Challenge:
A healthcare organization specializing in automated health surveys for hospital systems nationwide faced critical challenges within its IT department. The platform—essential for delivering services—was unstable, insecure, unreliable, and not scalable, creating risks for both the organization and its clients. These issues required urgent intervention to improve system reliability, reduce defects, and enhance compliance.
At the same time, the organization sought to develop leadership capabilities and establish more structured information management systems to ensure long-term success.
Approach:
To drive a structured transformation, Work Excellence focused on:
– Comprehensive leadership training: Training 10 Level 1 leaders and 30 Level 2 leaders to establish a strong foundation for change.
– Developing structured workflows: Creating a Level 0 page set and 20 page sets to optimize client delivery.
– Enhancing work routines: Implementing visual management practices, including a structured review process called “Walk the Wall” to drive continuous improvement.
This approach ensured alignment across teams and laid the groundwork for sustainable IT enhancements.
Solution:
Through Work Excellence coaching and workshops, the IT team:
01.
Built and integrated structured workflows into daily operations, ensuring clear responsibilities and streamlined processes.
02.
Established sustainable work routines, with quarterly coaching sessions both on-site and off-site to reinforce accountability.
03.
Implemented a knowledge management system, including a Book of Knowledge for best practices and standard work documentation.
As the platform’s technical stability improved, the organization was able to shift focus toward further compliance enhancements and operational efficiency.
Results: The IT transformation produced measurable, lasting improvements:
Compliance-related issues were reduced, improving regulatory alignment.
Stability, security, scalability, and reliability of the platform were substantially enhanced.
Operational issues dropped from 135 over 6-7 months to sustained periods with zero new issues.
Leadership strength increased, with optimized roles and new leaders onboarded.
Platform reliability improved, reaching the target SSR score.
Key Takeaway
By leveraging the Work Excellence Method, this organization turned an unstable IT system into a reliable, scalable, and compliant platform. This approach not only reduced defects and operational issues but also built a strong leadership framework that continues to drive improvement.
With the foundation for long-term success in place, the organization is now exploring how to scale these methods across other departments, reinforcing the power of structured work systems in healthcare IT.