"My greatest challenge is finding the balance between ‘excelling tomorrow’ and ‘surviving today'."
CEO at an NHS (United Kingdom) hospital
Health care does not excel at continuous improvement. Innovations are notoriously slow to filter through health systems and there is usually someone who opposes a particular innovation with the opportunity to bring the change process to a halt. At the same time, society (rightly) demands improvements in health care in increasingly strident tones. Institutions that are unable or unwilling to comply with quality standards are a regular news item.
Masters of the quick fix…
There is a need for creative ideas and effective implementation of improvements in the health care industry. And this is a role that Plexus advisors have the skills and experience to fill. A quick analysis, decision on an improvement initiative and successful implementation (usually requiring tough negotiations). Result guaranteed, at least in the short term. But there’s a danger that such an approach will only treat the symptoms, a painkiller instead of a cure. Often little or nothing is done to address the institution’s underlying failure to keep pace with health care changes. Does this mean that current projects for improvement are pointless in the long term? Of course not – in fact the opposite is true! These short term initiatives rapidly build the skills and experience that play a crucial role in increasing the ‘capacity to improve’ within your organization.
From improvement initiatives to the capacity to improve
However, individual improvement projects make managing the institution more difficult and generally can only address a handful of the problematic issues. So it’s time for an integrated improvement strategy: developing an organization’s ability to continually improve itself.
One of the factors that determines an organization’s capacity to improve is its own experience of devising and implementing improvements. International evidence shows that organizations (including those in health care) take 15 – 20 years to build up this capacity! After a number of years a ‘positive feedback loop’ is created: quick wins resulting from projects and signficant attention that is focused on the improvement culture ensure that employees become inspired and begin to spontaneously implement improvements on their own initiative. Those success stories in turn strengthen the culture of improvement and provide a tried-and-tested method for the organization to turn ideas for improvement into reality quickly and effectively.
Setting the process in motion
The following elements play a key role in setting the ‘improvement loop’ in motion:
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Leadership: long term vision, translated into a message that strikes a chord with staff here and now
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Management: closely manage projects for improvement, measuring both the process and the outcome targets
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HR development: ensuring that the right people are in the right place, targeted training on topics such as giving and receiving feedback (for all staff), identifying changes in the health care industry and understanding what do they mean for the daily work of the staff, visiting organizations with demonstrated ability to improve (not necessarily within health care)
Does this mean that individual improvement projects are pointless? Of course not – in fact the opposite is true! These projects play a crucial role in setting the process in motion, and if you invest enough attention, time and resources these individual projects can form the basis of a long-term improvement culture . Just as in professional sport, you need to take a long view to succeed.
Want to know more?
Contact Joost Kruytzer:
T +31 (0)20 3010800
E kruytzer.joost@kpmgplexus.nl