As the leader of a $1 billion enterprise, UNMC Interim Chancellor H. Dele Davies, MD, knows that small, incremental operational improvements can provide meaningful dividends.
That’s one reason why Dr. Davies is rolling out a campuswide effort to enhance efficiency and satisfaction.
“If we are to become extraordinary, we have to make our processes better for everyone,” Dr. Davies said. “If we can get just 1% better, that represents $10 million that we can invest to improve the lives of those we serve.
“This will not only improve efficiency and save on costs, but it will lead to greater satisfaction for faculty, staff and students; enhance staff engagement and retention; and strengthen our compliance and safety indicators.”
Officially named the UNMC Better Processes Initiative, the efficiency approach will rely on “Lean” and “Six Sigma” methods. In short, it will analyze and address areas to eliminate waste, streamline workflows and maximize value.
An example, Dr. Davies said, is reducing the startup delays of new faculty. For instance, new research faculty frequently experience delays during onboarding and study activation, leading to lost time, missed funding opportunities and frustration.
“This could be as simple as not getting a laptop computer because of backlogs or other logistical bottlenecks,” Dr. Davies said. “A process improvement would allow us to accelerate full operational readiness and improve faculty and staff satisfaction with transition experience. In a future state, these faculty would hit the ground running as soon as possible, providing more satisfaction for the researcher and their team, and greater benefit to the university.”
Better processes don’t happen overnight, however, and Dr. Davies has set out a focused vision on how to tackle process improvements.
At the heart will be several “M Teams,” trained groups of employees from each unit that will work with areas to identify and solve workplace challenges. “M” stands for “mejor” or “melior,” which means “better” in Spanish and Latin, respectively.
Dr. Davies also named Amber Mekush-Harter, current IT project manager, as the leader of the M Team Central Coordinating Committee, comprising members from colleges and institutes; research; education; finance; IT; facilities; human resources; and other areas. Mekush-Harter will oversee the project and will communicate routinely to campus deans and directors.
Already, Dr. Davies said, more than 40 senior leaders at UNMC have signed up for an eight-hour workshop to outline the principles of continuous improvement. Dr. Davies thanked Nebraska Medicine, whose leaders and other personnel have undergone similar training, in assisting with the training efforts. Additional training will be offered as teams are formed over the next few months, and a website will be launched soon. Pilot projects will begin within the next six months, and the program will be scaled up over the next year.
Dr. Davies said the program was structured for long-term sustainability through built-in outcome measurements, regular reporting and ongoing training designed to keep process improvement a permanent part of UNMC’s culture.
“Ultimately, this initiative will be a game-changer for UNMC,” Dr. Davies said. “It will allow our employees to transform lives, not fight processes that are less than ideal. It will improve our work, lift employee morale and strengthen our organization.”