GOAL
Three weeks prior to a PeopleSoft software rollout, the Kaiser Permanente Human Resources Vice President realized they needed to put a safety net in place to handle transition breakdowns.

PROCESS
I was brought in to facilitate a meeting with Directors of impacted departments. By the end of the meeting, the Vice President asked me to manage a SWAT team to manage the risk issue.

My first step was to identify the types of information that would be needed: types of possible breakdowns, triggering events, early symptoms, possible magnitude of problems, service commitments, and resolution owners.

With template in hand, I met with the Directors, refined the template and gathered the critical data. Where decisions were needed, I facilitated the participants making appropriate decisions. I explained that my role was not to advise but to pull their best thinking out of them.

We created process maps of existing systems and how the breakdown activities would integrate. We created a smooth system that anticipated and mitigated many possible breakdowns and enabled professional resolution of others.

As the new system went live, I facilitated daily meetings with the team to monitor breakdowns and how they were being handled. The group did an outstanding job and the minor issues which occurred were handled graciously and efficiently, thanks to the group's great preparation.

OUTCOME
Our work enabled Kaiser to avoid critical breakdowns such as employees not receiving paychecks or being inadvertently dropped from benefit programs. Employees were provided with a strong safety net during the transition which ensured that their issues would be understood and resolved quickly. Proactive communication of this safety net built employee faith in the transition process.