Zero redundancies - this was the ambitious aim behind the reconstruction of this hospital centre where it was planned to cut 180 jobs. The BPI consultants supported the drive for change.

Context
A New Hospital
To secure its future, this hospital centre began internal reconstruction with the goal of accepting greater numbers of patients with a 20% reduction in the number of beds and the suppression of 180 jobs by the end of the operation. Rising to this challenge meant rethinking all of the operating procedures. From the start, the management associated all the actors. 35 working groups were set up involving over a quarter of the workforce. The project environment was complex and sensitive - the hospital was a non-profit organisation that was originally of religious origin, the public authorities controlled health costs, the personnel were worried, etc.

Task
Coaching the Management Team
The BPI consultants asked to support the running of the project brought the management committee round step by step to thinking about the scale of the project undertaken - this reflection led them to question the cohesion and operation of the project. By "team building", i.e. building a shared vision of the issues and the ways of working, the team was motivated to prepare their actions.

From the Group Project to Individual Projects
BPI also supported the implementation. The task - to organise external mobility while respecting the well-publicised "zero redundancies" announced by the board of directors. The consultants concentrated on employees' projects and prepared an arrangement to encourage their emergence and their "activation". "How do I achieve my personal project?" - the HR department distributed a guidebook that presented the means and the aids available to employees. Each employee was entitled to a personal counselling credit to meet BPI consultants as they wished. In parallel, the firm prospected for positions using the employee standard skills analysis. This enabled job offers to be advertised, and this often triggered employees to go and see the consultants&and often helped friends and family more than the employees themselves! The approach remained confidential throughout the maturation period. When, with the consultant, the employee considered that it was time to move to the implementation stage, he or she informed the HR department of their intentions. BPI's support continued until the project was achieved, whether it was a job search or creating a business.

Perspectives
Reconstruction
Half of those given support achieved their project. The others finally decided to continue their career with the hospital. Six months before the end of the project, thanks to this support, and with the addition of early retirement and reduction in working hours measures, the target staffing level was attained in terms of quantity at 95%. Intensive training actions were also set up to favour better matches between employee skills and the institution's needs.