Putting yourself in your client’s shoes

Client need

A big four consulting firm–a global leader in assurance, tax, strategy and transaction, and consulting services—needed to enhance their account managers’ abilities to understand the day-to-day challenges of their clients, which spanned an impressive and diverse portfolio of industries.

BTS has been a key thought partner to the firm for several years, delivering hundreds of experiences for leaders throughout the organization. In 2020, BTS partnered with the firm to deliver a virtualized New Senior Manager and Associate Director Program, adapting a program that had formerly been face-to-face to the new virtual environment.

The solution

To develop client empathy among the firms’ account managers, BTS created a suite of customized business simulations that represented the varying organizations within the firms’ client base. Working together in teams, account managers would go through the simulation and experience what it’s like to run these companies in a competitive marketplace.

BTS designed and delivered these entirely virtualized simulations for all new Senior Managers and Associate Directors in the company. These leaders experienced an immersive virtual journey that allowed them to: join at a convenient time, regardless of their global location; access an abundance of engaging virtual materials; and seamlessly engage with technology through the support of virtual operators.

In each simulation, leaders experienced events that highlighted the typical issues sector companies currently face. They also experienced oncoming shifts within industries, which included: changes in regulations; macroeconomic shifts; the impact of globalization; competitor consolidation; new entrants; and changes in product lines among many other disruptive factors. The teams’ decision-making has an impact on performance and market results in real-time.

After each round of the simulation, leaders are asked to use their cross-functional point of view to identify specific areas of opportunity for the simulated client. Each team then presents their suggested service offerings to a Partner at the organization, and continue to practice leading a client conversation around a topic from the simulation so that after the program they can have this conversation with one of their clients.

At the end of each simulation round, BTS facilitates a debrief session. These debriefs provide an opportunity for learners to understand how their team’s decisions impacted the results, which team performed the best, and which industry trends made the biggest difference.

Measurable impact

BTS’s industry simulations have delivered great success at the firm, both in person and virtually…

• 100% of participants felt the BTS simulation was a valuable learning experience and a worthwhile investment
• Within 3 months, over 85% of participants applied their learning, resulting in either immediate additional revenue, cross-service line opportunities, or increased client satisfaction
• Within 6 months, the average number of business opportunities for those who attended versus those who did not have increased, and the average value per opportunity had increased by $460,000 per participant

Virtual program testimonials:

• “Across the three areas we delivered training virtually in what has been an unprecedented year and despite these challenges, I feel our senior managers and associate directors still achieved both the celebration and recognition of their promotion and more importantly the insights and participation of our world class milestone program.”
• “Team activities in the simulation were very useful to put you in the shoes of our clients and think about their competing priorities and understand their decision making.”
• “The most engaging virtual training I’ve seen!”
• “The simulation was the highlight. We got to build better relationships with our team, as well as apply what we learned from online training and reading, to our new leadership roles in helping build value for the company. This includes how we balance investments, opportunities, people, quality, reputation and clients.”
• “BTS was great at covering so much content in a short space of time and knew how to handle the conversations about real-life stories and examples.”

As an advisor to clients across many industries, BTS partners with the firm to provide industry-specific business acumen simulations in the following sectors:

• Advanced Manufacturing
• Consumer Goods
• Construction
• Energy & Resources
• Financial Services
• Government & Public Services
• Health Sciences and Wellness
• Hospitality
• Media
• Mobility
• Professional Services
• Real Estate
• Technology
• Telecommunications