How a Non-Medic is Surprisingly ‘Firing Up’ Kenyatta National Hospital from the Earlier Sick Bay.

By Mwangi Wanjumbi – Newtimes B. S. CEO & Chief Consultant/Trainer

Some good news is continuously emanating from KNH every now and then. Remember the unusually quick emergency responses during the Sinai oil fires of last year and the recent Assanads building tragedy. The same bring to mind a 2009 visit, I made to the same hospital but for a unique purpose. It was different from the usual routines of consoling sick friends and relatives. Rather, I was this time on a call of duty as a company of the year award consultant.

One shocker that is memorable even today is the seemingly age old norm of senior doctors undertaking tour of duty, in the administrative offices as CEOs, and thereafter resuming duty in the hospital’s clinics and theaters, upon expiry of their terms. Needless to elaborate them, one by one, could that have been one of the contributing factors to the perennial ailments of KNH?

If like me, you had recently listened to the first non-doctor CEO of the giant hospital, you could not have concluded otherwise. Indeed, I was during a recent Management Forum honoured to interact with Richard Lesiyampe, when he was serving his 8th month at the helm of KNH. Coincidentally, I had last met this CEO, during a company of the year award consulting session back in 2007. That time, he was a senior member of the management team of Kenya Wildlife Services. Since then, KWS has transformed into one of the only Government bodies in the East and Central Africa region, to become a Super brand. No wonder, Richard must ostensibly have been a fat catch for the CEO hunters of KNH.

So, having been used to managing both animals and human beings at KWS, from where he was competitively recruited, Richard must have felt relieved to be tasked with managing people as an only headache. “At least, I can easily reason with them especially given my HR background or so I thought,” volunteered Richard. But, experiences had by then been different. “One moment you are laughing with the employees, but the next one, they are on strike demanding one thing or the other,” said he. These are the rude shocks that Richard had to initially contend with.

Meanwhile, KNH is the largest of its kind in East and Central Africa. According to Richard, it is ranked 4th in Africa. The hospital handles 500,000 patients annually and 2500 daily (including 500 children). It has a capacity of 2000 beds, whereas it is manned by 4800 employees. Thus, it is not a mean task, holistically managing all these human beings, some of whom can barely take care of their own needs.

Naturally, being the first ever non Doctor CEO of KNH has had its advantages as well as drawbacks. It is no mean task for a leadership and Hr professional to lead highly specialized professionals, who can decide to switch to their own technical language, at will. But, for Richard this is just any other management job. So, how did he adapt himself with these professionals and their working environment as well?

Richard developed a strategy of “firing up the staff” so that they can embrace inevitable change aimed at achieving the promise – yes deliverables of the performance contract. This firing up of staff was guided by the fact that employees can be the most difficult resource. Further, they are unpredictable and according to Richard, the dividing line between normalcy and the alternative is very thin. He also knew that he could be having the right people, but in the wrong positions. Thus, the need to touch the right buttons in order to get the right results could not have been overemphasized.

That is why numerous interventions guided by desire to change the organizational culture of KNH were put in place. Top of them all was introducing an open door policy throughout the entire organization. Communication barriers were instantly broken, starting with the CEOs office. Order, cleanliness and discipline were the next attributes to be observed and encouraged.

Alongside, a matter arose that attracted the attention of the CEO. He paid a visit to the hospital mortuary and encountered a highly de-motivated workforce. It is common knowledge that handling the dead is not just any other matter amongst Africans. The mere fact that one is a mortuary attendant is enough to attract alienation by the society. In fact, getting a loan from the bank upon presenting a paying slip showing ‘Mortuary Attendant’ as the occupation is a horrible experience. “The first reaction is for loan processors to scamper for safety, upon the sight of a mortuary attendant,” says Richard.

In that regard, the CEO immediately re-branded the mortuary to a Farewell Home. The job titles of the employees were likewise re-branded to farewell home manager, officer, supervisors and so on. The working environment was improved as well. That included providing television sets among other niceties. Such were the changes that were quickly put in place everywhere, soon after the CEO took office. The end result was breaking the barriers to performance, leading to easier re-alignment of the mission and vision of KNH. Naturally, invaluable financial and other gains had been registered by the time of Richard’s presentation.

Undeniably therefore, the “firing up of staff” at KNH continues bearing positive results. A good example is that when all the nurses in government hospitals employed the workers’ “once powerful” striking tool for about 10 days in February 2012, those from KNH did not participate at all. Ironically, they have in the past been in the lead in almost every strike. Can these positives so far achieved by KNH be attributable to the people skills so much evident in Richard? Your guess is as good as mine, especially considering that he is one of the few with professionals with HRM background, who has evolved into top organizational leadership.

Nonetheless, what seems to be clear is that as organizations as well as nations, there is need to respect the leadership concept of aligning talent. Let the Doctor, do what he knows best – saving lives and caring for the sick. Let the leadership roles be left to those who know how to inspire or “fire up” others, for desirable performance and therefore organizational and national progress. It is only then that we can all stay focused, fully functional and productive in a continually dynamic global context. Meanwhile, we continue helping organizations to embrace quick and effective organizational culture change and employee re-branding solutions aiming to inspire progress for all the stakeholders. For now, please enjoy a “fired up” week.

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