What HR Technology Project Managers Can Learn from Obamacare Website Debacle
People are on both sides of the Affordable Care Act, and this debate is a never ending one (and not scope of this article). However, we all agree that it is shocking to read about all the obvious issues with healthcare.gov website. How can the team working on a mere website get it so wrong? Why do such “good cause” projects have more detractors than promoters? I usually try to see the glass half full hence I think this disaster will teach all – governments, large matrix organizations and small and medium size organizations, that have more politics than D.C., lessons that will help avoid such disasters in the future.
In this article, I will share seven timeless, simple and universal concepts of change management and leadership that I wish Mr. President had considered prior to rolling out the website that promised to “heal the world”.
1. “A dissatisfied customer will tell between 9-15 people about their experience. Around 13% of dissatisfied customers tell more than 20 people, however, customers with a positive experience may tell only 4-5 people about their experience”– Office of Consumer Affairs. Bottom line is while in HR we talk about big data and the importance of quantitative data, the most powerful data is qualitative data which measures customer experience. Net promoter score (NPS survey) is an ideal way to identify how many customers are true promoters i.e. those who will recommend your product and service to others.
2. “It takes 12 positive experiences to make up for one unresolved negative experience” – “Understanding Customers” by Ruby Newell-Legner. This is why it is important to conduct testing, trials, pilots, and beta. But just because you do a pilot or testing doesn’t guarantee success. When it comes to conducting a pilot, I have a method to the madness that has worked for me. I have three golden rules for conducting pilots:
a) Identify those who “get it”. These are people who understand the importance of a certain initiative. This should be a small and controlled group.
b) Just because someone understands the initiative doesn’t mean they want it. For example, if I was the President I would have piloted this website first in a state like California where majority supports the ideology of this website and the care act. If you want something you find ways to make it work.
c) Finally, identify those who not only get and want it but also have capacity to participate in the pilot. Capacity can be time, mental ability, physical ability or technical ability. If I live in a remote location and don’t have easy access to web nor understand how to shop online, I shouldn’t qualify for the pilot for this specific website.
3. Project Management is going beyond Gantt charts and project tracking. My favorite project managers are “real”. They listen first, and try to understand not just the functional & technical requirements of the project but more importantly the significance of the project on the organization.
4. Do the right things for the right reasons. Those responsible for roll out must have authority and/or will to call it out if they see the system is not ready for prime time.
5. Keep it simple stupid. Best applications are the simplest applications. Some of these applications may not have all the bells and whistles but they should be simple so that majority can use it without hand holding.
6. One of my mentors, Gino Wickman wrote in his book Traction, about the concept of Visionary and Integrator. Visionary is someone like a CEO or President who is an idea person. Visionary is not always detail oriented nor has luxury to dive into details. Visionary needs a rock star Integrator aka COO or vice president who can translate the vision to the team, and manage all the moving parts and who can also say no to the Visionary when the idea is completely bogus. Many Visionaries fail because they don’t have the right Integrators.
7. Don’t over sell it. Once you have had successful experimentation, let it evolve gradually. Create success stories from the pilot and use those to create adoption. Studies show that 60% of enterprise wide projects fail. Set real expectations and expect the worst and always have a plan B.
Obamacare website crisis should be a wakeup call for all leaders, HR and IT professionals and encourage them to manage the technology initiatives more effectively going forward.
Shahbaz Alibaig is an accomplished Leadership and Human Resource Development professional with proven track record in learning, organizational development, recruitment, change management, strategic planning, and IT. He has passion for integrating people, technology and process to yield results – fast. Shahbaz is Certified Six Sigma Black Belt, PMP and Lead ISO and FDA Auditor.
http://www.linkedin.com/in/shahbazalibaig