Verto Case Study: working with the City of Wolverhampton Council
The city of Wolverhampton lies at the heart of the Black Country and is one of three cities in the West Midlands region. The city and council are experiencing a period of unprecedented growth and transformation, highlighted recently when the City of Wolverhampton Council was awarded ‘Local Authority of the Year’ at the MJ Awards, 2017.
The council serves a population of around 250,000 across 20 wards. It has a mission to ‘work as one to serve our city,’ and a vision that by 2030 ‘Wolverhampton will be a prosperous and inclusive city that celebrates its diversity and heritage and plays its part on the regional, national and international stage.’
Like all local authorities, the City of Wolverhampton Council has a complex structure made up of the full council and its various committees, directorates and services.
The council works with a wide range of other organisations through several key partnerships, including the local strategic partnership for the area and the West Midlands Combined Authority.
It has to report regularly on its progress in delivering its plans, both within the council itself and to its various partners.
What the City of Wolverhampton Council wanted to achieve
The City of Wolverhampton Council’s Projects and Programmes Team currently produces highlight reports on 59 projects and 32 workstreams. These are developed into an overall dashboard and shared monthly with the council’s wider leadership team.
Prior to using Verto the Projects and Programmes Team were preparing these reports manually. Now, with Verto, the process is automated, which makes best use of officer time and ensures information is prepared for senior managers in an efficient and cost-effective way.
How we’re helping the City of Wolverhampton Council achieve its goal
When we started working with the council in 2015, we worked alongside the Projects and Programmes Team to configure Verto in line with their project management process, from a project’s initial proposal right through to its close.
We also worked with them to set up standard reports which can be produced at the press of a button.
“The team from TMI provided excellent customer service. They prioritised our change requests and are good at turning things round when we need them to – straight away if they can. And they use our feedback to help them develop Verto so we, and others, can get more from it.”
Laura Palmer, Portfolio Delivery Manager, the City of Wolverhampton Council
How the City of Wolverhampton Council is benefiting from using Verto
Since using Verto the City of Wolverhampton Council has seen a number of benefits. Perhaps the most significant is that they now have a controlled management and workflow process across the council.
With Verto all the council’s programme and project data is in one place. This means the Projects and Programmes Team can support project managers and projects officers from start to finish. As Harpreet Riyat, the council’s Project and Resources Manager says, “Verto is very clear and easy to use. Everything is in front of you on one screen and it guides you through the whole process so it’s very easy to learn.”
The Projects and Programmes Team have established a bi-weekly Project Assurance Group (PAG). This has helped programmes and projects become more visible and made it easier for the group to establish links, find commonalities and break down barriers. As a result they have also been able to identify both financial and time savings.
The increased visibility of programmes and projects also makes it easier for the PAG to agree which proposals should proceed. And once projects are up and running, the Projects and Programmes Team can quickly and easily produce monitoring reports which show progress, outcomes and risks.
Because Verto is based in the cloud it allows for mobile working so staff can easily work on it where and when they need to. This also makes it easy for people to collaborate across partnership projects and programmes. They can then use Verto’s instant messaging tool to communicate with each other.
Harpreet Riyat also commented that using Verto has substantially reduced the Projects and Programmes Team’s need to use paper.
We continue to work with the City of Wolverhampton Council. Recently we supported their move to VertoPro and resolved small technical issues very quickly.
We are also due to set up and roll out a single sign-on which means users no longer need to log in to Verto with a user name and password. Instead Verto will automatically be available to them when they log on to the council’s system. This has removed a potential barrier to using Verto and encouraged more consistent use of the tool.
The Projects and Programmes Team would like to develop more intuitive reporting so are currently reviewing our latest reporting options. We will then configure the reports they’d like to use to suit their needs.
To find out more about how Verto can help your local authority please call us on 0118 334 6200 or message us here.
Verto Case Study: working with the South West Academic Health Science Network
The South West Academic Health Science Network (SW AHSN) is one of 15 AHSNs across England set up to deliver significant change in the way the health and care sector identifies, develops and adopts innovation. Each AHSN works to improve the health of its local population and generate economic growth in the area.
AHSNs have to regularly report on their plans and progress to NHS England. They also have to report to their own board on the progress they’re making delivering their strategic objectives and work programmes.
The SW AHSN has a mission 'to improve the health and patient experience of people in the South West by supporting and accelerating innovation and quality improvement'. To deliver this, they have three strategic objectives supported by ten work programmes encompassing a wide range of individual projects.
They work with 18 member organisations and a wide range of stakeholder organisations from health and care sectors in the South West and nationally.
What the SW AHSN wanted to achieve
The SW AHSN’s staff team comes from a diverse range of backgrounds including academia, frontline health and social care, research, IT, analytics and NHS support services.
This means, while they are all committed to achieving a common aim, they have a wide range of work practices. This difference was causing an inconsistent approach to project management.
The SW AHSN needed a way to easily and clearly report back to NHS England and their board on their work programme, in particular in relation to individual project outcomes. They also needed a system that would make sure they had the most up to date information in their reports. This would mean they could clearly evidence the impact of their work and identify and manage risk.
To move to this position the SW AHSN committed to go through a change management process, including a change in culture, to one where they had:
- A consistent approach to project management
- A commitment to clearly evidence impact
- Easy access to accurate information on individual projects and programmes of work
- Comprehensive, easy and flexible reporting
- Robust risk management
How we’re helping the SW AHSN achieve their goal
We started working with the SW AHSN in October 2016 and had their system live by February 2017. This rapid installation of the project management software helped them move smoothly through the changes they needed to make.
Because Verto is cloud-based project management software, the SW AHSN staff and its contractors can access the system. In the future their member organisations may also have access to the system, which will further help develop a consistent approach to project management across the network.
We tailored the Verto dashboard to match the brand colours of the SW AHSN. This familiarity helped their staff engage and feel more comfortable using a new system.
Verto has given them a shared database, which means they can generate reports at all levels. And Verto’s tagging facility means they can create reports from the data they choose.
“The team at TMI have been really helpful and Verto is proving to be an excellent project management tool. We now have a richness of information we didn’t have before. Being able to tag fields so we can tailor reports is a significant benefit. And we’re able to use Verto to quickly and easily create our quarterly reports and business plan for NHS England. All this has helped us to implement the change we needed to make in both our practice and our culture.”
Claire Higdon, Director of Corporate Services, SW AHSN
The benefits the SW AHSN is seeing
The SW AHSN have found Verto really easy to use. Some staff are happily using it without having had any training. However, those who have taken part in a short training session are, to quote Claire Higdon, ‘really flying.’
In particular, staff have found Verto is saving them time as they only need to fill in information such as project descriptions and objectives once.
The SW AHSN now has a much clearer understanding of how projects are allocated across the staff team and can clearly see who is working on what. They can also get an instant report on all the projects each member organisation is involved in.
They are able to capture more information on each project and programme of work. This is making it much easier to see what they’ve achieved and evidence progress. It also means they are better able to identify and manage risk.
One of the key benefits the SW AHSN has found is Verto’s tagging facility. This means users can tag the data they want to include to create exactly the report they need.
With Verto they can also produce reports as PDF documents. This has proved to be really helpful when staff need to take information to a meeting or share it with someone who doesn’t have access to the system.
“The strength of working with TMI has been how they’ve tailored our Verto system to our exact needs – making it part of our organisation, not a bolt on.”
Louise Witts, Interim CEO, SW AHSN
In March 2017, the SW AHSN sent their first quarter end report to NHS England using Verto. Claire Higdon told us it was really quick and easy to do. She went on to say:
“Although many of the changes we’ve seen since we introduced Verto seem fairly basic, they’ve really helped us to engage and motivate staff and members.”
We’re still working with the SW AHSN and are currently helping them use Verto to capture more information from their projects and develop more detailed reporting.
To find out more about how Verto can help your AHSN please call us on 0118 334 6200 or message us here.
How Verto is helping the NHS deliver improvements
Health services are under constant and increasing demand. So the best way for healthcare staff to respond to this demand and meet the needs of their patients is through partnership working. As experts in collaboration, Verto is well placed to support the NHS in these partnerships.
In 44 areas covering the whole of England, the NHS, local councils and other providers are working together to improve health and care. Each area has developed a proposal, called a sustainability and transformation plan (STP), that focuses on the needs of the local population.
We have been working closely with the Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire (BNSSG) area.
The BNSSG STP
The whole of the local health and social care community in BNSSG has been involved in developing the STP. This includes hospitals, local authorities, community providers, mental health organizations, the ambulance service, GPs and other commissioners.
Their aim, under the STP, is to design and deliver health and care services that are affordable and sustainable. The different organisations are working together under one vision that focuses on keeping people well rather than treating illness.
We’ve worked in partnership with them to create a collaboration hub that makes it easier for them to work together and successfully deliver their STP.
The key numbers
1 vision
Covering 21 overarching projects
For 15 partner organisations
With more than 48,000 staff
Serving a population of nearly 1 million
Spending nearly £1.5 billion every year
What Verto is providing
We have created a cloud-based collaboration hub where staff can:
Manage projects and programmes together
Access their project toolkit
Read the STP and other project documents
Find information on new processes
Access a shared calendar with dates for events, meetings and workshops as well as key project deadlines
Find out the names and contact details of people working on projects
Complete standardised project management approaches
Complete and review reports
Share files and documents
Because Verto is based in the cloud it supports mobile working so staff can access the hub from any device, whenever they need to and from wherever they are.
It also means staff will receive real-time updates. These will keep them up to date with everything that’s going on. They’ll know when actions are complete and they’ll know if things start to fall behind. This will help make sure the STP stays on track to deliver its 21 key projects.
And Verto’s instant messaging tool means staff can communicate with each other quickly and easily. Whenever they need to they can chat to one person, a specific team or everyone involved in a project.
We’ll include a case study of our work with the BNSSG STP area in a future post. In the meantime, to find out more about how we can support your partnership working, please call us on 0844 870 8785 or message us here.
How Verto’s mobile working tools make collaboration easy for you
In our last blog we looked at the benefits of collaborative working and why it’s worth investing in. It’s been shown that when we work together costs go down, results go up, our learning improves and we have a more united voice.
This is why, increasingly, both public and private sector organisations are being encouraged to develop and maintain strong partnerships.
But, as we also acknowledged in our blog, collaborative working isn’t always easy. For example, how do you enable people across a range of organisations to communicate quickly and easily? How do you make sure everyone has access to the most up-to-date information? And, with so many people involved in a project, how do you stay on top of what’s going on?
We understand both the value of collaborative working and the barriers to making it a success. This is why we designed and developed tools that directly overcome these barriers. And allow you to enjoy all the benefits of working with others.
Project updates and notifications
Verto’s updates and notifications help you track projects and stay on top of tasks.
You can create different task lists to help people manage their work. These lists can be for individuals, specific teams or everyone involved in the project, whichever is best for you.
You can then set Verto’s notifications to keep you and other members of the project up to date with what’s going on. You’ll know when someone has completed a task and you’ll know when things start to fall behind. This means you can take action immediately and make sure your project stays on schedule.
Instant messaging
Verto’s instant messaging tool means you can keep in touch with everyone involved in your project, quickly, easily and whenever you need to. And they can keep in touch with you too.
You can check in with one person, bounce ideas off a whole team and update everyone involved in the project.
You don’t always know when you’re going to need a piece of information - perhaps you’re in a meeting and you’re asked for a specific cost that you don’t have to hand. That’s no problem with Verto as you can simply message the person who has the answer. And they can get back to you in an instant.
File sharing
When a lot of people are involved in a project, it’s vital everyone has access to the same information. Verto makes this easy too.
When you use Verto you can store all your documents in the cloud. This means anyone who needs to can access a document to read or update it. Whenever they need to and from wherever they are.
Crucially, Verto’s inbuilt document control tool also means you can be sure you’re always looking at the most up-to-date version of any file.
And remember, because Verto is based in the cloud, you can use it on almost any device, at any time, wherever you are.
To find out more please call us on 0844 870 8785 or message us here.
Why it’s Worth Investing in Collaborative Working
No one ever said collaborative working is easy. To make it a success definitely takes effort. But making that effort is worthwhile because the benefits of collaborative working can be significant, for both your service users and the organisations taking part.
In future posts we’ll look at some of the barriers to collaborative working, what can go wrong, and how you can make it easier.
But for now, perhaps because we’re still in a positive New Year frame of mind, we’re going to focus on the benefits of collaborative working.
What is collaborative working?
Before we start, it’s worth being clear what we mean when we say collaborative working.
There are many definitions posted on the web and published in guidance documents, some of which will suit your organisation and specific collaboration better than others.
From our experience supporting people and organisations involved in collaborative working, we’re happy with:
Collaborative working is two or more departments or organisations working together. This may be to contribute to a particular activity, function or project, or to contribute to a new organisation. The arrangement may be for a fixed time or it may be permanent.
Why do we work in collaboration?
It’s also worth looking at what’s driving us to work in collaboration.
The impetus may come from public opinion, government policy and the ongoing public sector drive for improved efficiency and effectiveness – most likely it’s a combination of all three.
However, what initially led to the collaboration is less important that what the outcomes may be. Because when collaborative working goes well, these can be extremely positive.
- Collaborative working helps you save money
Organisations working together are usually much more cost-effective than, what we now call, silo-based working. From joint procurement to cutting duplication, there are many ways that collaborative working can lead to savings. As evidence of this, our clients are currently using Verto to help them track £13.2 billion of planned savings.
- Collaborative working helps you be more effective
At the heart of collaborative working is improving outcomes for service users. When we focus more on why we’re providing a particular service and work together to find solutions, both of which collaborative working makes us do, we’re more likely to make a positive difference.
- Collaborative working helps you learn, share and repeat success
Closely linked to the point above, working with others and learning from their knowledge and experience, helps us understand more about what we really need to provide and how best to do this. Over time, services can become more resilient and expertise in teams can grow.
- Collaborative working helps you build a strong and united voice
When we share our knowledge and experience, we may also uncover shared problems and concerns. If we then need to lobby for change, one clear message sent by many will have much greater impact.
We designed Verto to help make collaborative working easier and more successful for you. In future blogs we’ll look in more detail at how Verto’s specific tools do this. Because whether you want to make communication, reporting, risk analysis, task management, resource management, performance planning or document storage and sharing easier, we can help.
For more information please call us on 0844 870 8785 or message us here.
Happy New Year! We’d Like to Help You Get 2017 Off to a Flying Start
The merry and indulgent days of Christmas are behind us for another year and it’s time to get back to work. It can be hard to be enthusiastic during the dark days of January, so anything that helps us ease back into work after the holidays is always welcome.
We’ve pulled together some of our favourite comments on collaborative working and project management to motivate you for the year ahead. They remind us how rewarding and exciting working with others, planning and delivering successful projects can be.
Take a break for a few minutes and read them. We think they’ll inspire you and help get 2017 off to a flying start.
“Project managers are the most creative people in the world. We have to figure out everything that could go wrong before it does.” Fredrik Haren, author and speaker on business creativity, innovation and change.
“As a collaborative leader, you support people in their work – you remove roadblocks and help them win.” Kenneth H. Blanchard, American author
“They [project managers] are organized, passionate and goal-oriented, who understand what projects have in common, and their strategic role in how organizations succeed, learn and change.” Project Management Institute
“Collaboration is about team work. It’s not a cliché, it’s a practical reality.” JA Perez, humanitarian and author
“Project managers function as bandleaders who pull together their players, each a specialist with individual score and internal rhythm. Under the leader’s direction, they all respond to the same beat.” L.R. Sayles, Emeritus Professor, Columbia University
“Open collaboration encourages greater accountability, which in turn fosters trust.” Ron Garan, astronaut, speaker, entrepreneur
“Project managers rarely lack organisational visibility, enjoy considerable variety in their day-to-day duties, and often have the prestige associated with work on the enterprise’s high-priority objectives.” Meredith and Mantel, authors
“An outstanding project manager is able to take the team on a journey by sharing an appealing vision and a roadmap for achieving that vision.” Susanne Madsen, project leadership coach and author
“Project managers need to be unique when it matters; finish what they start and show strong leadership.” Lindsay Scott, careers specialist and director at Arras People, a project management recruitment company
“Project management isn’t just about working with tasks and deadlines. It’s about working with and understanding people. If you’re a good communicator and collaborator then you will also be a great project manager.” Jacob Morgan, author and journalist
“Project managers seem to forget that many of the conventional forms, charts and tables they must fill out are intended to serve as aids, not punishments.” Mantel, Meredith, Shafer and Sutton, authors
And finally;
“I’m a project manager, not a magician. Magicians have way cooler hats.” Merlin Mann, writer, blogger and podcaster
Whatever hat you wear (or don’t), we wish you a happy, healthy and successful 2017. And if you’d like to make success easier this year, with all your project management and communication tools in one place, Verto can help.
For more information please call us on 0844 870 8785 or message us here.
How Verto Is Helping CCGs Manage Their PMOs And Achieve Effective Collaboration
Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) are responsible for planning and commissioning health care services for their local area. They are responsible for the entire local population and are measured by how much they improve health outcomes.
In order to meet this broad remit CCGs work with a wide range of partners and deliver a wide range of projects.
What is a PMO?
A PMO (programme or project management office) serves as a central point for all a CCG’s projects. An effective PMO will help a CCG make sure it delivers its projects on time, on budget and in line with the project’s stated aims.
Because a PMO collates data from all a CCG’s projects, it gives managers the information they need to identify priorities and target resources. This data will also help the CCG show the tangible service and patient care improvements they are delivering.
A PMO will serve as a centre of excellence, providing control and governance as well as advice and guidance to project managers. This is particularly helpful for project managers who are not formally trained in project management.
Overall, a well-run PMO will help CCGs improve efficiency across the board, leading to savings in time and costs – essential for organisations that are under increasing financial pressure.
How Does Verto Help?
Verto’s project management and collaboration software is specifically designed to:
- Support partnership working by bringing together, on one secure platform, everyone involved in managing and delivering a project. This includes the project’s wider stakeholders.
- Make collaboration easier with tools such as instant messaging, file sharing, real-time updates and notifications.
- Improve practice by linking project outputs with performance outcomes and through best practice templates and controls.
- Strengthen governance and transparency with accurate data, flexible reporting and a clear view of all projects at any given time.
- Standardise practice with a range of templates for key activities in the project cycle.
“18 months on and with over 350 projects loaded we are reaping the rewards of our Verto application.”
NHS Thurrock CCG and Basildon CCG
Comprehensive Support and Training from Verto
We provide support and training to help you set up your PMO and get the most from it once it’s up and running.
We provide full onsite training for your PMO staff and Verto administrators. We can run either train-the-trainer or end-user courses, whichever you prefer.
We can create bespoke workflow and reports to suit the way your CCG operates. We can offer useful insights from our own experience of PMOs and put you in touch with other clients who can share with you what they have learned. We can even set up forums for you to receive valuable feedback from the people who use your projects and services.
And if you need any help once your PMO is in use, our helpdesk team are there for you.
To find out more get in touch. And look out for future blogs where we’ll take a more detailed look at how we support an increasing number of CCGs and now STPs.