Challenge:

Kaiser Permanente (KP) is the world’s largest integrated health care organization. To the outside world, it’s one big company. To its 120,000+ employees and clinicians, it’s 21 companies with over 700 senior executives, spread across 7 regions. Each region is it’s own sovereign business unit. And, Kaiser Permanente is a health insurance company, a health care provider with exclusive physicians and nurses, a health IT organization, and so much more.

Though its leaders and employees are far flung, Kaiser Permanente’s culture is one of consensus and collaboration. Agreement and alignment are required before any new product/service, process, or model can be adopted by the enterprise. Prerequisite for agreement and alignment: Awareness.

Strategy:

We needed a way to grow awareness of key work happening within the organization in order to secure sponsors and grow adoption of new products/services. We didn’t want to add to the deluge of emails the top 700 leaders were already receiving. Nor did we want to add another new software solution that stakeholders would have to pay for and learn to use.

We designed a communications and engagement platform that provided accurate, consistent information about every product, project, and pilot happening across the organization–with a low learning curve, no license requirements, compatibility with popular systems in use, a simple and attractive interface, and a backend that facilitated communications planning and scheduling, and project team coordination.

My Role In The Solution:

I dreamed up the platform in response to 5 conditions I observed. I designed the platform–it’s initial look and feel, its interface, features and functionality. I also worked with architects to design an interconnected node-based system that would allow platform admins/owners to cross post and search other sites within the network.

I created the initial wireframes and “fat frames” and marketed the platform to Kaiser Permanente leaders throughout the organization to secure seed funding.

I developed the subscription model, and secured the funding and clients willing to pay.

And, I identified, recruited, briefed, and managed the team that is bringing the platform to life.

Results:

We’ve already got pre-orders for the platform set to launch on Janaury 21.