology to deal with the situation, but not the grit to implement it. The pandemic has fast-forwarded the implementation by, maybe, ten years.

Today everyone in the world and their cousins have stories to tell about the wonder solutions to the unprecedented restrictions that we are facing. Socially, we may still be down, but many businesses have firmed up their strategies on how to face the future, and especially what actions are to be taken now to secure it.

Carrying on with our mandate to support the business world by discussions on business services and shared services, our cover feature this time is on the importance of having the finance function lead the shared services industry. Most organizations that have implemented business services transformative strategies have found that the finance function's ability to remain ‘clinical’ makes it an ideal candidate to experiment with. The functional professionals too become natural custodians of overall business knowledge and acumen, making them prime candidates for strategic positions.

Amongst the other topics under view, there is an example of how an organization has rapidly adopted self-designed digitalization techniques to tackle its business situations; a unique case of an accelerated, life changing journey in setting up a global shared service centre; and a case study of an India to India shared service center's efforts in generating leaders for the future. In our interview section, we bring a short conversation with the Senior Vice President of Nokia Operations & Global Service Delivery, Amit Dhingra, where he gives us an insight into the intelligence that is required to run at the cutting edge of telecom technology and design for the future. And finally, for managers who face ever changing situations on business life, a simple guide to handle change and use it to advantage.

Businesses are rapidly changing, and how the business services are conducted are changing too. SSF and Process Edge are keeping a close watch on all forms of industry movements that are likely to impact us now or in the future. Our primary source of information, knowledge and insights continue to be you, our readers.

Stay engaged and stay safe.

Table of Contents

COVER FEATURE
Being Future Relevant
FINANCE PROFESSIONALS IN SHARED SERVICES
– A RESEARCH REPORT BY SSF
SANJAY GUPTA & RAKESH SINHA

SPECIAL FEATURE
Future Readiness of the Telecom Services Industry
A PROGRESSIVE TAKE ON NEW INITIATIVES AND TECHNOLOGY
TEAM SSF IN CONVERSATION WITH AMIT DHINGRA

A High-speed HR Transformation Journey
MANTRAS TO SET-UP A FULLY FUNCTIONAL SHARED SERVICES UNIT IN RECORD TIME
NEHA AHLUWALIA

Managing Change Effectively
A SIMPLE FOUR-STEP GUIDE FOR LEADERS OF CHANGE
SANJEEV RASTOGI

Digitalization – Our Global Language
TECHNOLOGY TO THE RESCUE DURING THE CURRENT CRISIS
KAVITA BOSE MALHOTRA

Nurturing Talent & Culture Transformation
ROADMAP TO BUILDING THE NEXT GENERATION LEADERS
NAVNEET BANSAL

SSF Business Community Engagements
A REPORT ON SSF’S VIRTUAL LEADERSHIP INTERACTIONS

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