Jobs-to-be-Done (JTBD) for Shared Services: A Guide to Customer-Centric Standards

Implement transparent, outcome-focused processes to break down silos and improve internal operations.

Ever felt like you're navigating a maze when dealing with different departments in a large company? One department tells you one thing, another gives conflicting information, and you end up explaining your situation multiple times. It's a common frustration, whether you're an external customer or an employee trying to get internal support. Too often, internal "efficiency drives" optimize for departmental metrics but completely fail the customer's actual goal.

There's a better way. We need shared service standards that are transparent and designed around the customer's underlying Job-to-be-Done (JTBD) – what they are ultimately trying to accomplish – not just internal process checklists.

This involves elevating the level of abstraction. Instead of thinking about shared services as isolated cost centers performing tasks (like "process invoice" or "resolve IT ticket"), we should see them as enablers of a higher-level customer job, such as "Achieve my business objective smoothly" or "Get th…