Every month we “shine a light” on one Shared Intelligence member, by asking them a series of questions in order to share their background, insight and experiences with the Shared Intelligence community. This month meet Marianela Garcia, Head of Shared Services Center Mexico, Henkel Mexicana. For more information, please visit www.sharedintelligence.com.

2. Q&A with:
Marianela Garcia
Head of SSC Mexico,
Henkel Mexicana

3. What’s your shared services background?
e.g. What is your role within your SSC? How long have you
worked in shared services? What type of center do you work
in (Captive, Hybrid, Outsourced)?
“In 2011, I participated actively from the Information Technology (IT)
side to set up a captive Henkel Shared Services Center (SSC) located in
Mexico for the LATAM region. I received the offer to be the Head of SSC
Mexico, a position that I have had since 2012 which has involved a lot of
challenges.
Currently, we have a SSC hybrid model working with a BPO in some
finance and HR transactional activities, and we moved from one
function (finance) to multifunctional (+ HR, Purchasing) and business-
oriented service.”
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4. How long have you been working in shared
services and what was your path into
the industry?
“I have been working in shared services since 2012, but my main
background is in IT working with the SAP system, other applications
and processes for more than 20 years, which gives me the expertise
in business processes and technology that is necessary to work in a
SSC organization.”
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5. How long have you been working in shared
services and what was your path into
the industry?
“I was part of the set-up of the Henkel SSC in Mexico City initiated
with finance services for the LATAM region (12 countries including
Brazil).
During the past 4 years, we not only extended our scope and service
portfolio, but also worked together with the IT organization to offer
the concept of Integrated Business Solutions.”
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6. What has been your biggest challenge in
your shared services career and how did
you overcome it?
“My biggest challenge has been to work with the new millennial
generation. In the last 4 years, our population of Generation Y doubled.
It is mandatory to have a clear strategy in order to maintain the right
balance of people rotation, provide better work environment, and keep
them motivated and passionate. We also need to be flexible, listen and
keep an open mind to learn from them in order to redesign jobs, creating
opportunities and challenges in an environment that can be mundane
for them during a transition period.”
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7. What is the best aspect of your role/what
do you enjoy most about it?
“I really enjoy working with people, coaching them and
contributing to their development. Every day, you need to find the
way to keep the enthusiasm and the passion for delivering
operational excellence.
I also enjoy to work with the new millennial generation
(currently 80% of our total headcount), learning
from their new perspectives and ways to work.”
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8. What is your shared services center’s
biggest achievement and how did you get
there?
“The biggest achievement in our SSC has been the set up of a
culture for quality and continuous improvement based on the lean
six sigma methodology, ISO certification and quality framework
implementation.
All these help to improve our services delivery
in a team work environment and add value to
the organization.”
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9. What are your three main goals
for the next 12 months?
“Our goal during the next 12 months is to bring the SSC Mexico to a
next level that’s aligned with the Global SSC Henkel strategy
through:
• Optimization using the robotic technology, standardization and end-
to-end process management
• Preparation for the new ISO 9001:2015 certification
• Preparation for a fast integration of potential M&A in the region
• Further investigation of additional scope potential in the region and
rationalization of our current service catalogue”
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10. What motivates you and keeps your
engaged in your role?
“I am full engaged in my role and motivated by the big responsibility
that I have in delivering quality and speed in our operations for the
business success in LATAM, and living the exciting, dynamic volatility of
the markets and complexity of the region.
On the other hand, I feel alive and very active due to my commitment
with the development of the people in offering them a clear career path
into shared services, and preparing them for their future in and outside
of the industry.”
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11. Do you see any significant trends in shared
services & outsourcing at the moment? And
how do you think this trend could change the
industry (or is already changing it)?
“I believe that shared services need to be re-invented; the concept is not
innovative anymore even though it has significant evolved.
Companies must give the fair value that the SSC has, beyond cost
optimization and efficiency gains, by building center of expertise that is
able to transform the agility of the company, listening to the voice of the
customer to exceed their expectations, increasing the level of automation
with proper investments, minimizing risk, and redesigning jobs to be
attractive for the new generation.”
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12. Do you see any significant trends in shared
services & outsourcing at the moment? And
how do you think this trend could change the
industry (or is already changing it)?
“From my point of view, it is already
on-going but not sufficiently
recognized as a fundamental pillar of
organizations.”
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13. What advice would you give to someone who is
just starting on their company’s shared
services journey, or to someone who is just
starting their shared services career?
“My advice is to select the best process managers that you can
find from the beginning. They are those who have enough process
expertise, are results-oriented, have strong stakeholder and
people management skills to build great teams.
Together with a solid migration methodology, you will have a
smooth journey from the set-up to its stabilization.”
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14. If you could choose anyone in the world to work
with in your current role, who would that person
be and why? E.g. they could be a famous business leader, a
fictional character, a historical figure, someone from the future, an
actor, a writer, a professional musician, etc.
“I would like to work with every single person in the world who
has strong values, dreams that can be realized with effort and
discipline, and people who are passionate about what they do.
Fortunately, I have met many people like this. They are not famous, but
they have inspired me. They are my parents, my family, some friends
and colleagues that I have had throughout my life to share this journey
of seeking to be better every day, to learn and teach each other and
always work for the common good.”
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15. You’ve reached the end of this Q&A!
We hope you’ve found it both
informative and inspiring.
Check back in a month for another Q&A
with our featured Shared Intelligence member!