Capgemini Consulting provides global support for smile train to help transform the lives of children born with clefts around the world

New York, N.Y., January 22, 2014 – Capgemini Consulting, the global strategy and transformation consulting organization of the Capgemini Group, today announced a pro-bono relationship with Smile Train, the world’s leading cleft lip and palate charity, offering over $500,000 in consulting services to help transform its partner engagement model. Through the relationship, Capgemini Consulting  intends to help Smile Train improve the way it engages and incentivizes its global community of local agents, doctors and hospitals in more than 85 developing countries to ultimately help deliver more cleft repair surgeries to children around the world.
 
Since 1999, Smile Train’s mission has been to empower local medical teams to provide free, corrective cleft surgery for children in developing countries. It focuses on building and funding sustainable cleft programs within each of its thousands of partner hospitals around the world, with a strong emphasis on education and training opportunities for local medical personnel.
 
“We are thrilled that Capgemini Consulting has chosen Smile Train [as a partner] in its ongoing pursuits to work with non-profit organizations,” said Mackinnon Engen, Vice President, Strategic Partnerships and Program Development, Smile Train. “As the largest charity in our field, we pride ourselves on conducting our global operations in a similar way to those of a for-profit business. By working with Capgemini Consulting, we’ve received resources and tools that we normally do not have access to. The entrepreneurial environment of Capgemini Consulting and their dedication to our cause has allowed us to form a truly engaged and involved relationship, which will continue into the future.”
 
After identifying and analyzing Smile Train’s internal challenges by surveying key stakeholders, including doctors, nurses and those responsible for identifying candidates and organizing surgeries locally, Capgemini Consulting executed a ten-week program to increase and standardize Smile Train’s existing partner engagement model and elevate its brand affinity with regional partners and hospitals. By employing Capgemini Consulting’s multi-phase assessment and design, Smile Train has increased overall efficiency in the way it engages with partners as it approaches the milestone goal of conducting 1,000,000 successful cleft lip and palate surgeries.
 
“With any organization, there will always be challenges that arise when attempting to streamline communications and structure on a global scale. One of the biggest issues for Smile Train was discordant levels of both engagement and a sense of community among its regional teams,” said Barbara Spitzer, Vice President, Capgemini Consulting. “By devising strategies to empower its regional managers and partners, such as implementing a monetary and merit-based awards program for partners at all levels, Smile Train has already begun to see improvements in its overall operations and objectives, and is ultimately seeing increased enthusiasm and morale from partners and volunteers across the board, a crucial component for a non-profit workforce.”
 
In addition, Capgemini Consulting has also provided monetary support to Smile Train by hosting internal and external fundraisers, and will continue to foster an ongoing relationship with the charity. In an effort to expand its overall CSR efforts, Capgemini Consulting plans to continue developing long-term relationships with selected non-profit organizations by providing industry leading services and solutions.