Kristine Priemer
Case Western Reserve University - Weatherhead School of Management
Chris Laszlo
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As part of Oliver Wyman's mission and commitment to make lasting contributions to society, the firm has begun providing strategic and financial consulting advice to non-profit organizations around the world. The program was first piloted by a group of partners and consultants who wanted to have deeper impact on organizations. Historically, colleagues would be awarded a volunteer day to participate in ad-hoc work for a charity or organization of their choice. Over time, the firm realized it "would have a greater and more profound impact by providing greater advice to such organizations to further the impact that they have on their respective communities."
The office in London was selected to pilot a new "Social Impact" program and refine the new approach. Within six months, the group had built out the pilot into a program "that was focused on helping local non-profit and NGO's improve their organizational capability to deliver results, stay competitive, and thrive."
This office has successfully operated the Social Impact program for almost two years. The London project has been so well received that several other offices are adopting similar approaches. Led by social impact champions, individual offices are adapting the model with a focus on delivering both local and global impacts. Social Impact programs have also been launched in Paris, Germany, Amsterdam, and Spain. Programs in North America, Dubai, and Asia Pacific programs will be kicked off throughout 2016.
By helping non-profit organizations and NGO's deliver on their aspirations, the consultants are able to increase their impact on the people that non-profits and NGO's are intended to help.
Wanting to move beyond the volunteering experience, two partners who were "champions of the social impact work" in the Financial Services' sector joined three consultants to look at the firm's approach to volunteering. It became apparent that there was much more they could do in the space to deepen not only their impact, but the impact that several organizations for which they had volunteered for in the past could have on their communities. By formalizing a process whereby the consulting staff could provide strategic and financial advice, they were not only "improving their own relationships with the communities they lived and worked in," but were improving their skills in a meaningful way.
The impact has been two-fold. The firm has said, the"impact on some of our clients has been tremendous." In 2015, Save the Children Foundation set up a new NGO, the Humanitarian Leadership Academy, to enable communities to respond to crises by formalizing disaster prevention, disaster preparation, management, and recovery. The Humanitarian Leadership Academy sought the firm's support to further develop a sustainable business model. During the project, it was discovered that key pieces of the operating model could be revised to better meet the foundation's needs. As a result of this engagement, the Academy is "expected to contribute to the global humanitarian sector. The Academy aims to "establish centers in 10 countries, reach communities in more than 40 countries, and facilitate training for over 100,000 aid workers." The social impact project at Oliver Wyman helped this organization better understand its positioning and operating/economic model so that it could provide more value to several communities.
Additionally, the firm worked with the British Red Cross, an organization largely responsible for managing disasters and emergencies in several communities. Similar to the work done with the Academy, the firm sought to refine the strategic objectives of the British Red Cross to ensure that it was better prepared and to ensure the needs of those in crisis are met.
At Oliver Wyman, the project has resulted in greater engagement from colleagues as they work on projects that reflect their own personal desire to make a lasting contribution to their communities. As the program expands into new regions, it raises the question as to whether the firm will want to expand its mission statement to further emphasize the importance of contributing to its community in a meaningful way.
The pipeline for work in this area has increased substantially. In just over 12 months, the London office has participated in more than 20 Social Impact projects. It has engaged several additional clients around the globe, such as the Prince's Trust, Trees for Cities, USAID, and many more.
Oliver Wyman clients care about the firm's ability to have positive impact on the communities in which they live and work. In light of this, the firm believes that work done in Social Impact "improves our relationships with our clients more broadly." Volunteering and additional pro-bono efforts also result in greater engagement and involvement for their colleagues in their respective communities, as well as exposes them to a wide array of people and issues. It provides the firm with the opportunity to use its capabilities to help reach long-term societal goals. The firm sees enormous opportunity for financial services specifically to drive positive social change.
As stated previously, Oliver Wyman's aim is to work with several non-profit organizations and NGO's in a targeted and tangible way to ensure social and client impact. The firm is focused on the drive for innovation and the development opportunity for colleagues to become positively engaged in their communities.
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Lisa Clark, Social Impact North American Coordinator
