1. Unit-Based Team Performance Update
MARCH, 2012

2. UBT Developmental Status
High-
performing
teams
TEAMS BY LEVEL
32% of total
The 2010 National Agreement included the UBT Path Performance, which identified five levels of performance for all unit-based teams in Kaiser Permanente.
The left-hand chart shows the total number of UBTs in place as of January 2012 and the number and percentage of teams at each level of performance. High-performing teams (Levels 4 or 5) represent 32 percent of all UBTs.
The National Agreement also committed Kaiser Permanente and the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions to double the number of high-performing teams between December 2010 and December 2011.
That meant achieving high performance for at least 658 teams in 12 months—a goal that was met and surpassed. In fact, there were 1,097 high-performing teams in place by January 2012, as shown in the left-hand chart. 1

3. UBT Developmental Status by Region
This table shows the number of unit-based teams in each region, broken down by the number and percentage of high-performing teams.
Programwide, 32 percent of all teams are rated as high-performing. That figure varies by region as teams develop, reaching 46 percent of teams in the Mid-Atlantic States and the Northwest, and 82 percent in Ohio. 2

4. What Teams Are Working On
Unit-based teams launched 5,830 performance-improvement projects in 2011.
The project goals were set by each team, in line with their regional business goals and the KP Value Compass.
The largest single focus area for UBTs’ improvement work was service excellence, accounting for about 32 percent of all projects initiated in 2011. 3

5. Fast-Growing Project Areas for UBTs
Significant Increase in Projects that Most Affect Members and Patients
1,907
+420%
1,339
projects
projects
+192%
This chart shows the number of projects that UBTs have initiated in four key areas in 2010 and 2011, and the percentage increase in each area.
The fastest-growing project area last year was patient safety, increasing by 420 percent in Starting with a small number of patient safety projects in 2010, teams quickly ramped up in this vital area as they gained confidence and proficiency in problem-solving and performance-improvement techniques.
Prevention and chronic disease management was the second fast-growing area, with a 192% increase, followed by projects that improved the affordability of care.
Service excellence, which accounts for the largest total number of projects, grew by 42 percent in 2011.
+ 126%
720
319
130
427
+42% 25
146
Patient Safety
Affordability
Prevention & Chronic Disease
Service
Excellence
Source: UBT Tracker