Case Studies | Patchway

Case
Studies

BUSINESS SYSTEM UTILISATION

Inquiry

A large government department had recently implemented a new procurement and contract management system and were struggling to get effective user engagement with the system.

Approach

We worked with the client to understand the current situation and to try and identify the problem they were facing in more detail. This included the steps that had been taken so far in training users in the system.

A key outcome from the situation analysis was that users had been trained in the basics of the system, but they did not understand why the system was designed how it was.

The “why” is incredibly important for any system that aims to drive compliance to a process so that users can understand the reason for the design and also why the step helps add value to what they are doing.

Solution

We developed a procurement and contract management training program which could be run utilising the system. This included building a relevant “real-life” scenario that could be used to make the training relevant to participants and allow them to discuss real problems that they face on a day-to-day basis.

To be able to develop and run the program we had to learn the system, which was done via a short consultation with the department’s subject matter experts and then following through the system steps referencing the help guides that had been developed.

As part of the program design, we developed video help guides for the key steps within the system.

Outcome

The program was rolled out to more than 200 key users. Feedback for the program was very strong recognising the relevance to participants roles and also praising the level of interactivity within the sessions.

Executive Financial Literacy

Inquiry

A large government department wanted a Financial Management program which could be delivered in person or virtually. The program had to be delivered in half a day and had to be very specific to the government department.

Approach

We worked with the client to understand their need and what was the background to the request.

A number of key capabilities were identified which needed to be addressed in the session. The session also needed to be very targeted to senior executive needs, emphasise the relevance to their operational delivery and be interactive to promote engagement and allow for questions.

An outline design was developed following the initial meeting which requested departmental feedback and in specific departmental examples.

Once the program was developed a few pilot sessions were run with a mix of senior executives and senior finance leads.

Solution

The program was developed to ensure that all agreed outcomes could be brought to life during the session. The design included interactive presentations, practical break out activities and question and answer sessions.

It was ensured that the content was delivered in such a way that the executive audience found it to be relevant to them and could see a clear correlation between the content and their responsibilities in their role. It also emphasised how sound ‘financial management’ would assist with effective operational delivery.

Outcome

Around 30 sessions were delivered to senior executive staff and finance business partners. Feedback for the program was excellent recognising the high level of engagement in the session, the relevance to participants roles and that they felt better equipped to deliver their operational outcomes.

PROFESSIONAL ACCOUNTING PROGRAM

Inquiry

A large multi-national organisation wanted to upskill their high potential commercial staff in underlying financial accounting concepts as well as financial analysis. This was to allow them to have a deeper understanding of the financial process to support their commercial decision making.

The request was for a professional / degree level program to be delivered across a number of coaching / mentoring sessions.

Approach

Initial discussions took place with the client to understand the background to the request. After the initial discussion the client realised a broader audience could benefit from this type of program and the request changed from individual coaching and mentoring to an educational program with high potential participants based in a number of different countries.

A key requirement for the client was to cover the breadth of a professional accounting / degree program. So content was researched, and an outlines were developed based on a suitable Accounting texts.

A chosen text and approach was selected and development of the course began.

Solution

The program was developed to have 10 half day interactive sessions, which were structured to deliver all key topic areas ranging from accounting concepts to financial analysis. The program also needed to be designed to work well virtually across differing time zones.

Activities were designed to allow application of the topics during the session and assessments took place throughout the program to validate participants learning.

Outcome

The initial program ran to great success with all participants ‘graduating’ from the session and providing strong feedback. The client could see the participants increase in knowledge from the assessment results and after reviewing the feedback booked in another session for the next years cohort.

Leadership Team Workshop Facilitation

Inquiry

A newly appointed senior executive wanted to run a workshop to bring their new team together, establish working norms and develop the team’s purpose.

Approach

We worked with the client to understand more deeply the expectations for the workshop and commence the development of an outline agenda and associated activities to deliver these outcomes.

Through the design process we gave advice on structure to ensure that the workshop allowed time for meaningful activities and discussion as well as giving participants the opportunity to build their relationships. Regular meetings were held to develop an outline agenda that worked well for the organisation and reflected the organisation culture and corporate plans.

The team that was coming together was a mix of members that were new to the business, members that had previously worked together and others that had previously worked in a different business unit, so it was important to ensure the

activities catered for these different levels of ‘business’ knowledge and differing relationships.

Outcome

All the planning was concluded and validated and then the workshop was facilitated by us to ensure the outcomes were achieved.

Participants began the journey of getting to know each other much better and got greater clarity of each other’s priorities as well as how and when they needed to interact. After deep thought-provoking discussion and productive activities, the team left with their established purpose and their ‘team norms’ to guide their behaviours as they worked together.

Our Happy Clients

I would also like to say a huge thanks to Stuart. I have really enjoyed the collaboration opportunity with him and have found that nothing is a problem, he is so easy going and a delight to work with. Thank you Stuart for making my job so much easier. You have done a tremendous job putting all the pieces of the puzzle together! I hope to work with you again in the future.

JODY GRIMA, Acting Sergeant