“SMALL WONDERS”
Harshita Vishwakarma

 

“A hospital alone shows what war is.”

 

This quote hit Arun, the General Manager of ABC hospital, very hard. The pale and doleful faces of the attendants visiting their dear ones admitted in the hospital, the customer feedback at the end of each day and the unremitting urge to make the customer experience even better, made him ask himself, 

“Is there anything we can add to our existing services? Could any augmentation make our services more patient-centric and empathetic? How can we provide our patients with the assurance they need?”

Barraged with these questions, he became restive. He arranged an urgent meeting with the Customer Relationship Executive of the Hospital, Jhanvi. He delineated his concern to her and directed her to come up with a programme that, to some extent, can enhance the customer experience.

 

After days of brainstorming, talking with the staff of the hospital, analysing the feedbacks, looking at statistics of the patients, Jhanvi concluded that the number of obstetric cases was high and there were New Mothers every day. She said to herself, “We could implement a programme wherein the hospital celebrates with the parents the joy of welcoming a new member in the family.”

 

Jhanvi shared her idea with Arun, who readily permitted her to forge ahead with it. In consultation with the IP service manager, floor managers and nursing admin, Jhanvi came up with a small celebration programme for the young one which would include:

 

  1. Cake (Yellow in colour, symbolising new life) along with some decorations in the room.
  2. A congratulatory card.
  3. A small kit with all the essentials–dress for the little one with body essentials.
  4. A sapling given to the family to nurture and grow it along with their baby. It was touted as a way of thanking Mother Earth for the gift of life. 
  5. A photograph of the entire family with the baby.
  6. An immunisation card which will track the vaccination requirements and schedule of the baby.

She reached out to certain companies with the help of the Purchase Department who could sponsor the kits. The budget required was deliberated, and the programme was named “SMALL WONDERS".

 

Jhanvi proposed the programme to the higher management, outlining all the details and budget requirements. Her views accorded well with those of the management and they gave it a green light, directing her for early implementation of the programme.

The programme, at its nascent stage, was executed in Private and semi-private areas.

Gradually, the customer feedbacks became more encouraging and appreciative & positive word-of-mouth took a hike–the corollaries of increasing customer satisfaction. Most of the parents came back to the hospital for their follow-ups and vaccination of the newborn.

Considering the positive outcomes, later, a “Get well soon” card along with the follow-up details was given to other patients at the time of their discharge which gave the feeling that they are not alone in this war and that the hospital cares about their well-being.

“UNDER 90”
Harshita Vishwakarma

ABC Multispecialty Hospital, when commencing their Chemotherapy unit, developed certain processes in collaboration with the doctors and the Quality team. They agreed upon the Turnaround time of 90 minutes for Lab investigations of the patients undergoing chemotherapy, among other aspects. 

However, an aberration observed in the TAT of these investigations in recent times, not only upset the patients but also occasioned the delay in their treatment. On receiving feedback from the patients and the doctors, Dr Amit, the Medical Superintendent of ABC Hospital, called a meeting with all the stakeholders and higher management. Rishika, the Lab Manager, was asked to find the cause of the delay and get back in 2 days.

Rishika, after scrutiny of pre-analytical and analytical phase and study of all the incidences via Root Cause Analysis, pinned down the crux of the problem. Another meeting was called wherein she shared her conclusions. She underscored the inability to segregate the chemotherapy samples from other routine samples as the foremost reason for delay. Pondering upon these revelations, Dr Amit exclaimed, “Alas, we need to devise a parameter that can track and monitor these samples.”

Immediately, a separate committee inclusive of, Dr Rishi (HOD of Lab), Suman (Quality representative), Rishika, Shekhar (OPD Manager), Lizi (Nursing representative) headed by Dr Amit was formed to come up with a solution. The entire process was re-evaluated and re-engineered to deal with the delays in the present scenario. They designed a new sticker which would be a unique identifier for patients receiving chemotherapy.

Extensive training sessions were conducted to educate the front office staff, the lab staff, the nursing staff and all other stakeholders on the new processes and the use of sticker.

In case of out-patients, their prescription along with the bill of investigations borne this sticker which helped the phlebotomist and other lab technicians in their identification. While drawing their sample, they put this sticker on the vacutainers. This helped the technician running the sample in the machine to report the results on a priority basis.

With in-patients, the nursing staff put the sticker on the samples before sending them to the laboratory. 

The receptionist at the doctor’s chamber put the sticker followed by billing staff and lab staff. Lab manager tracked the entire process with the aid of lab technical in-charge, front office staff, and nursing staff.

The process, post-implementation, was continuously monitored. At the end of the month, results were studied which showed a significant decline in lab-related delays and most of the tests were reported well before 90 minutes.

A city without water
NEHA MOHIL

It’s a Sunday afternoon. Suresh and his 6 years old son sitting in their hall watching TV. A documentary named as “A city without water” started playing on their TV screen. It caught their attention.

A beautiful city in South Africa, "Cape Town" ran out of water. City announced “Zero day”. Government has announced use of only 50 liter water per person per day. Some people were so poor they cannot even buy a bottle of drinking water. A lot of people were suffering from this water crisis.

After watching documentary, son asked some questions to Suresh that left him in deep silence. 

Papa what if our city ran out of water?

What if we don’t get water to drink?

Will we have to stand in long queuing lines to take water like these people in Cape Town?

These questions couldn’t let Suresh sleep all night. He kept thinking; “if our generation continues using water carelessly then one day my son may not be able to have any water left for him and for his next generation. I must do something for this”.

Next morning, Suresh went to his office. It’s a yarn dyeing section of a Textile Industry. While on morning round he observed that a lot of water is used in his plant and there are so many work practices where water is being used carelessly. Suresh discussed this with his HOD and proposed if they reduces water requirement per kg yarn dyeing then this would lead to reduction of their effluent water treatment cost. With top management’s approval Suresh & his team worked together to find out ways to reduce water consumption. They had a brainstorming session and came out with good ideas. They increased yarn loading capacity of dyeing machine with low MLR.  They also optimized their dyeing process. In some areas they reduced number of water baths. They identified and eliminated wrong work practices. Training regarding proper use of water at home and within organization being provided for employees at all levels. With combined efforts they were able to reduce consumption of water. This project helped not only to reduce water consumption in plant but also helped to increase production without loss of quality. It reduced cost of effluent treatment. Suresh and his team were able to reduce their water consumption per kg yarn to a considerably low value which was in favor of both environment and company.

Now Suresh feels like a proud human being who not only cares for his son but who is also responsible to take care of Mother Nature.

A Deal with Winter Blues
eClerx Services

On a cold and windy winter night while Kapil looked out of his office window, he realized that the weather inside was no different. Endless work had made everyone unresponsive and frosty. The situation would only worsen with the upcoming high volume season.“Our work is not specific and does not follow any kind of set procedure. Only the experienced people in the process are able to complete work on time” said one of the newly hired resource. The work was monotonous in nature, and consumed significant amount of time.

This winter was nothing new. Many other team leads had tried in the past to deal with this problem and had failed miserably. To lead his team out of this dark night, Kapil decided to involve the Quality team that had helped them in fighting these winters, in the past.

With help of his project mentor Pratikesh, Kapil developed a quick action plan that included the use of internal framework for process improvement, 'WiSE', for waste identification and solution development. Looking at the increase in restlessness of the team members working in the process, Kapil decided to include the technology team to speed up the solution phase.

The process was scoped for robotic process automation. This solution was equivalent to setting up a fireplace in this cold winter night. The solution was proposed to the client, but Kapil had not anticipated what was coming next.

The client refused the solution due to high cost of implementation.

Not ready to give up, Kapil and Pratikesh conducted multiple discussions with the team, which resulted in generation of possibilities like standardizing deal names, development of a deal name repository, tool enhancement, etcetera.

Solutions were proposed to the client one-by-one. Only to be rejected one after the other.

Sitting by the office window, Kapil felt that he had not done anything to fight the chill. Once again, he called the project mentor to discuss if anything that could be done to help his team. This time Pratikesh proposed to combine multiple solutions that were identified previously. They sat together and decided to build an internal repository of deal patterns which were then coded in an autonomated (automation with human intervention) solution. This tool had the capability of extracting the deal name based on deal patterns.

This gave birth to the 'Auto Deal Identifier' tool. This solution was able to draw customer buy-in. Further, the team was able to reduce manual efforts in the process by 92%. The solution drew more synergy amongst the teams and generated the heat that was required in such chilly nights.

Tales of their deed were communicated so that it would become a source of inspiration to sustain their legacy.

A friend in need is a friend indeed
JSW Global Solutions Ltd.

Somewhere in Maharashtra there was a man named Suresh.

He was having a small setup of providing BPO services for procurement with limited number of employees.

While his business was doing good, he was not satisfied with billing done to his customers and wanted to increase it since his business was stabilizing.

One day he went to his best friend Akash with a sad face, his friend asked him what happened friend, you look so upset? Suresh expressed his problem and said, I am not happy with my business output and want to increase the efficiency of my business by 40% in the next 8 months so that monthly billing can be increased with same staff.

Akash was very intelligent and decided to help his friend. He asked Suresh to come after 15 days with all the data and feedback from staff.

After 15 days both met with all the data and staff feedback. Akash carefully studied data and found some major issues in his business like

- High Time consumed in getting offer from vendors

- Hundreds of Ariba notification mails which made difficult for buyers to pick up the relevant mails

- Restrictions of view making difficult for other buyer to work others cases and dependency on one buyer and was facing the basic issue of shared service concept

- No system tool to log, track, escalate issues with proper aging

- No way to find out and check productivity of buyer

- Buyers not having report to see the pending cases with aging

- Majority of the regular vendors not properly trained to use the Ariba tool for offer submission

- No training material available for stakeholder including vendors

After this Aksah smiled and said, my friend don't worry, I have measured and analyzed major issues and are controllable. We need to Implement and improve on some points and then need to control these things to get the result.

With help of Aksah, Suresh Implemented following points

- Vendor participant report which was developed to help buyers with ready data of which vendor has quoted / not quoted / declined the offer without going and checking the individual case

- Folders created in a mailbox with proper filters to segregate the important and not important mails which helped for quick actions on important mails

- Explored facilities of View rights for group buyer in Ariba in which group of buyers were able to access case of other buyers

- Ticketing tool created which helped proper recording of issues with responsibility matrix and aging which has helped a lot to resolve the issues of buyers in the most effective way

- Created productivity report to map the productivity of each buyer on daily basis which has ease to find out every buyer’s o/p specially for below average performers

- WIP report developed with a clear bucketing system to know case pending at which stage, with whom and with aging

- Forming team who can train the vendors with webinar inviting the bunch of vendors and resolving all their issues and 90% active vendors are trained on Ariba

- Developed user friendly Audio and video training material for all the stakeholders including vendors to refer in case they stuck anywhere while using Ariba tool

After 8 months Suresh met Akash with the big smile and said 'Thank you my friend, after implementing your suggestions my business efficiency has increased by 53% and my billing has increased significantly with and I am able to manage my business even with less staff'.

Academic in Pandemic
Nupur Naithani

“This is an unprecedented situation.” sighed the Principal of GIIS, Abu Dhabi, turning off the television that had just been playing the 7 pm news. The WHO had just declared that the world was officially affected by the Covid19 pandemic. As if on cue, her phone dinged in succession, emails and messages, no doubt from concerned parents and teachers.

          The coordinators logged into their video conferencing app, with brows knit in concentration and worry. In five minutes, a meeting would begin with the management and authorities of the school and they would have to come up with a game plan to keep the classes going and to reassure the parents that everything would be under control. Of course, she had complete faith in the abilities of the teachers but the fact remained that this was a time wrought with uncertainty and panic and the announcement of the pandemic was soon turning into a Goliath and they felt like the terrorized villagers. The screen lit up and soon she was looking at the equally anxious faces of her colleagues. Everyone knew the magnitude of the metaphorical giant they were facing. And that is when it struck them. That is it! - To defeat Goliath, they needed a David.

Within hours, they began to form a plan. Using the “five stones” David metaphor, they laid their foundation. The first step would be to make sure every student and teacher had access to remote learning. Of course, learning from a casual home environment setting would require a certain level of discipline. But we did not have to worry about that. Every day for years, the students had been trained in meditation and the technique of “Heartfulness Relaxation” to increase concentration and productivity while attempting to reduce fears and anxiety. Teaching in a smart campus was the next strong weapon that helped to take the baby step. Rigorous training made the great success. We now had the main weapons to combat the COVID19 Goliath. Our Senior Director Ops moved the coin and consented to enhancing ICT virtually. The SLT Team designed this program by providing workshops and trainings on latest technological devices such as Camera Drones, IoT, artificial Intelligence, 3D Printing, space Education, coding and Robotics.

In addition, all the scheduled events like the tests, Investiture Ceremony, weekly PTMs, Health Awareness Competition, celebrations were not missed out keeping the Students and parents in the loop.

Within the week the plan was put into action. And of course, we saw victory. Online instruction has been running with almost no hiccups. Children met their friends virtually, interacted with teachers played quizzes, made presentations, and enjoyed co-curricular classes with a lot more….

Appreciations poured in! We were the pioneers!  The rates of admission sprang! David had truly defeated Goliath by the courage, confidence and hard work of the management, staff, teachers, students and parents and this is truly a testimony to the practices put in place even during normal situations in GIIS Abu Dhabi.

Adaptability to Technology
Tata Teleservices

As the businesses are evolving with more digitization, we are constantly looking at innovating things that help us to do our business more smartly and also increase our efficiency.

It was during one of our weekly review meetings with the leadership team we came to a discussion point where we pondered on how our Channel Sales Manager, who is our frontline contact with retailers and distributors, can add maximum value during his market visit. We wanted to understand if he is planning his market visit on priority tasks and if yes, what is it that is helping him to plan better . And if there is any way we can use technology to assist him.

 As the discussion progressed, we started building on his ‘Day Out’ in the field listing on the specific tasks from beginning of the day.  The first question was - How is he planning his daily market visit? We realized, it’s not a simple thing to plan your day well in advance everyday. Even at senior level people at times aren’t sure how to prioritize their work.

Next thought up was how and what he talks when he meets up with the channel partner or retailer? Is there a structure to it? While there is no dearth of information available to him which he carries with him but again which are top things that he should be discussing is critical.

One of our colleagues then said “Can there be a structured data dashboard which the channel sales team can access on the move? “. This will help them refer the data and initiate the discussion looking at those data points.

The ideas then just started to come on table. Next we heard was someone saying “can there be a digital list of retailer with their performance as well, basis which sales visit can be planned and prioritized basis their performance.

That was enough to set the ball rolling for developing a SMART APP (Sales Management and Reporting Tool ) , a structured performance dashboard that each of the Channel Sales user could access and deep dive for his territory, for his team, for his zone, for his region going upwards to set of COO’s for the regional head and finally President and MD getting a national picture in a tablet screen with a click on tab.

With the SMART APP, the frontline sales user could access his set of retailer and plan his market visit in advance basis their past and current performance using the calendar in the tablet. High productivity retailers, having higher frequency of visits which is indicated by red and green dots in the app. Daily plan pops up every morning for the user to follow. On selecting a retailer/channel partner its gives a preview of performance indicators, followed by service related questions and finally remarks before submitting the visit.

Other feature like taking picture of activities done in the market, capturing competition action, guiding the user to ask business led questions and tick mark in the app where some other salient features of the SMART APP that has helped structure the business discussion not only in the market but within the organizational reviews.

A good movie has all characters playing their role as assigned, similarly here IT help join the dots with the creative sales team requirements. The developer stuck the brief given that the app isn’t complex to use. Various versions changed hands to ensure simplicity is maintained. SCM helped resourcing tablets, creating buffer for damages. The premier was done circle by circle with 100% audience attending and accessing the app during the launch session to explain all the features.

The channel sales users were initially apprehensive about being tracked through the app but after seeing the many benefits that the SMART APP would give them were delighted to accept and adapt to it as it will simplify their work to a greater extent. They are the true heroes who have been using this religiously for the last two years now.

Since inception we have rolled SMART 1.0 to SMART 4.0 version with lot many more filters making the search more meaningful and added many more tools. Today SMART is an integral part of S & D ways of working and stands a backbone of performance.

Aspiring Green – The Million Dreams Biosphere
Vedanta, Sesa Goa Iron Ore

The earth was roaring with rage as the thunderbolts and storm hit the ground. It had been a dark gloomy weather since more than a year. Sara tossed and turned in her bed unable to sleep from the smoke that filled her room from the nearby factories.

A big jolt woke her from the sleep and she was shocked to see animals standing inside her house!!

There were wolves, jackals, hyenas and towering over all of them stood the lion. Oddly they all looked famished and on the verge of death.

Suddenly the lion roared, “You are shocked to see us here. Why? The destruction you have caused should not surprise you humans. You destroyed all forests and lands to satisfy your greed.”

Sara was baffled, “But I have not cut any trees or forests. I am even a vegetarian. I did not kill anyone. Then how am I at fault?!”

The lion roared, “You say you did not cut trees, what about the endless papers you wasted for which they cut more trees? All herbivores have perished. Now we have nothing to eat. The reckless behavior of humans is responsible for the downfall of our dear forests. We will take revenge KILL THEM ALL!!”

Sara jumped from the bed to realize it was just a nightmare. But she was still trembling from the gory picture in her head of barren lands and dead animals. She decided to take responsibility and change things.

Sara went to office next day, with the nightmare still playing in her mind like a horror story. As she looked at the heap of bills and invoices that towered her desk for the commercial department. She could see an opportunity of rectification. She called her team and shared with them the idea of digitisation. The team together brainstormed to come up with an efficient blue print of digitisation of all bills and invoices which gave end-to-end solution as well as timely processing of payment of vendors.

Overtime, Sara and her team got rewarded by the management as digitisation saved them lot of time, money and resources. Vendors were happy as they could check status any time and got their payments on time. Everything became online and therefore no need to generate travel or courier invoice.

Thus saving lot of paper and resources.

From that day, she got good sleep and dreamt of a green and clean land with all animals and humans living in prosperity.