Nyby agent: "Anchoring in top management is crucial to success"

She is genuinely interested in people and how new learning can contribute to positive change. Get to know Nyby agent Maria Storberg better in Tynset municipality.

• Position: HR consultant at Tjønnmosenteret at Tynset municipality
• Comes from and now lives: Karlskrona in southern Sweden, lived in Norway for 23 years. Moved from Oslo to Tynset on March 1, 2019.

Briefly about me:

I have broad and versatile experience from working with people in different phases of life. Am genuinely interested in people. Enthused by change, development and being able to participate and create something that has a purpose. The first thing I thought of when moving to Tynset was what I could do to get to know the place and those who live here better, and volunteering felt like a natural place to start.

How does the local governments in Tynset municipality use Nyby?

We started out with two units in health and care, including the home and institutional service, where their respective departments have a collaboration with the volunteer center. We are at early stages, and do testing before connecting to more units: How many volunteers and how many assignments do we have? A pleasant experience is that many people appreciate that an ordinary citizen comes by to take on an assignment. The assignments that are posted do not require the competence of a health professional. That the solution also facilitates to live at home for longer for those who want to, of which Dagrun is an example, I think is great. At the same time, the volunteers reveal that the assignments are perceived as meaningful. Nyby provides a win-win situation for both parties, which is enjoyable to take part in.

This is how I work with Nyby:

I am responsible for the use of the platform in the municipality, and thus also the "100-day plan" which is Nyby's recommended implementation path. Among other things, I am the one who ensures that all meetings to be held take place, and that the right resources are present. I also facilitate active use of Nyby: pay attention to the assignments that are posted and take appropriate action when needed, make sure that everyone on the resource side has working phones where the app is downloaded and installed, distributes training materials and that those I meet get to know about Nyby and answers any potential questions they might have. There is a lot of change management. Additionally, I contribute with the recruitment and qualification of the volunteers.

How we implemented Nyby:

We began with a meeting with Fredrik where we defined what needs and resources Tynset had, as well as potential for gain, we secured anchoring and what type of roles we should have to succeed. It was decided that I was the one who should be responsible for Nyby in the municipality. I have had an ongoing dialogue with our customer manager in Nyby, which is a reassurance if we encounter challenges, we are unsure of how to solve. Anchoring from the top management in the local government has been crucial since introducing and implementing such a tool takes some time, and we have the confidence to "go on". To succeed, I am convinced that both the managers and employees must have a positive mindset, it does not help if only one of the parties does. We have also been clear in communicating the values ​​of Nyby: if a health worker spends five minutes posting an assignment, they will maybe save 30 minutes they would otherwise spend on doing the assignment themselves - and does likely contribute to an easier everyday life for both the one who assists and the one who receives help. Other assignments cannot be measured in time and money in that way but might have a preventive effect that can make the user avoid further assistance from, for example, the home care service.