Remember when you were a child playing games with friends after school? Everything would be well-organized until someone changed the rules and then things would immediately descend into chaos. Thanks to the magic of play, it wouldn’t take long for new rules to be negotiated and for the game to resume.
During the transition into adulthood we often lose the creativity and curiosity that came so naturally to us in our early years. Business process improvement experts have now discovered the power of play in the business world. With this in mind, the Faculty of Medicine’s Business Transformation Office (BTO) wants you to “Get up and start playing!”
The Faculty of Medicine created the BTO to help improve internal processes, but you don’t have to wait for us. We encourage all teams to try out this brainstorming exercise, which is rooted in play theory:*
Faculty of Medicine Continuous Improvement Exercise: “Get up and Start Playing”
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The group should decide on a business process that needs to be improved. |
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Schedule a 1 – 2 hr workshop in a conference room, with toys, pens, paper, and a white or chalk board. Remember to bring the forms and reports that are an important part of the business process. |
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First Quarter (15 – 30 minutes): Think back to how you established and negotiated roles and rules when setting up for play as a child, and how everyone would discuss and eventually reach consensus. Now, as a group, answer these questions:
Repeat for each person until the business process and roles are well understood. You’ll find it helpful to use the process forms and to write process steps down on a whiteboard for everyone to see and discuss. Now make believe:
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Third Quarter (15 – 30 minutes): Write the “new rules” / process:
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Wrap-up:
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Each administrative team knows their work better than anyone else. Faculty executive leadership would like to harness the experience of our administrative staff, increasing the value of everyone’s contribution and making a more efficient organization. Your participation in this continuous improvement exercise supports a better Faculty of Medicine and improves the services we provide to learners, Faculty and each other.
If you’d like to learn more about the BTO visit our website or send us an email.
* You can learn more about using play to improve business processes by reading the book “Building a Better Business Using the LEGO Serious Play Method”; it explores the application of play in business process improvement. There is even a website such as SeriousPlayPro.com or check out the LEGO serious play videos on YouTube.
