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Continuous Quality Improvement Programs


Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) projects take approximately six months for Maun-Lemke to implement a program that the facility can continue independently. During a corporate wide improvement effort we will assist in developing a Quality Leadership Council (QLC). The Quality Leadership Council will work with all facilities (if there is more than one) to put in place a successful CQI program with targeted goals for the organization.

The Quality Leadership Council should have representatives from various areas of the organization. We would discuss how that would happen for your operation relative to the different levels being represented. It is important to focus the efforts of your quality team based improvement projects around key targets. These targets would be determined through strategic planning sessions with the members of the Quality Leadership Council. This would allow us to have a common focus on the effort, send a message in the internal public relations campaign, and set a process in motion where we can evaluate the effectiveness of the overall program.

We recommend a three-part system for team based improvement projects, which includes attitude, process, and results. Our consulting plan includes three basic phases as follows:
  1. Research Phase. In this phase we would interview key leadership individuals in your organization. This would include you, potential members of your Quality Leadership Council, management and staff employees. In addition to those research interviews, we would like to review any information concerning customer service satisfaction, employee opinion surveys, efforts on quality assurance, and the most recent surveys. It would also be a good idea to conduct interviews with residents and family members along with any other business enhancement sources. This research would allow us to prepare for the implementation phase, strategic planning and the development of the targets within the master plan. This also sets in motion a method for evaluating where we experience significant improvement as we move into the generalization phase.
  2. Implementation Phase. After the research we would begin the implementation of appropriate consultation sessions, group meetings, master planning, strategic planning, and training as necessary. To do this, we would begin with:

    1. A two (2) day strategic planning session for members of the QLC. In this session we would develop the appropriate training based upon our belief system about team based improvement (CQI). We would begin the development of the master plan for logistics training and procedures for the program. In this two day retreat we would also accomplish another very important area of effort. This would be the development of the key targets that will guide the overall outcomes necessary for achieving success in this process. The targets would be internally promoted and used as a basis for determining if action teams or task forces be developed.

    2. Prep work with the QLC to finalize the targets, develop the master plan for the overall process and utilize the research developed in Phase I.

    3. Management training for executives, managers, supervisors, and directors. This would allow us to further focus our information on how the program is going to proceed. It would also allow us to do the appropriate team based improvement training for the management team to begin acting as facilitators and coaches. This is a very critical component of the program because it sets in motion a change process that needs to take place for managers to be sponsors of success for this effort.

    4. Employee training for all. This would allow all individuals to be involved in the training and receive the same information in a consistent manner. We would also videotape these sessions with your assistance to allow for future training and efforts with new employees or any individuals that need retraining. These training sessions would be two and a half to three hours in length and would be conducted so all members of the staff would be able to attend without putting too many people in any one session.

    5. Ongoing meetings with the QLC and other start up teams as appropriate. This process of implementation would allow us to be available by phone, mail and in person many times over a six-month period to appropriately implement the overall team based improvement effort. The relationship of Clint Maun as project director for Maun-Lemke and the QLC can only be affected in a positive manner if there are ongoing planned meetings to discuss the challenges and concerns associated with the implementation.
  3. Generalization Phase. In this phase we will provide the necessary follow up training, research and appropriate retreat facilitation. This would allow us to set in motion a plan for assuring the program will continue successfully without our intense ongoing assistance. This would also assure there is an ongoing message for developing the next set of targets, appropriate research, and putting in motion the appropriate incentive, reward or celebration system needed.

    In this phase the goal is to wean the facility from the need to rely on consultants for the day-to-day implementation of the overall program. It needs to become the organizations’ program, not any other person or groups’ program. We should be able to see the team process becoming acculturated and utilized quite often as a method for getting to the answers on tough problems or questions.

    By this time we should have actual teams being proposed to the QLC for implementation and there should be team start-ups that are moving in a direction of results against targets. We should also see that the teams are being developed not to purely satisfy employee concerns or issues but that they are being developed to enhance revenue, contain cost or improve quality.
We welcome the opportunity to talk with you in more detail about this program and specific issues or customization requests at your convenience. We are confident we can work with you to meet and exceed your needs. Please contact us for further information and assistance on developing a CQI program for your organization.