Kwintes

SELF-ORGANISING TEAMS

Kwintes is an institution in mental healthcare and social care. Kwintes offers support to people with psychological or social vulnerability in housing, work, education and recreation. Kwintes offers made-to-measure care to a wide range of clients. It concerns people with a psychiatric diagnose, (temporary) psycho-social problems, brain damage, people who are subject to a forensic measure, a double diagnose (combination of addiction as well as a psychiatric diagnose), victims of domestic violence, teenage mothers, young and old people with autism, homeless and homeless juveniles. Kwintes support includes crisis-management and female protective care, protective and sheltered accommodation, intervention-care, day- care and support towards work.
For further development of the organisation, and in congruence with external developments, Kwintes started a trajectory towards increased self-organisation, in close collaboration with employees and managers. Preparations were to be effected beginning of 2015; further structure of self-organising teams, and the correlated decrease of the number of managers (from 45 heads to 19 area-managers). The content of the managerial role changed: from coaching managers to managers who drive towards results. In addition, team-coaches have been added. At the request of the teams, they coach teams towards increased autonomy. The changing character of the position created redundancy.

The question

Kwintes’ question for AVOP against the background that is described above:

Help potential candidates in a non-binding way, and at their own initiative, to acquire a good insight into their drivers and ambitions, in light of their next career step. And, if they should desire this: in relation to the new managers’ profile.

Work-method

• supernumerary managers were offered the optional and fully confidential possibility of obtaining deeper insight into their own drivers, personality and capacities with AVOP: what suits me and what do I want;
• the participants were given an elaborate career scan, motivational tests, and performed capacity tests. In a deepening coaching conversation, the results for these tests were related and interpreted in relation to the next career step;
• those who decided to apply for positions were properly equipped. Those employees who decided to do something else could discuss this with the organisation in a well-founded manner.

Results

• this modus operandi was seen as appropriate for the development to self-organisation and personal responsibility. The approach was congruent to this. Participants were quite happy with the organisation offering this to them, and were most satisfied afterwards;
• of the 25 supernumerary managers, 18 have used the presented possibility, with the following result:

• Those who, prior to the trajectory, considered applying for the new managerial position, but decided against it: 3 participants
• Had severe doubts, and decided during the conversation to refrain: 5 participants
• Had decided to refrain from applying, followed up on that decision and explored what was more appropriate for them: 3 participants
• Seriously considered applying for the position and saw their ideas confirmed in the process: 6 participants
• Doubtful but nonetheless decided to apply: 1 participant