physical construction
Respond
I have created a complex project that, in real life, would be implemented in phases. Because of that, there is a risk that any single kickoff would not reach all stakeholders. Attention needs to be given to caregivers early enough that I can build excitement around the work; but not so early that we lose momentum as the project continues to unfold. In the past, I have brought direct caregivers into project work early. While large decisions are often presented by senior leadership, the smaller details that make up the work can often be determined by staff members. This ensures that changes reflect concerns and challenges identified by the people who are involved in the work, increasing engagement and building a plan for sustainability.
My first thought was to focus on physical construction as an initial priority. Staff onboarding was scheduled for later in the project, when access to the physical space would be available. I think this would be a mistake. A lot of momentum can be captured by keeping caregivers involved in decision making at every level. I think the wiser plan would be to invite caregivers to participate on a number of smaller focus groups where work challenges could be identified and addressed as a part of the new design. For example, a caregiver may report that he is frequently challenged when triage documentation is managed in a particular manner. A challenge like this could be escalated to see if a majority of direct caregivers agree with this perception and, if they do, the group could begin working on solutions that will be built into the new model. This would be financially feasible because new hire salaries have been built into the project cost for the duration of the project; but will not be hired until later. I am hoping that staff members will embrace change more readily if fully involved in the project work and would recommend this as a high priority.
I look forward to seeing what other people have identified so that I can evaluate other areas of my own work.
