During HFS’ AI Symposium in 2024, over a fireside chat, Capgemini’s David Lumley and HFS Research’s Elena Christopher shared some interesting details about Global Business Services (GBS) and its growth. They discussed interesting insights about the GBS model and how they are evolving with time and experience.

As taken from the highlights report, GBS is indispensable for managing essential back-office functions, but it can be much more than that. Enterprises need growth, innovation, and digital transformation, and a GBS must step up to the challenge, pivoting from being a cost-cutting machine to a strategic powerhouse that aligns with these priorities.

While the enterprise GBS model cannot be discarded, it must be modernized to adapt to changing market conditions and leverage disruptive technologies such as generative AI (GenAI). 

Global Business Services (GBS) centers, also sometimes referred to as Global Capability Centers (GCCs), have delivered on their core promise: centralized efficiency and significant cost optimization. But as digital capabilities accelerate, the very definition of GBS value is changing.

Many organizations still see technology within GBS, like AI and automation, as a way to replace manual tasks. However, that view isn’t effective anymore. These technologies are now driving a strategic imperative, pushing GBS centers to transform from a simple service provider into a true engine of insight, agility, and competitive advantage for the whole enterprise.

You need a smart, intentional re-architecture of the GBS/GCC workforce, moving talent up the value chain to stay relevant and deliver major strategic impact.

Redefining Value

The old GBS/GCC model focused on low cost per transaction. The new value equation is all about high impact per insight. This shift means leaders need to accept that the work itself is rapidly becoming digital. The real key to this transition is beyond automating existing tasks. It is about re-engineering entire processes around leveraging AI capabilities to amplify the human potential.

From Processor to Problem-Solver, the change in your workforce boils down to three core ideas:

1. Process Mastery: GBS workforce must evolve from task performers to Process Architects. They need to analyze end-to-end flows (like Procure-to-Pay) and optimize them for automation.
   

2. Data Acumen: The new team must be fluent in data. This means moving past basic reporting and into Predictive Analytics. They must be able to combine data across departments, find patterns, and offer foresight that helps your business prevent s proactively or find new revenue streams.
   
   

3. Strategic Partnership: The talent pool needs to raise the level of the conversation from just meeting SLAs (Service Level Agreements) to delivering strategic business outcomes. They become trusted consultants working alongside business units, turning your company strategy into actionable solutions, using the assets to solve high-priority problems.

This is a necessary evolution. The skills that delivered efficiency last decade won't deliver the strategic value needed for the next one. Re-architecting GBS/GCCs needs a targeted plan for talent development and hiring, beyond just training schedules.

The New GBS/GCC Archetypes

You need to strategically cultivate three specific types of expertise within GBS:

• The Hyper-automation Specialist: These are technical experts who orchestrate multiple technologies (RPA, AI/ML, GenAI) to seamlessly configure, deploy, and govern their digital workforce, ensuring resilience and scale. They focus on maximizing output and minimizing human effort in repetitive flows.
  
  

• The Integrated Data Analyst: They are highly skilled at reading complex, cross-functional data. They use machine learning to deliver predictive and prescriptive insights that genuinely inform executive decisions. For instance, anticipating shifts in working capital or projecting demand based on external factors.
  
  

• The Business Value Consultant: They are the relationship builders and solution designers who understand business domains (Finance, HR) and are great at translating a division’s strategic need into a GBS/GCC solution that delivers measurable commercial value. They are the voice of the business.

To make this happen, GBS/GCC leaders need to create structured talent transformation programs. Find those high-potential, analytically curious employees and put them on a rigorous career path that includes certifications, mentorship, and assignments focused on automation and data science.

The Agility Hub

When your people focus on strategy, your GCC becomes an Enterprise Agility Hub, delivering value far beyond just saving costs:

• Informed Decision Velocity: By shifting from reporting what happened to predicting what will happen, the GBS model enables business leaders with faster, more confident information for investment, risk, and resource decisions.
  
  

• Process Resilience: A workforce focused on process architecture ensures core operations are efficient and inherently more adaptable to sudden changes in the market or supply chain.
  
  

• Strategic Capacity: Automating the transactional workload frees up your skilled resources. Business unit leaders get access to skilled, cross-functional teams that can tackle new growth initiatives instead of being slowed down by admin work.
  
  

• Experience Enhancement: Technology handles the standardized user experience, enabling GBS teams to focus on complex interactions that truly require human empathy, judgment, and problem-solving. This makes the shared services experience much better for everyone.
  
  

Your Pragmatic Action Plan

The transition must be an evolution. Here are three practical steps GBS/GCC leaders can take right now:

• Do a Role-to-Value assessment: Map every GBS role against two key metrics: its automation potential (low to high) and its strategic value-add (low to high). This gives you a clear plan for what roles to sunset, what roles to upskill, and what talent you need to hire immediately.
  
  

• Pilot a GBS Academy: Start an internal training program focused specifically on certifications in process mining, automation tools, and basic data literacy. Make participation a key requirement for career advancement.
  
  

• Align KPIs With Strategic Impact: Shift some of the GBS performance metrics away from cost-based numbers towards value realization. Measure things like reduction in the time your business spends on admin tasks or the number of high-impact strategic insights delivered per quarter.

The GBS/GCC mandate has changed from simply doing things cheaper to helping the enterprise do things smarter and faster. Re-architecting your workforce is the most critical investment that you can make today to secure your organization's future as an indispensable strategic asset.

Planning to take your Global Capability Center (GCC)/Global Business Services (GBS) center on the Next-Gen innovation mode? At Enablr, a Covasant Company, we work with you to assess and harness the power of AI for upskilled performance. Connect with our experts who bring in years of experience to evaluate what your GBS/GCC needs for sustained growth.