Operational Cost Containment
The Problem
A community-based provider of health care services was facing severe financial shortfalls driven by changes in service utilization patterns and the demographic composition of its clients. The organization required a complete review of their service delivery programs and internal cost structures.
How RWS Helped
RWS resources led a major operations evaluation to identify root causes and efficiency opportunities through two streams of activities.
Operations review: The team dug deep into the organization's operational data to identify immediate actionable strategies to reduce costs and improve operational efficiency with minimal impact on care recipients through service re-allocation and process changes.
Stakeholder engagement: The team worked closely with multiple stakeholders across business units to identify structural limitations and opportunities to re-align roles, responsibilities and accountabilities to enable and sustain the process changes.
The team's work:
- Identified savings equivalent to 5% of the annual budget in cost containment initiatives
- Recommended a new organizational structure to support operational changes
- Received the full backing of both front-line staff and senior leadership
Outcomes
Within one month of implementing the changes, the organization began realizing dramatic and sustainable improvements in the organization's finances. They are well on their way to meeting the identified annual cost savings target.