The best software for quality and risk management.What do you do when two functional and technical management colleagues drop out? It happened to the team of Alphons Homoet, Product Owner at UMC Utrecht. His team helps employees with questions about the Zenya software used hospital-wide. The UMC went looking for someone to help them quickly and efficiently. The solution? It came from Infoland itself in the form of structural, functional management – one of the business solutions Infoland offers customers.
Previously, each department at UMC Utrecht managed its own documents. When the need for structured quality management grew, the hospital turned to Zenya (then iProva). Meanwhile, the UMC uses the DOC, FLOW, RISK and CHECK modules. Each department still has its own portal, but it is integrated into the bigger picture and follows clear guidelines. Do employees have questions about using Zenya? Then they can count on Alphons’ team.
“About a year ago, two colleagues dropped out of our team. One got another position internally, the other retired,” Alphons explains. “Then, of course, we had to look for someone quickly deployable to support us temporarily. We decided to put the question to Infoland itself, and successfully. The ball got rolling, and not much later, we were sitting around the table with Infoland to discuss our challenge. We were then put in touch with Koen Croonen, functional manager at Infoland.”
Koen currently works 16 hours a week as a functional administrator in Alphons’ team, spread over four days. “We started with a three-month test period. That went extremely well; there was also an immediate click with Koen. Soon we decided to continue working together.” Alphons’ team works with a ticketing system on which questions from Zenya users at the hospital come in and handles those tickets using an agile method. That means they have a short daily stand-up to discuss the agenda and distribute tickets. Alphons: “Koen also sits in those meetings and then goes to work independently. He also contacts ticket reporters – just like the rest of our team.”
We needed someone with substantive knowledge who could be deployed immediately. Infoland’s functional manager independently takes his duties and has become a part of our team.”
As one of the most significant advantages to functional management by Infoland, Alphons cites Koen’s knowledge. “Koen was immediately deployable within our team, which was really needed. Because he has such in-depth knowledge of Zenya, we have already learned a lot recently, for example, about interactive documents. We already knew they existed, but applying them is something else. Koen has guided us well in that.”
Alphons also finds the short lines of communication with Infoland itself very convenient. “Koen focuses mainly on functional management. But if we do have questions that are a bit more technical, he can ask his colleagues for advice. He works remotely and, therefore, always has colleagues from Infoland nearby. So even questions outside functional management are always answered quickly, which is very pleasant.”
The short lines of communication with Infoland itself are really an added value for the UMC. We get an answer to every question quickly.”
“In some months, Koen captures up to 20% of our capacity,” says Alphons. “We direct that we always have a maximum of 10 tickets open and resolve each ticket within five days. Thanks to Koen’s help, our work remains manageable. No things get left behind, and the turnaround time is short. Functional management is also optimally secured. Without Koen, we probably wouldn’t have succeeded.”
Besides ad-hoc tickets, Koen also collaborates on more extensive projects within UMC Utrecht. Alphons: “Koen also helps us with the further development of Zenya. For example, we have several larger issues still in Excel lists and alike but which we want to incorporate into Zenya. Koen helps us think about the best way to organise such matters. So by now, he knows our organisation very well, which in turn helps with functional management.”
Thanks to Infoland’s functional manager, we keep our tasks manageable and well-organised and reduce turnaround times.”
Meanwhile, everything is falling into place within Alphons’ team. Functional management will therefore be phased out in the coming period. However, Alphons is keen to continue relying on Infoland’s knowledge. “When we no longer need Koen’s help on a structural basis, we would like to schedule a moment with him every one or two months. That way, we can collect questions to discuss with him at an agreed time. We are very satisfied with Infoland’s service anyway, so we want to continue that.”
For those who would like to buy structural functional management from Infoland, Alphons has two more tips. “Spread the hours you purchase over different days; that works better. So it is better to take half-days instead of full days. That way, the functional manager can rotate continuously in your team.”
Alphons also recommends involving the functional manager in agile events, such as daily stand-ups. “This way, that person also becomes a real part of your team and knows what is happening within the department or organisation.”
Find out how your organisation can benefit from Functional Management from Infoland by contacting us. We would love to help you.
Is there insufficient capacity or knowledge within your organisation to take on functional management yourself? Or would you like to outsource functional management so you can focus on other tasks? We would be happy to help you.
