Diploma in Global Business Services (GBS)
Accelerate your career, on a global level.
Diploma in Global Business Services (GBS)
Duration: 6-months part-time
Delivery: Online, but you must be able to attend a half-day in-person induction event at TU Dublin Aungier Street campus, Dublin
Award: Level 8 NFQ / 20 ECTS
The success of Global Business Services (GBS) or Shared Services organisations depends in large part on the knowledge, skills and capabilities of their staff. With the emergence of multi-functional Global Business Services organisations in a knowledge-centric ecosystem, learning and development is imperative to create and motivate high-performing professionals and teams.
The online Diploma in Global Business Services is an introductory professional development course, and is designed to support individuals with a career in Shared Services and GBS.
The programme aims to develop the core knowledge, skills and competencies of the Global Business Services and Shared Services talent pool in Ireland, based on internationally recognised best practice.
The course has been developed through a unique collaboration of the Technological University Dublin and The Hackett Institute, and is supported and funded by Skillnet Ireland, IDA Ireland, American Chamber of Commerce in Ireland, Technology Ireland and their member companies.
Together, we have crafted a rigorous, and globally unique course, with an academic qualification based on cutting-edge insights and best practices. This programme is a national level intervention to establish an accredited professional development pathway to support this important industry.
Professionals and entry-level associates already working within the GBS and Shared Services industries who seek to enhance their expertise, stay abreast of industry changes, and unlock new opportunities for career growth and advancement. This course is also suitable for individuals wishing to pursue a career in Global Business Services.
This qualification can be the first step in a GBS career or undertaken as a refresher for those at a senior level. This course will enable you to master the basic concepts and skills needed to play a successful role in your GBS or Shared Services team.
All course content for this course will be delivered online.
The course will commence with a half-day in-person orientation event at the TU Dublin Aungier Street campus, to facilitate networking, experience sharing and group learning.
The content for this programme is devised and developed by the Hackett Institute and provided via the Hackett Institute elearning platform. This bespoke platform will guide the learner through the 4x modules. Learning is undertaken by the participant on a self-study basis.
TU Dublin lecturers will facilitate and provide support to students during their participation on the programme but do not deliver the content.
In the Diploma in Global Business Services you will learn the key characteristics of top-performing GBS organisations and the competencies required to improve your contribution to the success of your GBS organisation.
The curriculum provides an introduction to the four key pillars of success:
- Strategic Alignment
- Service Delivery Model (SDM)
- Service Management Framework (SMF)
- Integrated Transformation Management Framework
The result is a broad perspective and set of skills relevant to increasingly integrated GBS operations and the future of work. Associates will feel confident that they have a full understanding of the GBS concept, and the models, governance, processes and performance measures needed to make their GBS organisation a success.
The course is delivered over 4x modules, with a total of 10x classes delivered across the 4x modules. Each module comprises 5 ECTS and there will be an assessment following each individual module.
Indicative content for each of the module and classes is outlined below
Module 1: GBS Strategic Information Management
Transformation Management:
This course will help you to define global business services (GBS); summarise the history and core concepts of GBS; identify the stages of maturity and value of GBS; discuss GBS mission and vision statements; understand The Hackett Group’s Digital World-Class performance; describe the characteristics of a Digital World-Class GBS.
Analytics & Information Management:
In this course you will explore setting goals and objectives for GBS organisations, developing SLAs and KPIs, the development of GBS reporting, and provide an introduction to key concepts in analytics.
Module 2: GBS Technology and Service Design
Service Design:
This course will introduce you to service design, process design, standard operating procedures (SOPs), process migration, process maturity and improvements.
Technology:
This course will introduce you to the application and advancement of technology in GBS and technology migration.
Service Partnering:
This course will introduce you to strategies for captive versus outsourcing, location selection and site build-out.
Module 3: GBS Organisation, Governance and Human Capital
Organisation:
This course will explore the placement of services, including corporate, shared services and business units. We will also introduce you to organisational modeling for functional areas of GBS.
Governance:
This course will enable you to describe a GBS governance model.
Human Capital:
This course will introduce you to GBS staffing, recruitment and performance management, developing teams and the people capabilities required by an increasingly digital environment.
Module 4: GBS Service & Transformation Management Fundamentals
Service Management:
This course will explain the key elements of service management, including service pricing for GBS, how to manage business relationships, describe operations support, cover talent management and service continuity management, and describe the application of continuous improvement.
Transformation Management:
This course will explore how to develop a transformation management strategy for process/functional areas, prepare stakeholder management and communications plans to overcome challenges to change, and manage the project to implement a transformation.
Upon completion of the programme, graduates will feel confident that they have a full understanding of the GBS concept, the models, governance, processes and performance measures needed to make their GBS organisation a success. This qualification can be the first step in a GBS career or undertaken as a refresher for those at a senior level.
You will gain an understanding of:
- Governance issues arising from introducing change and the techniques needed to manage staff
- Methods used to effectively manage and control shared services.
- Tools used to measure performance and improve efficiency and effectiveness.
- Key end-to-end processes and activities within the finance function.
- How human resource (HR) services can be effectively delivered within an organisation.
- Supply chain processes and activities at strategic, tactical, and operational levels.
- How to use IT to facilitate the efficient and effective running of a business.
Learner Benefits
- Develop your core knowledge about Global Business Services
- Learn to communicate effectively with a large range of stakeholders
- Develop broader understanding of business and customer issues
- Improve your opportunity for promotion
- Acquire recognised qualifications
Organisational Benefits
- Attract and retain the best talent
- Develop high value skills within your workforce
- Identify future managers
- Improve customer experience
Fees:
Full Course fee: €1,695
Skillnet grant: €386
Subsidised student fee: €1,299*
Part-funded fees are only available to eligible* applicants.
Academic Eligibility
The entry requirement is an Irish Leaving Certificate with a minimum grade of O6/H7 in Maths and English.
QQI/PLC/FETAC Level 5 entry routes are also available.
Graduates of this course will be receive the award for Diploma in Global Business Services awarded by Technological University Dublin. The course is at Level 8 on the National Framework of Qualifications with 20 ECTS.
Funding Eligibility
*Applicants must be working in a private or commercial semi-state organisation registered in the Republic of Ireland to avail of the grant-aided fees. As a government-funded training network, we can only support those meeting these criteria.
“I felt the diploma would be an ideal opportunity for me to learn more about Global Business Services (GBS) and that I’d be perfectly positioned to apply the skills learned on the course right away in my day to day activities within the workplace.”
We caught up with one of our graduates, Olive McLoughlin, to find out a bit more about her time on the course. Click here to read about her experience.
Technology Ireland ICT Skillnet, in conjunction with Technological University Dublin and The Hackett Institute, also deliver a 2 Year Masters programme in Global Business Services, details of which are available here.
If you have any queries or would like to speak to a member of our programme team, please use the the Make An Enquiry form on this page.