Entries by Violaine Lemaitre

Improving the customer service of an energy leader by industrializing its R&D processes

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R&D is at the origin of new service offers but also of the optimization of field operations. However, it is becoming more and more budget constrained and productivity is becoming a predominant objective.

“You improve when you can estimate your abilities, you reach the top when you can compare yourself to your competitors.” - Robert Camp, Xerox


Context

In order to serve its customers in a more homogeneous way and having to deal with budgetary and staff constraints, the central R&D of this energy leader has decided to launch a project to transform its processes and operating methods in order to meet the above objectives. Methods and tools are also part of the transformation process to have the means to measure the quality of delivery and team performance.


Approach

The first step was to map existing processes and identify areas for improvement. A target process mapping was developed and used as a basis for the development of the new management system. The areas of knowledge management, project management and job and skills management (including expertise management) were particularly investigated. The approach mixed a top-down and bottom-up approach in order to meet the management’s challenges and to involve operational staff in this project. Multi-disciplinary workshops on different themes were therefore organized and all these elements were consolidated by a dedicated Core Team including members of the management.


Results

After 9 months of work, the new processes were deployed and certified ISO 9001. The policy for enhancing the value of expertise has also been redefined to ensure the sustainability of this asset.

Three major information systems have been redefined:

  • The project management system (including the portfolio), including the management of planning, resources, budget, deliverables and actual (costs and budget),
  • The new skills management system made it possible to carry out a new skills mapping (GPEC), individual interviews and the training plan,
  • The knowledge management system was organized along several axes: project, expertise and individual performance.

With these elements, performance dashboards have been developed as well as their rites and rhythms of review in Steerco.



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