Government Consulting at Booz Allen Hamilton Kristin Reisinger
Government Consulting at Booz Allen Hamilton Kristin Reisinger Associate Booz | Allen | Hamilton 4692 Millennium Dr. #200 Belcamp, MD 21017 USA Tel: +1 610 -915 -8388 reisinger_kristin@bah. com 1
Agenda 4 Introduction 4 Government Consulting – Industry Overview – Federal Proposal Process 4 Working at Booz Allen – Human Capital Consulting Practice – Example Projects – Required Skills 4 Q&A 2
Introduction 3
My Path Loyola College BA 2001 Manchester, Inc. 2002 - 2003 Consulting Intern University of Baltimore MS 2003 Grad Assistantship. Dean’s Office Human Performance Systems, Inc. 2003 – 2004 Intern, Research Assistant Booz Allen Hamilton 2004 -Present Consultant Senior Consultant Associate • Mc. Lean, VA 2004 - 2006 • Philadelphia, 2006 -2010 • Aberdeen /Telecommute 2010 -present 4
Government Consulting 5
What is Management Consulting? 4 Consulting: Work done by a consulting firm, which focuses on advising organizations on the best ways to manage and operate their business 4 Management Consulting: The practice of creating value for organizations through improved performance, achieved by providing objective advice and implementing business solutions 4 Booz Allen Hamilton is a leading provider of management consulting, technology, and engineering services to the US Government in defense, intelligence, and civil markets – Trusted long-term partner to our clients – Seek our expertise and objective advice to address their most important and complex problems 6
Commercial vs. Government Consulting Commercial Consulting Federal Consulting Example Organizations “Big 4” Consulting Firms Ernst & Young Deloitte Price Waterhouse Coopers KPMG Mc. Kinsey Bain Boston Consulting Group Strategy& (BAH commercial spin-off) “Beltway Bandits” Booz Allen Hamilton Bearing Point Accenture Deloitte Lockheed Martin SAIC International CSC Employee Stereotypes Top-tier MBA Graduates Focus on doing cutting edge, interesting work Ex-military and/or smart/driven functional experts Focus on serving important government missions, providing excellent client service Relationship to Clients Trusted advisors Staff Augmentation (“Butts in Seats”) Strategy and implementation work done in direct collaboration with clients Assignment Length Short-term (3 -6 months) Multi-year, long-term strategic partnerships Culture “Up or Out, ” “Road Warriors” Common to stop at “Associate” level Long-term onsite work, risk of “Going Native” Environmental Impacts Economy Elections 7
Federal Contracting 4 The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) guides how we work with our government clients – Complex set of rules governing the federal government’s purchasing process – Ensures consistency and fairness of purchasing procedures – www. acquisition. gov/far 4 Booz Allen solicits work from the federal government through a structured procurement process 8
The Standard Federal RFP Format has 13 Sections RFP Description Typical Content RFP table of contents, contact information, due date, submittal location, serves as contact when signed by offeror and government A Solicitation/Contract form B Supplies or services and prices Contract Line Items (CLINs) listing what is to be priced and how C Statement of Work Describes work required, i. e. , specification D Packaging and marketing Product packaging and marketing requirements E Inspection and acceptance Product/service inspection and acceptance criteria F Deliveries or performance When products are services are required G Contract administration data Contract requirements not on solicitation form H Special contract requirements Items not in Section I or other sections of the contract I List of attachments Data requirements and organization, anything that did not fit elsewhere, and occasionally organizational instructions not included in L to permit using an otherwise “standard” RFP J List of Instructions K Representations, certifications Acknowledgement forms that must be signed and submitted with the proposal L Instructions, conditions, notices M Evaluation factors for award Process, evaluation factors, and relative importance of the factors used to evaluate offers Sections we write to, and ensure compliance Instructions for proposal preparation, format, organization, content, length 9
Proposals 4 What is a proposal? – A response to a client’s RFP – A sales document that is intended to convince the client of our ability to successfully perform the work at the lowest risk. – If awarded, our proposal is a binding agreement to perform. 4 Most government proposals include: – Technical/Management Volume § Approach § Staffing § Assumptions – Cost Volume – Past Performance Volume 4 All Booz Allen client-facing staff support proposal development 10
Procurement Process Example Social Security Administration Office of Information Technology Human Capital Strategic Plan Development Requirements Definition • Existing BAH client, SSA IT, needed support developing a human capital strategic plan for their IT workforce • Supporting BAH IT team reached to HC leadership for support • I took the marketing call to understand their need and discuss our human capital capability. • Client requested a white paper outlining general approach • BAH IT and HC staff collaborated on the white paper Acquisition Strategy • Client turned white paper content into an RFP Request for Proposals • BAH IT and HC staff collaborated on the proposal, responding to specific requirements Evaluation Contract Award • SSA IT evaluated two offers based on approach, cost, and qualifications. Cost was the most critical factor. • Offeror was notified of win • OUTCOME: BAH lost on price 11
Consulting vs. Industry Internal R ole • Consisten t team and customers • More pred ictable workload a nd schedule • Decision-m aking rights • Project sc ope is more flexible • Project fa ilure job loss Consultin g • Work is p roject-base d; custome team, sche rs, dules, func tional expertise v ary • Advise cli ents, but d o not make decisions • Project sc ope is fixed • Time is bil lable • Project fa ilure loss of future business fo r the firm 12
Working at Booz Allen 13
Our Operating Model Focus of Work in Central Maryland Aberdeen 14
Booz Allen’s Human Capital Bench Strength 4 Approximately 1, 800 human capital and learning professionals with advanced degrees and certifications in: – Professional in Human Resources (PHR) – Human Capital Strategist (HCS) – Change Management Advanced Practitioner 4 Professionals with functional expertise in: – Workforce planning and assessments – Competency development – Organizational development and transformation – Performance management – Human Resource (HR) process redesign – HR program support 4 Breadth allows us to staff projects with specialized experts and rapidly surge to meet client needs 15
Example Booz Allen Human Capital Capabilities 16
Example Projects Along My Path 4 Competency Model Development and Analysis – Veterans Affairs, Office of Information Technology/ Human Resources Academy – Department of Homeland Security – National Science Foundation – Joint Special Operations University 4 Employee Opinion Survey Programs – National Reconnaissance Office – Office of the Director of National Intelligence – NASA 17
Case Study: VA IT Workforce Development 4 Challenge Faced: – Need for data-driven process for identifying training needs – Need for common language for newly centralized IT staff performing similar roles in different ways 4 Actions Taken: – Identified workforce competencies for all IT and IT support occupations, with behavioral indicators for five levels of proficiency Lessons Learned Best Practices 4 Active SME Working Groups 4 Used one occupation as an initial pilot to agree on definitions/outcomes and improve the process 4 Implemented competency-based learning – Aligned 8000 staff against appropriate profile – Assessed individual gaps for custom training plans – Assessed aggregate gaps to drive training development and acquisition 4 Results Achieved: – Competency models for 22 occupations – 3000 learning events mapped to the models in a Talent Management System Pitfalls 4 Lack of senior stakeholder engagement from the outset caused leadership commitment to wane in some organizations 4 Competency models are voluminous and some reflect functions not competencies – 96% assessment completion 18
Career Progression at Booz Allen Principals, Partners Senior Associates Lead Associates Senior Consultants Admins, Researchers 19
The Way We Work 4 Virtual work is accepted – Many staff on client site – Move to ‘hoteling’/staff alignment to closest office – Matrixed teams 4 Virtual Collaboration is expected – Most meetings include Lync/ Live. Meeting screen sharing – Outlook invites include i. Phone direct access 4 Work/Life balance is a mantra – 40 -50 hour work week – Travel outside DC is minimal – Flex hours are common 20
Required Skills 4 Consulting – Listening actively and asking pertinent and relevant questions – Thinking critically to properly evaluate information – Project management – Communicating solutions effectively § Power. Point § Executive writing 4 Human Capital – Job Analysis – Focus group facilitation – Analysis – “Best practice” theories and approaches – Credible sources to cite 21
Questions? 22
- Slides: 22