1. 11/28/2018 4:14 PM
World Café: Better Living Health Title: Improving Client Access to Services through Central Intake January 21, 2015

2. Problem vs Aim: Two sides of the same coin…
11/28/2018 4:14 PM
Problem vs Aim: Two sides of the same coin…
Problem Statement
67% of potential service users are not accessing services after making phone enquires or walking in to the organization.
Personal support and homemaking
Services provided in supportive housing
Meals on Wheels
Transportation programs
Respite and adult day programs
Other services
Aim Statement
By Jan 31, 2016, we will increase the number of enquires that result in referrals to the services within our organization through intake by 20%.

3. The intake assessment form is lengthy
Root Cause(s)
Select a
reasonable
Number
Possibly using
multi-voting
Standard
Categories
Example:
From fishbone:
Intake staff lacks updated service information from service departments
Collect too much personal information at the intake level
5 why Example: Collect too much personal information at the intake level
The intake assessment form is lengthy
The form is designed to collect extensive client information for different types of assessment
The assessments were used to provide information to different service departments which may not be relevant to the service enquired by the client
Client may not require all kinds of service provided by the organization and the
intake process will overwhelm the client.

4. Root Causes – Understanding the Process

5. Root Causes we landed on:
Intake form is too lengthy
Intake staff lack updated information
Staff lacks initiative to respond to client enquiries
Organization collects too much information
Service fees and catchment area boundaries are too rigid

6. Process for engaging staff & collecting data….
Project lead engaged and facilitated the core team members and in-house members who come from different service departments as well as the intake staff to draw the Fishbone Diagram/5 Whys.
Brainstormed with the team for new change ideas and to develop the process measures for the Driver Diagram
Based on the Driver Diagram, the team selected the change idea they wanted to include in the first PDSA exercise.
For the first PDSA, the team decided to test the change idea focused on making the intake form shorter.

7. Solution Generation: Driver Diagram

8. Planning & Status: Developing/Testing Change Ideas
Cycle 2
Act
Plan
Study Do
Act
Plan
Study Do
Test with client requests for all services
All staff learn to respond to enquiries
Shorten Intake Form
Increase Intake Staff
Electronic Intake form
Monthly service updates
Alternatives for ineligible clients
Intake
Customer Service
Intake
Act
Plan
Study Do
Act
Plan
Study Do
Act
Plan
Study Do
Act
Plan
Study Do
Test with clients requesting Meals on Wheels for one week
Cycle 1
Developmental
Testing
Implementation
Develop
Test
Implement
Total # Cycles
Summary 1

9. Lessons Learned Challenges “Aha’s”
Change requires a lot of commitment and effort;
Difficult to schedule the full team for weekly meetings;
Very tight deadline for work submissions to the coach;
Team members felt overwhelmed by the Pareto Chart and the Run Chart.
“Aha’s”
Felt “inter-related” when dissecting a problem that crosses different departments.
Identified the “problem” is not “your fault” but system challenges that the whole organization needs to work with.

10. Lessons Learned Factors Enabling Project Progress and Pace
Project Lead: organized, updated and welcomed ideas;
Support from senior management
Team members: honest sharing, committed and creative.
What might you have done differently?
Invite more department staff to participate in the project;
Provide enough support, e.g. back-up staff to the project lead and core members;
Provide enough time for team members to digest newly learned information from trainings.