Halting technology workarounds fired up Medifast’s IT metabolism
While enjoying rapid business growth, Medifast lacked a strategic IT plan that aligned with their business goals. Projects were handled on a first-come, first-serve basis, with few business metrics outlining success criteria and no control mechanisms for tracking successful completion. Further, a lack of cultural fit between the business and IT department was detrimental to effective project management and ultimately created an expense drain on the company.
Medifast engaged Hartman to assess their IT structure and cultivate a team poised for business success. Hartman’s executive advisory team also engaged business leaders to prioritize projects with a focus on those that could prove solid ROI and were therefore critical to immediate success. With a team in place, Hartman created accountability around project performance and instituted procedures to ensure the IT project portfolio met specific business ROI standards. IT leadership began to meet regularly with business leadership to ensure that strategic goals and customer satisfaction remained their top priority.
The new strategic approach to technology decreased overhead labor costs and allowed the organization to reallocate those savings to higher-value resources and projects. A new project monitoring and cost containment system deemed 90 percent of projects unnecessary, allowing for a renewed focus in the following fiscal year. As a result of these strategic changes, Medifast executives now view IT as a value-added investment, not simply a necessary expense.
