1. Government Consulting at Booz Allen Hamilton
Kristin Reisinger
Associate
Booz | Allen | Hamilton
4692 Millennium Dr. #200 Belcamp, MD USA
Tel:

2. Agenda Introduction Government Consulting Industry Overview
Federal Proposal Process
Working at Booz Allen
Human Capital Consulting Practice
Example Projects
Required Skills
Q&A

3. Introduction

4. My Path
Loyola College BA 2001
Manchester, Inc Consulting Intern
University of Baltimore MS 2003 Grad Assistantship- Dean’s Office
Human Performance Systems, Inc – 2004 Intern, Research Assistant
Booz Allen Hamilton 2004-Present Consultant Senior Consultant Associate
McLean, VA
Philadelphia,
Aberdeen /Telecommute 2010-present

5. Government Consulting

6. What is Management Consulting?
Consulting: Work done by a consulting firm, which focuses on advising organizations on the best ways to manage and operate their business
Management Consulting: The practice of creating value for organizations through improved performance, achieved by providing objective advice and implementing business solutions
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

7. Commercial vs. Government Consulting
Commercial Consulting
Federal Consulting
Example Organizations
“Big 4” Consulting Firms
Ernst & Young
Deloitte
Price Waterhouse Coopers
KPMG
McKinsey
Bain
Boston Consulting Group
Strategy& (BAH commercial spin-off)
“Beltway Bandits”
Booz Allen Hamilton
Bearing Point
Accenture
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

8. Federal Contracting
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
Booz Allen solicits work from the federal government through a structured procurement process

9. The Standard Federal RFP Format has 13 Sections
Description
Typical Content A
Solicitation/Contract form
RFP table of contents, contact information, due date, submittal location, serves as contact when signed by offeror and government 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
Instructions for proposal preparation, format, organization, content, length 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

10. Proposals 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.
Most government proposals include:
Technical/Management Volume
Approach
Staffing
Assumptions
Cost Volume
Past Performance Volume
All Booz Allen client-facing staff support proposal development

11. Requirements Definition
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
SSA IT evaluated two offers based on approach, cost, and qualifications. Cost was the most critical factor.
Contract Award
Offeror was notified of win
OUTCOME: BAH lost on price

12. Consulting vs. Industry
Work is project-based; customers, team, schedules, functional expertise vary
Advise clients, but do not make decisions
Project scope is fixed
Time is billable
Project failure loss of future business for the firm
Internal Role
Consistent team and customers
More predictable workload and schedule
Decision-making rights
Project scope is more flexible
Project failure  job loss

13. Working at Booz Allen

14. Focus of Work in Central Maryland and Aberdeen
Our Operating Model
Focus of Work in Central Maryland and Aberdeen

15. Booz Allen’s Human Capital Bench Strength
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
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
Breadth allows us to staff projects with specialized experts and rapidly surge to meet client needs

16. Example Booz Allen Human Capital Capabilities

17. Example Projects Along My Path
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
Employee Opinion Survey Programs
National Reconnaissance Office
Office of the Director of National Intelligence
NASA

18. Case Study: VA IT Workforce Development
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
Actions Taken:
Identified workforce competencies for all IT and IT support occupations, with behavioral indicators for five levels of proficiency
Aligned 8000 staff against appropriate profile
Assessed individual gaps for custom training plans
Assessed aggregate gaps to drive training development and acquisition
Results Achieved:
Competency models for 22 occupations
3000 learning events mapped to the models in a Talent Management System
96% assessment completion
Lessons Learned
Best Practices
Active SME Working Groups
Used one occupation as an initial pilot to agree on definitions/outcomes and improve the process
Implemented competency-based learning
Pitfalls
Lack of senior stakeholder engagement from the outset caused leadership commitment to wane in some organizations
Competency models are voluminous and some reflect functions not competencies

19. Career Progression at Booz Allen
Principals, Partners
Senior Associates
Lead Associates
Associates
Senior Consultants
Consultants
Admins, Researchers

20. The Way We Work Virtual work is accepted Many staff on client site
Move to ‘hoteling’/staff alignment to closest office
Matrixed teams
Virtual Collaboration is expected
Most meetings include Lync/ LiveMeeting screen sharing
Outlook invites include iPhone direct access
Work/Life balance is a mantra
40-50 hour work week
Travel outside DC is minimal
Flex hours are common

21. Required Skills Consulting
Listening actively and asking pertinent and relevant questions
Thinking critically to properly evaluate information
Project management
Communicating solutions effectively
PowerPoint
Executive writing
Human Capital
Job Analysis
Focus group facilitation
Analysis
“Best practice” theories and approaches
Credible sources to cite

22. Questions?