OUTSOURCING TODAY organizes the 7th edition of the Romanian Business Services Forum & Awards 2021 on May 25, at InterContinental Hotel in Bucharest, Ronda hall.
At almost half-year time since diving into 2021, the outsourcing and business shared services market capitalized on the previous year’s changes. We need to assess what makes outsourcing & business shared services essential in the current reshaped economy and what new areas and processes have been modified and evolved.
Technological evolution and the shaping a new work ecosystem during 2020 reshaped almost completely the BPO and all the other outsourcing fields as well as the companies’ vision on business structures.
THE CEO FORUM brings together the most prominent company leaders acting in the Business Shared Services– BPO, ITO, SSC and connected services and tech solutions providers’ industry in Romania in a half-day event with engaging keynote sessions sustained by C-level industry leaders within an interactive DIALOGUE PLATFORM and multiple and engaging networking opportunities. The event aims at becoming an arena where key players in the field can discuss the current challenges and opportunities that the business services providers deal with.
THE AWARDS GALA continues to recognize, reward and celebrate the success of the most prominent companies acting in the Outsourcing – BPO, ITO and SSC industry in Romania.
ROMANIAN BUSINESS SHARED SERVICES FORUM & AWARDS is the ideal stage for knowledge sharing, voice expression and objective recognition of the performance proved by professionals and projects, while celebrating and raising the profile of their achievements.
The Romanian Business Shared Services Forum & Awards recognizes the personal contribution and commitment of the most experimented individuals and the added-value projects in this industry in Romania.
AGENDA TIMELINE
15:00-15:45: WELCOME GUESTS & Official Opening Address
15:45 – 17:00 CEO LEADERS DEBATE
THE LEADERS’ VOICE IN THE RESHAPED BUSINESS LANDSCAPE
17:00 – 17:10 “Future technologies in outsourcing services“ Mihai Gavan, HCM Global Sales Director, TotalSoft
17:10 – 18:00 Networking Cocktail & Gala Dinner
18:00 – 19:30 GALA AWARDS CEREMONY
CEO LEADERS DEBATE
15:45 – 17:10
The role of leadership in the current environment becomes paramount to inspire and motivate teams and companies to move forward. How are the CEOs and leaders of large companies addressing aspects related to leadership and business resilience within their industries and with the aim of reaching the business objectives for 2021.
The Forum offers the stage to key opinion leaders, experts and the most knowns specialists in the field, to discuss some of the most pressing aspects of the industry today.
PANELISTS
- VIVEK BAKSHI, General Manager Wipro Technologies
- DANIELA MICUSAN, Managing Director, Majorel Romania
- MATTHIEU PASQUIER, CEO, Societe Generale Global Solutions Centre
- RAMACHANDRAN A.S. (RAMC), Global Emerging Markets Coverage Head Eastern Europe Cluster Head Global Subsidiaries Group Citibank
- FREDERIC LASNIER, Chief Executive Officer, Pentalog
PANEL MODERATOR: Colin C Lovering,Co-Founder at Lovering & Partners, Business Performance Consultants
TOPICS
WHAT MAKES OUTSOURCING & BUSINESS SHARED SERVICES ESSENTIAL in 2021
How did the outsourcing & business shared services change since 2020 and what 2021 brought new on the scene of this industry. The CEOs focus on how their organization is agile and responding quickly to what is happening in the market so that it would be well positioned for the opportunities.
- How did the outsourcing & business services change in good or bad since 2020?
- What do you think will be the main business drivers for business growth in 2021 in Romanian business services environment?
- What has changed dramatically within the companies in business services in 2020-2021 and what is the main focus of 2021?
- What flagship projects brought 2021 so far?
THE MEANING OF LEADERSHIP IS EVOLVING
Diving continuously in an age of great transformation, the leadership follows the trend and rearranges its values, missions and messages. The companies benefit now, more than ever, from the synergy and a more flexible approach of communication and ideas sharing within the company. Great ideas don’t just come from the higher-ups. The most innovative ideas come from all levels within an organization. From the interns to the C-suite, all employees have unique understandings of a company’s strengths and weaknesses, as well as opportunities for growth.
- What is a leader’s role in order to maintain and enhance a team’s cohesion in 2021?
- What should be the focus and the priorities in 2021 in addressing the business expectations of this year?
- Which were the challenges of 2021 in terms of leadership so far?
THE RECONSTRUCTION, THE RECOVERY & AND THE CREATION OF THE TRANSITIONAL BUSINESS MODELS
Revisiting strategies and business models, reshaping and adjusting tactics have been part of the main priorities of leaders and CEOs during the past year. The communication models within the companies changed in a great extent and the more fluent and cross-levels share of knowledge and ideas has been embraced all across departments. Interventions at the level of processes, systems, and those that break the chain of organizational co-dependence, especially in the context of staff turnover due to general financial instability, all these interventions are already in place and will be for a long time to come.
- What aspects of businesses have been impacted more in this period and how should they be rebalanced or even reinvented?
- What kind of specific needs and solutions did you identify in respect of your clients’ demands at this point and after this period?
- At a wider economic level in your activity field, what disruptive changes do you anticipate for the future and how should the companies in the industry address them?
- How do you address sustainability in your company and with what impact?
LEVERAGING THE OPPORTUNITIES OF A RESHAPED APPROACH TO WORK
Where there is disruption, there is an opportunity. Where there is a collapse, there is an evolutionary opportunity. As an interconnected global system, companies are facing opportunities to address risks and create a more sustainable, just and fair future for more people. The work ecosystem evolved and reshaped and the previous confusion regarding the future starts to diminish. What are the current opportunities in terms of the new way of working and what does this means for the business?
- What kind of workspace culture & values need to be consolidated in 2021?
- How do you see the changes in terms of workspace and workplace culture in the future?
- What is your approach in terms of HR this year? How do you feel about the current workforce market and which are the challenges to be addressed in this respect?
- How do you build and maintain the teams’ engagement in the new current workspace?
- Safety is the new mantra of all organizational culture. What does it mean in practice for your company?
THE BUSINESS SHARED SERVICES AWARDS GALA
18:00 – 19:30
The Awards Gala, now in its seventh edition, is an elite event and a platform to recognize, reward and celebrate the success of the most prominent companies, projects and individuals acting in the business shared services field in Romania. Based on rigorously researched information and a Judging Panel formed of prominent names in business, the Gala Awards established itself as a must-attend in your Romanian Gala Awards event calendar.
The Jury Board is formed by:
- ANDRADA ILIESCU, Advisory Director at KPMG
- GABRIELA MECHEA, Executive Director ANIS Romania
- ANDREI ROMANESCU, Managing Director at Veeam Software
- ANDREI CRACIUN, Head of Digital Transformation & Data Analysis, West University of Timisoara
- DAN ZAHARIA, Senior Leasing Consultant, EXTIND Management
- CARMEN ADAMESCU, Partner E&Y
- MARIA BUTCU, Director, Leader for Business Process Solutions (BPS), Deloitte Romania
- MIHAELA ROBU Business Development Manager, ACCA South- Eastern Europe
- COLIN C. LOVERING, Chairman at British Romanian Chamber of Commerce (BRCC)
COMPANY AWARDS
These categories of awards honor a business organization demonstrating superior performance in the development, delivery and innovation of outsourcing services.
- BUSINESS SERVICES COMPANY OF THE YEAR (over 800 employees) – This award recognizes all aspects of business management excellence, such as financial and operational performance, depth and breadth of services, client and employee growth, company leadership and CSR.
- BUSINESS SERVICES COMPANY OF THE YEAR (less than 800 employees) – This award recognizes all aspects of business management excellence, such as financial and operational performance, depth and breadth of services, client and employee growth, company leadership, as well as social responsibility
- EMPLOYER OF THE YEAR (over 800 employees) – This award seeks to recognize the industry company with more than 800 employees which has achieved excellence in the provision of internationally recognized training to its employees, an employer who promotes the value of quality environment at the workplace.
- EMPLOYER OF THE YEAR (less than 800 employees) – This award recognizes the industry company which has achieved excellence in the provision of internationally recognized training to its employees, an employer who promotes the value of quality environment at the workplace.
- BEST WORKPLACE – This award provides recognition for top quality design, functionality and excellence in the workplace.
- NEW ENTRY ON THE MARKET AWARD – This award acknowledges the performance and kick off of a new company that started the operations on the Romanian market
BRAND OF THE YEAR
(ON-LINE VOTED AWARD)
This award recognizes the popularity aspect of a brand alone. The judging process for this category is unique in this competition: 100% public on-line voting.
INDIVIDUAL AWARD
Nominees should be extraordinary individuals, showing demonstrable achievements in their outsourcing career, being directly responsible for creating and instituting innovative and effective programs, projects, or technologies and/or have otherwise significantly helped the company or outsourcing industry meet their goals.
- CEO OF THE YEAR – This award recognizes the activity of a head of operations – Chief Executive Officer, Chief Operations Officer, General Manager or a company President, that demonstrated commitment to the Romanian outsourcing sector by creating a positive impact with the business he/she works in.
INITIATIVE AWARDS
An initiative nomination must describe either one or a set of activities that impacted positively on the outsourcing sector. Nominations should describe projects that are particularly exceptional or innovative and go beyond “business as usual” measures.
- CSR INITIATIVE OF THE YEAR – CSR is increasingly important to the competitiveness of enterprises. This award honors the business organization demonstrating the most significant social impact.
- DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION INITIATIVE OF THE YEAR – This Award goes to the organization that best demonstrates that it has substantially improved its operational performance in terms of workflow effectiveness, customer experience management, increased turnover and improved margins or cost control through an innovation in their use and application of digital technologies either developed in house or sourced from an external supplier.
- L&D INITIATIVE OF THE YEAR – This award recognizes the best educational project implemented by a company.
- BEST UNIVERSITY-BUSINESS COOPERATION PROJECT OF THE YEAR – This award recognizes the best academic project implemented in the partnership with a private company in the benefit of creating a skilled workforce and addressing the current needs on the market.
- BEST WELLBEING INITIATIVE – This award is dedicated to well-being and safety initiative conducted by a company in the benefits of employees.
- BEST CUSTOMER CENTRIC INITIATIVE – This award acknowledges the performance of a customer-centric project or initiative with effective results in optimizing the client experience.
AWARDS APPLICATION PROCEDURE
AWARD CATEGORIES DEFINITIONS
COMPANY AWARDS: These categories of awards honor a business organization demonstrating superior performance in the development, delivery and innovation of outsourcing services. For the BPO, SSC, ITO companies of the year and Employer of the Year categories will be offered two awards/ category, one for companies that have more than 800 employees in Romania and another one for the companies with a number of employees that is below this threshold.
Relevant criteria and quantifiable results should refer to:
* Numbers: size of contracts, growth, percentage changes, market share (please supply proof of success e.g. statistics, financial results, ratios, percentages, ROI)
* Employment & growth last year. Employee engagement improvement: How did the employee engagement index (or any other internal HR indicator: retention increase, attrition reduction, promotions within the company, etc.) grow? (* for the Employer of the Year in Outsourcing Award)
* Talent development and retention: To what extent did the initiative influence the retention of high potentials/talents in your company and develop your teams
* Future expansion plan of the organizations
* Innovation & value addition
* Customer’s processes value addition
INDIVIDUAL AWARDS: Nominees should be extraordinary individuals, showing demonstrable achievements in their outsourcing career, being directly responsible for creating and enacting innovative and effective programs, projects, or technologies and/or have otherwise significantly helped the company or outsourcing industry meet their goals. Applicants can be nominated or self-submitted.
Relevant criteria and quantifiable results should refer to:
* Entrepreneurship approach & plan for future growth
* Innovation & value addition
* Outstanding contribution to the industry in the past 12 months
* Commitment to the outsourcing industry creating a positive impact with the business he/she works in
* Evolution of the company in 2019
* CSR activities in which the individual was personally involved
* Academic projects in which the nominee was involved
* Learning & development programs within the company the nominee had a mentoring contribution
* Testimonials
PROJECT INITIATIVE AWARDS: An initiative nomination must describe either one or a set of activities that impacted positively on the outsourcing sector. Nominations should describe initiatives that are particularly exceptional or innovative and go beyond “business as usual” measures.
Relevant criteria and quantifiable results should refer to:
* Competitive advantage impact of the project. Please supply proof of success e.g. statistics, financial results, ratios, percentages, ROI
* Financial/Business gains for clients: Achieved benefits (direct and indirect) for clients (further growth, lower expenditure costs, improved cash balance). Please supply proof of success e.g. statistics, financial results, ratios, percentages, ROI
* Client’s feedback: How was the project/initiative perceived by the client? How did your customer base grow or change because of this project?
* Innovation & Value addition
* Financial/Business gains for clients: Achieved benefits (direct and indirect) for clients (further growth, lower expenditure costs, improved cash balance). Please supply proof of success e.g. statistics, financial results, ratios, percentages, ROI
* Tangible improvements: How was the project/initiative perceived by the Client and other Stakeholders? What were the concrete outcomes (improved quality, financial gains, working capital improvement, higher delivery rate, more effective communication)? Please supply proof of success e.g. statistics, financial results, ratios, percentages, ROI
* Innovativeness of the project: What do you believe is the core innovation of this project?
* Direct impact for your Company and the sector: How did the initiative boost your reputation as a company? How can the Business Services Sector benefit from this initiative? What is the success rate? Please supply proof of success e.g. statistics, financial results, ratios, percentages, ROI
If a company is submitting the same entry in more than one category, each entry must be submitted separately.
NOMINATIONS AND JUDGING PROCEDURES & TIMELINE
Nominations must be submitted online via the online Application forms.
April 12 Nominations entries. Companies and individuals can submit their nomination choices on the online forms.
April 12 – May 10: Free Public Voting time. A separate form containing all nominated brands will be available on the event website marking the start of the public voting procedure.
May 10 All brands and candidate options entered in the competition will be submitted to Jury and announced on the event website.
May 10 The voting procedure for Brand of the Year Award and General Awards will be closed after this date and late entries will not be considered for Romanian Business Services Awards 2021 Edition
May 25: The WINNERS’ announcement and Awarding Ceremony
SELECTION PROCESS
The panel of jury members will consider and score the nominations that are submitted by the due date and meet all eligibility requirements for the Romanian Business Services Awards for Excellence. The name of the Award Winners will be announced during The Gala Dinner on May 25.