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New England Health Insurance Provider Strategic Planning Advisory & Process Development
Background
The client is facing competitive pressures from large private health insurers, resulting in limited enrollment growth. There is a need to bring innovative IT-based solutions to market to reverse the trend and stimulate growth. In the past, expectations were mismatched on the part of business and IT management regarding priorities and resource requirements. The W Group was asked to assess the planning and design a new process responsive to the business and supporting the overall business planning strategy.
Approach
The W Group facilitated development of a comprehensive IT planning process. The new process was designed and implemented within a two-month period.
The W Group began by assessing the existing business plans and IT plans, and the processes through which they were developed.
Key executives were interviewed to determine their needs and expectations, and a gap analysis was prepared. The main driver of the missed expectations was determined to be differences in the plan definitions (i.e., a strategic plan vs. an annual tactical or budgetary plan). In working with key IT and business executives, a facilitated approach was employed to develop an optimized planning process.
The W Group’s recommended solution provided definitions for the two types of plans and separate processes for the preparation of each. The strategic plan is now prepared early in the year in conjunction with business environmental assessments and the company’s multi-year plan development. The tactical plan is prepared in concert with budget development and is timed to contribute to the annual board presentation.
In both cases, the client’s IT outsourcer plays a central role. Contributions include providing thought leadership in technical areas, and advice on management and investment in the IT workload.
Results
The client’s planning process had to be improved while the already-existing process was still underway.
The W Group used a facilitated approach focusing on resolving the existing shortcomings as they arose and implementing improvements as the process was executed.
The resulting benefits were delivered early in the endeavor and strengthened buy-in on the part of business management.
Today, a multi-year strategic plan charts the course for future investment in technology, and the annual operating plan provides a tool for managing current performance against the work plan and budget.
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