St. Basil’s – Where strategy meets execution

good-design-award_gold-winner_rgb_blk_logo
  • 2021

  • Design Strategy

Designed By:

Commissioned By:

St. Basil's NSW/ACT

Designed In:

Australia

Facing a complex and changing ecosystem, St. Basil’s – a charity providing aged care, needed to transform and become more adaptable. Together, we co-designed a dynamic strategy and execution system that brings together people from across the organisation, to accelerate improvements for ageing Australians.


view website

  • CHALLENGE
  • SOLUTION
  • IMPACT
  • MORE
  • For aged care, the world is changing fast. The Royal Commission is bringing regulatory and policy reform. Australia's care workforce is shifting. And, as we live longer and the breakneck progress of technology fundamentally changes the way we live, Australians' expectations are higher than ever. Internally, St. Basil's was not set up for change: slow-moving, siloed, resource-constrained and heavily reliant on paper. Their 2015-2020 strategic plan had expired, which meant navigating important decisions without clear direction. Together, the external and internal environments created the burning platform for St. Basil's to take a new approach to the future of aged care.

  • Lightbulb's collaborative approach drew on a range of methods and tools, including Design Thinking, Systems Thinking OKRs and MG Taylor methodology. We worked with over 60 people from across St. Basil's to run 25 collaborative sessions. Together, we created: - A dynamic and responsive strategy: Designed to adapt over time as opportunities and challenges emerge. - The Strategy Execution Office ("SXO"): An innovative, visual approach to strategy, linking the organisation's purpose and direction to the detailed work. - A transformed culture: A shift to a more collaborative and proactive way of working that connects internally, and with customers.

  • The new St. Basil's strategy delivers real change to the organisation and customers, impacting more lives, at earlier ages, with a deeper connection, through: - Expanded care: A renewed focus on the origins of the organisation (back to Saint Basil himself) brought about an expanded and inclusive definition of care, moving away from just 'aged care' to a more holistic set of services 'supporting aging Australians in need'. - Strengthened core: Improving what they do so they can continue to deliver exceptional care in a sustainable way. - Enhanced workforce: Creating the best experience for staff flows into the best experience for customers.

  • Our collaborative approach brought together people who haven't previously worked together, including the Board, Executive, front-line staff, customers and industry experts. Through emergent design workshops staff collaboratively created the strategy, driving collective ownership and connection to purpose, resulting in increased adoption and accountability. But the strategy-on-a-page alone wasn't enough. To embed it into the organisation, we designed the Strategy Execution Office ('SXO'). The SXO is Lightbulb's unique approach to bringing the strategy to life. It is specifically designed to create rich and highly accessible insights that enable a focus on strategic outcomes and interventions, and to drive a more effective, engaged way of working. Like NASA's Mission Control during the moon landing, the SXO provides the source of truth and heartbeat for St. Basil's. Defined by the fit-for-purpose environment, tailored information and collaborative operating rhythm, the SXO is an engaging way to cut through complexity, shape and prioritise work and drive towards meaningful outcomes. In-line with St. Basil's purpose, the SXO balances the customer voice, business viability and technological feasibility, encouraging the best decisions and outcomes for the organisation and customers. Doing this in a tactile and interactive way immerses the executives in a holistic view of their strategy.