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One Year On: Impact of the Pandemic on SSO Delivery Models [Q1 2021]
Your operations
1.
What category best describes your type of organization?
Enterprise GBS or shared services
Business process outsourcing provider
Consultant
2.
What is your company revenue?
<500,000 U$
500,000 - 1bn U$
1-3bn U$
3-5bn U$
>5bn U$
3.
Where are YOU located? (i.e. your center)
Americas
Europe, Middle East and Africa
APAC
Impact of the pandemic on operations
4.
How would you rate the impact of the pandemic overall, on your service delivery operations?
No impact (other than WFH)
1 star
2 stars
Some impact
3 stars
4 stars
People, process, technology and location have been impacted dramatically
5 stars
5.
One year on, how is your SSO/GBS service capacity impacted? (choose one)
Our service capacity is greater than it was a year ago
We are back to 100% pre-Covid-19 service capacity
We have lost <25% of our service capacity
We have lost >25% of our service capacity
6.
To what extent are your centers back in operation? (choose all that apply)
We are still in 100% WFH globally
We have opened centers in some regions
We have shifted work to fewer centers
We have shifted work to third-party providers
We have set up new centers in new locations
We have opened all our centers
Other (please specify)
7.
How has your scope of work been affected, as of today? (choose one)
Same scope as pre-pandemic
Reduced scope
Increased scope
Other (please specify)
8.
Which of these processes has experienced the highest level of disruption as a result of the pandemic? (choose one)
Hire-to-Retire
Order-to-Cash
Procure-to-Pay
Record-to-Report
Please explain the problem
9.
Which of the following reflect the most significant impact of the pandemic on your enterprise's business? (choose the top 3)
Decline in collections
Increased cost of operations
Customer churn
Supply chain disruptions
Access to and retention of talent
Staff communication issues
Wellness and morale issues
No impact
Other (please specify)
Strategic
impact
10.
Has the SSO/GBS taken on a bigger role in driving digital transformation across the enterprise as a result of the pandemic?
No
Yes (please explain below)
11.
How has your shared services operation supported enterprise resiliency over the past year of the pandemic? (choose best answer option)
Through data analytics that helped the business pivot quickly
Through cost savings and avoidance
Through agility to meet volume changes
By offering Covid-19-related support services
By taking on new services/service lines
Other (please specify)
12.
What Future of Work initiatives have you implemented as a result of the pandemic? (check all that apply)
Reconfigured centers for collaboration
Put in place enabling work from home technology
Changed hiring practices to be more virtual
Implemented work from anywhere policy
Changed your management routines
Reengineered or eliminated work
Other (please specify)
Resources
and Talent Impact
13.
Have you seen a change in employee productivity as a result of the pandemic?
Yes, it is higher
Yes, it is lower
No change
14.
How have overall SSO/GBS staffing levels changed, as a result of the pandemic?
Reduced
Stayed the same
Increased
15.
How might your resourcing strategy evolve as a result of the pandemic? (choose best answer option)
Bring more work inhouse to control knowledge supply chain (less outsourcing)
Increase use of outsourcing to provide more flexibility and access to talent/skills/technology
Leverage wage arbitrage via offshore locations (cost savings)
Tap talent wherever you find it (virtual SSO/GBS)
Increase use of gig workers and crowdsourcing
No change
Other (please specify)
16.
If you work with a BPO, how have they performed thus far? (choose best answer option)
They have stepped up to the plate and exceeded all expectations
They have maintained normal service levels
Service levels have fallen, but into an acceptable range
They renegotiated SLAs and terms, and are meeting them
They are continually missing targets causing challenges for our business
N/A (we do not work with a BPO)
17.
How is your talent management impacted as a result of the pandemic? (choose all that apply)
We are finding a better quality of talent
We are struggling to find the right talent
Retention is a problem
Onboarding virtually is a challenge
People management is presenting some challenges
No change
Other (please specify)
18.
Have you experienced changes in salary costs
as a result of the pandemic
, in your location?
Yes, higher today than at the start of 2020, as a result of the pandemic
Yes, lower today than at the start of 2020, as a result of the pandemic
No change/in line with expected inflation
Other (please specify)
19.
How soon do you plan to allow staff to travel on business again?
within the next 3 months
within the next 3-6 months
within the next 6-9 months
not till 2022
Facilities
20.
To what extent will you continue to operate virtually once your facilities can safely open? (choose one)
To the extent possible, we plan to stay virtual
We plan to move back to a pre-pandemic scenario
We plan to move to a hybrid solution combining office with virtual operations
Other (please specify)
21.
What are the implications of the pandemic on your facility footprint? (either current or planned)
We are reducing our facility area by <25%
We are reducing our facility area by 26-50%
We are reducing our facility area by >50%
No change planned
We are increasing our facility area
If you have increased the footprint, please briefly explain why
Technology
22.
How did your investment in digital technology play out in 2020, as a result of the pandemic?
My plan was to invest in more digital technology and I had the budget
My plan was to invest in more digital technology but I did not have the budget
I did not plan to change my investment in digital technology
23.
Over the past year, did you accelerate your automation initiatives as a result of the pandemic?
Yes
No
If you chose yes, please explain how
24.
If you have implemented new technologies in the last 12 months, which ones have had the greatest impact on your service delivery operations?
25.
Which technologies are you/will you rely on most to ensure
resiliency
? (choose up to 3 options)
Robotic process automation (mainly task-based)
Data digitization (like OCR or solutions that include ingesting data/structuring it)
Intelligent document processing (for seamless process integration)
Process Mining/Discovery (to identify more process candidates for automation)
Workforce management tools (to improve insights and decisions)
Team engagement tools (to improve collaboration)
Data analytics tools (to leverage structured data for operational but also business insights)
AI specifically (to leverage ML for intelligent insights/decisions)
Machine learning specifically (to trawl data resources and learn from human actions)
Other (please specify)
26.
Which technologies are you/will you rely on most to ensure
cost savings
? (choose up to 3 options)
Robotic process automation (mainly task-based)
Data digitization (like OCR or solutions that include ingesting data/structuring it)
Intelligent document processing (for seamless process integration)
Process Mining/Discovery (to identify more process candidates for automation)
Workforce management tools (to improve insights and decisions)
Team engagement tools (to improve collaboration)
Data analytics tools (to leverage structured data for operational but also business insights)
AI specifically (to leverage ML for intelligent insights/decisions)
Machine learning specifically (to trawl data resources and learn from human actions)
Other (please specify)
27.
Which technologies are you/will you rely on most to ensure
data insights
? (choose up to 3 options)
Robotic process automation (mainly task-based)
Data digitization (like OCR or solutions that include ingesting data/structuring it)
Intelligent document processing (for seamless process integration)
Process Mining/Discovery (to identify more process candidates for automation)
Workforce management tools (to improve insights and decisions)
Team engagement tools (to improve collaboration)
Data analytics tools (to leverage structured data for operational but also business insights)
AI specifically (to leverage ML for intelligent insights/decisions)
Machine learning specifically (to trawl data resources and learn from human actions)
Other (please specify)
28.
Which technologies are you/will you rely on most to ensure
better employee./customer experience
? (choose up to 3 options)
Robotic process automation (mainly task-based)
Data digitization (like OCR or solutions that include ingesting data/structuring it)
Intelligent document processing (for seamless process integration)
Process Mining/Discovery (to identify more process candidates for automation)
Workforce management tools (to improve insights and decisions)
Team engagement tools (to improve collaboration)
Data analytics tools (to leverage structured data for operational but also business insights)
AI specifically (to leverage ML for intelligent insights/decisions)
Machine learning specifically (to trawl data resources and learn from human actions)
Other (please specify)
29.
Which technologies are you/will you rely on most to ensure
better agility
to meet volume shifts
? (choose up to 3 options)
Robotic process automation (mainly task-based)
Data digitization (like OCR or solutions that include ingesting data/structuring it)
Intelligent document processing (for seamless process integration)
Process Mining/Discovery (to identify more process candidates for automation)
Workforce management tools (to improve insights and decisions)
Team engagement tools (to improve collaboration)
Data analytics tools (to leverage structured data for operational but also business insights)
AI specifically (to leverage ML for intelligent insights/decisions)
Machine learning specifically (to trawl data resources and learn from human actions)
Other (please specify)
Impact on scope
30.
Which opportunities have presented themselves as a result of the pandemic? (choose all that apply)
Addition of new service lines
Extension of end-to-end scope of work
Broader geographic rollout of services
Shift to more 'front office' services
More strategic role in impacting business decisions at top level
None
Other (please specify)
31.
Which new service lines did you add as a result of the pandemic?
32.
Would you be interested in a demo of
SSON Analytics' data resource
, covering comparative location data such as talent availability, number of SSCs/BPOs, cost of center operations, and salary data; along with benchmarking and metrics?
No
Yes (please list your email)
33.
Are you interested in learning about a brand new professional
GBS training and certification
program?
No
Yes (please list your email)
