Comprehensive succession and development for critical roles

Client need

An aviation services provider with over 200 fixed base operations (FBOs) across five continents recognized the need for a standardized approach to hiring, training, and assessing its general managers (GMs). Facing complex market dynamics like industry consolidation and rising customer expectations, the company found that GMs were now expected to act as mini-CEOs. They needed a diverse skill set to drive revenue, manage talent, ensure safety, and maintain customer satisfaction. However, without a clear development path, it was difficult to consistently prepare GMs for this demanding role.

The solution

The organization partnered with BTS to develop a comprehensive leadership framework that defined expectations and built the necessary capabilities for GMs to thrive.  This solution included:

• The playbook: A foundational guide outlining:

• GM profile: Key capabilities and behaviors for GM success.

• GM pivotal moments: 11 critical scenarios requiring strong leadership.

• GM experience map: Experiences that aspiring, new, and seasoned GMs should seek to ensure they excel in the role.

• The assessment: A multifaceted tool designed to:
  • Evaluate current GMs by identifying development areas aligned with the GM profile.
  • Assess aspiring GMs to define what development is needed to prepare them for the role.
  • Screen external candidates to determine their readiness for GM responsibilities.

The assessment comprises several components, including:

• Moments-based assessment: A simulated environment where candidates demonstrate decision-making in job-related scenarios.

• Mindset explorer assessment: Evaluates alignment with key leadership beliefs.

• 360-survey: Provides feedback on participants’ strengths and development areas.

• Work preferences assessment and panorama assessment: Explore work style preferences, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills.

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Results

The playbook and assessment have enabled the organization to identify and elevate high-potential leaders across its global locations. Since launching the program, numerous GMs have been promoted to leadership roles such as area director. The structured evaluation has empowered participants to uncover performance gaps and develop targeted growth plans. One GM, recently promoted to area director after following a personalized development plan, shared, “You are given the tools to succeed, and your future is in your hands. The assessments and the courses offered are outstanding and can be life-changing.”

Client Need

An American multinational food manufacturing company was struggling to retain its female employees. Attrition was high, primarily due to lack of development opportunities, underrepresentation of women in the workforce, and unconscious bias around talent designation. Thus, managers and executives needed to create an environment that better supported and championed their female talent.

The organization partnered with BTS to devise a learning journey aimed at strengthening the presence of female leaders and improving their career advancement opportunities.

Solution

The resulting learning journey spanned three months and consisted of multiple week-long small group coaching sessions and workshops. BTS helped facilitate three separate groups during the program, including 30 to 35 high-performing female employees, line managers, and executives. Participants used a platform called Momenta, a proprietary BTS tool, to access tasks specific to their development group.

‍High-performing employees participated in four discussion groups, which focused on:

1) 12 crucial habits that hold women back from getting to the next stage in their career.

2) Fundamental ways to approach different situations and relationships.

3) The organization’s outlook and how to connect with stakeholders.

4) A unique, winning formula for gathering support from their network.

‍Line managers participated in two discussions where they explored:

1) Factors that hold women back in the workplace and challenges specific to women at the company.

2) How to support other women in the workplace and step into another employee’s shoes.

Lastly, executives participated in five sessions and learned:

1) The pivotal steps to becoming a role model and how others perceive them in the workplace.

2) The importance of their personal leadership brand and how it contributes to their success as leaders.

3) About personal purpose and how to establish the legacy they wish to leave behind.

4) How to prepare a powerful story, solve problems, and overcome moments of crisis tailored to the issues and challenges women face in the workplace.

5) How to bring all elements of the journey together to create a successful action plan.

Results

The program yielded the following results, which were overall very favorable and demonstrate the success of the journey:

Managers:

High-performing employees:

• 7/11 participants agree that the facilitator delivered the content effectively.
• 2/10 participants said they would recommend the session to a colleague.

General Results:

• Half of participants strongly agree that the facilitator delivered the content effectively.
• 8/10 participants said they would recommend the session to a colleague.

Testimonials

-“The facilitators were great at pulling out the insightful information by asking open ended questions and picking up on key statements made by the participants.”

“[I] appreciate how well [BTS] read the group and the individuals to make people comfortable and engaged.”

“The 12 behaviors [made me reflect on] how they can be a benefit in one area of my career, but a hindrance in the next. It will help me to where I can make behavioral changes.”

Client need

A multinational biotech addressing areas of high unmet medical need was forced to re-skill all field reps for the virtual environment overnight.Specifically:

• How do you empathetically support at-risk patients and their providers?
• How do you get virtual access to a provider with countless competing priorities?
• How do you convey differentiated value to the provider in this new environment?

Approach

Execution Kits scaled virtual enablement across the entire field force, within the flow of work and custom to the needs of each field team. A promotional simulation then provided a capstone for application.Execution Kits

• Tools: Help people execute in the field. Small structured steps that help people take action in front of customers.
• Media Experiences: Multimedia experiences that share key concepts allowing forimmediate application.
• Virtual Engagement Coaching Guides: Helps trainers and training managerscoach to Great quickly and easily.
• Leader Accountability Tools: Scorecards for field managers and field leaders to observe and rate proficiency.

Promotional SimulationA series of evaluated interactions, where field members practice applying Execution Kit content in real moments – to their manager, gatekeeper, and provider.

Action

The Execution Kits were deployed across the entire field, and customized by field teams to their respective Therapeutic Areas and Brands to improve applicability.

Course Content

1. Anticipating the Virtual Environment
2. Networking: Customer In-roads and Gaining Access
3. Mastering the First 20 Seconds
4. Virtual Objection Handling
5. Engaging with Different Virtual Personas (questioning and listening)
6. Conveying our Message
7. Closing for the Future

Client need

Safety in the transportation industry has often been treated as a set of rules to follow and boxes to check. But one Spanish railway organization saw an opportunity to redefine safety as something far greater, a core value embedded into the culture of their company at every level.

This bold vision demanded more than compliance. It required a cultural transformation to challenge outdated behaviors, inspire teams, and empower leaders to embrace and model a safety-first mindset. For years, the organization had been working to foster a culture that prioritized protection over profit, setting new behavioral standards across the industry.

To accelerate this shift, the organization partnered with BTS to design a leadership development program that dismantled old practices and equipped leaders with the tools, insights, and behaviors needed to bring their vision to life.

• Deconstruct existing mindsets to enable cohesive change.
• Identify barriers preventing progress.
• Equip leaders with practical behavioral knowledge and tools.

Solution

BTS partnered with the organization to design a leadership journey that would reshape not just processes but perspectives, fostering a workplace where physical and psychological safety were paramount. Over eight months, the project team conducted interviews with leaders and focus groups to uncover critical behavioral insights and tailor the program to the organization’s unique needs.

Participants explored essential themes, including:

• Embedding safety into daily decision-making.
• Cultivating greater awareness of safety risks.
• Understanding the influence of their leadership on safety outcomes.
• Leading by example to set a cultural standard.
• Building trust, commitment, and open communication within their teams.

The program unfolded in three distinct phases to drive lasting behavioral change:

1. Workshop preparation
   Participants began with a self-assessment to uncover personal “safety blind spots” and mind traps. This phase, delivered through a custom online platform, helped leaders reflect on their current practices and prepare for the transformational journey ahead.

3. Safety workshop
   The one-day, immersive workshop was designed to spark deep conversations about safety culture, challenge ingrained mindsets, and equip participants with actionable strategies for change. Leaders engaged in real-world scenarios to explore the implications of their decisions and practice new behaviors. The day concluded with collaborative debrief sessions, leaving participants with practical tools to implement their insights immediately.
4. Implementation in action
   To sustain momentum, the post-workshop phase extended over six months, offering six targeted activities. These activities reinforced key lessons, encouraged team collaboration, and provided ongoing support for integrating safety-first behaviors into daily routines.

The leadership program was delivered to 1500 participants over 66 workshops in seven locations across Spain.

Results

To measure results, the project team created a resource map evaluating progress.  

Average completion rate of Activities One–Three: 57 percent. (One: 78.21%; Two: 53. 01%; Three: 40.57%)

A post-workshop survey was sent to participants, reporting on the following metrics:

• Average satisfaction — 4.7/5.
• Trainer’s evaluation — 4.9/5.
• NPS — 82 percent.
• “Saw improvement in safety alignment” — 93 percent.
• “Integrated safety tools in daily roles” — 82 percent.
• “Identified new initiatives for improving safety” — 77 percent.
• “Mitigated team/peer mind traps” — 93 percent.
• “More aware of risk in daily roles” — 98 percent.
• “Identified a normalized risk to work on” — 92 percent.

Testimonials

• “Many of the methodologies and tools not only help to improve safety but can also be used to improve operational or organizational processes.”

• “It has put us in front of the mirror of how we are today in terms of safety culture, opening our eyes to our development areas. Very participative and practical.”

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Over the years, BTS has expanded its global footprint through thoughtful acquisitions and collaborations, bringing new creative capabilities and local expertise into the fold. From digital design studios to leadership consultancies across Europe, Asia, and the Americas, we’ve built a community that blends shared values with local perspective. That diversity has become one of our greatest strengths, shaping how we design and deliver learning that feels deeply personal everywhere we work.

Whether someone is in a leadership journey in Singapore, a coaching program in São Paulo, or a strategy workshop in Stockholm, the goal is always the same: to make the experience feel like it was made just for them.

Many of those experiences live on Momenta, BTS’s digital experience platform, powering journeys like Coaching, Multipliers, and other core programs.

As those experiences grew, so did the need for nuance. Every journey had to feel local, not just sound translated. Tone, humor, and cultural context have always been central to the BTS approach, and as demand expanded across formats and regions, our translation model was ready for its next evolution.

In early 2024, the team began exploring how AI could help. Rather than treating technology as the destination, we saw it as a catalyst, a way to rethink translation and deliver richer, more customized client experiences at scale. That curiosity sparked one of BTS’s most ambitious AI-first experiments, led by our Global Product Enablement Function team in partnership with our global network of linguists and translators.

Shifting to AI-first

The next step was finding the right place to experiment. Enter Phrase, a cloud-based translation management platform that quickly became our test lab. Phrase brings every part of the translation process into one place, from machine translation engines to human review, terminology management, and workflow tracking. It gives our linguists, designers, and project teams a shared space to collaborate, test ideas, and learn.

Over the next few months, two key discoveries reshaped how we think about translation, and ultimately, how we work.

Key discovery 1: Making AI a teammate

We began with a clear goal: make translation faster and more consistent. Using Phrase, AI handled the first drafts while our linguists refined them. Quickly, we realized there was potential for AI-value that went far beyond speed.  

With AI completing the first 80% of the work in a fraction of the time, our linguists could focus on what matters most: nuance, tone, and cultural resonance. The relationship evolved from oversight to collaboration, AI structured and scaled, humans shaped and elevated.

The result was more than efficiency. It was better work, created by people and technology learning to amplify each other.

Key discovery 2: Turning a roadblock into a redesign

Next came a design challenge. Phrase, like most translation tools, struggled with text embedded in graphics, a hallmark of many BTS learning experiences. Instead of forcing the tool to adapt, we changed how we created.

We began designing with translation in mind: simplifying visuals, reducing text, and using modular components that could flex across languages. The constraint sparked better design, easier to scale, more consistent, and more inclusive for every audience.

Key discovery 3: Integrating systems for scale

With people, AI, and design in sync, the last barrier was process. Managing translations between Phrase and Momenta still required manual effort.

To fix that, we built an API integration linking the two platforms. Now, files move automatically, progress is tracked in real time, and everything stays connected.

That integration turned our workflow into a unified ecosystem, fast, transparent, and ready to scale globally.

Business impact

Just 18 months ago, our translation reviews lived in double-column Word docs. Today, we work in a fully connected, AI-first ecosystem. Each project feeds the next, refining prompts, tone profiles, and design patterns, so our translation process keeps getting faster, smarter, and more aligned with BTS’s voice.

Speed and quality. Translation cycles that once took months now wrap up in weeks, cutting turnaround times by over 40%. Phrase’s tools and AI-powered workflows accelerate production while maintaining quality through expert-approved reuse, glossaries, and automated quality checks. Even complex formats like videos and animations are localized faster, with AI supporting linguists at every step.

Smarter workflows. The integration between Momenta and Phrase automates project transfers and tracking, saving an estimated 2.5 hours per project. Teams across language, digital, and project management now collaborate in one streamlined environment.

Human focus. Our linguists remain the engine of quality and innovation. With AI managing repetitive tasks, they focus on nuance and meaning, and go further by creating specialized GPTs, training databases, and testing translation engines to continually raise the bar.

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A BTS next gen innovation story

When BTS invented business simulations in the 1980s, leadership development was mostly theoretical – case studies, lectures, and frameworks about what good decisions looked like. Simulations changed that. They let leaders learn by doing, stepping into a realistic version of their business to test strategy, make decisions, and see the impact before the stakes were real.

Since then, simulations have evolved from spreadsheets to digital platforms to immersive virtual experiences that capture the complexity of leading in today’s world. Now, large language models and agentic AI are opening a new frontier, one where simulations evolve as fast as the world they reflect and experiential learning scales with the pace of change.

Creating space for exploration

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Test quickly, abandon what doesn’t work, and share what you learn.
– Jessica Skon, CEO, BTS

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A handful of simulation experts were pulled out of their day-to-day work and given the freedom to set their own direction. They had the authority to shape the roadmap and the protection to explore bold ideas without fear of critique. The brief was simple: go figure out what’s possible.

They had cover to fail fast, freedom to explore, and permission to get a little messy. Early wins were interesting but small. AI could draft faster, automate a few things – helpful, sure. Transformative? Not yet.

The breakthrough came when we stopped trying to bolt AI on to what we already did. We rebuilt our simulation platforms, our processes, and tools from the ground up around AI. Suddenly it wasn’t just about micro-gains & efficiencies, the canvas of possibility was much larger.

From experimentation to acceleration

So, we tested. Some tools showed promise, others, not so much. Every experiment taught us something. Each “failure” made us sharper about where AI could actually help, and where it would just get in the way.

What began as small experiments turned into a new way of working, a process and platform working as one.

AI now accelerates the first 80% of the work, the structure, synthesis, and early drafts, freeing BTS consultants to focus on the high-impact moments that drive behavior change: dilemmas, trade-offs, and conversations that build conviction.

Our new AI simulation platform and AI-First development process operationalizes that process:

• Enabling live co-creation and branching edits with clients
• Applying light guardrails for quality and security
• Integrating with enterprise systems for compliance and control

AI accelerates, people transform. That combination is what makes BTS… BTS.

Clients feel the impact in four ways

1. Fast spin-ups for focused needs
   For targeted challenges like coaching a customer conversation, debriefing a safety incident, aligning a sales team, we can now stand up bespoke simulations in days, not weeks. Teams co-create live; scenarios adjust in the room; relevance is immediate.
2. Enterprise simulations for strategy alignment
   For multi-round, high-fidelity simulations, AI accelerates the structure without compromising quality. BTS experts still craft the dilemmas and trade-offs that drive conviction.
3. A broader platform portfolio
   Beyond enterprise simulations, we now support conversational practice, skill drills, workflow redesign, and company or market modeling, helping clients choose the right tool for each need.
4. On-demand, without the risk
   Clients can use our AI platform for self-authored micro-sims, where speed and iteration matter most. Our toolchain scaffolds the flow, enforces guardrails, and keeps quality high.

The best model is flexible: enable where DIY shines, co-build for complex challenges, and experts lead end-to-end when outcomes matter most.

What clients are already seeing

• Weeks to hours: Work that once took six weeks was delivered as a high-fidelity experience in just 13 hours, specific enough to engage a CEO on first pass.
• Lean, agile teams: Projects that required seven consultants now take two, with no loss in quality or impact.
• Live collaboration: Simulations are built with clients, not for them, adjusted in real time during design and delivery.

The result: faster delivery, deeper relevance, and experiences that scale across an enterprise without losing the human touch.

The bigger picture

BTS simulations have always given leaders a safe place to wrestle with real dilemmas. AI hasn’t changed that, it’s expanded the canvas. By rebuilding how we design and deliver simulations, we’ve removed the trade-off between speed and substance.

Focused needs can now be met in days. Complex transformations can move at the pace of business. Clients can engage however they choose, DIY, co-create, or end-to-end, with BTS expertise guiding every step.

We’re still early in this chapter, just like our clients. But the direction is clear: faster, smarter, more scalable experiential learning, anchored in human judgment, strategic alignment, and the craft that defines BTS.

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