CIPS Awards Winners
Last night at the CIPS Excellence in Procurement Awards, we won “Best Procurement Consultancy Project of the Year” for our collaboration with Ramsay Health Care UK.
Congratulations to both teams!
Procurement Transformation Programme with Ramsay Health Care UK
As a pandemic response, Ramsay UK embarked on an ambitious growth & efficiency programme. Curzon designed and delivered a substantial cost reduction and Procurement Transformation programme.
Over 9 months, we defined a pragmatic and agile approach to implementing a best-in-class procurement organisation with an increased mandate, able to accelerate benefit delivery, and manage high spend / high complex clinical spend categories.
We helped Ramsay UK to deliver £multi-millions in incremental annualised savings. In addition, the savings have translated into several £100 million worth of shareholder value.
View the full case here – https://www.curzonconsulting.com/procurement-consultancy-project-of-the-year-ramsay-healthcare/
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UK’s Leading Management Consultants 2022
We are delighted to have been recognised for the fifth consecutive year as one the ‘UK’s Leading Management Consultants 2022’ by the Financial Times.
Recommended across 8 categories and with our first Gold Award, the annual rating, compiled with data company Statista is based on endorsements by clients and peers and demonstrates our consistent year on year sector and service line growth.
Consulting companies are awarded Bronze (recommended), Silver (frequently recommended) or Gold (very frequently recommended).
Sectoral expertise
- Construction & Infrastructure – Gold
- Financial Services – Silver
- Public & Social Sector – Silver
- Healthcare – Bronze
Consulting services
- Digital Transformation – Silver
- Operations & Supply Chain – Silver
- Strategy – Silver
- Sustainability – Bronze
Managing Partner Andrew Morgan said
We are absolutely delighted to see the continued progression of Curzon, competing alongside some major consulting brands. I am so proud of the team, and this emphasises their commitment and dedication to deliver tangible results for our clients in a range of markets through strategic, operational and transformation delivery.
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Congratulations to Our 2021 MCA Awards finalists
We are delighted to announce that Curzon Consulting are finalists in 2 categories of the Management Consulting Awards 2021, representing the very best of our consulting business.
Established by the Management Consultancies Association, the #MCAAwards demonstrate the transformational work the sector has undertaken during the last challenging twelve months.
2021 marks the seventh consecutive year that Curzon Consulting has been finalists at the prestigious awards.
Commercial Excellence
Curzon with AIG – ‘Back to Life’ – Fast-Tracking to Leadership in Customer & Profit Retention
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After a period of impressive top-line growth, AIG Life’s leadership now concentrated on driving for profitability on a US GAAP basis. Working with Curzon to isolate what could best deliver profit uplift, we zoomed in on a stubbornly un-moving customer persistency rate and recognised that every 1% point of lapse averted would yield significant and multiplicative profit gains.
Curzon was engaged on an ambitious programme to rapidly get control of lapse and release commercial benefit, and to build the capability to achieve best practice retention management. This was an enormous challenge given the starting point: no set persistency strategy, an absence of key lapse analytics, retention not owned or resourced in the organisation, and a lack of lapse prevention and turnaround processes.
Over 11 months through 2019, we took a pragmatic, agile, and ‘together’ approach to accelerate to retention excellence, securing the organisation’s buy-in to what it would take to get there, and quickly demonstrating the commercial, operational and customer benefits of joined-up retention management. Curzon enabled the new cross-functional working essential for success, and gave the business the structures and confidence to operate highly effective preventative and save processes – internally and leveraging external partners.
Among the prime watershed moments were revealing how:
- a shift in distribution mix from advised face-to-face to telesales had created a hitherto unseen problem of drop-out inside first 3 months
- customer communications from welcome onwards needed to explain clearly the personal value of life insurance, and how holding it ensures financial provision for those you love
- rather than automatically cancelling customers on request, customer service had a responsibility to engage them before they make a potentially uninformed decision
When the business took the reins 3 months after improvements were implemented, lapse rate had been reduced to the best practice % mark on a run-rate basis and incremental revenue and profit benefit unlock was exceeding our original target. This translated annualised into 5-figure policy saves and a cumulative £multi-million gain in Pre-Tax Operating Income by 2023. The business had taken ownership of a new retention management function, with a new Lapse MI suite providing the predictive insights to continually optimise retention. Beyond achieving the agreed objectives, the work also led to complementary projects including work to minimise drop-out in the Bank partnership sales channel.
Commenting on the success, AIG Life CFO Donald MacLean said:
“Curzon helped us obtain the confidence and operational ‘can-do’ to get control of lapse sooner than we could have expected, and then to push on to best practice performance.
As always, their skill was in balancing pace of change and the results imperative with the need to take the organisation with them on the journey. A key achievement was building the necessary collaboration between the many functions that needed to act together to manage retention in a joined-up way.
The result was a tangible and ongoing commercial win, and a vital new balance struck between sales and retention for business profitability and sustainability”
People
Curzon with Highways England – ‘Project Performance Accelerator – Enhancing delivery capabilities through innovative approaches and working relationships to achieve HE delivery goals
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Project Performance Accelerator (PPA) was designed to develop and implement a delivery mechanism for Highways England’s (HE) overarching Business Transformation Programme, addressing inconsistent levels of capability throughout HE’s Project Management community and developing highly skilled project delivery teams. Overall, HE’s three main Major Project programmes account for 80 projects worth more than £23bn, each being delivered by a supply chain or contractor led by a Project Management team.
PPA’s leader Steph Illingworth engaged Curzon to interpret and structure her Vision of the PPA Programme into clear deliverables, shaping the fundamentals. There was consensus on cultural flaws and ineffective ways of working. Revealing a deeply siloed organisation with multiple departments or technical areas that lacked collaboration or a holistic view of the primary objectives and deliverables: projects were not executed on time and within budget, nor maximising benefits and social value. Also, capability development and training programmes were too theoretical and onerous, focusing on processes and systems rather than people, impacting the overall project success.
Focusing on performance management, capability development, project control capability and enhancing commercial acumen, the PPA Programme included two outputs as the medium for change: An Immersive Learning Experience and Digital Project Management Guidebook.
The Immersive Learning experience was designed to disrupt the way programmes are delivered. The Digital Project Management Guidebook contained PM content selected through independent reviews and capability assessments. Both outputs were crafted around the project lifecycle of typical HE infrastructure projects, set to be delivered in-person over a period of 18 months. Cohorts were selected to receive a tailored experience, improve project team maturity, and provide a solid foundation for capability uplift to achieve clear learning outcomes and benefits.
At the heart of the PPA philosophy was to enable project teams to grow, enhancing ‘ways of working’ whilst bolstering project performance. These included a “working better together model”; a fundamental shift in the way individuals interact and take ownership of overlapping project aspects and problem-solving techniques. This, along with the Immersive Learning, reinforced the Programme’s success, shifting the focus from systems and processes to people.
The pandemic introduced significant challenges, necessitating the immediate conversion of the Programme from in-person workshops to a virtual setting. The team adapted structures and materials, incorporating a variety of software suites to enhance the learner experience. Frequent interaction and close collaboration with the internal and senior stakeholders were critical to maintaining speed and delivery, adopting a fail-fast, fix fast approach to syllabus creation
The consulting team could interpret the client’s vision into a clear pathway, support and enhance the design to become one of the most successful transformation project delivered in HE.
The Digital Project Management Guidebook launched in August 2020 via four interactive webinars to c.300 employees have now received over 1,000 unique viewers. A modified deployment strategy was adopted in light of the pandemic, redesigned as a remote Immersive Learning Experience. However, over 5,049 hours of remote learning have been received by 100 staff through 9 project teams, enhancing teams’ capability with a combined portfolio value greater than £3.3bn.
Congratulations to all of the other finalists.
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Curzon Consulting partner is Category Judge for 2021 Soldiering On Awards
2021 Soldiering On Awards
Curzon Consulting Partner, Douglas Badham, is proud to again be a Category Judge for the 2021 Soldiering On Awards.
The Soldiering On Awards highlights the outstanding achievements of current and former service men and women, their families and those who support the Armed Forces Community. Now in their eleventh year, the Awards recognise inspirational people for achievements in education, healthcare, communities, diversity and inclusion, and business.
Douglas said:
“This is my second year of judging and I am an ardent supporter of the Awards – for the past eleven years these awards have shone a light on inspirational stories of immense challenges overcome, and stunning personal and business achievements”
Despite the challenges of a pandemic, the Awards have received a record number of nominations.
Lt. Col. Ren Kapur MBE, Founder and CEO of X-Forces Enterprise CIC and Co-chair of the Soldiering On Awards said:
“In what has been another record-breaking year for the number of nominations received, my thanks go to our category judges for the diligence and dedication they have applied to this important step on the path to decide who will be the 2021 SOA Finalists.”
The Finalists will be announced during Armed Forces Week in June.
For more information
About the author
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UK’s Leading Management Consultants 2021
Ranked in the Top 20 of the UK’s consulting firms, we are delighted to have been recognised for the third consecutive year as one of the ‘UK’s Leading Management Consultants 2021’ by the Financial Times.
Recommended in seven categories compiled with data company Statista, the annual rating is based on endorsements by clients and peers and demonstrates our steady consistent year on year sector & service line growth.
Consulting companies are awarded Bronze (recommended), Silver (frequently recommended) or Gold (very frequently recommended).
Sectoral expertise
- Construction & Infrastructure – Silver
- Financial Services – Bronze
- Healthcare – Bronze
- Public & Social Sector – Bronze
Consulting services
- Digital Transformation – Bronze
- Operations & Supply Chain – Bronze
- Strategy – Silver
Managing Partner Andrew Morgan said
We are thrilled to see the continued progression of the firm, competing alongside some major consulting brands. I am really proud of the team and this reinforces their dedication to deliver tangible results for our clients in a range of markets through strategic, operational and transformational delivery.
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Curzon supports Rainforest Foundation UK
Curzon Consulting is delighted to provide technical support to Rainforest Foundation UK and its partners in Ghana, DRC, Cameroon, the Republic of Congo and Liberia, in their 3-day virtual workshop: “The role of ForestLink and community-based monitoring in improving forest governance”.
Starting 24 November 2020, the event brings together national and international stakeholders to explore the role of community-based approaches in enhancing the monitoring, protection and governance of forests beyond promoting legality of forest operations.
Find out more about real time monitoring on the Rainforest Foundation UK website.
As part of a Real-time Monitoring project, Rainforest Foundation UK works directly with communities to strengthen monitoring and tackle illegal logging and deforestation.
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Return to Curzon: Rachna Trehan to lead ‘Intelligent CX’ offering
We are delighted to welcome Rachna Trehan to Curzon Consulting as Associate Partner. She will be leading the Intelligent CX service line. Rachna previously worked at Curzon from 2007 – 2014. Since then, she has advanced customer and digital strategy for clients at Accenture, Baringa and Ember Services.
Rachna answers our questions on reasons for joining Curzon and what’s in store for our Intelligent CX service line.
How did Curzon set you up for a career in consulting?
Very early in my career I learned to focus on doing the right thing for the client and doing it well. During my first tenure at Curzon, I learnt what drives businesses, how to problem solve, how to construct an approach to resolve the problems and how to make the solutions stick. Learning these core consulting skills gave me confidence that I could solve client issues in any industry. In addition to this, I started working directly with the partners of the firm and with the clients within hours of joining Curzon. I learnt by observing these brilliant minds at work and started to pick up their thought process and how to breakdown the problem statements into root causes and work packages. This live experience was far above what any training programme could give me. These skills helped me thrive in consulting firms later in my career.
What have you been up to since leaving Curzon in 2014?
Since leaving Curzon in 2014 I decided to remain in the same field and further develop my programme leadership and account management skills. I have specialised in the Customer Space and have built thought leadership around it. I have worked in large, medium sized and small consulting firms and have been lucky enough to work alongside really intelligent people who deliver real impact for clients. Throughout this time I saw the value that consulting can bring to our clients professional life and help in their own personal development. My passion and respect for my profession has gone up greatly and I hope it rubs off on my new colleagues/ clients.
Why return to Curzon Consulting?
Curzon always felt like home for me. The company culture is based on doing the right thing for the clients, building trust and developing skills rather than templates. It doesn’t compromise on quality and focusses on delivering real impact to the top/bottom line. I like the fact that each consultant in Curzon takes the role of a coach/trusted advisor for the clients. Curzon focuses on building strategic partnerships with clients, helping them achieve their objectives, rather than a narrow approach. The client relationships go beyond the immediate projects and we often help contribute to clients’ career growth. The Curzon team is more like a family and has each other’s backs. I am really looking forward to being a part of that team again.
What are you most looking forward to?
I’m looking forward to establishing and strengthening our Intelligent CX service line. These are exciting times in the customer space where we have seen rapid digitalisation over the past few months. There has been a change in customer’s needs and expectations. Our clients are now looking at not just sustaining and further building on the AI powered customer focussed technologies but also on organising themselves in such a way that they are ready to deal with and future surprises. This means they need different operating models, service excellence will be redefined, employee satisfaction is finally gaining as much attention as customer satisfaction and new ways of measuring success will be required. I am looking forward to helping our clients in these areas through our Intelligent CX service.
Over the coming months we will be sharing our thoughts on customer experience.
Rachna Trehan returned to Curzon Consulting in November 2020 as Associate Partner. We are delighted to welcome her back. Contact Rachna to arrange an introductory meeting.
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Curzon supports public sector as G-Cloud 12 supplier
Curzon Consulting is delighted to have been awarded a place on G-Cloud 12 framework. We provide five key cloud-related services to the public sector:
Business Transformation
Curzon Consulting delivers transformation and step-change capability improvement. Our services help clients translate strategic imperatives into realised benefits.
Digital Transformation
We help organisations to explore and exploit technology and innovation, including cloud-based services, to improve responsiveness, resilience, effectiveness and efficiency. Our digital transformation services include evaluation of current maturity, opportunity exploration, Design Thinking to reimagine the way work is done, bespoke applications, and implementation planning and delivery of solutions.
Change Management
Curzon Consulting provides change management expertise and support to digital and cloud service migration programmes. Services include business-led interfacing with technical teams, defining governance models, organisational design and migration planning, and working with the organisation to define and deliver the process and behavioural changes required to secure the planned benefits.
Cloud Strategy
Curzon Consulting helps organisations develop winning digital and cloud strategies; robust, achievable, supported and with a clear path to implementation. Our service includes analysis of current state and maturity, opportunity landscape evaluation, articulation of priorities and benefits, and development of a cloud strategy roadmap aligned to the wider organisation direction.
Programme and Project Management Delivery
Curzon provides programme management support across the lifecycle to underpin successful deployment of digital and cloud service innovation. Services include business requirements framing, governance, implementation delivery management and assurance, and corrective action intervention. We apply a business-outcome approach, maintaining focus on achieving and sustaining delivery of the stated benefits.
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Curzon team walks 470 miles for Samaritans
Five members of the Curzon Consulting team undertook the Samarathon challenge in July.
About the Samarathon challenge
Five members of our team got involved in Samarathon, a virtual marathon organised by Samaritans that took place over July 2020. They joined The Lord Mayor’s Appeal team, to help raise funds to support charities that address some of London’s most pressing societal issues. Samaritans is one of the four amazing charities supported by The Lord Mayor’s Appeal.
A great result
With a fantastic effort from our team, and Curzon’s pledge to match funds raised pound for pound, we have been able to raise a total of £2,600.
£2600
raised
467
miles
Curzon Consulting Partner, Doug Badham, commented:
A terrific effort for a really worthwhile cause! Huge thanks to everyone who got behind us with sponsorship
Our fund raising pages remain open, so it’s not too late to donate if you wish to.
The team are Amy Palliser, Douglas Badham, Nigel Brannan, Silviu Paraoan & Stuart Kitching.
The importance of mental health
Samaritans answer a call for help every six seconds.
Their work to support people is vitally important, particularly during coronavirus, which is difficult for many. Read Samaritans’ guidance on how to take care of your mental health during the coronavirus pandemic.
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Global consulting network Nextcontinent renews governance
‘Glocal’ consulting network for the future
Curzon Consulting is a citizen of international consulting network Nextcontinent. The network has 7,600 professionals, generates US $1 billion and is present in 40 countries. Created less than 10 years ago, Nextcontinent is already ranked among the top 15 consulting networks in the world.
Its 17 citizens – independent consulting firms – have just reelected Francis Rousseau, Chairman and founder, and François Pouzeratte, General Manager – to head this “consulting network for the future”.
The mission of this multi-local and multi-skills player is to help major international clients on a global scale.
Nextcontinent governance until 2023
Francis Rousseau, Chairman and founder of Nextcontinent, and François Pouzeratte, General Manager, have been elected for a new three-year mandate (2020-2023).
Thanks to the strong commitment of the team and the successful expansion and development of the network, the 17 citizens have unanimously voted in favor of the renewal of this Governance, which will be reinforced by the creation of a new Business Community Leader Committee.
New Nextcontinent member firms
Over the last 12 months, 5 new citizens joined the network:
- Matrix Consulting, HQ in Chile, strategy consulting company, 100 employees
- Paradigma, HQ in Argentina, management consulting company, 250 employees
- DMW, HQ in the UK, IT strategy consulting company, 140 employees
- Prospectus, HQ in Ireland, management consulting company, 7 employees
- Point B, HQ in the US, management consulting company, 1,000 employees
- Visagio, HQ in Brazil and Australia, management consulting company, 500 employees
About Nextcontinent
After seven years, Nextcontinent is a worldwide consulting network, with more than 7,600 professionals generating US $ 1 billion and present in 40 countries (Europe, Americas, Asia and Middle East). Nextcontinent, a multi-local player and multi-skills network (from consulting to engineering) is now ranked among the top 15 consulting networks in the world.17 independent consulting firms, each with a leading position in their respective countries, decided to join forces to create an ambitious international project aimed at helping major international clients on a global scale. Called a “consulting network for the future,” Nextcontinent is a new type of organization.
The vision of Nextcontinent is to keep on growing to act among the major international consulting players. For that, the new three-year project aims at strengthening the cooperations and the value delivered by the professional teams locally and globally.
Nextcontinent offers a global perspective in all economic areas, with a large portfolio of expertise – Strategy & Management Consulting, Engineering, Digital & IT, Human Resources & Coaching – shared and developed in its Business Communities. The Business Communities are comprised of international teams of partners and managers that share a common goal: to satisfy clients globally and locally through their obsession with innovative products and high-quality results. Business communities are fully business-oriented and work on key business issues for the future. They publish international studies, position papers and value new ideas. They are also the place for knowledge sharing and developing new methodologies and innovative techniques.
François Pouzeratte said:
Nextcontinent is a world-wide consulting network, based on the mutual desire to work together, or affectio societatis, trust and open mindedness rather than capital gain or other transactional or financial approaches. The 7,600 professionals from our 17 citizens work together on what is useful for society today and what will be meaningful in tomorrow’s world. Companies will have to adapt their strategies to people and not the other way around. The bottom-up will replace the top-down. The post-Covid economic crisis, which promises to be severe and lasting, should further enhance the uniqueness of Nextcontinent. Our network is a human network, with Citizens who place people at the heart of organizations. It is this DNA that our customers – including major global companies – appreciate”
The next Partners Meeting, with more than 100 partners, will focus on the future of work, linked to the future of mobility.
Communication contact
(Paris, France): Cécile de Visme