Key things to consider ahead of your Shared Services transformation

This week, we are delighted to be joined by VP of Operations at Liberty Global, Dave Hodsdon. Dave joins Paris from Xelix to share his key considerations ahead of developing a Shared Service Centre.

Watch the episode ▶️

A bit about Dave...

Starting his career as a lawyer, Dave took an unconventional route into Shared Services, a career he has now spent almost a decade in.

He began his transition to finance at UK/I Telecoms giant, Virgin Media, before moving to parent company Liberty Global - one of the world's leading converged video, broadband and communications companies, with operations in six European countries. As VP Operations, Dave is focused on developing innovative and future-proof solutions to optimise efficiency and effectiveness of Shared Service operations. This is critical as Liberty’s Shared Service Centre looks to expand services beyond the Liberty Global group.

Dave shares three things you should consider before building your Shared Services transformation roadmap...

1)    The golden rule: five to seven

“In my experience, A lot of the company’s we work with are focused on the next twelve months - typically in budgetary cycles unfortunately, which can lead to short term decision making.” Dave explains.

“We often talk about the ‘five to seven’ (years) which is far enough in the future that it allows you to imagine things happening without the constraints of the next twelve months but close enough that it doesn’t feel disconnected to what’s happening now.”

2)    Be realistic with your goals

Dave's journey through different companies, serving a range of customers across various locations and team sizes, has given him a unique perspective on transformation projects.

His time in Latin America was eye-opening, highlighting huge regional differences, e.g. how invoices are handled. Unlike their European counterparts, businesses in the LATAM region still rely on handwritten invoices, which can't be easily processed.

Dave's advice is practical: understand where you're starting from and where the world is heading. It's all about plotting a realistic course toward your goals and there are going to be nuances you need to plan around. Not every business unit, country, facility/site or team can move in the same way at the same rate.

3)    Get buy in from the right stakeholders

“70% of all transformation projects fail because of lack of engagement”

Gaining support for digital transformation is key, especially given the high failure rate due to a lack of engagement. Dave recommends assembling a dedicated transformation team located close to the operation to understand the real-world challenges, but with enough independence to provide a clear rationale and vision for change.

As a little bit of fun, we asked Dave to caption an image so we could create his very own meme as a gift from all of us here at The AP Arms. 🥁🥁🥁

Watch the short video Interview to get the full scoop. We'd like to say a huge thank you to Dave for featuring in this episode of The AP Arms and sharing some quick tips.

Interested in popping in? Let us know – as a new establishment ‘round here, we’re always looking for more guests!