The Challenge

Since June 2005 Partezis is the new, collective name of the ACC vzw - SSC vzw and Intec cvba group. The group profiles itself as the main partner when providing business and information management support to organisations in the healthcare sector. The association offers solutions for the healthcare information systems of more than 750 organisations. Members include organisations in the hospital, geriatric, disabled and children's care sectors. Their requirements have developed from mere accounts support to total solutions that exceed administrative support and strive for a performance level that includes the care functions. In the geriatric and disabled care and nursery sector Partezis has a market share of approximately 25%. In general hospitals this figure is approximately 63%. Partezis devoted considerable efforts to the development of AZIS 2.0, automation software for large and medium sized hospitals (patient management, medical dossier, nursing dossier, etc.). In fact the software development is ongoing. The initial implementation in 2004, in a hospital in Oost Vlaanderen, did not run particularly smoothly. The Partezis organisation was not robust enough to implement projects of this size. A 3W® Project Manager was found and instructed to implement the package in a hospital in Sint-Niklaas. However, the necessary project support and organisation was forthcoming. Partezis therefore requested 3W® to look for another, additional Implementation Manager. In the meantime the 3W® Project Manager had been joined by a 3W® HR Manager and an Internal Auditor. After an initial consultation with the executive director and general manager, the Implementation Manager went to work to bring the project in Sint-Niklaas back on track. Eventually it was revealed that it was not the competence of the 3W® Project Manager that was the problem, but a lack of well founded implementation organisation. The new 3W® Implementation Manager designed an implementation system and ongoing projects were taken up again. The existing Project Manager was reinstated and new software contracts followed in Aalst, Herentals and Brussels.

The Approach

Together with Partezis management, the 3W® managers reassessed the project management. Following assessment and correction, the initial phase of the project in Sint-Niklaas was completed via a Project Office. The other projects followed and were all tackled with the new positive approach and completed to respect the agreed delivery dates. This resulted in a number of complimentary articles in the press. The 3W® Implementation Manager's original assignment ran until the end of September 2006, but a request was made to extend it to the end of December in order to provide software commissioning support in a hospital in Aalst. A new, permanent Operations Manager started at Partezis on 1 May of last year and was followed in September by an Implementation Manager, so that the 3W® Implementation Manager's assignment gradually came to an end. However, after the early departure of the new Operations Manager in January 2007, the 3W® Manager received a request to return. One of the main, and significant, conclusions is that, similar to many other companies or organisations, the task of the 3W® Manager involved far more than that for which he was originally engaged. The Partezis organisation proved to be in urgent need of change. The client satisfaction level definitely needed to be improved. Before the 3W® Plug In Manager started his second assignment as Operations Manager he entered into detailed discussions with the chairman and vice-chairman of the Board. He also recorded where in the organisation the problems were situated and how they could be solved. Groundbreaking decisions had to be made in the months ahead. This member organisation was in urgent need of change and needed to face current realities. What is the final conclusion? One of the 3W® Plug In® Managers was initially engaged as Implementation Manager but silently progressed to a totally different set of problems with a much wider impact. Notwithstanding the additional problems, 3W® managers manage to enter into, and remain, in consultations with all other parties. This can be attributed to their extensive experience and direct approach. An organisation of this size, with the above mentioned market share in the care sector, requires a different business management approach in 2007 than 20 or 30 years ago. It needs to rejuvenate, innovate and adopt current business management practices.

Quote

"This assignment is a typical example of the extensive operational deployment possibilities of 3W® Plug In® Managers", states Walter Bauwens, CEO and co-founder of 3W®. "Their added value lies in the fact that they not only complete their core activities with maximum efficiency but can also be of vital importance for a company or organisation by solving additional problems."

The Result

Returning to the core assignment, there is now a software implementation team. A matrix structure has been developed and proposed, but still needs to be initiated. This will take a little longer. The extent to which the reorganisation will be successful – also under the influence of the 3W® Managers – also defines the success of the further commercialisation in the healthcare sector of, for example, the software product. The basic implementation results are excellent and one of the additional advantages of the presence of 3W® Managers is that – being strangers to the organisation – they are viewed and approached differently. They break the ice and act as confessor, mediator and motivator. Qualities with a much wider scope than the mere implementation of software.

The Client's Comment

"At Partezis the 3W® Plug In® Managers demonstrated that they provide substantial added value when dealing with temporary loopholes in the organisation. Their professionalism guarantees outstanding business management in the various parts of the organisation in which they operate. Their assignment often exceeds the task for which they were originally engaged. They approach these situations with empathy based on know how and professionalism. Unmistakable added value when plugging temporary voids at top level!"