Organizational design pilot project begins in south zone

By Gillian Slade on January 16, 2018.

gslade@medicinehatnews.com  @MHNGillianSlade

An organizational design pilot project will have its first phase in the Alberta Health Services south zone.

When AHS was initially formed, the organizational design developed quickly and evolved over time.

“Up until now there hasn’t been a real look at the organizational design from a consistent set of principles and a framework,” said Katherine Chubbs, chief zone officer AHS south zone.

The pilot will determine what is working well from a design perspective and determine opportunities to grow and improve at the leadership level, including those who report to the zone leadership, said Chubbs.

The first phase is an assessment process that will take a couple months. Those involved will be interviewed by an external vendor that has been selected, said Chubbs. They will be conducting interviews to determine the roles of the leaders to see what works well and where there is room for improvement.

A report with recommendations will be produced to be studied, and a determination made on what changes will take place, said Chubbs.

Having an external vendor conduct the review has advantages in that it is from an expert rather than one leader making a suggestion from one perspective in one area, said Chubbs.

“They have 25 years of organizational design and they’re a leader in our country, a Canadian company, who’ve done a lot of large-scale design projects as well as they’re really a leader in the research arena as well,” said Chubbs. “It is a company that can provide that strong evidence based approach and consistency across the organization.”

The project will be completed this spring and a decision will then be made on whether to continue across the province.

The south zone was selected for the pilot because we are a smaller zone with a solid team, said Chubbs. There is also a “readiness” in the south zone. Discussions have already been taking place around “strengthening zone culture” and creating more enjoyment in peoples’ roles.

The initial cost for this first phase will cost $250,000, said Chubbs.

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