A large non-profit healthcare payer drives key initiatives by scaling its PMO team.
SITUATION
Our client, a major health insurance payer, had a new PMO director who was struggling with filling roles via a traditional staffing method. Turnover was high and the candidates they were provided were of low quality. They needed these workers in three project areas: an ongoing years-long technology transformation effort, responding to government mandates, and pursuing strategic initiatives. The client selected Apex to revamp its PMO department due to our experience at both the client as well as competing healthcare payer clients.
"With your partnership and leadership, the new service has been extremely valuable. We’ve been able to respond to business in a much quicker timeframe...we are growing, learning, and building an even stronger team." - PMO Director
Apex’s solution first seeks to understand the business before making recommendations. On this engagement, we embedded a PMO Lead within the technology teams to conduct analysis and eventually oversee the program. The PMO Lead evaluated the project pipeline and ensured proper allocation of Project Managers based on skillset, experience, and the overall project roadmap.
Apex Account Management team partnered with the PMO Lead to conduct the screening and onboarding of new PMO consultants. The solution also included a custom-built boot camp training model for onboarding, ensuring minimal downtime between hiring and assignment to projects.
In addition, Apex Engagement Management overseeing the PMaaS engagement partnered with the PMO Lead and the client to provide support and thought leadership for integration, identifying areas of growth for the client, governance, and resource management.
This pilot was initially undertaken to drive retention and employee satisfaction. With the success seen and the ability to accelerate growth, the project was extended and expanded to over 30 consultants, including Project Coordinators, various levels of Project Managers, and Scrum Masters.
RESULTS
Our solution enabled our client to scale and manage the Board of Director’s strategic initiatives, include migration of enrollment and claims platforms, and create their self-managed provider network. Our client grew the team by 180% within one year while PM tenure increased 100%. Our project management team saved the client’s PMO Director on average 38 hours per month which freed her up to focus on larger initiatives. The client now uses our process to hire full time employees.
