Turning HR professionals into coaches...

Client need

To continue competing and winning in a complex industry, a multinational energy corporation recognized the need to change its ways of working. To achieve sustainable success for its Australian branch, the organization needed to shift from a project-focused operation to a unified business culture.

To make this transformation a reality, the organization identified a need for aligned enterprise mindsets, enabling leaders to internalize the new strategy and develop new leadership behaviors.

Solution

In service of this need, BTS and the organization co-created an immersive, in-person simulation experience. The experience projected a customized business portrait 30 years into the future, designed to:

• Guide leaders on optimization strategies.
• Foster relationship-building.
• Encourage personal development.
• Portray realistic, on-the-job challenges while coaching solutions.

The project team developed the program over three phases to ensure maximum effect, turning themes and objectives gathered from stakeholder interviews and pilot-test feedback into tangible, experiential materials and activities including:

‍Scenario-based roleplaying

• Cohorts compiled of leaders from diverse backgrounds and skillsets were provided with case study scenarios reflective of their real-life roles, tasked with developing effective strategies against common restraints like time, budget, client profiles, and geopolitics.
• Through this activity, players learned decision-making through collaboration and healthy competition, balancing short- and long-term goals in a simulated environment encouraging trial-and-error.
• Each simulation round was followed by debrief sessions, allowing teams to reflect on how their individual and group strategies affect business operations—a vital component for sustainable growth.

Behavioral guides

• Leaders were provided with helpful resources for navigating the company’s operation transition, promoting enterprise thinking through industry surprises like timeline alterations, decision-making under pressure, and prioritizing quality over targets.
• A Leadership Q&A event was held to address concerns, provide clarity, and reinforce the company’s vision and values to empower and engage leaders mid-journey.

Coaching sessions

• Amidst team leadership building, coaches offered individual, personalized guidance for participants following each simulation round.
• Presented opportunities for performance and lesson reflection, as well as goal-planning and application back on the job.

Results

The program’s ROI was measured by performance data, behavioral assessments, and participant feedback, with an NPS score of 80, surveyed across 500 leaders from 15 cohorts.

‍Post-journey, participating leaders credited the simulation for:

• Strengthened decision-making skills.
• Broadened business fluency.
• Heightened knowledge and resilience of industry complexities.
• Overall enjoyment of collaborative, game-like medium.

Testimonials

“Excellent fundamentals about impact across value chain of decision making and clearer understanding of levers used by management.”

“An excellent course, this really cemented in my mind the value chain and the necessity to consider all elements of this together. Shining a light on the complexity of the business and the many drivers, metrics, and desired outcomes needed to be balanced or traded-off was very enlightening.”

“Great job on asking people to represent other parts of value chain. This put all of us in a more uncomfortable place and we had to rely on each other.”

“Really enjoyable course that had a great balance of simulation, discussion, and humor. Sessions were well set up and managed.”

“The simulation reinforces the value of cross functional collaboration, which, along with specific insights into other areas of the business, I will continue to promote within my team.”

Client need

Ibercaja Bank, a well-established European financial institution with a strong history of serving its communities, recognized the importance of evolving its operations to meet new regulatory demands while staying true to its mission of empowering its people and supporting its customers. Balancing these priorities meant addressing the European Central Bank's (ECB) requirements for aligning asset operations with risk-adjusted return on capital (RAROC) principles—a necessary step to ensure sustainable profitability.

As a customer-focused organization, Ibercaja was committed to equipping its branch managers and client-facing professionals with the tools and knowledge to succeed in this new environment. The bank introduced a suite of resources, including a RAROC calculation tool, online learning modules, and a “pricing circuit,” to help its employees integrate RAROC into their daily decision-making processes.  

However, initial feedback revealed that some employees viewed these tools as procedural burdens rather than opportunities to drive better decisions and outcomes for the bank and its customers.

This prompted Ibercaja to take a thoughtful and strategic approach to improvement, identifying key areas to ensure that its employees not only embraced RAROC but also felt confident using it to strengthen relationships with customers. The bank focused on:

• Helping employees shift from transactional goals to sustainable, long-term profitability to benefit both the business and its customers.

• Building awareness of how effective capital allocation could enhance financial performance and customer offerings.

• Equipping branch managers and client-facing teams with the financial skills to use RAROC as a practical and empowering tool.

• Encouraging a mindset that viewed RAROC not as a compliance task but as a way to deliver better outcomes for customers and the bank.

By addressing these areas, Ibercaja sought to empower its people to deliver even greater value to customers while aligning with regulatory standards—strengthening its reputation as a thoughtful and innovative financial institution.

Solution

Ibercaja Bank partnered with BTS to create a practical, engaging training program that supported its branch managers and client-facing teams in navigating the complexities of the RAROC framework. The program was designed to help employees connect RAROC principles directly to their daily responsibilities, equipping them with the skills and confidence to make informed decisions that benefited both the bank and its customers.

Recognizing the diverse needs of its workforce, the training was tailored for two distinct groups:

• Tool Connoisseurs: Employees already familiar with RAROC and managing complex operations, who needed advanced insights to maximize the tool’s strategic value.

• Non-Tool Connoisseurs: Employees newer to RAROC, who required foundational knowledge to apply the framework effectively and with confidence.

The program was rolled out in three carefully designed phases:

• Collaborative Design and Roadmap: BTS worked closely with Ibercaja’s leaders across finance, risk, marketing, and retail banking to identify the unique needs of each employee group. Together, they developed a clear roadmap with tailored goals, customized content, and a training plan aligned with the bank’s strategic priorities.

• Pilot Sessions: To ensure relevance and effectiveness, the program was tested with 34 employees through pilot sessions. These sessions included interactive exercises and real-world simulations to help participants see how RAROC connected to profitability and decision-making in their roles. Participants practiced pricing decisions in realistic scenarios and provided valuable feedback to refine the final program design.

• Full-Scale Rollout and Simulations: The final phase included hands-on "know-how" sessions to deepen employees’ financial understanding and help them confidently apply RAROC concepts. Tool Connoisseurs participated in one-day sessions focused on advanced applications, while Non-Tool Connoisseurs attended shorter sessions to build foundational skills. Both groups engaged in simulations and decision-making exercises that connected learning to action. Participants left each session with actionable plans to apply their new knowledge immediately in their roles.

By tailoring the training to Ibercaja’s specific needs and fostering collaboration across teams, BTS ensured the program resonated with employees and aligned seamlessly with the bank’s strategic goals.

Results

The training delivered measurable and lasting impact, transforming RAROC from a regulatory requirement into a strategic asset that empowered employees to make more effective decisions:

• Widespread adoption: 84% of new operations were priced using the RAROC calculator, reflecting a significant shift in behavior and mindset across the organization.

• Extensive participation: Over 1,100 employees from multiple departments completed the program, promoting collaboration and a shared understanding of profitability goals.

• Tangible outcomes: Participants drove more than 460 initiatives that enhanced cost-effectiveness, refined pricing strategies, and improved profit margins, strengthening the bank’s overall performance.

Feedback from participants underscored the program’s success:

• Both Tool Connoisseurs and Non-Tool Connoisseurs rated the program an impressive 4.6 out of 5

• Facilitators earned strong Net Promoter Scores (NPS) of 79% and 76%, indicating high satisfaction and engagement.

Beyond individual improvements, the training fostered a culture of strategic thinking and collaboration. By equipping employees with the tools to make better decisions and align their efforts with the bank’s broader priorities, Ibercaja Bank reinforced its commitment to delivering exceptional value to both its customers and its stakeholders. This focus on profitability, efficiency, and customer satisfaction positioned the bank for continued growth and long-term success.

Client need

An American biopharmaceutical company set ambitious strategic goals for 2030, including advancing innovative solutions that could transform healthcare access for patients worldwide. Historically, the company operated within a hierarchical, command-and-control culture, where perfectionism fueled high expectations but often led to volatility and siloed operations.

Over time, these dynamics eroded trust, psychological safety, and empowerment, stifling creativity and exploration. The organization struggled with indirect communication, limited constructive feedback, and avoided difficult conversations—factors that not only hampered employee agility and growth but also stifled effective leadership. Recognizing the need for a comprehensive cultural transformation to achieve its strategic goals, the company partnered with BTS to reshape its leadership approach, creating a more dynamic, inclusive, and collaborative workplace.

Solution

Together, BTS and the company co-designed a five-month immersive leadership program aimed at reaching 5,000 employees across all levels during a multi-year rollout—from senior to frontline leaders.

The program’s primary focus areas included:

• Strengthening relationships and teamwork to build a more cohesive, collaborative culture
• Fostering psychological safety to create an environment where leaders feel empowered to take risks and share ideas
• Aligning leadership behaviors with the company’s strategic vision and Leadership Accountabilities.

The collaboration began with a two and a half month development phase and a 18-month rollout phase, including a six-week pilot with four initial cohorts. This pilot phase enabled the team to refine the program based on direct participant and stakeholder feedback, ensuring maximum relevance and impact before the full-scale launch. The program was rooted in vertical development models, designed to shift participants’ mindsets by introducing new perspectives and equipping them with essential skills. The primary goal was to help participants understand the critical role of stronger people leadership in the company’s future success and how to bring that to life. These objectives were achieved by focusing on building not only skills (Capability) but also self awareness, broader perspectives, different mindsets (Capacity) and Community.

The program was delivered globally, with cohorts of 30 participants each, creating an intimate, diverse learning environment. Each cohort engaged in a multi-faceted journey that included:

• Virtual kickoff: A 60-minute session where facilitators introduced program objectives and outlined expectations. Participants were given access to a multi-modal digital platform housing a comprehensive collection of resources, from reading materials to assignments and were encouraged to consider why the program was important.
• Pre-work: Designed to lay a solid foundation, participants engaged with interactive videos, podcasts, and articles to identify personal learning gaps and explore potential challenges. This preparatory phase fostered a reflective mindset, allowing participants to enter the immersion experience ready to grow.
• Three-day in-person immersive learning: Through activities, leaders practiced critical skills such as building self-awareness, developing trust, and improving relationships and communication. The program emphasized real human connection from the very beginning, starting with introductory exercises designed to foster meaningful relationships. Participants actively worked to strengthen these connections, enhancing collaboration and community. Content was organized into deepening self-awareness – managing my state and understanding my immunity to change (Day One – ME), relational skills eg. deep listening and intimate connection; coaching and employing various communication styles (Day Two – US) and using these tools to get the work done through effective empowerment, delegation, and feedback (Day Three – IT). This structure supported a progressive deep dive into personal and professional development.. The immersive experience included journaling, small and large group activities, and peer coaching, offering a balance of external collaboration and personal reflection.
• Go-Dos: After the immersion, participants were encouraged to reflect on their experiences and practice new behaviors in their daily work.
• Pods: Following each Go-Do, leaders participated in four small group coaching sessions, known as pods, formed from their immersion table groups. These formal pods were led by an immersion facilitator or an experienced coach trained in the program’s content. The pods provided a space for participants to share successes and challenges while exploring the on-the-job application of tools and concepts. They also became a safe, supportive environment for team building and relationship development.
• Ongoing support: The program included resources for continued learning and reinforcement, such as conversation guides, refresher content, online discussion forums, and networking opportunities.

Results

By April 2024, the program had reached 2,400 leaders through 94 cohorts launched globally. The program’s success is reflected in several key metrics:

• Net promoter score: 96%
• Go-Do completion rate: 98%
• Pod-coaching attendance: 90%

The program also included comprehensive pre- and post-program surveys to track leadership competency improvements. These surveys revealed a significant increase in confidence and performance across key areas, including:

• Mission and strategy alignment: +86%
• Collaboration: +77%
• Inclusion: +76%
• Engagement: +78%
• Well-being: +70%
• Overall efficiency: +57%

The success of this initiative means that the company will continue to offer the program to new and promoted people leaders. This strategic investment is helping to solidify a foundation of transformative leadership that drives the company’s goals and strengthens its competitive position.

Testimonials

“I’m really stunned at how empowered I feel to expand my leadership skills. I was truly skeptical before this.”

“This is the most impactful leadership development experience I’ve had in 15 years.”

“I was initially skeptical, having been on many training courses that achieved very little. I was pleasantly surprised at how insightful, challenging, and ultimately rewarding the sessions were.”

“This is such a shift in how we train people leaders and it’s about time we learn into this model. We are truly changing the mind to think bigger future for all.

Client need

A large U.S.-based health insurance federation operating at the center of a complex national ecosystem, covering tens of millions of Americans, had already made a serious investment in enterprise AI. Leadership was not experimenting at the edges. They were leaning in.

Capability and commitment existed across the organization, but unevenly. Some teams were already pushing boundaries. Others hadn't yet found their footing. Most of the gains had come in personal productivity. Valuable, but the core work itself had not yet fundamentally changed. The opportunity was to go deeper, to move from AI-assisted individuals to AI-reinvented workflows.

Across the health insurance landscape, pressure was intensifying. Medicaid and government program contracts were becoming more competitive. Bid cycles were faster and more analytics-driven. Clinical evidence was evolving rapidly. Regulatory scrutiny was high. Security risks were constant. AI was no longer a future conversation. It was a present expectation.

Inside the organization, world-class experts were still constrained by manual processes.

The Medical Policy team was synthesizing evidence across hundreds of policies, working to keep pace with FDA approvals and evolving clinical guidelines. The work required rigor and judgment, and it also demanded repetitive synthesis that consumed days when it needed to take hours.

Market intelligence teams were reviewing competitor RFPs manually in markets where competitive pressure was tightening and millions of covered lives were at stake over the next several years. The opportunity was significant, but so was the risk of falling behind in insight and speed.

Actuarial and security teams faced similar friction. Highly trained professionals were spending valuable time stitching together data, transforming files, and correlating inputs across systems.

Leadership understood that AI licenses alone would not create advantage. To compete in an increasingly analytics-driven insurance environment, expertise had to scale. Insight had to move faster. Teams needed to reinvent how core work happened.

Solution

BTS partnered with the organization to move from AI access to AI application.

Through a series of focused design sprints, intact teams worked on their highest-value workflows using our GROUNDING → EXPERIMENT → BUILD → AMPLIFY methodology. The structure was simple and disciplined. Set context. Experiment quickly. Build against real work. Create a path to scale.

Participants brought their own work into the room. Medical policy frameworks. RFP responses. Threat intelligence reports. Actuarial data pipelines.

No generic demos. No abstract hypotheticals.

The turning point came when AI began working on their actual content.

Research syntheses that previously took days began structuring themselves in minutes. Competitive RFP analysis that once required manual review surfaced patterns instantly. Data transformation workflows streamlined in real time.

Skepticism shifted to possibility.

We positioned AI as augmentation, not replacement. In a sector defined by professional expertise and accountability, that framing was critical. The goal was to elevate expert judgment, not automate it away.

Some teams left with working prototypes. Others left with detailed blueprints aligned to enterprise privacy and security requirements. The IT Team took away a re-prioritized set of additional tools to incorporate into a HIPAA-compliant environment. Every team left with a redesigned workflow.

Results

In five days, more than 100 leaders advanced 30 priority use cases tied directly to operational performance and competitive growth.

Early outcomes included:

• Significant reduction in manual research synthesis and data preparation
• Faster, more structured competitive intelligence to support high-stakes bids
• Clear implementation pathways aligned to security and regulatory constraints
• A scalable model for continued AI-enabled workflow reinvention

Just as important was the mindset shift.

Participants stopped viewing AI as a tool sitting outside their work and began treating it as embedded infrastructure for how work gets done.

“This showed immediate relevance to our work.”

“Now I understand what’s actually possible for my team.”

“We just accomplished in two hours what used to take us two months.”

In a U.S. health insurance market where insight, speed, and precision directly influence who wins and who grows, the organization moved decisively from AI access to AI advantage.

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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.