Boston Consulting Group (BCG) was named the leading change-management provider in the report The ALM Vanguard: Communications and Change Management Consulting 2019, recently released by ALM Intelligence. In this independent annual report that compares consulting companies worldwide, BCG outpaced its competitors to become the top choice for companies undergoing either discrete change projects or enterprise-wide transformation.
A Holistic Approach to Embed Change in Organizational DNA
The firm was singled out from its competitors for its holistic approach to change management. BCG’s Agile Transformation Management addresses all stages—from scope and preparation to implementation—and provides key competencies for understanding human behavior, an organization’s internal culture, and employee engagement. The approach includes the creation of Impact Centers, unique physical spaces that, as the ALM report notes, “enable everyone involved in leading the change to interact (in person or virtually), coordinate decision making, and remove barriers to change.”
“Our approach, which covers all aspects of a transformation along three journeys—leader, program and people—is clearly unique,” says Reinhard Messenboeck, a BCG senior partner and global lead of the firm’s Change Management practice. “Along with our Impact Centers, we provide a variety of digital applications that help overcome the behavioral challenges that often accompany the process of change. As ALM notes, this all-encompassing approach gives BCG a clear differentiating position in the market.”
BCG’s employee-centered approach to change management is supported by ALM’s belief that change can be more successful when a broad cross-section of client stakeholders is involved in the planning process. The approach is focused on the role of leaders, from the CEO down, to drive change and support employees in their front-line role of making change processes successful. The approach is designed to be adaptable and transparent, and to create the highest long-term value for the client.
The report notes that BCG’s Agile Transformation Management approach “helps clients develop a holistic approach where the journey is orchestrated at the leader, individual, and program levels, thus building agility into all strands of organizational DNA…[and] ensures the employee is at the center of all change effort, a goal achieved through experience design and reinforced with the firm’s digital tools.”
For Successful Change, Understand Behavior First
The firm’s BeSmart initiative combines insights from psychology, cognitive science, and social science to discover how humans actually make choices. BCG then applies these insights to help client teams build positive habits and make better change-management decisions. This approach is often combined with BCG’s Smart Simplicity methodology, which helps organizations counter the increasing complexity of business by providing simpler alternatives to traditional management solutions.
“Our approach to change management is deeply rooted in behavioral science,” notes Julia Dhar, a BCG principal and Global Lead of the BeSmart Initiative. “Smart Simplicity ensures that we’re setting the right context for leaders and employees—making sure, for example, that incentives align with desired behavior changes. By basing change management on tangible insights into human behavior, BeSmart enables both leaders and employees to make the process of change as pain-free and successful as possible.”
Transparency Leads to Success
According to the report, one reason change programs fail is that the process itself is often put in a ‘black box.’ “When the program goes live,” the report states, “those impacted by the change are often caught off guard,” which can lead to fear and resistance to change.
BCG's Agile Transformation Management approach prevents these kinds of surprises by inviting more stakeholders—including employees—into all phases of the change process. The report highlights BCG’s transparent service delivery model, which combines strategic consulting with inclusivity, technology, and coaching to help the client develop a strong organizational ability to execute change.
As the report concludes, BCG’s change management “portfolio of complementary frameworks, solutions, and services remains grounded in the scientific rigor and discipline that is BCG’s signature.” The firm’s approach enables change management to become “a driving force that enables leaders, teams, and individuals to act with agency and purpose in the workplace.”
Source: https://www.bcg.com/d/press/10june2019-bcg-tops-leading-change-management-providers-221916