Randon's CSC Turns 10 in 2021 - Fernando Bortolini

RANDON'S CSC TURNS 10 IN 2021

• Interview with Fernando Bortolini, Financial and Administrative Manager of the CSC at Randon

• Randon's CSC turns 10 in 2021. The cultural transformation to make the area more agile, contributing to the organization's transformation process, is one of the challenges for Fernando Bortolini, who took over Randon's CSC two years ago.

• He spoke about this topic and the evolutions over time at the company in an interview with Eden Paz, CEO of ConsulPaz, which included the participation of Clairton Braun, CEO of Braun Group.

Eden Paz (Porto Alegre) - Fernando, tell us a bit about your professional experience and how you reached this position at Randon's CSC?

Fernando Bortolini (Caxias do Sul) - I have been with the Randon companies for 21 years. I do not come from the CSC area. I started at one of the group's companies, Jost, in the industrial engineering area, then worked at Randon Implementos also in industrial engineering, being responsible for areas such as maintenance, quality, tooling, and other activities. This is my main background.

At a certain point in my career, I had the opportunity to work in the corporate health, safety, and environment area and interacted with all the group's companies. And now at the CSC, about to complete 2 years in the middle of this year, in a new and very cool challenge at the invitation of Roberto, our director, to support the journey of operational excellence and innovation in the area. I usually say that although it is not my area of expertise, the challenge has everything to do with it because my area is automation and control engineering. We are completing 10 years of CSC at the Randon companies.

Clairton Braun (Porto Alegre) - You mentioned automation engineering. How is it possible to apply these concepts, which were normally developed for production lines, to the back office?

Fernando - It's a cool challenge. I've always worked in operations. Manufacturing was our focus as application areas for the concepts. Operations also have administrative processes. We were already taking some steps in lean office, as we call it. So, the challenge was facilitated by this context. We already had experience in administrative processes. I usually say that lean is not a tool but a philosophy. If we look at it that way, regardless of the processes, we will be able to find applications. Our team bought the idea and we have ambitions to be the office arm of operational excellence for the companies. Who knows, in the future, the CSC providing lean services to our units in the office aspect.

Eden - Within this philosophy of use and application of a [lean] model, and within the context of innovation: How are you at Randon's CSC linked to this philosophy of management, processes, and lean, incorporating innovation?

Fernando - A few years ago, the cultural transformation process began in this VUCA world, with new technologies and an ever-increasing speed. And this process was great. The company started the movement and saw some accelerators. Digital transformation was one of the accelerators. We brought in new technologies to assist in the cultural transformation process, making the company more agile. The CSC was seen as fertile ground for this transformation. We have well-structured, designed processes. There is an easier invitation for new technology, and these are processes that have a large-scale impact on the organization.

For example, in the recruitment and selection process, which was the first one we digitized. It impacts both managers and employees, who can apply, as well as the market. It was a very smart move to identify these catalysts and we follow this process. We, as a CSC, also had to adapt to these processes. What our role would be, how we prepare our people, where the opportunities are. We started what we call ambidexterity. The ability to balance operational excellence—that is, delivering what we committed to with excellence—with the innovation and digital transformation side.

How we balance these two plates was one of the first moves we made with our team. So that we can apply technology, but as a means, as something that needs to serve people, to alleviate processes, make them more agile, so that people develop their potential to the fullest. If I apply technology to a process that isn't fully optimized, I will be automating waste. Sometimes, the process might not even need to exist. After this reflection, I bring in technology for the next leap.

Eden - It's a logical line for good development. There's no point in putting a Ferrari to run on a farm where it wouldn't be useful. In this context, it's common to arrive at some companies and hear: "I want a CSC 4.0." Then, I ask how the processes are and they say they don't need processes, but rather automation. However, before thinking about what goes to the robot, it's necessary to analyze what needs to continue existing, understand the approval models, the touchpoints, and the E2E view of the processes. But Fernando, what is the importance of the CSC for the Randon companies?

Fernando - It's immense. If we think back to the early moments of the CSC ten years ago, we began to capture those CSC 1.0 gains. We started exploring synergy gains, bringing scale to processes, governance, repeatability—there is an immediate benefit in this movement. Then, in our trajectory, we took it step by step, it happened little by little. Processes migrated and we adapted to the company's needs. The issue of standardization is also an accelerator for the use of technologies.

If a process is decentralized across ten units, putting technology into that process is a greater challenge than if it were in one area. It's one thing to grow when you need to structure 10, 20 back offices, and another reality when we have a centralized back office area and we support the growth of companies more smoothly. We can even absorb some services without increasing the structure. Making our people more analytical, responding to activities with greater value-add, and technology handles the more repetitive tasks.

Eden – Before, someone was needed to separate, another to catalog, another to file. Today, with digitization and a click, all the work is done. This concept of plug and play, when, for example, you perform a merger, it's possible to absorb activities practically without adding new resources. How has it been at Randon?

Fernando - Fortunately, we have been living these experiences. Bringing in new companies and expanding the service portfolio, freeing people up for analytics and customer relationships. We celebrate ten years at a very positive moment.

Eden - How was the adaptation of the CSC during the pandemic?

Fernando - I always have a mantra: "Why is this situation happening?". To learn from it. What good can we take from this experience? It was a tremendous challenge. A practical exercise in "leading in complexity." The process started getting more critical in March 2020, and we were there, from March 15 to 20, when the major restrictions began—it was one decision after another, new information.

I remember that week was more critical; on a Tuesday, we met—IT, CSC—and said we would have to build a new operations strategy. Tonight, we have to start home office testing. On Friday, we released the operations teams who couldn't operate remotely on collective vacations. The payroll people were true heroes. We never worked as hard as during that period. Our operations staff on vacation and our team going strong. Managing those who had to be at the company, like the facilities staff, so that whoever returned to work would be safe. At the mildest moment, we worked with 20 to 25% in person. Now our team in recent weeks has been at 5% in person.

Clairton - Did productivity drop? Were you able to maintain it?

Fernando - We maintained it and even improved it. The home office we lived through isn't ideal because we were forced into it. But there are gains. They save time on commuting, it facilitates family dynamics. In most cases, the feedback is positive. Everything has two sides. There are things that don't adapt well to home office. With schools closed, it generates some inconveniences.

In most cases, there were more pros than cons.

Clairton - Is there any forecast, upon normalization, regarding the operating model? Will you continue in hybrid? Have you discussed this?

Fernando - We have some advanced discussions. Luckily, we already had a home office format being thought out. There were some pilots from some colleagues who were experimenting with home office on a smaller scale. The home office model is established. But I don't consider that we are working in home office, but rather in confinement. When the situation stabilizes, I believe in a hybrid model. Three days from home or two. We are relational beings; there's no point in fooling ourselves. Doing team dynamics is missed.

Eden - I wanted to know from you the importance of having an ABSC, if it has been worth participating in the Brazilian Association of Shared Services?

Fernando - It's an immense added value. Our journey is built our way, step by step. We didn't have a major CSC implementation from some parent company. We are the protagonists of this journey. If we have a process question, or need to implement something we don't have yet, the access we have to colleagues through ABSC is a great shortcut. This exchange makes everyone grow.

Clairton - You are in ABSC, you have partners like ConsulPaz. How do you see this role of associations and consultancies within your day-to-day management process?

Fernando - I see two main aspects. The first is that we work with the lean philosophy and the essence of this philosophy is continuous improvement. We always have something to improve. If we are doing well here, what is the next challenge? This contact helps us in the sense of challenging ourselves. We go to an event believing our process is in satisfactory condition and we see there are those who do much better. This exchange motivates us to seek improvements. And the other aspect is being in sync with the market. Each area has its specificities. Not to just copy the process that happened at the front end and bring it to the CSC, but to do so while looking at the market, standards, and concepts. This adds a lot of value for us too.