March 12, 2021
New T3 Cohort Aims at Two Goals
What do you get when you pull together a team of employees from different departments and ask them to solve a problem? A T-3 cohort with lots of ideas that impact our organization and our community.
The name “T-3” stands for Thrive Together Team. Each cohort lasts about three months, and the members commit three days a week to focus solely on problem solving. It’s a big commitment and there are two goals: cost savings through workflow improvement, and professional growth for cohort participants.
“Our goal is to bring forward ideas from the front line so they can co-create with teams and bring the ideas to life.”
Million dollar ideas
“Our current cohort is working to find $10 million dollars in improvement opportunities,” said Zachary Bork, Executive Director of Transformation Management. “Our goal is to bring forward ideas from the front line so they can co-create with teams and bring the ideas to life.”
There have been six cohorts since the program started in 2019 and since then, these efforts have netted nearly $60 million in realized cost savings. To put that in perspective, the new CentraCare – Redwood medical campus that recently opened was a $60 million community investment. “This work moves us closer to a greater financial strength, which puts us in a better position to invest in our communities,” said Bork. The long-range goal is to achieve $174 million in cost savings through T-3 cohorts.
How it works
When a cohort begins, the first few days are all about brainstorming. The group shares new ideas and reviews improvement opportunities that are kept in a “parking lot” for discussion. Once an improvement project is identified, the cohort team functions as consultants. They partner with departments and together imagine possibilities, poke holes in ideas and ultimately spin up concepts. Then they hand off the work to the operational teams for further development and execution.
Development and growth
“At the start of each session, we ask participants what skills they personally want to work on or improve,” said Bork. “It might be presenting to large groups or improving spreadsheet proficiency. Whatever it is, we work to help them develop those skills.” And while the cohort participants are away from their departments, it presents new opportunities for their coworkers to step into new roles and backfill their responsibilities. This allows other team members to gain valuable experience for their professional development as well.
“It’s really rewarding to see everyone grow and change through the cohort experience,” said Bork
Kristi Patterson, clinical consultant from the Performance Improvement team, participated in a T-3 cohort in January 2020. “It pushed me out of my comfort zone,” she said. “It was a rich experience with personal and professional growth unlike any I’ve had,” she said. “I’m also more aware of balancing the impact on quality and patient experience with financial impact when prioritizing work.”
“It’s really rewarding to see everyone grow and change through the cohort experience,” said Bork. “They contribute by sharing knowledge and they leave having learned entirely new things about other aspects of our organization. And when all that happens while working to strengthen our organization, it’s a win-win.”
