I once woke up to an announcement on the radio that the bank whose business services operations I was leading was being sold to a mega-banking major. Notwithstanding the fact that I reported to one of the vice chairs, and he left me off his call list, I should have recognized the signs. That day was an emotional rollercoaster, but it was nothing compared to the ups and downs I experienced over the next year.

Is a merger or acquisition (M&A) in your GBS future? Or has been in the past? Likely so. But don’t take it from me, take it from ChatGPT. According to that font of all knowledge, 40-50% of the current F1000 company list have been formed through mergers and acquisitions to increase market share, diversify products, or enter new markets. ​With GBS ground zero for integration—and expected to deliver much of the justification for combination, its team members bear more than their share of change and angst.

With the average time from an announcement of a merger or acquisition to the completion of the transaction at 6-12 months for mid-sized to larger deals, with the duration of post-merger integration taking another 1.5 years or more, M&A activity wreaks special havoc on the global business services model, its leaders, and its people.

Why is that? Finance and others are functions that are policy- or rules-driven, fairly cut-and-dried that face the challenges or scale or streamlining in merger and acquisition activity. However, GBS is an ecosystem that delivers work; certainly, there are some rules but a varied range of levers to pull. Each is different. So, at an event, combination sets a series of reactions, depending on the integration scenario, of which there are four:

• The acquirer’s GBS has all the answers, and the acquired are subsumed into their model. In this scenario—which occurs most often—the delivery model and often the leadership chairs are fully occupied. Because the acquired organization has some level of certainty as to its fate, its roadmap is shut down, investment stops, and the acquired or merged team members become disaffected and start to tune off and look elsewhere.
• The acquired have a more evolved GBS, so it drives transformation. This scenario is challenging if the management team slots remain with the acquirer, less so when there is a “merger of equals.” In the former case, the GBS model can feel like a graft that may or may not take, forcing the powers that be to think and work differently; tables are turned when it comes to which GBS team is feeling the pain.
• Management believes that the event is a catalyst to design and implement a new GBS model. Under the banner of integration, management may take the opportunity to rethink the model, perhaps repatriating scope to the business, realigning work into CoEs, consolidating locations, or pushing an automation agenda. This scenario creates both uncertainty and opportunity for both organizations.
• Neither has a mature GBS, so integration drives the design and implementation of a new model. Nothing like a merger or acquisition focuses the mind on the benefits of the model; in this scenario, trusted leaders from the business, usually supported by a consultant, cook up a new business services platform.

But there’s potentially a silver lining for GBS organizations. With the typical integration budget as much or more than 5% of the transaction’s value, GBS is likely to benefit. Here are a just a few.

• Heightened importance GBS organizations almost always have a seat at the table when it comes to strategy for integration and resultant implementation. If the model delivers, there may be an afterglow that results in GBS becoming more integral to enterprise strategy and operations (note that I did not say seat at the table).
• Ability to transform Under the aegis of an integration budget, GBS may finally be able to justify and grab some funding for resources that it and the enterprise believe necessary to drive transformation.
• New investment in infrastructure and technology The event should drive system standardization and investment to get at those critical synergies. It could be a perfect catalyst for the expansion of delivery locations or the implementation of technology that’s been on the wish list but out of reach.

Regardless of the approach the enterprise takes, the greatest challenge is not model design or whether to close down Costa Rica in favor of Bogota—it’s down to people. Helping them cope and modeling the right behaviors is paramount to getting through this most trying of periods. Based on my experience, here are some tips to ensure productivity and engagement

• Don’t panic The team will take their cue from its leaders. Be stoic.
• Don’t play your hand If you are ready to retire or move on, keep it to yourself.
• Keep momentum going and make it obvious to the team Decide which initiatives are likely to be unaffected by the event, and which will not survive. The teams need to understand it’s business as usual until it isn’t (there’s always a risk that the deal won’t proceed) but also not feel that they are responsible for busy work that doesn’t have a prayer of surviving Day 1. A thoughtful “stop-start-continue” exercise is very useful and should be conducted at the announcement and during key points during integration planning.
• Maintain routines Nothing says all is lost more than truncating or stopping embedded management routines.
• Be respectful of the other party GBS is highly contextual. No GBS is “best” or has all the answers. We can be a very catty bunch when it comes to talking about our peers. When the organizations come to the table, superior or dismissive behavior is out of place. Help your teams keep an open mind.
• Take the opportunity to learn M&A is fascinating; it allows the opportunity to have a window into another enterprise’s operations since rats and mice come out during the planning for and execution of integration. Ultimately, knowing how to foster an integration is a resume booster.
• Keep everyone informed Not knowing facts such as events, timelines, and packages is harder than not knowing. Be as forthcoming as you can and admit when you don’t know or can’t yet share an answer. And be careful about sharing appropriately with your inner circle; it creates an “us and them.”
• Create opportunities to come together frequently I ran weekly brown bag lunches as therapy for my team. Knowing that they were not alone was a great help in keeping them focused on their work.
• Administer hyper care to your team when possible There will be situations that will send a message to the team. For example, I had to pull strings to bridge one month of service to obtain retirement status for one of my employees. The team will be acutely aware of what their leaders will do to ease their concerns and keep chugging on.
• Read Elisabeth Kubler-Ross’s Five Stages of Grief Especially if you are acquired, it’s a must-read to keep your sanity. After all, M&A represents the loss of an institution and potentially of a work family and the creation of something new and unknown. For example, I experienced an acute sense of loss with a fixation on what I could have achieved without that “bloody acquisition.” Elizabeth helped.

And remember, GBS models are never static even without M&A activity. This too shall pass. GBS has evolved to be exceptionally resilient.

Join us as we reveal findings from the annual “Mapping the Next: Key Priorities for 2025” study, offering an inside look into the top concerns, expectations, and goals of industry leaders for the coming year. This session will spotlight leaders’ core priorities, such as technology adoption, digital transformation, generative AI, customer experience, and sustainability.

Our experts will also discuss critical global services decisions, including build vs. buy strategies, in-house vs. outsourcing, onshore vs. offshore operations, and the balance between long-term and short-term contracts.

This is your chance to hear exclusive, high-impact insights and gain an edge so you can make more informed decisions that will improve organizational resilience, competitiveness, and chances of future success for 2025.

What questions will the webinar answer for the participants?

• What are the trends that will shape the global services market in 2025?
• What are the likely changes in sourcing spend, sourcing strategy (in-house vs. outsource), and locations?
• What is the enterprise outlook on tech and AI adoption in 2025?
• Which digital services and next-generation capabilities are expected to be in demand?
• How are outsourcing deals, enterprises’ leverage of service providers, and bill rates expected to change?

Who should attend?

• Enterprise/business leaders (CIOs, CDOs, CTOs, CFOs, CPOs)
• Global sourcing leaders
• GBS/shared services center heads
• Leaders at IT and BP providers

As the global services landscape continues to evolve, 2024 has brought unique challenges. While the cost of delivering global services continued to increase, pricing came to a standstill for many services and even declined for some. The growing adoption of the Global Capability Center (GCC) model has further transformed the economics of outsourcing, prompting both buyers and service providers to reevaluate key elements of their agreements.

Watch this on-demand webinar as our panel of pricing experts analyzed the significant trends of 2024 and offer a forward-looking view on IT and BPO services pricing for 2025. This session will provide valuable insights into the pricing strategies and key levers that can help both parties achieve win-win outcomes in an increasingly complex environment.

What questions did the webinar answer?

• How has the cost of delivering IT and BPO services and pricing changed in 2024?
• What levers are buyers and providers pulling, and is a win-win arrangement possible
• What is the outlook for pricing and costs?

Who should attend?

• CIOs, CTOs, CDOs
• IT executives, IT strategy leaders
• BPO department leaders
• GBS leaders managing IT and BPO outsourcing contracts
• Pricing leaders
• Solutioning leaders
• Pre-sales leaders
• Large pursuits leaders
• Finance Leaders

Related Content:

• The Evolution and Growth of Global Capability Centers (GCCs) and the Critical Role of Providers | Blog
• Five Key Steps Buyers Should Take to Optimize Services Contracts | | Blog
• Unlocking Revenue Potential: Service Provider Strategies for Tools/Accelerator Monetization  | Blog

Facilitated by Everest Group

This in-person roundtable will focus on how GCCs are strengthening their value proposition by fostering an innovation-driven mindset to drive impact and growth for enterprises.

Key themes to be discussed include:

• The evolving role of innovation teams within GCCs in driving business, service, and product transformation
• Best practices for scaling and sustaining the growth and impact of innovation teams in GCCs
• Ways to cultivate an innovation-driven culture across teams within GCCs
• Methods to evaluate frameworks and approaches to measure the real impact of innovation initiatives

We invite you to join us for insightful discussions with your peers and our expert analysts. The session will provide valuable perspectives on the future role of innovation teams in GCCs and how India, as a leading global delivery location, continues to play a pivotal role in shaping the innovation program/agenda for the enterprise.

Who should attend? 

GCC leaders, innovation leaders, digital and technology leaders, and operations/functional leaders from GCCs

Roundtable guidelines: 

• Participation is by invitation only
• Attendees are encouraged to actively engage and share their experiences
• The event is exclusive to GCC leaders (no service providers)

When is it happening and where? 

Date and time: 02 December 2024, 10 am – 1 pm IST (roundtable discussion, followed by lunch)

Venue:

Crowne Plaza Today Gurgaon, Sector 29, National Highway-8, Gurgaon – 122001

Request to Attend

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Global businesses are at a unique inflection point of growth. Moving past GBS model evaluations based on outdated metrics, such as cost efficiency and operational performance, offers businesses the opportunity to drive strategic value and innovate for greater capabilities.

In this GBS-focused webinar, Everest Group experts Anish Agarwal, Vice President, Rohitashwa Aggarwal, Partner, and Shivi Pandey, Practice Director, talked through how to utilize the GBS model to revamp operations.

Attendees understood the need for GBS organizations to lead in innovation and transformation to escape the bounds of traditional delivery metrics and meet the evolving needs and priorities of businesses. They also came away with insights into how they can differentiate their business, and develop the GBS model as a strategic partner to their enterprise.

What questions did the webinar answer for the participants?

• How is the GBS model evolving? What are the head and tailwinds of growth?
• How can enterprises innovate within GBS to stay competitive in a constrained investment environment?
• What are the challenges faced by GBS leaders? What are they doing to overcome these challenges?
• What are the opportunities for GBS organizations in 2025?

Who should attend?

• GBS heads
• GCC heads
• Shared services leaders
• IT/BP department heads
• Global sourcing managers
• CIOs
• CTOs

I recently took one of those unplug-and-unwind holidays but made it only eight days before I craved a serious conversation. So I rang my good friend, the always-wise Fred Simoes of Cargill, for some food for thought. When we got to talking about enterprise GBS strategy, he popped a quote I’d somehow missed attributed to US Representative Shirley Chisholm, “If you don’t have a seat at the table, you are probably on the menu.”  It got me thinking about how a GBS seat at the table actually manifests itself. (By the way, thanks, Fred, for giving me a new topic to obsess about).

Seat at the table, seat at the table. Most industry reports and surveys proudly proclaim that global business services organizations increasingly have been invited to rub shoulders with the C-suite, influencing strategy, yucking it up with the enterprise’s CXOs, and ensuring that GBS is embedded in the operating model.

But if I take sitting at the top table literally, looking around me, I see only a handful (ok, maybe two hands on a good day) of GBS leaders who are badged as CXOs. If so few actually have a physical seat at the table, do we have an aspiration that is inaccurate, misleading, and frankly, not usually within a GBS leader’s reach?

Given the paucity of leaders on the same reporting line as the CFO or part of the EXCO,  what does the phrase “seat at the table” actually mean for GBS and their leaders? And how important is it?

According to the Free Dictionary, the font of much knowledge, it means an “active role in some group or activity in which one’s opinions are heard, and one has influence in how decisions are made.”

So I did a bit of thinking about the term and came to the conclusion we have it all wrong. There are many tables in an enterprise—think transformation table, efficiency table, cost-cutting table, even growth table—and at any given time, it’s critical that GBS sit at some or all of them.

Perhaps it’s more important that GBS is always in the room, moving between tables. Comfortably seated at one table is a risk when corporate priorities and personnel are constantly changing, just like tables in a restaurant.

Given this definition, how do you know your GBS is in the room? Looking around, I see these markers:

• Documented as a vital pillar of corporate strategy
• Pervasive in the transformation agenda
• Considered in all pertinent enterprise decisions
• Actively sought out by CXOs and the business for advice and counsel
• Has the agility and flexibility to pivot the model quickly as business conditions change
• Career paths in and out of GBS

How do you know your GBS is standing in the hallway, knocking at a door that just won’t open?

• Relegated to focusing exclusively on cost
• Reporting line is continually tossed around between stakeholders
• Ebbing and flowing scope
• Can’t get a conversation with the CEO for love or money
• Not perceived as a source of capability
• Continually “rebooting”

The obvious question is—how does GBS get into the room? Here’s how I see it.

• Create tangible, quantifiable value, not vaporware
• Move the enterprise to the model at the speed it can absorb but at a pace that creates impact
• Be seen as a partner problem solver, not a blocker
• Able to work effectively with a number of enterprise constituencies

Knows when to retreat to advance

So, Fred, I certainly get what the quote originally inferred…not being at the table can mean that you become someone’s delicious dinner. But, perhaps GBS organizations need to rethink their ambition, and make sure they are always in the room.