Best Practices Transfer: Unleashing the Value Within

Most large organizations need look no further than their own doorstep to locate best practices, and the pressure to start exploiting them is intensifying.

E-enabled technologies and a spate of corporate mergers are redefining the competitive landscape in most industries, making inefficiencies and performance lags all the more visible. The discipline and focus of a best practices transfer process make it an ideal vehicle for companies looking to leverage the lessons of e-business and accelerate their continuous improvement efforts.

A well-deployed best practices transfer program can help a company accomplish two critical strategic objectives:

drive step-change improvements in performance,
and accelerate its development into a learning organization.

By focusing on not only sharing knowledge but also applying it, best practices transfer unleashes the tremendous energy and substantial value locked in by current structures, processes, and systems. Moreover, it enhances organizational alignment and adaptability, two attributes deemed critical to sustaining competitive advantage in a global, technology-driven economy.

Working with a broad range of clients over the years, Booz Allen has developed an approach to transferring best practices that quickly unleashes value along three critical dimensions:

Ensuring operational excellence to deliver superior performance;
Building world-class capabilities to create competitive advantage; and
Redefining the role of the corporation to create a learning organization.

Opportunities to leverage best practices span the value chain and exist in every industry. That said, there are "ideal" candidates for a best practices transfer initiative. These tend to be companies with multiple business units or multiple programs. Companies that are integrating operations after a merger are also prime candidates.

An effective best practices program is an iterative, rigorous, and highly analytical process that becomes institutionalized over time. It involves identifying superior capabilities; transferring them across business units; and then systematically monitoring and realizing results.

In its simplest form, this can mean knowledge sharing among peer groups. At its most powerful, it means using performance improvements to drive strategic transformation. Whatever the circumstances under which a best practices transfer program is launched, its ultimate goal will be to deliver consistent and elevated performance levels in critical business processes across the entire organization.

The study "Best Practices Transfer – Unleashing the Value Within" outlines Booz Allen's unique approach to best practices transfer.

study posted July 2001