Workshops as a useful tool to better understand care professionals’ views of a lean change program

• Published in: International journal of health care quality assurance 2015-01, Vol.28 (1), p.64-74
• Main Authors: Simons, Pascale A.M, Benders, Jos, Marneffe, Wim, Pijls-Johannesma, Madelon, Vandijck, Dominique
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Brainstorms; Change agents; Clinical decision making; Communication; Decision Making; Efficiency, Organizational; Employee involvement; Employees; Health & social care; Health administration; Health care; Health Facility Administrators; Health Personnel; Health service delivery; Health service quality; Humans; Job Satisfaction; Leadership; Management decisions; Netherlands; Organizational Culture; Patient Safety; Problem Solving; Professional attitudes; Quality control; Quality improvement; Quality Improvement - organization & administration; Quality of care; Radiotherapy; Usefulness; Workshops
• ISSN: 0952-6862; 1758-6542
• DOI: 10.1108/IJHCQA-01-2014-0007

Purpose – For change programs to succeed, it is vital to have a detailed understanding of employees’ views regarding the program, especially when the proposed changes are potentially contested. Gaining insight into employee perceptions helps managers to decide how to proceed. The authors conducted two workshops in a radiotherapy institute to assess the benefits and drawbacks, as well as their underlying causes, of a proposed Lean change program. Managers’ views on the workshops’ usefulness were charted. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – Two workshops were organized in which employees predicted positive and negative effects of a Lean program. The workshops combined a structured brainstorm (KJ-technique) and an evaluation of the expected effects. Eight top managers judged the workshops’ value on supporting decision making. Findings – In total, 15 employees participated in the workshops. Participants from workshop 2 reported more expected effects (27 effects; 18 positive) than from workshop 1 (14 effects; six positive). However, when effects were categorized, similar results were shown. Three from eight managers scored the results relevant for decision making and four neutral. Seven managers recommended future use of the instrument. Increased employee involvement and bottom-up thinking combined with relatively low costs were appreciated most. Practical implications – The workshop could serve as a simple instrument to improve decision making and enhance successful implementation of change programs, as it was expected to enhance employees’ involvement and was relatively easy to conduct and cheap. Originality/value – The workshop increased insight into employee views, facilitating adaptive actions by healthcare organization managers.