In a world where efficiency and output are some of the most common measures of success, Lumary approached these goals in a way that prioritised their most important resource – their people.
For many businesses teams are structured within traditional departments – Finance, Marketing, Sales, Operations etc. These teams work effectively within their departments, but can easily become silos when the focus is solely on the tasks within their own remit.
Rather than run with traditional roles, job descriptions and departments, Lumary have taken a progressive approach to how they structure their business. By implementing dynamic roles and value streams the brand have been able to optimise effectiveness as well as support personal and professional development of staff.
Team members are given opportunity to pursue projects within the business that develop their skillsets, and to work with peers and mentors who can support their learning. Cross-functional teams also allow individuals to work with peers across all areas of the business, which fosters a holistic understanding of the company and brand’s purpose.
This focus on development places employee satisfaction at the forefront, and ultimately drives loyalty and quality of work. Says Claire Whitelaw-Brown, Director Allied Health & Aged Care “Good people are a scarce resource, so making sure that they are really committed and feel empowered is a big part of our new approach.”
The aforementioned value streams are an established strategy to improve efficiency that Lumary have embraced as their own. They allow the business to combine personnel with relevant skillsets into project teams, agnostic of formal role or seniority, to streamline and optimise product development.
One such project was the development of Lumary’s most recent product release – Lumary AH, a care management software designed specifically for allied health providers. This project was the first time the value stream process was implemented and the subsequent results speak for themselves.
“Value streams were such a massive change for the business” says Lucinda Boddy, Director Brand and Communications. “Previously we all worked in very siloed departments and a project such as this would have taken years to complete” she says. “With this value stream, which was led by Claire Whitelaw-Brown (Director Allied Health & Aged Care), we were able to complete the Lumary AH project in only 6 months.”
Not only is Lumary AH the proof that value streams deliver exceptional efficiency and cost-savings to a business, but it is a product born out of collaboration with industry and experts which was facilitated by this innovative way of working.
“We really do believe in collaborating with the sector” says Claire Whitelaw-Brown. “Our advisory board is made up of industry clients that can tell us what is important to them, and how they are not being served currently by existing products.” She continues, “We were able to prototype and go through multiple rounds of review, feedback and revisions until it brought us to a place where we had a product that is now receiving so much positive feedback from our clients working in the industry”.
Lumary AH is set to be a game-changer in the Allied Health space, thanks to its finely attuned alignment to the needs and wants of the sector and its workers. It will be exciting to see the positive impact the product has on the quality of care delivered to clients, and a valuable case-study in how value streams and innovative ways of working can benefit both companies and the industry as a whole.
