Success Stories

Healthcare Company Repairs Service Provider Relationship
with Help from TPI


TPI’s OnTrack — Aligning for Sourcing SuccessSM service identifies actionable solutions that help improve client/service provider relationships, quality of service and customer satisfaction


"We needed a strong, objective, knowledgeable partner to help facilitate a new road forward with our service provider, and TPI delivered the assistance we required.

Having helped repair many damaged client/ service provider relationships, TPI’s advisors knew how to diagnose the root cause, get all of the parties talking again, and forge a productive relationship with new rules of engagement, allowing us to achieve our objectives."

— Director of Technology Planning and Services
Major North American Healthcare System

A major healthcare company became empowered to address and significantly improve a troubled relationship with its service provider through guidance by TPI and its proven OnTrack — Aligning for Sourcing SuccessSM service. After re-establishing a productive relationship through a structured, facilitated approach, the client gained these additional benefits:

  • Governance structure became meaningful, allowing the relationship to achieve its promise throughout the life of the outsourcing agreement
  • Contract was re-aligned with current business requirements to help the client succeed short term and long term

THE CLIENT’S CHALLENGE
The client, a major healthcare company, required the highest quality of service delivery possible, especially in its critical care facilities. Yet its outsourcing expectations were far from satisfied because of a deteriorating relationship with its service provider. Communications had broken down at all levels. Trust was waning, service delivery was nose-diving, customer satisfaction was poor and an effective governance process was non-existent.

The client was concerned that, left unchecked, the quality of service delivery to its customers would continue to erode, resulting in increased operational risk. Several times in the past, the client had attempted to resolve the ongoing issues with its service provider, yet no material improvement resulted. Increasingly frustrated, disappointed and concerned about a worsening situation, the client knew that it needed help in taking decisive, fast and effective action to get the service provider relationship back on track toward achieving its mission-critical objectives.

PROVEN, STRUCTURED PROCESS REQUIRED TO DESIGN EFFECTIVE SOLUTIONS
TPI’s experts brought their proven OnTrack service to the table to turn around the client’s situation. The structured approach includes these four critical activities:

After evaluating results from the first three activities, TPI’s advisors noted these key observations and issues that needed to be addressed between the client and its service provider to effect a turnaround:

  • No governance structure was in place to help ensure client satisfaction for the life of the agreement
  • The service provider lacked understanding of the healthcare industry and the sense of urgency required to provide the highest quality of service delivery to customers
  • Communication had broken down at the most basic levels of the relationship, and there was no effective strategy for re-establishing productive discussions
  • Interpersonal relationships among the organizations had been damaged and basic trust between parties was deeply compromised
  • The client and service provider were both operating in reactionary modes
  • Neither party adequately understood, interpreted or managed to the contract
  • Lack of clear and defined roles and responsibilities, alignment and integrated processes between the parties
  • No “cadence” — performance was not being measured and managed on a constant and consistent basis
  • Service level agreements were not aligned with current business requirements or strategies
  • An “issues management” process was non-existent, and the dispute resolution process was ineffective
  • Change and demand management was neither effective nor proactive
  • Because confidence in the delivery team had waned, the client felt that it had to follow up and compensate for delivery inadequacies

IMPLEMENTING EFFECTIVE SOLUTIONS THROUGH TPI'S SERVICE MANAGEMENT & GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE
As trusted advisors, TPI’s experts worked with a team of senior executives from the client and service provider to systematically address each key observation and issue. The cornerstone of the solution was TPI’s proven Service Management & Governance structure, illustrated below.

Each of the four disciplinary categories contains a series of detailed processes that TPI has used successfully with numerous clients on similar engagements. Aligning each key observation and issue with the appropriate process and tailoring the specifics to the relationship at hand effectively solved each area of concern for the client.



CLIENT BENEFITS
By utilizing TPI’s proven OnTrack service, a credible foundation now exists for the client and the service provider to:

  • Improve their relationship
  • Restore effective avenues of communication
  • Improve overall service delivery and customer satisfaction
  • Minimize risks and service delivery disruptions