GGD Drenthe launches My Child File, with help from Symbol

“We have very consciously chosen that parents can do more themselves in their relationship with our Youth Health Services,” says Wilma Bos, Program Manager at GGD Drenthe. “Not only is Mijn Kinddossier a way to give parents more control, it also has benefits for our organization. Because parents can perform actions themselves in the portal – such as changing appointments – they no longer have to call us about everything. We can also help parents in a much more targeted way now, because we can give them access to information specific to their child through the portal. We used to give information booklets, but they were the same for everyone. Now, customized advice can be posted in My Child Dossier after each appointment, possibly supplemented with general information from a national database. So parents always have insight into personal advice, as well as things like growth curves and vaccinations.”

Impact of a new way of working

Meanwhile, Mijn Kinddossier has been in use for a few months. But implementing the portal certainly took some doing. Not surprisingly, of course, because a new way of working is an extensive change. Hence the knowledge, expertise and guidance of Nienhuis, from Symbol, was highly desirable. Bos explains, “We honestly did not realize in advance how big the impact of this new way of working would be. Of course we knew that setting up new (work) processes would take a lot of time and energy. But we may have slightly underestimated the impact of Mijn Kinddossier on our employees.”

Motivate and enthuse

‘Fortunately, Paulien is very strong at just that,’ adds Controller Bert Coelingh. “Paulien has done assignments at our GGD before, and so I also recommended her for the implementation of Mijn Kinddossier. Paulien is strong in setting up processes. She is result-oriented, makes clear agreements with suppliers and keeps a sharp eye on the planning. But she is also very strong in motivating and enthusing people and in creating awareness. A combination of the technical implementation – how do you organize a new (work) process – and the human side: that is what Paulien is all about. She allows everyone to think and talk about the change that is about to take place. With her, the new process does not attack the people, but the people attack the new process. In this way she leads people to a new situation, as if they came up with that situation themselves.”

The ‘why’ behind My Child File

Bos has also had good experiences with this approach by Nienhuis. “For example, I remember the kick-off meeting. Paulien did not discuss the content of the project, but talked about her approach, the Lean methodology and the “why” behind Mijn Kinddossier. As a result, quarters fell and people got excited. After that kick-off meeting, Paulien sought many other times to inform and keep employees involved. She did this in many ways: sometimes in the form of a workshop, sometimes during a team meeting. And for people who saw bears on the road a bit longer, Paulien was always there. She regularly invited those people in a smaller setting. ‘Come on with all your questions and concerns, I’m going to help you!’

Securing the organization

Meanwhile, Mijn Kinddossier has been live for several months. Thanks to Nienhuis’ help, all employees now see the added value, clients work successfully with it and the new (work) processes are well set up. “We are still running into some technical limitations of the portal, so not everyone is experiencing the convenience of the portal yet. That is an annoying bump in the road, but Paulien is on top of it. She is tightening up agreements with the software supplier and seeks to connect with other GGDs. After all, together we are stronger. By now we have reached the point where Paulien is slowly but surely handing over the baton to us. I like that as well: she is responsible for securing it in our organization, so no knowledge will be lost after her departure. Yes, thanks to Paulien we have taken a nice step to renew youth health care in Drenthe.”

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