UnitedHealth Group Case Study
Industry: Healthcare
Service: ITG UNLEASH®
Empower an internal movement to disrupt healthcare.
UnitedHealth Group (UHG) wanted to give their massive workforce the tools to look beyond the status quo. To build a culture of disruptive innovation from the inside out, they partnered with ITG. Together, we designed a comprehensive, year-long training program that armed 900 employees with the creative problem-solving skills needed to think differently about the healthcare industry.
900
Employees trained across project management, clinical ops, and administration
6
Interactive, expert-led webinars delivered throughout the year
1
Comprehensive final playbook on Creative Problem Solving
The Challenge
UHG is a massive leader in healthcare and advanced technology. The Enterprise R&D team was specifically charged with finding next-generation initiatives to fundamentally improve how the healthcare system works. To source these ideas, they launched “Innovation Advocates,” a voluntary internal program open to all 240,000 employees worldwide.
The enthusiasm was there—over 1,300 employees quickly joined. However, to turn that raw energy into actionable ideas, these employees needed practical upskilling. They needed to learn exactly what comes before innovation: how to identify real opportunities, generate fresh ideas, and determine which concepts to move forward. Jim Merwin, Senior Director for Enterprise R&D, was looking for a partner to provide structured innovation leadership and training throughout the year.
What Success Looked Like
Develop a scalable, year-long innovation training program that equips UHG’s Innovation Advocates with practical Creative Problem Solving (CPS) tools, creating a shared vocabulary and a repeatable internal muscle for driving disruptive healthcare solutions.
How We Got There
ITG designed a custom “Guide to Thinking Innovatively” curriculum, specifically built to keep a remote, cross-functional workforce engaged and learning over the course of a year. The core of the program consisted of six interactive webinars, led by three ITG Facilitators and hosted every two months.
To ensure the training stuck, ITG built an entire ecosystem of support around the live sessions:
Pre-Session Engagement: Participants received provocative discussion questions via email before each webinar to spark thinking early.
Custom Workbooks: ITG provided structured workbooks with space for notes, technique practice, and curated supplementary materials like videos and blog posts.
Immediate Application: Each workbook concluded with the “72-Hour Challenge,” specific activities employees could practice immediately to reinforce the new techniques in their daily roles.
Internal Integration: To blend ITG’s expertise with UHG’s internal culture, each session kicked off with a UHG host sharing a real-world company innovation story before handing it over to the ITG Facilitators.
The Results
The training program was a massive success, reaching 900 employees ranging from directors to analysts across clinical operations, compliance, and administration. The interactive chat panels buzzed with energy, with participants consistently calling the sessions the “favorite meeting of the month.”
Most importantly, UHG walked away with a highly energized internal community that now shared a common vocabulary around ITG’s Behavioral Innovation™ approach and Forness® thinking. To cement this learning, ITG delivered a final, step-by-step digital guide—complete with videos and worksheets—ensuring UHG has a lasting internal resource to continue disrupting the healthcare industry for years to come.
This project used ITG UNLEASH® — Building sustainable innovation practices through upskilling.
Build an Innovation Culture That Lasts
You can’t buy a culture of innovation, but you can teach it. ITG UNLEASH® equips your internal teams with the exact same proven methodologies and creative mindsets we use to drive Fortune 500 innovation. Turn your stakeholders into confident innovators who can break down silos and solve complex challenges from the inside out.