Strategy & Planning with a large regional healthcare provider.

Context 

Our client was a large rural and regional Hospital and Health Service, employing more than 2000 staff and volunteers and delivering services across 19 geographically dispersed sites. J&G Consulting were engaged to:

• co-design and co-deliver a strategic planning process to develop and deliver a Strategic Plan for the HHS
• ensure that by the end of the engagement, all staff knew that the strategic plan existed, were aware of the HHS values, vision, mission and were able to connect what they do each day to the new Strategic Plan

Delivery 

J&G worked with the CEO, the Executive Director HR & Communications and the Director Strategy & Planning to:

• Engage with the Board and HHS Executive to ensure ownership of the Strategy
• Undertake an evidence based review and analysis of the HHSs internal environment (including review of existing inputs like staff and patient survey outcomes)
• Assess and analyse the external environment (interstate, national and global)
• Design, plan and facilitate large group, team and individual engagement sessions, for the Board, Executive, staff and extended network of external stakeholders, tailored to maximise participation and input of each group
• Develop strategic planning process tools and templates including resources and tools for engagement sessions (including surveys and stakeholder questionnaires) for the HHS to re-use in future planning cycles
• Support the Director to establish an overarching planning framework for the HHS
• Lead the engagement through strong collaborative project planning and reporting

Results

Pre-engagement status

• No integrated planning framework that ensured the Strategic Plan was the pinnacle reference for planning and activity in the HHS
• No precedent for collecting or synthesising stakeholder data for inclusion in whole of HHS strategy development
• Multiple disconnected strategies and plans “owned” by lots of different role holders across the HHS
• Disconnect between Strategy and executive role design

Post-engagement status

• DOH compliant Strategy aligned with health service planning priorities and able to be used to guide all other strategy and planning activities at the HHS
• Engagement across the HHS and shared commitment to 'organisational' strategic goals and priorities
• Overwhelming staff and stakeholder feedback that the process had been engaging and was having a material impact on activity as well as morale
• Matured process and workforce capability in strategic planning processes and engagement methodologies
• Executive accountabilities and role design that align with the Strategy
• J&G were invited back to facilitate the development of the HHS Teaching, Training & Research Strategy, and the HHS Workforce Strategy