“Dear Deb” is an exclusive advice column led by Deborah Kops, a veteran with a unique perspective across the shared services and outsourcing industry. Known as a contrarian who dares people to think out of the box, Deborah leverages her experience as a provider, buyer, and advisor to help you navigate new business structures and ways of working.
How do we stop being treated like a cost center and start being treated like a strategic partner? Upender Rao, Former GBS APAC Lead at Salesforce, asks. Deborah Kops has a surprising answer. There's a difference between being trusted with a task and being trusted with an outcome. Until companies give their global teams the authority to make real decisions and be accountable for real outcomes, nothing will change. And AI isn't going to solve it; it's going to expose it.
This week’s question comes from Candace Dingman, COO, Lifepoint Business Services, Lifepoint Health:
“Based on your experience advising and observing GBS transformations globally, what are the three non-negotiable change management strategies…”
This week’s question comes from: LeDon Brooks, VP, Business Services Hub, Schneider Electric
“How can GBS organizations build the trust required to move beyond traditional back-office roles and operate as true strategic partners that deliver enterprise-wide value?”
In an age of digital disruption, how do you turn highly trained global teams into real drivers of business outcomes? Deborah Kops turns the question inside out and starts with a word most organizations need to stop using.