Operations management forms the foundation of Global Business Services (GBS), focusing on delivering high-quality services while maintaining efficiency and driving continuous improvement. The framework encompasses three key areas: operations planning, operations control, and continuous improvement, creating an integrated cycle that ensures effective service delivery and ongoing enhancement.
Foundational Elements
Core Components Operations management combines technical expertise, process rigor, and people-centric leadership to deliver services that meet client and user needs. The framework’s success depends on the ability to manage complexity while maintaining a focus on customer needs and organizational objectives, requiring strong leadership, clear processes, and a commitment to continuous improvement.
Strategic Balance Effective operations management requires a balance between strategic planning, daily control, and ongoing improvement efforts. This ensures that services deliver maximum value to the organization and its stakeholders. The framework emphasizes running professional operations while pursuing transformation initiatives, focusing on service delivery, customer satisfaction, and continuous enhancement.
Key Framework Pillars
Service Management Integration Service management and operations management work in close partnership, as their roles are tightly coupled. Service managers define and create the need for a product or service, while operations managers ensure professional execution. Together, they address client management and deliver services that meet user and client expectations.
Quality and Performance Quality in operations is critical to maintaining customer trust and brand equity. The framework incorporates three pillars of operational excellence: quality, speed, and cost. Quality focuses on reducing defects and exceptions, speed on eliminating non-value-added steps, and cost on optimizing resources.
Process Management Strong process management requires defined ownership, clear documentation, and regular reviews to ensure processes remain aligned with business needs. The framework emphasizes standardization of processes, inputs, outputs, and business rules to reduce complexity, improve controls, and enable automation.
Operational Components
Daily Management Daily management activities aim to monitor, control, and improve operations in real-time or near real-time. This involves using dashboards and daily team meetings to align priorities and address issues promptly. The framework incorporates structured approaches like the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle for continuous improvement.
Incident and Problem Management The framework distinguishes between incident and problem management. Incident management focuses on restoring service quickly to minimize business impact, while problem management addresses root causes to prevent recurrence. This distinction is critical for prioritizing actions and allocating resources effectively.
Performance Measurement Metrics and scorecards are essential for monitoring performance but must be balanced with qualitative insights. The framework emphasizes defining objectives and measures that distinguish between in-process metrics and outcome metrics, both crucial for understanding operational health and delivering value.
Implementation Elements
Resource Management Effort estimation is crucial for capacity planning and resource allocation. It involves calculating the time required for transactions, forecasting volumes, and considering available working hours to determine the number of FTEs needed. The framework includes tools and methodologies for accurate resource planning.
Technology Integration Data mining and process mapping tools are increasingly sophisticated, enabling organizations to uncover hidden inefficiencies and optimize workflows. The framework emphasizes leveraging technology while ensuring processes are optimized before automation is applied.
Continuous Improvement Continuous improvement is essential in operations to stay aligned with external advancements and internal needs. The framework includes structured methodologies for identifying improvement opportunities and implementing changes effectively, ensuring services remain efficient and aligned with customer needs.
Conclusion
The operations management framework provides a comprehensive structure for delivering high quality services while maintaining efficiency and driving continuous improvement. It emphasizes the importance of balancing daily execution with strategic initiatives, maintaining strong processes, and fostering a culture of continuous improvement. Success in implementing this framework requires commitment from leadership, engagement from teams, and a consistent focus on delivering value to stakeholders.