Q2/Q3-2018

Unit-based teams, or UBTs, are our engine for improving performance and creating the best place to work, and the partnership’s Path to Performance matrix helps guide teams’ development. Whether you’re new to the world of unit-based teams or a seasoned UBT consultant, the Path to Performance section of LMPartnership.org will give you the tips and tools you need to help your team succeed.

The ABCs of UBTs

If you’re new or need to explain UBTs to a new person, go straight to the UBT Basics page for an explanation of unit-based teams, information about roles and responsibilities, and more.

Already a superuser?

Go straight to any of the seven performance dimensions from the drop-down in the main navigation bar. You’ll get a thoughtfully chosen list of top resources as well as links to videos and stories that bring to life why the work matters.

Explore the Path to Performance

The Path to Performance matrix provides a consistent way for unit-based teams to continually improve their teamwork and how they do their work. It sets expectations for beginning Level 1 teams on through high-performing Level 5 teams in seven different performance dimensions. 

Everyone benefits from this progression, because as teams become high performing, they have fewer workplace injuries and better attendance, service scores and quality outcomes.

Sounds good, right? Help your team move from Level 1 up to Level 5 by visiting our Introduction to the Path page — it will lead you to recommended next steps, customized by team level and performance dimension.

Do you or your teammates want to shrink wait times? Save money on supplies? Reduce time wasters or roadblocks? Once you’ve identified a problem to solve, you may wonder where to start. No need to invent an improvement project from scratch. Visit the Team-Tested Practices section and see what’s worked for others. We’ve got short summaries of successes from every region and every type of work environment to give your team a kickstart.

1. What’s here? 

When you visit LMPartnership.org/team-tested-practices, you’ll find the first several “tiles” of the dozens you can choose from as you scroll through this section. Each tile will have a photo and short preview about a specific, measurable improvement a team has made.

2. Sharpen your search 

Want to narrow down what you see? Use the filters on the left side of the page. There are several to try, including:

• Topic. Choices include affordability, patient safety, service and more.
• Department. See what departments like yours have done.
• Region. Check out the projects done in your region.

Selecting more than one filter at a time works, too. And remember that you can get great ideas from departments very different from yours and regions other than your own. You’ll notice these filters throughout the website to help you focus your searches. 

3. Intrigued? 

See something your team might want to try? Click on the tile to get a more complete description of the challenge the team was facing — and the main tests of change that helped the team achieve its goal. And the measurable result: “Saved $40,000,” “decreased wait times by 11 minutes,” “69 percent drop in costs.”

4. No dead ends! 

So, maybe the practice you clicked on isn’t right for your team. Before you move on, check out the related tools and stories in the colorful columns farther down this page. Throughout the site, the color orange means, “Here are tools to get your team started on work like this.” Blue is, “Get inspired by stories and videos about teams working on similar efforts!” And, “Just for fun” — green will take you to puzzles, games and other light-hearted resources to kick off your improvement campaign on an upbeat note.

What’s your favorite thing to do online? Watch cat videos? Scroll through Facebook? Maybe some occasional retail therapy?

Going online can also help make your work life better and save you time. It can help your unit-based team solve problems so you can deliver the best care and service to our members and make Kaiser Permanente a great place to work. All that, after all, is what the Labor Management Partnership is all about.

This issue of Hank magazine is a whirlwind tour of the Labor Management Partnership website, a one-stop shop for everything you need to turbocharge your team’s performance. Tip sheets, videos and inspiration are always just a few clicks away. If you can’t find what you want easily, just use our vastly improved search function. As one of our biggest fans put it, “Boom — there it is!”

On LMPartnership.org, you will:

• learn from other teams — what worked, what didn’t, what sorts of roadblocks to expect and how to overcome them
• download icebreakers to build trust and help quieter team members gain the confidence to speak up
• meet the Humans of Partnership, a gallery of short, personal profiles that will make you proud to #BeKP

If you don’t sit at a computer as part of your day-to-day work, it’s easy to access LMPartnership.org on the go. Follow these instructions so we’re always at your fingertips on your smartphone. You’ll find yourself in a UBT meeting and calling up just the tool you need to help a team through a sticky situation.

You can even share resources from your phone with others who may not be as smartphone savvy. Pretty much every page has buttons that make it easy to email it to a colleague or share it on Facebook or Twitter.

Here’s another handy tip: even if you don’t visit LMPartnership.org (though I hope you do), reading this issue of Hank will help you learn how and why we do the vital work we do. So read on, log on and enjoy.

Let's be real: If everything is important, nothing is important. The prize for us is providing high-quality care and service at an affordable price to our members, patients and communities we serve — and the Focus Areas section of LMPartnership.org is a tool for helping unit-based teams prioritize their work and stay grounded.

What will you find here? Let’s start with the Value Compass. The Focus Areas section has pages that go in depth on each of the four points — Quality, Service, Affordability and Best Place to Work. You also can learn more about topics that are part of the National Agreement, including Total Health and Workplace Safety, Workforce Planning and Development (Workforce of the Future), and Union and KP Growth.

And then two pages are specifically for improving your team’s culture — which will in turn improve performance (we have the stats to prove it). The Join the Team, Be the Change page has tips and tools for improving team communication and engagement, while the Free to Speak page will help you build a Speak Up culture on your team.

Join the team, be the change!

How do you get your unit-based team to be excited about the work? Why would staff members want to be involved? How do you get those quiet people — who you just know have great ideas — to speak up?

Ideas to answer these questions and many more are found on the Join the Team, Be the Change page of the website. You’ll find tips and tools for improving team communication, the first step in getting employees interested and involved.

But it doesn’t stop there. As communication improves, it’s easier for the team to pull together and solve problems — which in turn raises morale and can foster a sense of joy at work. Teams with good communication have more fun, report higher engagement, have better People Pulse scores and are rated higher on the Path to Performance.

And when employees are happy and satisfied with their jobs, our members and patients feel the difference in the care we give. Have fun with your team and make things happen!

In a large library, visitors often need a map or librarian to help them find what they’re looking for. But the LMPartnership.org Library is easy to navigate: A quick click on the Library tab at the top of any page on the website takes you to a great collection of videos, all sorts of tools, stories, short profiles of colleagues, issues of Hank magazine, the eStore and more. Everything is in its own category — exactly like your local library — except you don’t have to be quiet.

Hot off the presses!

Want to know the latest? Always check the Library first. Interested in an inspiring video to open a meeting? The Library is your place. Each new video, story, tip sheet and profile is posted here. Be sure to check out the Humans of Partnership, a collection of short, heartfelt stories from people — like you — who make up our partnership. Read their own words about:

• how they used a partnership benefit
• a time they spoke up at work
• how their UBT handled a challenge

Share these stories and videos at UBT meetings and huddles — they provide a great lift. We’ve got dozens to choose from.

Get the right tool for the job

The Tools page in our electronic library is like the reference section of a brick-and-mortar library, with Tools to help you and your team complete successful improvement projects, conduct productive meetings and improve our workplace. Access the Tools page by clicking on the All Tools tile in the More to Explore band on the Library landing page, or click on Tools in the dropdown menu in the main navigation bar. Then use the filters on the left side of the page to zoom in on what you’re looking for:

• Need an activity that promotes health for a unit-based team? Use the topic filter and select Total Health.
• Looking for a simple way to explain interest-based problem solving? Use the topic filter and select LMP Processes.
• Find an engaging activity to kick off a meeting! Use the tool type filter and select Icebreakers and/or Puzzles and Games.

Consult the How-To Guides

Don’t overlook the 13 LMP How-To Guides, which provide smart collections of related tools to speed you from start to finish on an activity (planning a meeting, doing a performance improvement project, improving workplace safety and more):

• Use the tool type filter and select How-To Guide.