Chief Professional Conduct and Culture Contracts
Total of 7 contracts with McKinsey & Company
Overview
Key Facts
- Total Number of Contracts: 7
- Total Value of Contracts: $20,606,538.60 (including taxes)
- Number of Active Contracts: One contract, ending on April 17, 2023 (see Operating Model Benchmarking)
Background
Context
- The Chief Professional Conduct and Culture (CPCC), which serves as the single Functional Authority for professional conduct and culture at National Defence, launched in June 2021 with a staff of only 11 members.
- It was clear from the outset that to achieve enduring results, CPCC’s approach needed to be data driven and survivor centric, and that CPCC needed to act swiftly.
Work with McKinsey
- To meet these needs, CPCC required the advice of expert consultants. It leveraged a National Master Standing Offer with McKinsey & Company in seven instances, beginning in September 2021 and with one contract ongoing but set to end on April 17, 2023.
- These seven contracts can be grouped under three broad lines of effort undertaken by CPCC to enhance accountability, listen and learn from affected persons and members of the Defence Team, as well as to transform the complaints system.
Enhancing Accountability
- For instance, in summer 2021, CPCC leveraged McKinsey’s benchmarking solution, known as the Organizational Health Index (OHI), to track, categorize and analyze the over 500 recommendations made to National Defence on culture change by external reviewers, such as former Justice Fish (see External Reviews Recommendations - Benchmarking).
- Of note, McKinsey & Company holds exclusive rights to provide this type of benchmarking as per its proprietary survey-based diagnostics. These data sets are based on information obtained from McKinsey's clients through proprietary surveys. There are no authorized resellers.
- McKinsey has cited its OHI benchmark as a tool to provide leaders with a “detailed picture of their organizations’ health compared to peers”, with over 1 billion data points across geographies and industries, which “offer a global standard to measure and manage organizational health.”
- In an additional call-up, which remains active until April 2023 (see Operating Model Benchmarking), this benchmarking tool was again leveraged by CPCC in January 2023, for a project that is being co-led by CPCC and Assistant Deputy Minister (Human Resources – Civilian).
- CPCC is leveraging McKinsey’s services to help conduct a review of its operating model and organisational health two years after its inception, since it has grown in both size and scope.
Listening and Learning from our People
- The OHI also includes modules for diversity, equity and inclusion, which CPCC utilized in its contract with McKinsey to carry out extensive culture consultations (see Culture Consultations (Includes one contract amendment)).
Transforming the Complaints System
- Finally, CPCC contracted McKinsey four times in its ongoing efforts to transform the complaints system (see Complaints Process Transformation - Benchmarking, Integrated Complaint Management Solution (Initial 4-week contract), Integrated Complaint Management Solution (Follow-on 10-week contract), Complaints Process Transformation 360 Benchmarking).
- It leveraged specific diagnostic assessment solutions from McKinsey’s digital suite to assist with end-to-end digital, analytics and technology transformation, in order to identify gaps and weaknesses in the current system, and to develop follow-on solutions.
Complaints Process Transformation - Benchmarking
Key Facts
- Objectives: To help orient the Defence complaints process to better focus on affected persons, and to develop a roadmap to build a follow-on complaints solution/platform.
- Total Value of Contract: $2,567,535.47
- Timeframe: Award date: 2021-07-30; Start date: 2021-08-02; End date: 2021-10-08
- Results: McKinsey identified systemic and procedural weaknesses from the perspective of complainants. It also developed a roadmap to make data tracking more efficient.
- More specifically, McKinsey’s benchmarking results:
- Identified thematic points that worsen the complainant experience and the abillity for decision-makers to understand and address issues;
- Highlighted that the burden of the complaints process falls on affected members, forcing them to advance their own file; and
- Demonstrated that Defence’s complaints processes and data capabilities were behind its public sector peers.
- Accordingly, McKinsey created a roadmap to enable National Defence to start working on a solution through:
- Improved visibility into broad trends and comparisons across all complaints to support decision-making in the areas of policy and operations;
- Improved tracking of individual and aggregate cases (e.g., unit-level) to enable a better view of outcomes and where remedial actions may be required; and
- Reduced administrative and manual tasks to track, manage and report on complaints process.
- McKinsey also developed a plan in consulation with Defence Team members to start building the platform/solution, including by identifying preliminary data, technology and talent requirements as well as proposed streams of work.
- Outsourcing Rationale: CPCC did not have the in-house specialized expertise to perform a data-driven assessment of the complaints process internally, nor the ability to grow this expertise due to the nature of the task and timeframe.
- Contracting mechanism: Call-up against PSPC’s National Master Standing Offer (NMSO).
Background
- Shortly following its stand-up, CPCC launched an important line of effort to transform the Defence complaints system, which had, and continues to be, an area of focus for Defence leadership, external reviews, and of those most affected.
- This first contract was aimed at helping a nascent CPCC team to:
- Understand the current-state of National Defence’s complaints process, including key areas for improvement and underlying data and processes;
- Define a vision for an improved complaints process centered around the affected person;
- Understand the current level of data integration for complaints, including strengths and gaps; and Develop a roadmap to build the solution, including preliminary data, technology and talent requirements.
External Reviews Recommendations - Benchmarking
Key Facts
- Objective: Support the review and implementation of over 500 recommendations related to culture change from external reviews (including from former Justices Arbour, Fish and Deschamps). Leverage McKinsey’s benchmarking solution, known as the Organizational Health Index and Inclusion Assessment (OHI-IA), to track, review, categorize and analyze these recommendations.
- Total Value of Contract: $1,606,488.19
- Timeframe: Award date: 2021-08-05; Start date: 2021-08-09; End date: 2021-10-15
- Results: McKinsey’s analysis enabled National Defence to develop an approach to prioritize and implement external review recommendations and help drive culture change across the organization.
- Through this benchmarking, McKinsey experts:
- Identified patterns, areas of emphasis, and themes among external recommendations;
- Developed a prioritization framework to determine the priority of external recommendations;
- Built a dashboard to analyze and report information across data sources;
- Used centralized data to develop a holistic approach to implementation; and
- Provided digital tools to sustain the execution, management, and adaptation of approved external recommendations to facilitate providing timely updates to senior leadership, Parliament, and the public.
- Additionally, this work:
- Uncovered a bias towards punitive measures and lack of positive interventions such as role modeling and building convictions such as a shared, positive vision for change;
- Contributed to the development of the draft Culture Evolution Strategy that highlights how every organization has an obligation, every leader has a responsibility, and every member of the team has a role in building a workplace culture that supports a positive and productive work environment; and
- Enabled CPCC to support the External Comprehensive Reviews Implementation Committee (ECRIC) to initiate a deliberate, collaborative, and synchronized approach within National Defence to implement external recommendations.
- This includes supporting ECRIC in the development of a common operating picture that will track all conduct and culture reforms using a centralized digital tool designed to highlight interdependencies, priorities, and sequencing issues, enable multi-horizon timeline planning, and to facilitate updates to both internal and external audiences.
- Outsourcing Rationale: CPCC does not have the in-house specialized expertise to perform this assessment of external recommendations (i.e. organizational benchmarking) and does not have the ability to grow the expertise due to the nature of the task and timeframe.
- Contracting mechanism: Call-up against PSPC’s National Master Standing Offer (NMSO).
Background
- Since 2015, National Defence has received more than 500 recommendations and tasks generated from 19 reviews, including those by external comprehensive reviews (15), international allies (3), and National Defence Internal Directives (3).
- This list includes recommendations from:
- The Third Independent Review (IR3) of the Military Justice System (Fish Report);
- The Minister’s Advisory Panel on Systemic Racism and Discrimination Final Report;
- The External Review into Sexual Misconduct and Sexual Harassment in the Canadian Armed Forces (Deschamps Report); and
- Reports from Parliamentary committees.
- Against this backdrop, in summer 2021, CPCC leveraged McKinsey’s benchmarking solution, known as the Organizational Health Index and Inclusion Assessment (OHI- IA) to track, categorize and analyze over 500 eternal recommendations.
- Of note, McKinsey & Company holds exclusive rights to provide this type of benchmarking through its proprietary survey-based diagnostics. These data sets are based on information obtained from McKinsey's clients using proprietary surveys. There are no authorized resellers.
Conduct and Culture Consultation
Key Facts
- Objective: Conduct consultations with Defence Team members on their experiences, ideas, and feedback on culture change to inform the development of a long-term approach to institutional culture evolution.
- Total Value of Contract: $5,718,569.07
- Timeframe: Award Date: 2021-09-14; Start Date: 2021-09-20, Original End Date: 2022-01-21, Amended End Date: 2022-03-25
- Results: Following extensive consultations, McKinsey produced a publicly available Summary Report of the Defence Team Conduct and Culture Consultation. This report provides an overview of main themes and key comments raised by participants and will inform the development of National Defence’s culture evolution framework and strategy.
- Over 9,000 Defence Team members contributed to these consultations through 280 engagements.
- Findings from the consultations demonstrated that:
- Aspects of National Defence’s culture are not fit for purpose for defence and security in the 21st Century;
- Current Defence culture does not reflect the core values of the Canadian society members serve;
- Four clear mindset shifts are essential in aiding the Defence Team in their recruitment and retention initiatives.
- Additionally, McKinsey experts:
- Established a common vocabularly to assist leaders in engaging with their teams on a difficult issue;
- Fostered leadership skills that enable safe and open conversations on sensitive and emotionally charged topics;
- Trained a group of 10 facilitators to hold interactive workshops, who in turn trained 100 additional members.
- Identified the importance of approximately 16 culture shaping moments in a Canadian Armed Forces member’s career (e.g., basic training, performance reviews, postings) as areas of opportunity to create a more inclusive and high performing culture – both operationally and in the context of societal expectations.
- Ultimately, the outcomes of these consultations provided National Defence with valuable insights into how to articulate and frame the case for change.
- These findings also supported the development of a culture diagnostic tool and will be instrumental in informing National Defence’s culture evolution framework and strategy currently under development.
- Outsourcing Rationale: CPCC did not have the in-house specialized expertise to perform these consultations internally (i.e. to develop large-scale and measurable consulations), nor the ability to grow the expertise due to the nature of the task and timeframe.
- Contracting mechanism: Call-up against PSPC’s National Master Standing Offer (NMSO).
Background
- From October 2021 to March 2022, CPCC senior leadership launched the Defence Team Conduct and Culture Consultation to listen and learn from the experiences and expertise of those within our institutional culture.
- CPCC engaged McKinsey to support this effort as an external contract partner with experts in the fields of diversity, equity, and inclusion, as well as in organizational transformation initiatives.
- McKinsey’s external expertise helped ensure that National Defence modeled its approach to consultation on best practices, and that it collected information that could be used to conduct a meaningful and insightful analysis.
- McKinsey designed the consultation to capture a broad diversity of perspectives, across all regions, force elements, occupations, ranks, and across key demographics and equity-seeking groups.
Listening and learning from our people
- Over the course of six months, CPCC's leadership team and experts from McKinsey offered hundreds of sessions in a variety of formats—from town halls to small discussion groups.
- These extensive consultations helped foster the credibility of the newly formed CPCC function with the broader Defence Team.
- The culture change evolution process will enable CPCC to provide informed and coordinated guidance and tools directly to L1 organizations and empower them to carry out culture change in their respective areas.
Key statistics: Defence Team Conduct and Culture Consultation:
- Engaged with over 9,000 Defence Team members;
- Conducted over 280 engagements, including listening sessions, small group discussions, and town halls involving over 430 hours of engagement;
- Held 53 cultural dialogues, including with persons with lived experience, veterans, and equity seeking groups across the Defence Team; and
- Conducted 46 targeted interviews with senior leadership, survivors of sexual misconduct, and with representatives from equity-seeking groups.
Integrated Complaint Management Solution (4-week initial contract)
Key Facts
- Objective: Build capabilities within the Defence Team to develop an early pilot of an integrated complaints platform.
- Total Value of Contract: $3,087,078.75 (expended only $600,744.38)
- Timeframe: Award date: 2021-11-04, Start date: 2021-11-08, End date: 2022-02-11
- Results: Contract paused – see Integrated Complaint Management Solution (4-week initial contract).
- Outsourcing Rationale: CPCC did not have the in-house specialized expertise to develop an early pilot integrated complaints platform (i.e. Minimum Viable Product), nor the ability to grow the expertise due to the nature of the task and timeframe.
- Contracting mechanism: Call-up against PSPC’s National Master Standing Offer (NMSO).
Background
- Shortly following its stand-up, CPCC launched an important line of effort to transform the Defence complaints system which had, and continues to be, an area of focus for Defence leadership, external reviews, and those most affected.
- The National Defence complaints process faces many challenges. This includes the fact that the burden of the complaints process falls on affected members, forcing them to drive their own file through the complainant system. Further, the siloed processes and lack of centralized data results in complaints having to be logged into multiple systems at the expense of the affected member.
- Leveraging the Analytics Quotient benchmarking assessment already completed (see Complaints Process Transformation - Benchmarking), CPCC sought to develop the internal capabilities of its team to develop a best-in-class integrated early prototype for the complaints process.
- Potential scope for this integrated complaints platform (a Minimum Viable Product) was: a single team of civilians to provide support and receive reports of incidents confidentially, separate from the complaints process; supported by a new, single digital channel for any CAF member to report an incident, regardless of complaint type.
- Experts from McKinsey were requested to provide targeted assistance in order to:
- Assist in defining a best-in-class MVP for the complaints process;
- Set-up and train a CPCC-led cross-functional team in best practices on how to plan, design, and implement an MVP using an agile operating model; and,
- Provide replicable playbook.
- At the same time, CPCC was carrying out other important initiatives, including its culture consultation process, the results of which would prove integral to the development of a complaints platform/solution.
- Thus, work under this contract was paused in order to conduct further research and analysis, including based on the feedback garnered by the culture consultation process, as well as to give CPCC time to better align scope and timelines with its team’s capability.
Integrated Complaints Management Solution (10-week follow-on contract)
Key Facts
- Objective: Continue to build capabilities within the Defence Team to develop an early pilot of an integrated complaints platform.
- Total Value of Contract: $2,486,334.38
- Timeframe: Award date: 2022-02-24, Start date: 2022-03-14, End date: 2022-05-20
- Results: Enabled CPCC to better understand data sharing challenges across National Defence and to adapt transformation initiatives towards CPCC-centric data assets, complaints processes, and service delivery modalities.
- Additionally, McKinsey supported CPCC in:
- Undertaking a number of research and engagement initiatives; and
- Translating research from this pilot project into high-level requirements for a new complaints system.
- Outsourcing Rationale: CPCC did not have the in-house specialized expertise to develop an early pilot integrated complaints platform (i.e. Minimum Viable Product), nor the ability to grow the expertise due to the nature of the task and timeframe.
- Contracting mechanism: Call-up against PSPC’s National Master Standing Offer (NMSO).
Background
- The National Defence complaints process faces many challenges. This includes the fact that the burden of the complaints process falls on affected members, forcing them to drive their own file through the complainant system. Further, the siloed processes and lack of centralized data results in complaints having to be logged into multiple systems at the expense of the affected member.
- Leveraging the Analytics Quotient benchmarking assessment already completed (see Complaints Process Transformation - Benchmarking), CPCC sought to develop the internal capabilities of its team to develop a best-in-class early prototype related to the complaints process.
- Work between CPCC and McKinsey on this initiative began in November 2021 but was paused in order to conduct further research and analysis, including based on the feedback garnered by the culture consultation process as well as to give CPCC time to better align scope and timelines with its team’s capability.
- Once the new call-up was in place, the CPCC team undertook a number of research and engagement initiatives, including with 19 affected persons (civilian and military) through 16 trauma-informed discussions led by McKinsey.
- They further learned from five best-in-class contact centre organizations which helped to inform the designing of the complaints process (i.e. importance of making available multiple formats such as call/text applications, as well as the need to quickly connect with counsellors).
- Ultimately, CPCC decided not to pursue the pilot platform CPCC on the basis that piloting a prototype dealing with the disclosure of any misconduct in a single digital platform supported by a single team was too early and too complex; and that instead the requirements would be adjusted and folded in the integrated complaints system.
- However, the outputs and learning outcomes generated from this contract enabled CPCC to better understand data sharing challenges and allowed them to adjust the overall mandate of the Complaints Process Transformation towards CPCC-centric data assets, complaints processes and service delivery modalities.
- Indeed, the CPCC team was trained in such a way that it could translate all the deep research from this task into high-level mandatory requirements for a new complaints system.
Complaints Process Transformation Technology 360 Benchmarking
Key Facts
- Objective: Continue to build capabilities within the Defence Team to develop an integrated complaints platform.
- Total Value of Contract: $2,047,704.75
- Timeframe: Award date: 2022-10-19; Start date: 2022-10-24, End date: 2023-03-03
- Results: Chief Professional Conduct and Culture (CPCC) decided not to pursue the pilot platform from previous contracts, though it was able to leverage lessons from that experience.
- Specifically, it was decided that piloting a prototype dealing with the disclosure of any misconduct in a single digital platform supported by a single team was too early and too complex; and that instead the requirements would be adjusted and folded in the integrated complaints system.
- Under this call-up, and building on lessons learned from the pilot cited above, McKinsey experts worked with CPCC to ensure that the proposed business requirements for a future integrated complaints platform reflected coherency of effort across all CPCC business lines.
- Of note, these business requirements are currently being finalized, and will serve as the basis for an updated integrated complaints platform, which is expected to roll out in the next 12 – 18 months
- Outsourcing Rationale: CPCC did not have the in-house specialized expertise to develop an integrated complaints platform internally, nor the ability to grow the expertise due to the nature of the task and timeframe.
- Contracting mechanism: Call-up against PSPC’s National Master Standing Offer (NMSO).
Background
- This contract was the last in a series of work between CPCC and McKinsey to support the ongoing transformation of the complaints process across National Defence.
- The first three contracts with McKinsey in this series focused on initial analysis of the problem-set (see Complaints Process Transformation - Benchmarking) and on developing early prototypes (see Integrated Complaint Management Solution (Initial 4-week contract), Integrated Complaint Management Solution (Follow-on 10-week contract)).
- This last contract was geared towards further developing internal CPCC capabilities so that it could draft business requirements for Assistant Deputy Minister (Information Management). [Note: ADM(IM) is charged with developing an updated integrated complaints platform, which is expected to roll out in the next 12 – 18 months].
- Under this call-up, McKinsey experts worked with CPCC to ensure that the proposed business requirements reflected coherency of effort across all CPCC business lines, which included:
- Ensuring that a future integrated complaints platform aligned with CPCC’s core objectives to proactively reduce / prevent harm, provide a better complaints experience for individuals, increased visibility and ease of reporting for decision-makers.
- Creating an integrated map and architecture diagram of 20+ existing systems and data assets used currently across all complaints processes, identifying key gaps in data architecture.
- Developing a ~18 months integrated transformation roadmap with core lines of effort, key activities, and milestones to deliver a re-imagined complaints experience.
- Defining six distinct functions to support the future-state complaints process with the aim to clarify the interactions between people and functions within the same organization: support, process guidance, conflict management, investigation, complaints administration, and continuous improvement.
- Integrating, immediately, an anti-racist approach into Complaints Process Transformation and developing specific design components as execution launches.
- Grouping approximately 200 high-level business requirements into 19 technology products prioritized by value and feasibility to be implemented by the Information Group on an opportunity basis using an agile methodology.
Operating Model Benchmarking
Key Facts
- Objective: To review the Chief Professional Conduct and Culture’s (CPCC) operating model including its structures, processes and leadership.
- Total Value of Contract: $3,092,827.50
- Timeframe: Award date: 2023-01-09, Start date: 2023-01-23, End date: 2023-04-17 (Ongoing)
- Results: McKinsey will provide a baseline review of CPCC’s operating model, including the most important practices for leadership to focus on in the near-term. To build this baseline, McKinsey undertook the following activities:
- Held interviews with leaders across the organization
- Hosted CPCC focus groups (military and civilian members)
- Reviewed CPCC documents
- Outsourcing Rationale: CPCC did not have the in-house specialized expertise to perform this work internally (e.g. objective review of the organization based on organizational benchmarks), nor the ability to grow the expertise due to the nature of the task and timeframe.
- Contracting mechanism: Call-up against PSPC’s National Master Standing Offer (NMSO)
Background
- Given that CPCC is unique and a first of its kind organization among like-minded allies, there are no current military models or blueprints to which it can compare its structure and processes in order to measure institutional progress.
- As such, two years after its establishment, the CPCC leveraged McKinsey’s private sector expertise to conduct an Operating Model review and Organizational Health benchmark with a view to improving CPCC’s performance and effectiveness.
Progress
- To date, McKinsey & Company has completed a robust set of consultations to understand the strength of as well as areas for improvement within CPCC’s operating model.
- More specifically, experts from McKinsey undertook the following activities to build their recommendations:
- CPCC leadership interviews: completed 25 structured leadership interviews reaching over 40 leaders across the organization in order to understand the perspectives from leaders across the group;
- CPCC member focus groups: completed 11 two-way focus group dialogues reaching over 75 CPCC members who shared perspectives in order to engage a meaningful sample of members across levels (e.g., Military, Civilian)
- Documents review: reviewed approximately 150 internal background documents in order to understand CPCC’s organizational context and establish baseline operating model parameters.
- Stemming from these engagements, McKinsey has provided CPCC a baseline of its operating model, including identifying the organization’s strengths and areas that require further refinement, as well as a “top 10” of the most important practices for leadership to focus on in the near-term.
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