GGD Drenthe: Mijn Kinddossier Successfully Implemented with Lean

GGD Drenthe aimed to give parents more control over their child’s youth healthcare through the online portal Mijn Kinddossier. While the technical implementation presented one challenge, the human aspect proved to be greater.

Symbol guided the process from kick-off to embedding within a year. The result: Mijn Kinddossier went live, employees were convinced, and knowledge was embedded within the organisation.

Challenge

Implement a new digital portal

Approach

Lean change management: process design and employee engagement

Result

Mijn Kinddossier live, employees convinced, knowledge embedded

About GGD Drenthe

GGD Drenthe is the Municipal Health Service for the province of Drenthe and is committed to the public health of residents of all ages. GGD Drenthe’s Youth Healthcare specifically focuses on children and young people between 0 and 18 years old, supporting parents with their child’s health, development, growth, and upbringing. The organisation works with healthcare professionals who are in daily contact with families throughout Drenthe.

The Challenge

GGD Drenthe wanted to give parents more control via Mijn Kinddossier: an online portal where parents can manage appointments and receive personalised advice. The decision had been made, but the implementation proved more complex than expected. Not technically, but humanly: employees had to adopt a new way of working that directly impacted their daily tasks.

The impact on employees had been underestimated. Resistance, uncertainty, and questions about the ‘why’ of the change demanded targeted guidance that went beyond process design alone.

Our Approach

Symbol guided the implementation over a period of one year. Our approach combined technical process design with active change management.

What was specifically done:

Kick-off meeting organised
New work processes designed
Employees engaged
Connection sought with other GGDs
Knowledge transfer embedded

“We did not realise beforehand how significant the impact of this new way of working would be.”

Results

Measure	Before	After	Improvement
Mijn Kinddossier live	Not available	Successfully implemented	Live in 1 year
Employee buy-in	Resistance and uncertainty	All employees convinced	Complete
Parental control	Telephone contact required	Self-service via portal	More control
Knowledge embedding after project	Dependent on advisor	Independently embedded	Structural

Mijn Kinddossier live in one year, with full employee buy-in.
Parents now have access to personalised advice, growth charts, and vaccinations. The organisation continues to work independently without reliance on the advisor.

Lessons Learned

A digital implementation is 30% technical and 70% human. GGD Drenthe demonstrates that the impact on employees is often greater than expected. A good technical setup is worthless if employees do not embrace the new way of working.

The second insight: the ‘why’ is key. We started not with the ‘how’ but with the ‘why’. By first allowing employees to understand why the change was necessary, intrinsic motivation emerged instead of imposed compliance.

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Do you recognise this in your organisation?

A digital implementation or new way of working that is technically ready but lacks buy-in. Employees who resist change.

Symbol guides the human side of change so that new ways of working truly stick.

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