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 we can help you help your clients
Verto is widely used across both the private and public sectors.
For example, our clients include Capita PLC, Northgate Vehicle Leasing, NHS and councils across the country.
Many of our private sector clients also work with public sector organisations, helping them build shared services, deliver change and realize challenging efficiency savings.
Even when several organisations from different sectors are involved, Verto’s tools make it easy for them to work together. Because with Verto, everyone can work on the same platform and communicate with each other quickly and easily.
Here are some examples of how we’re helping our clients and what they have to say about us.
Capita
Capita uses technology to create and deliver smarter process management and professional support services across the public and private sectors.
They say:
“I have been working with the Verto team for the last 18 months and in that time we have built an excellent working relationship. The reason for this is that not only is VERTO an excellent PPM tool, but what makes the product stand out is the team behind it for their responsiveness, help, support and ability to go the extra mile in both promoting and delivering the tool to clients. The VERTO team understand real problems and issues and how to resolve them in a fit for purpose way and do so in a friendly and open manner that is very refreshing.”
Onesource
Onesource provides shared back office support services for local government and other public services. They use Verto to support their project and programme management.
They say:
“We have found Verto to be very flexible, especially when embedding our corporate methodology and workflow into a cloud-based application. [It] has enabled better collaborative ways of working and greater transparency in all aspects of project management and expenditure. Furthermore, TMI [Verto] has consistently provided an excellent customer service and [been] willing to support us at all times. We’ve enjoyed working with TMI to achieve our corporate PMO application requirements.”
Denbighshire Council
“The support from TMI Systems from day one has been outstanding, they are always willing to listen to new ideas and respond to all system enquiries almost by return.”
Wolverhampton City Council
“The support provided by TMI Systems has been brilliant to get the system up and running. The system enables us to have a cross directorate view of the projects and programmes currently being managed within the Council.”
To find out more about how Verto can help you and your clients please call us on 0844 870 8785 or message us here.
How Verto Helps You Manage Risk
You’ll have noticed in our blogs that we often talk about risk and how important it is that you manage it well.
In our last blog we described effective risk management as being aware of everything that could go wrong, having plans in place to respond quickly if something does go wrong and updating these plans as the project progresses and the risks change.
Others say that risk management is about anticipating what could happen between where you are and where you want to be.
This means looking at:
- What you’re aiming to do
- What might go wrong and why
- If it does go wrong, what would happen
- What you can do to stop it happening or make it have less impact
You should identify potential risks as soon as you start to plan your project. And you should monitor them throughout the life of the project.
Verto can help you do this.
A quick and easy way to manage risk
One of the greatest risks to any project is poor communication. For example, John finds out that in order to meet the deadline for a bid a member of his team needs some information. He’s out of the office when he’s told this, so makes a note to sort it out when he gets back. However, events overtake him and his note gets lost in the pile of other things he has to do. The deadline passes and his project ends up short of funds.
With Verto, wherever John had been when he first heard about this risk, he could immediately have sent a message to however many members of his team he needed to. And they could have picked it up, wherever they were.
He could also have created a task to remind them what they needed to do and by when. He could then have set an alert to let him know when the task was complete or if it was at risk of being missed.
A quick and easy way to monitor risk
Of course, you’re aware of some risks from the start of a project.
Let’s look at another example from John. He’s managing a project and has six months to complete one part of it. From the outset, some of his team warned that it could take much longer than this. However, the management team chose not to restructure the whole project. Instead they asked for weekly progress reports and for John to have a contingency plan in place.
If John were using Verto he would have a clear and detailed view of all his projects, in one place. This would make it easy for him to keep a close watch on the part of his project that was at risk of overrunning. Verto’s automatic notifications would also alert him straight away if anything began to fall behind. So John would be able to step in and take immediate action. And he would be able to produce and share an accurate progress report so his management team were always well informed.
While this wouldn’t remove the risk, Verto’s tools mean John could stay in control of the situation rather than just respond to it.
After all, it’s better to manage a risk than manage a crisis.
To find out more about how Verto can help you manage risk please call us on 0844 870 8785 or message us here.
The top five skills all project managers should have
We developed Verto’s cloud-based software to make the work of project managers easier. Because we know what a complex and demanding role it can be.
We understand how busy you are. That you’re managing people, resources, finances and time. You’re reporting on progress and outcomes. And you’re monitoring and evaluating your projects every step of the way.
With all this responsibility, to be effective project managers need to have a broad range of skills. We think there are five key ones that provide the foundation for all the others. These skills are also transferable, so whatever type of project you manage, they’re relevant to you.
- Effective project managers can communicate well
Communication is effective when the person receiving the information finds it easy to understand, knows why it’s relevant to them and is clear about any response they’re expected to make.
So whether you’re sharing information verbally or in writing you should be thinking about who you’re communicating with and why.
For example, what’s the best way to communicate something? Does everyone need a whole report or would a summary be enough? What do you want people to do once they’ve had the information?
Get this right and it’s more likely people will listen to you and read what you send. Get it wrong and you could end up being ignored.
And remember, communication works both ways when you’re talking to someone face-to-face. So be aware of your body language and use it to let people know you’re interested and listening.
- Effective project managers can lead
Although you may not be making key decisions about a project, project managers do have a leadership role. You need to inspire people to commit to the project and then help maintain their energy and enthusiasm throughout it.
You also need to lead by example. You help set the tone for how people communicate with each other. You make it the norm for people to stick to deadlines. You show how working to the processes you’ve agreed help keep the project moving forward and running smoothly. And, by accepting responsibility yourself, you help others do the same for the tasks assigned to them.
- Effective project managers can negotiate
Most projects involve different organizations, different specialisms and a wide range of people, all of which are likely to have competing interests and priorities. As project manager you need to make sure these differences are overcome so the project has the resources and commitment it needs to succeed.
To do this you need to be an effective negotiator. You have to balance the needs of the project with the needs of the different people involved, maintaining their support and the project’s momentum. Not an easy task, but an essential one.
- Effective project managers can manage risk
Effective risk management is being aware of everything that could go wrong and having plans in place so you can respond quickly if the worst does happen. As a project progresses the risks can change so the risk management plan must change too.
As an effective project manager you can’t ignore or hide any potential risk. And you need to monitor your project carefully so you know when risks become more likely and when they pass.
- Effective project managers can manage meetings
Any project, however small, is going to involve meetings. However much we may moan about them, meetings are vital to keep everyone informed and connected, to make decisions and to keep a project moving forward.
To be an effective project manager you need to recognize this and manage the meetings you run carefully. For example, you need to keep to the agenda you’ve set, only invite the people who need to be there and don’t try to cover too much in one meeting.
Because well-run meetings are so important to a project’s success, we’re going to look in more detail at how to manage them in a future post.
To find out more about how Verto can support your project management please call us on 0844 870 8785 or message us here.
PS: If we were to include a sixth skill we think it would have to be a sense of humour!
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.
Our Top Ten Tips for Project Management Best Practice
However many projects you manage, no two will ever be the same. Even where projects share some aspects, they are unlikely to be totally alike. For example, the project team, stakeholders, funding streams or key targets could all be different.
However, some areas of best practice apply to all the projects you manage. Have a look at our top ten tips and make them part of the way you work. You’ll find your job will become easier and your projects will be more likely to succeed.
1. Plan your project properly
Thorough planning before the project starts will help you be clear and realistic about what the project is meant to achieve. This means you can set well-defined success criteria that you can measure and report on.
You’ll be able to make sure you have the right budget, the right resources and the right skills on the project team. It will also help you identify and plan for potential risks and set realistic timescales.
2. Start your project properly
To help set the tone for your project and create some energy around it, start it formally with a meeting or event.
Invite all your stakeholders and use it as an opportunity to remind everyone of the project’s aims and the part they’ll all play in its delivery – and ultimate success.
3. Keep in touch with all your stakeholders
Once your project is up and running make sure you communicate regularly with everyone involved. Let them know what’s going on, including any problems, risks and delays. Be sure to share successes too, like when milestones are reached, to acknowledge people’s input and say thank you.
How you share information can include anything from a simple message to one person right through to a formal report to the project board. What’s important is to make sure everyone is as up-to-date on the project as possible.
4. Ask for feedback
Alongside keeping in touch with everyone involved in your project, ask them to share information with you too. Encourage people to give their feedback, as this will help them stay involved with the project and keep you in touch with what’s going on.
You can also use feedback to help you learn and improve your own performance.
5. Keep an up-to-date and detailed work plan
A detailed work plan will help everyone know what they’re responsible for and will make it easier for you to measure progress, hit milestones and meet deadlines.
These days, cloud-based applications make it easy to share documents. So update your work plan regularly and store it in the cloud so everyone can work off the current version.
6. Record everything that happens
Make sure you record everything that happens on your project and use it to improve performance across the board. You can learn from what has worked as well as from what hasn’t. You’ll also build a valuable source of data to help with your reporting and future planning.
7. Learn to say no
When someone asks you to take on more work or responsibility it’s tempting to say yes, especially when you know that’s what they want to hear. But always saying yes can easily lead to overload and a reduction in performance across the board.
So only say yes to new tasks or commitments when they won’t have an adverse effect on the priorities you’ve already agreed. Even small changes can accumulate over time and have a significant impact on your project.
8. Always document and agree any changes to the scope of the project
It’s likely that at some point in the life of your project, its scope may need to change. This may improve the overall benefit of the project but it can also have a negative impact.
So, before you go ahead with changes to the scope of your project, make sure the project board understands their potential impact and agrees to them. Finally, make sure you document the changes and update your project plan.
9. Be ready to respond to risk
Risk is a normal part of any project so you should build risk analysis in from the start. You can manage risk and minimise its effect by having a clear view of all the project’s potential risks, and mechanisms in place to let you know as soon as one arises.
The quicker you respond to risk the less impact it will have and the more likely it is that your project will stay on track.
10. Take time to reflect on the project when it’s ended
When your project has ended, involve the whole project team in reflecting on how it went. Look back in detail on how the project ran, its key events and issues. Learn both from what went well and what could have gone better.
Ask, for example, if the project delivered what it set out to achieve? Could it have done more and delivered bigger benefits? What went wrong and how could you have avoided these problems?
Use this learning to improve your own practice and share it with others to help future projects succeed.
Verto’s cloud-based software makes managing projects easy for you. For example, its instant messaging tool, flexible reporting, instant updates, inbuilt version control and instant access to your documents and lessons learnt will all help you put these best practice tips into action.
For more information please message us here.
Northgate Vehicle Hire, Aylesbury Vale CCG and Perth & Kinross Health & Social Care Partnership All Choose Verto
We are delighted to now include Northgate Vehicle Hire, Aylesbury Vale CCG and Perth & Kinross Health & Social Care Partnership to our list of Verto users.
Northgate Vehicle Hire
Northgate vehicle hire provide van hire and leasing options to businesses as an alternative to purchase, contract hire or lease. With a growing network of 75 branches from Aberdeen to Plymouth their business continues to grow. Their fleet is made up of LCVs from the UK's leading manufacturers, including Mercedes Benz, Ford, VW and Peugeot, and a majority of branches have their own workshops which enables maintenance to be planned and scheduled at times that will cause least disruption to customers. Northgate Vehicle Hire also have a partnership in place with the AA to provide breakdown support and recovery. Verto enables them to maintain communication with their suppliers, while supporting their PMO and the management and delivery of their key projects and programmes.
Aylesbury Vale CCG
Verto has proved popular amongst many CCG's and now Aylesbury Vale CCG has been added to our list of users. The clinically led membership organisation is responsible for commissioning local NHS services to meet the needs of local people. Supporting the development of partnerships between patients, healthcare professionals, social care, voluntary services and commissioners in North Buckinghamshire, Verto is also instrumental in helping Aylesbury Vale CCG support collaboration amongst their project teams and with partner organisations, allowing them to build effective working relationships with other CCGs including Oxfordshire and Milton Keynes.
Perth & Kinross Health & Social Care Partnership
An initiative of Perth & Kinross Council, this strategic commissioning plan has been designed to ensure that the needs of the local community and individuals are met. Perth & Kinross Health & Social Care Partnership use Verto to support their coordinated approach to the way in which care services are delivered. This includes working collaboratively with GPs, hospitals, health workers and social care staff forming integrated partnership arrangements.
Find out more about which organisations are using Verto here.
21 Reasons Why You Should Use Verto for Your Project Management (as told to us by our clients)
We’re lucky enough to have received some great testimonials from our clients over the years.
And, like you, we listen to all the feedback we get and use it to help us continuously improve what we do.
Here are 21 reasons you should use Verto as your project management software, taken from what our clients have told us.
We’ve summarised their comments but you can see them in full here.
- Verto is a flexible management tool that will support your PMO.
- It means you can easily keep all your project documents up-to-date and secure in one place.
- It’s easy to navigate.
- Verto gives senior leadership improved visibility of projects across the whole organisation.
- You can easily see exactly what is going on in a particular business or service area.
- Everyone involved in the project can access the system to view and update it as appropriate.
- It removes the risks of silo working and makes it easier to work collaboratively.
- It will help you improve communication.
- It will help you improve accountability.
- It will help you improve stakeholder involvement.
- Verto will give you a clear view of all project budgets.
- Verto will give you a clear view of all project risks and help you manage them effectively.
- Verto will help your PMO allocate their time more efficiently and effectively.
- Verto is preset with best practice templates and controls to help ensure the integrity of your data.
- Its reports are quick and easy to customise, update and run.
- It will help you produce your corporate and strategic plans.
- We can tailor Verto to your exact needs, for example by creating bespoke reports.
- Verto gives you automatic document control.
- It’s good value for money.
- We’re continuously improving Verto’s scope, tools and functionality.
- Verto is backed-up by fantastic support from a first-class team.
For more information on how Verto can help you please call us on 0844 870 8785 or send us a message.
With thanks to Brent Council, Camden Council, Cheshire West Council, Denbighshire County Council, Gloucestershire County Council, Harrow Council, Horsham Council, Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service, Basildon Council, Newham Council, Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead Council, Wolverhampton Council, York Council, Central Eastern CSU, Thurrock CCG and Basildon CCG.