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Making strategic planning (with 700 people!) a success story

'Inspirational'... 'I loved the way we were all listened to'... 'It has supported my confidence and ability to take on new challenges...'

These were comments from some of the 600 staff members from UnitingCare Children, Young People and Families who attended a packed two-day conference in August 2009.

It was the final event in an eight-month project to develop the CYPF's three-year strategic plan.

How do 600 people work together to define an aligned, powerful direction? A key element was the iMEET! process, Global Learning's collaborative meeting technology and conference platform.

At the conference, groups worked with a network of 60 iMEET! computers dispersed across seven break-out rooms to discuss and capture their views about work and future plans. Global Learning was tasked with the responsibility of designing the interactive process both prior to and for the event, for setting up and managing all of the equipment required, and for delivering the output in real time to allow the CEO to report back to the delegates — at the end of each session — a summary view of the delegate input and discussion.

The people who work in the CYPF Service Group are passionate about the services that they provide to communities, children, young people, families, and people with disabilities. They therefore responded very positively to the opportunity to have their say in the future of the organisation and the planning process.

Their CEO, Jane Woodruff, believes strongly in this contributory and collaborative approach and insisted that everyone should be part of the process. For the eight-month project, Jane gathered around her a 'Dream Team' of 21 staff from all parts of the organisation who helped shape, support and deliver the process.

Before the conference, the iMEET! platform played a major part in the preparatory work of gathering people's input. This work began in January and continued until the conference in August, where printed copies of the final plan were handed to all staff. iMEET!'s part was to build and deliver three organisation-wide online surveys, held two months apart, and to collate and present the responses from 700 staff members across the state.

Staff were prepared by facilitated meetings of their work teams, led by people from the Dream Team. This boosted participation and engagement, and as a result around 50 per cent contributed to each survey — an exceptionally high response rate for such a diverse organisation.

This process contained travel costs whilst ensuring that everyone could contribute their views to each survey. Through the three surveys, staff helped to define the CYPF's vision and values, the purpose that each of its divisions serves, and its strategic directions for the next three years.

iMEET! was also a primary process used in face-to-face meetings to gather ideas from key groups — including the Dream Team, the CYPF Board and external stakeholders — and to provide a template for future action.

The conference (which was the platform for launching the strategic plan), had outstanding keynote speakers, unique opportunities to connect with colleages, and a much appreciated celebratory dinner attended by all delegates.

The enthusiasm of delegates was reflected in the post-event evaluation surveys, including one of all staff, which was also delivered by iMEET! and presented to the Board.

Asked about likely future benefits of the strategic planning process, an external observer predicted:

'Far greater engagement in the strategic plan... real building of teamwork and pride in being part of UC CYPF... and individual works and groups of workers being insired with new ideas and directions.'

It's a summary with which iMEET! evaluation results strongly aligned, and confirmation that the iMEET! process is powerful, efficient, and engaging!