Not long ago, the idea of IT having any influence over business process change was downright laughable. Of course, the years of disappointing results from enterprise IT projects that resulted were anything but funny.
Today, it’s understood that in order to tackle real transformation, IT needs an intimate knowledge of business processes and a hand in operational or business process change. What’s more, many organizations now see that IT is uniquely positioned to both picture and perform beneficial changes to the way business is done.
That’s why conceiving and executing business process change is an increasingly important experience for up-and-coming IT leaders to get under their belts.
“Having a focus on the whole process is paramount and helps to build the leadership foundation to promote and sustain change,” says Heather M. Hartman, director of IS technical services for Care New England Health System and a participant in the CIO Executive Council’s Pathways leadership development program.
Several years ago, Hartman was charged with setting up a center for process excellence with IT at industrial automation software and consulting company Invensys Process Systems. “It was to be a catalyst for change and engaging IT with the business,” recalls Hartman, who has her MBA, Six Sigma black belt, and a process master certification. “Most of the focus was around IT-related improvements, but [our] view was of the whole process, not just the IT portion.”
Hartman learned a lot in that unique role. “Making an IT improvement alone without evaluating the whole business process will only give you short term improvement, if any at all,” she says.
It was that big-picture thinking that got Hartman the role overseeing infrastructure at Care New England under then Chief Medical Information Officer and current vice president and CIO Dr. Cedric Priebe III. “He and I discussed the importance of process excellence and how the impact of my work would provide direct benefits to customers–the patients.”
In short order, Hartman was applying her process improvement insight not just to IT projects, but to straight-ahead business problems. One of the organization’s hospitals desperately needed to cut their transcription and dictation costs or else make some very tough decisions and another was in the market for new transcription and dictation software. But with an initial focus on IT systems alone and no clear consensus on what software to choose, the projects stalled.
The head of health information management asked Hartman for help. “I introduced some key analysis tools and approaches to objectively evaluate the systems,” says Hartman. Before long, Hartman was heading up what was now a business process transformation project for one hospital , not a simple RFP for new software. “We analyzed not only the IT systems and services, but the end-to-end process,” Hartman explains. She held meetings to create process maps, benchmarked the existing processes against best practices, and identified opportunities for change and what the impact of those changes would be.
The focus on process was jarring for the two transcription departments Hartman describes as “used to free flow of work,” and getting the two hospitals to agree on new software was challenging “Even though there was consensus on the root cause and the need for improvement, the culture of the group was a barrier,” says Hartman. By incorporating some soft skills, compromise and a lot of patience, Hartman was able to turn the resistance into a partnership.
Hartman’s lack of transcription process knowledge was not a problem. She reached out to employees who understood the department inside and out, as well as to professional organizations that support transcriptionists, and talked to transcription departments at other hospitals. “I asked a lot of questions, and tried to remain objective,” says Hartman.
In past process work, Hartman found stakeholders would reject an idea for improvement initially. But what often happened over time was a general warming to changes as needs became more transparent or urgent, and ultimately the stakeholders would claim the original idea as their own,” which Hartman sees as a good thing. “It is not about staking claim to the improvement; it is about making the change,” she says. “When the stakeholder then claims the idea, they accept ownership and real change happens.”
Hartman predicted a 90-day turnaround, but within a month the improvements had exceeded cost-cutting goals by 120 percent. “And this was even before we installed the new IT system,” Hartman notes. The changes eventually enabled transcriptionists to work from home full time, increasing employee satisfaction.
Having the support of the department director and the health system’s senior leadership was important to this success, says Hartman. So was having the ear of her boss Priebe. “I reviewed the findings and options with him and received his guidance,” she says. “He is an excellent champion.”
For Priebe, it was a matter of balancing helping Hartman with letting her learn. “In some cases it’s best to let the individual stumble and maybe even fail. In other cases you need to be ready to intervene if they ask for help or if a negative outcome is unacceptable,” says Priebe, who is also a practicing pediatrician. “Close and open communication is essential. In fact, my trust that Heather will reliably communicate status and obstacles to me was a pre-requisite to assigning such challenges to her.”
The experience was valuable for Hartman, a CIO magazine Ones to Watch 2010 honoree with aspirations to become a CIO. “My work within the business helped me as an IS leader by bringing me out of the data center onto the floor with them,” says Hartman, adding that this is an aspect common to her most effective on-the-job experiences. “It gave me a great opportunity to learn a critical part of our operations and how the IT systems they use support that part of the business.”
Hopefully, says Hartman, the learning was a two-way street. “I think it helped them understand that IT is more than just the systems and technology. It is a part of everyone’s world.”
The Council’s Pathways Program was created by CIOs to build business and IT leadership skills in senior IT leaders through group mentoring with CIOs, 360-degree competencies assessment, targeted seminars and community forums. To learn more, visit council.cio.com/pathways.html.
Stephanie Overby is a Boston-based freelance writer.
