BBRT membership is very valuable. It offers support and a shared learning network of active evaluators, implementers and users of the 'beyond budgeting' management model.

General Membership

Joining the BBRT as a General Member is a requirement before members can join Special Interest Groups. General membership fees are used to fund the BBRT's global efforts and research and offer members the following benefits:

• Shared Learning Network - Joining the BBRT shared learning network
• Proprietary Material - Access to accumulated and new proprietary material (case studies, research reports, meeting notes etc.) for in-house (not commercial) use.
• BBRT Meetings - Attendance by individuals at any BBRT general meeting worldwide. The BBRT meetings enable the network of members to meet and share experiences and learn from each other and from the research and presentations. The meeting agendas are focused on issues relating to evaluation, development and implementation of the 'beyond budgeting' model and provide a forum for shared learning.
• BBRT Web Seminars - scheduled throughout the year to accommodate your busy schedule and complimentary to BBRT Members.
• BBRT Research - BBRT research and deliverables drive the agenda of BBRT meetings and help members address implementation issues. Members' needs are closely reflected. The research is focused on issues relating to the evaluation and implementation of 'beyond budgeting' and uses cases as much as possible. In addition, the researchers work with high quality associates to gain expertise in their specialist field (e.g. CRM, VBM, ABM, the Balanced Scorecard) and use it to determine whether and how such tools should be used to support the 'beyond budgeting' model.
• Web-based Private Forum - Access to the BBRT website private forum (e.g. Restricted circulation downloads).
• Research Reports - 12 research reports each year for use within your organization.
• Global News and Research - distributed via the BBRT monthly e-newsletter.
• Custom Reports - Based on your diagnostic results and intended to help you plan the next steps for your organization.
• Implementation Support - Consultation with a BBRT research leader.

Special Interest Group Membership

Special interest groups exist to accommodate specific sector or industry requirements, such as financial services and the public sector. Additional SIG benefits include:

• Focus on specific areas of interest (e.g. industry reference models, performance management best practice, regional/cultural groups)
• Facilitator and research support with requisite expertise
• Global research input and coordination across BBRT regions
• Attendance at any SIG meetings worldwide on the same topic
• Specific deliverables in timeframes to meet member needs
• Research results only released generally with due recognition of SIG members interests

Established Special Interest Groups

• Financial Services
• Health Care
• Public Sector
• Consumer Products
• Insurance
• Lean Planning

What are the benefits for your organization?

Faster response
Beyond budgeting companies operate with speed and simplicity, and simplicity comes from reducing complexity in the management process. This can best be achieved by giving managers the scope to act immediately and decisively within clear principles, values and strategic boundaries. Operating within a flexible network is also important as it enables managers to respond quickly to customized requests by reconfiguring processes. But making strategy an open, continuous and adaptive process is perhaps the key element in a fast response organization. It enables the firm to react to emerging threats and opportunities as they arise rather than being constrained by a fixed and outdated plan. To this extent regular rolling forecasts can be helpful and access to resources when they are needed can be critical. Underlying all these approaches is the shredding of the bureaucracy that still plagues most large organizations.

Innovative strategies
In Beyond Budgeting companies, people work within an open and self-questioning environment. Clear governance principles set the right climate and builds the mutual trust needed to share knowledge and best practices. This is also encouraged by the move away from rewards based on budget 'cells' (a formidable barrier to a sharing culture) and toward rewards based on the results of a business unit or group. The knowledge sharing imperative is often driven by the need to achieve ambitious goals that can even lead companies to exchanging knowledge with suppliers and contractors that, in earlier times, were seen as adversaries.

Lower costs
Only by seeing operating processes as supplier-customer relationships will managers respond to demands for improvement in quality and cost. And only by eradicating the budgeting mentality will managers be encouraged to challenge fixed costs and seek sustainable cost reductions. Beyond budgeting companies have lower costs. Not only do they connect the work that people do with customer needs, but they also align products, processes, projects, and structures with their strategy. Operating managers also challenge resources used rather than seeing them as 'entitlements'. Just asking the question, "Does it add value to the customer?" is often sufficient to ensure that unnecessary work is eliminated.

More loyal customers
Beyond budgeting companies place customer value needs at the center of their strategy and adapt their processes to satisfying them. Fast response to customer requests is also important. Thus people at the front line must have the authority to make quick decisions.