Accelerating strategic transformation with autonomous cross-functional teams.
THE CLIENT: BNP Paribas Personal Finance (Cetelem)
THE CHALLENGE
Achieving a five-year vision for a new organization by accelerating four strategic top priorities.
THE RESULTS
New ways of working in the execution of the strategy through cross-functional cooperation, on track to meet the vision for 2025.
The personal finance industry supports individuals and families in their current and future financial projects by offering credits, savings and insurance products for the whole universe of personal finances.
BNP Paribas Personal Finance (PF) is a major player in Europe in personal finance. With a presence in 33 countries, they serve their customers, partners and employees for almost 70 years. Every day they help more than 20 million clients by promoting access to a more responsible and sustainable consumption.
BNP Paribas PF has a very strong human resource policy based on responsibility, inclusion, solidarity, and social engagement, encouraging every person to be themselves and to pursue their own well-being, personal fulfilment, and career growth. They offer every year several customized personal development programs for their employees.
BNP Paribas PF’s subsidiary in Portugal, aka in the market as Cetelem – The comercial brand – was challenged by the group to implement a five-year vision for a new organization with four top priorities: Implement agile ways of working, create a data system that can easily be used to inform decisions on any level, put the customer experience in the focus of all processes, and contribute to society with positive impact, ecologically as well as financially. To respond to this challenge and accelerate the transformation Cetelem created four cross-functional teams, each focused on one priority. The question was, how to prepare these transformation priority teams (TP teams) to be autonomous and influence the entire organization to change without formal power?
“Consulting House supports us since 2021 in the context of the implementation of our 4 strategic priorities: Agility, Customer Experience, Data and Positive Impact. With dedication and a customized approach, they have collaborated with our transformation teams to get a deeper understanding of the emerging challenges and specific goals, adopting at each moment the best strategies and tools for the situation: coaching, consultancy, training, … Thanks to the support of Consulting House, we are better and better prepared and confident to face the complex challenges of the desired transformation.”
Sandra Barranquinho, HR Director, BNP PF Portugal
The solution had to support them in gaining autonomy and influence without determining the means for them, because that would have been a contradiction in itself. Coaching seemed to be the most adequate form of support, as it puts the accountability in the hands of the TP teams. But at the same time the possibility to receive spontaneously strategic advisory and/or training for specific soft skills, needed to be kept open as well.
The solution was to onboard a Consulting House consultant who could take on any kind of role at any time and swap between coaching, strategic advisory, consultancy and training. The experience in topics such as influencing skills, impactful communication, team processes and ways of working as well as facilitating strategic workshops, moderating discussions and pure coaching proved to be a valuable mix of competences to respond to the team’s needs and requests at any time.
“Organizations are complex systems in which the capacity to listen without judgement is fundamental for transformation processes. Nicole has an enormous capacity to listen, incentivise and motivate the finding of solutions, securing involvement and understanding even in the most challenging moments. Working with Nicole as a coach in this project has been synonym for continuous learning and without doubt the secret to success!”
Patrícia Vitorino, Head of Governance & Change Management, BNP PF Portugal
An important detail in the intervention was the creation of a binomial of coaches, existing of the external and an internal coach. The exchange of the two perspectives, one with deeper insights in operational and business questions and the other with a more strategic view, accelerated the preparation of the TP teams.
The two coaches supported the TP teams not only directly by responding to their concrete requests but also indirectly. By monitoring each team’s dynamics, initiatives implemented in the organization and results achieved, the coaches constantly identified the best leverages they could provide via training, coaching or consultancy and offered these proactively to the TP teams.
“As a manager, one of my biggest challenges has been to elevate the performance of my team and myself to increasingly more demanding patterns, securing the knowledge and tools that facilitate the transformation of Personal Finance Portugal. With Consulting House this path has been facilitated through different approaches and critical leadership topics, promoting and encouraging actions and behaviours that make a difference – individually and collectively!”
Ana Alcobia, Head of Transformation, Data & Project Management, BNP PF Portugal
After only two years into the project, noticeable change is already reported by the Executive Committee and the project owners. Most impact is noticed in the ways of working together: more alignment in communication, visibility across departments, cross-functional cooperation, proactivity and initiative to push for innovation. Many small projects that had been in the pipeline in different departments have been brought to life through the influence of the TP teams and new products have been brought to market. At this point in time, BNP PF Portugal is on track to reach the vision for 2025.
The good results of this project that became visible early on, have led to the implementation of other projects with the participation of Consulting House. Namely 1) a consultancy project to decide on the new organizational structure that will best support the vision for 2025 and 2) the yearly leadership program “Leaders4Change” – already in its second season – which prepares all managers for a new leadership approach needed.
In the words of Sandra Barranquinho, Director of HR: “Thanks to the support of Consulting House, we are better and better prepared and confident to face the complex challenges of the desired transformation.”
