Self-steering at Buurtzorg

< Buurtzorg

Each neighborhood has a small self-steering team which focuses on their locality. The nurses are generalists, concentrated on outcomes and supported by handheld technology that removes the complexity from the place of care. Such responsibility has proved highly liberating. Freed from excessive hierarchical rules, the nurses have been extremely efficient, reducing the hours of care per patient by 50 percent, while improving quality. Both patient and employee satisfaction levels have risen dramatically, absenteeism is low and, in 2011, Buurtzorg was chosen as the Dutch employer of the year.

The lean back office and flat structure allow the organization to keep costs low. And in a tight labor market, the company continues to attract new nurses keen to work in a fulfilling environment.