Good Governance in 2020 – A Trend That Never Goes Out of Style

Governance at OWS2.0

Valuable breakout sessions from OWS2.0 (if you were unable to attend, governance is always a hot topic and will be on the agenda at OWS21):

  • End-To-End IT Vendor Governance; Leveraging Cloud Technology To Enable Outsourced Service Delivery Processes With Contractual Oversight presented by Ves Kjenstad
  • Automating Third-Party Risk & Governance with John Bree, SVP & Partner, Neo Group
  • Hear Shuchita Singh of AbbVie speak on a breakout session on Evaluating Automation Proposals from Suppliers in New Engagements

Implementing and integrating a governance and risk program that aligns with your organization’s strategic goals is a constant need in every organization that has only been made more complex in today’s digital world.

The need for good governance has never been more acute with the highly competitive, rapidly changing, and increasingly risky environment we do business in, according to Neo Group.

Good governance can lead to reduced spend leakage, improved productivity, healthier relationships with third parties, institutionalized learning and sharing of best practices, and a higher degree of customer satisfaction, the firm says.

Effectively managing your third-party relationships is crucial to success — but how do you actually achieve this? PULSE asked two buyers to share their expert insights on what make governance work.

The secret sauce is people and the relationships they form, according to Ves Kjenstad, Vice President, IT Operations, Bristol-Myers Squibb.

“Governance is an art and like all artists, we all struggle at times,” Kjenstad says. “The important element to remember in any governance model is that the key ingredient is people, their ability to perform and willingness to collaborate.”

Kjenstad’s approach looks at the governance model as a circle with four quadrants: performance, financial, contracts, and quality/compliance with relationship being the circle that keeps it together. She adds, “Relationships are the important unifier across all four areas of governance. Processes enable the model, but relationships are the glue.”

In selecting primary vendors, company values are a key criterion because engagements work better when cultural values are aligned. As an example, diversity and inclusion is important to BMS which actively seeks suppliers who have similar programs.

“Having the same shared values is a huge win and does a lot for the relationship with our suppliers,” Kjenstad says.

“Want good governance – make it self-sustainable and build its brand equity,” advises Shuchita Singh, Senior Director, Enterprise Outsourcing COE for AbbVie, who has positioned her governance team as trusted leaders delivering value-enhancing solutions for AbbVie’s services outsourcing.

“You have to build trust and show your stakeholders a better way to achieve their goals through your means. Once you have established your brand and its value, you’ll earn a seat at the table with decision makers that will help ensure that governance is part of the fabric of an outstanding deal and not a finishing touch.”

“Because we have created brand value, I have a seat at the table when we are talking about anything to do with outsourcing so I don’t have an uphill battle putting in governance afterwards,” Singh says. “It is not something I can compromise on. The governance has to always be part of the process.”

Having the same shared values is a huge win and does a lot for the relationship with our suppliers.
Ves Kjenstad, Vice President, IT Operations, Bristol-Myers Squibb
It is not something I can compromise on. Governance has to always be part of the process.
Shuchita Singh, Senior Director, Enterprise Outsourcing COE, AbbVie


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