Whilst In Indonesia I thought I should learn from one of the masters what management is REALLY about and what to expect from my team. His work is very solid and fits nicely with the marketing advice of Jay Levinson and the academic research of Professor Sir Michael Marmot (the Whitehall studies). It also helps me re-think the role of Occupational Health within organisations. I hope you enjoy these gems as much as I do and I know I will constantly refer back to them.
Drucker – Management: Tasks, Responsibilities. Practices
Business
‘Every business needs to think through ‘what is our business and what should it be’
‘The first test of any business is not the maximization of profit but the achievement of sufficient profit to cover the risks of economic activity and thus avoid loss.’
There is only one valid definition of business purpose: to create a customer’
‘It is the customer who defines what a business is’
The business enterprise has..only these two..basic functions: marketing and innovation’
“Concern and responsibility for marketing must permeate all areas of the enterprise’
“innovation can be defined as the task of giving human and material resources new and greater wealth-producing capacity’ ‘every managerial unit of business should have responsibility for innovation and definite innovation goals’
‘It is through risk-taking that any business earns its daily bread.’
‘What do we have to do today to deserve the future?’
‘The purpose of an organization is to enable ordinary human beings to do extraordinary things’
‘Every act, every decision, every deliberation of management has economic performance as its first dimension.’
‘Performance is…the consistent ability to produce results over prolonged periods of time and in a variety of assignments.’
‘the test of an organization is the spirit of performance.’
‘The customer never buys a product (or services). By definition the customer buys a satisfaction of a want.’
Management & Performance
‘the ability to organize and lead’
‘Management is tasks. Management is discipline. But management is also people. Every achievement is the achievement of a manager. Every failure is the failure of a manager. People manage rather than ‘forces’ ‘facts’. The vision, dedication, and integrity of managers determine whether there is management or mismanagement.’
‘Managers have responsibilities for specific contributions, part of which is setting objectives, motivating and communicating, planning, organizing, integrating, measuring, and developing people (including him/herself).’
Managers need the following skills:
Effective decision-making
Communication within and outside the organization
The proper use of controls and measurement
Skill in budgeting and in planning work
Skill in using analytical tools
‘Managers must convert society’s needs into opportunities for profitable business.’
The ‘ultimate test of management is performance’.
There are 3 dimensions of Management:
1) Think through and define the specific purpose and mission of the business
2) Make work productive and the worker achieving (I prefer an achiever of goals)
3) Manage social impacts and social responsibilities
“productivity means the balance between all factors of production that will give the greatest output for the smallest effort.’
Focus on Efficacy – are we doing the right things? (ie. reallocating resources to where they can be most productive) as well as Efficiency –are we doing things right?
‘Performance is what counts, and the correlation between promise and performance is not a particularly high one.’
“there is management development tied to the needs of the organisation, and manager development tied to the needs of the individual…the two are different.’
Management development’s ‘purpose is the health, survival and growth of the business’
‘What kind of managers and career professionals will this business need tomorrow in order to achieve its objectives and to perform in a different market, a different economy, a different technology, a different society?’ (very relevant to overseas plans)
A useful tool is a twice yearly manager’s letter to their superior with:
• The manager defines the objectives of their superior’s job and of their own job as they see them
• They set out the performance standards that they believe are being applied to them
• They list the things they must do to attain these goals – and the things within their own units that they regard as the major obstacles
• They list the things that superiors and the company do that help them and the things that hamper them
• They outline what they propose to do during the next year to reach their goals
‘Leadership is lifting a person’s vision to higher sights, the raising of a person’s performance to a higher standard, the building of a personality beyond its normal limitations.’
8 key areas for performance objectives:
• Marketing
• Innovation
• People organisation
• Financial resources
• Physical resources
• Productivity
• Social responsibility
• Profit required
‘the concentration decision is “policy”..in what theatre to fight a war’
Managers always have to manage both work and working….They have to make work productive and the worker achieving.
‘It is responsibility for contributing to the results of the enterprise, not ‘responsibility for the work of others’ that makes a manager.’
‘Managers are the most expensive resource in most businesses – and the one that depreciates the fastest and needs the most constant replenishment.’
Managers taking on a new job should ask ’What specific contribution can my unit and I make which, if done really well, would make a substantial difference in the performance and results of our company?’
‘What information do I need to do my job and where do I get it?’
‘The manager needs to build upward responsibility and upward contribution into the job of subordinates.’
They need to ask: ‘and who depends on information from me, and in what form, upwards, downwards and sideways?
The managers job has 4 key aspects
o The job itself
o The functional definition of the job
o The upwards, downwards and sideways relations
o The information needs and the manager’s position in the information flow
The manager should ask 3 questions:
1) What do I do as your manager, and what does the company do, that helps you most in your job?
2) What do I do as your manager, and what does the company do, that hinders you most in your job?
3) What can you do that will help me, as your manager, do the best job for the company?
Personnel management
“Personnel management is (the) methodical and systematic discharge of all the activities that have to be done where people are employed..their selection and employment; training; medical services, the (health)and safety; the administration of wages, salaries and benefits; and many other.
‘Personnel management has to be done. Otherwise there is serious malfunction. But personnel management activities bear the same relationship to managing people as vacuuming the living room and washing the dishes bear to a happy marriage and the bringing up of children. If too many dirty dishes pile up in the sink, the marriage may come apart. But spotless dishes do not by themselves contribute a great deal to wedded bliss or to close and happy relationships with one’s children. These are hygiene factors. If neglected, they cause trouble. They should be taken for granted.’
‘management means making the strengths of people effective. Neither the welfare approach, nor the personnel management approach, nor the control and fire-fighting approach addresses itself to strengths, however’
‘the purpose of an organisation is to make the strengths of people productive and their weaknesses irrelevant’.
‘an employer has no business with a subordinates personality’ ‘an employee.. owes performance and nothing else.’
Work & working
‘There is ‘work’ and there is ‘working’. They are totally dependent on each other …Yet work and working are quite different. Work is impersonal and objective. .. working is done by a human being, a worker. It is a uniquely human activity. ‘ (Implications for Occupational Health?)
‘Working ..is endowed with distinct physiological, psychological and social needs and characteristics.’
Work is tasks. It needs to be analysed, synthesised, have controls and tools. ‘All work has to be organised into a process of production’
Work must be productive, with feedback and continuous learning.
People work for a living, pride, self-respect, achievement, challenge and stimulation.
The controls are in respect to work’s ..direction; its quality; the quantities turned out; its standard, and its economy.
Control and Controls
“control is a tool of the workers and must not be their master or an impediment to working.’ (fits with Marmot’s work)
Controls = measurement and information vs Control which is direction
Controls are the means, control the needed end (result)
‘People decisions are the ultimate control of an organisation’
Profit
“the concept of profit maximization is, in fact, meaningless’
‘Profit and profitability are…. crucial…Yet profitability is not the purpose of, but a limiting factor on, business enterprise…. Profit is the test of the ..validity’ of ‘the business decisions’
J.B. Say (1767-1832) invented the term entrepreneur as someone who ‘directs resources from less productive into more productive investments and who thereby creates wealth’
‘amongst the most dangerous diseases of an industrial society’ is ‘the misunderstanding of the nature of profit in our society and…the deep-seated hostility to profit’
‘Profit and profit alone can supply the capital for tomorrow’s jobs, both for more jobs and better jobs..profit pays for the economic satisfactions and services of a society, from health care and defense, and from education to the opera. They have all to be paid for out of the surplus of economic production, that is, out of the difference between the value produced by economic activity and its cost.’
The need for planned abandonment
“the decision on what new and different things to do is important; just as important is planned, systematic abandonment of the old that no longer fits the purpose and mission of the business, no longer conveys satisfaction to the customer or customers, no longer makes a superior contribution.’
Hospitals, education, welfare etc need to be supported by successful businesses. Where else would the taxation income come from if the only employer was the state? Where the state provides everything it still need to export as if it were a business.
‘An essential step of deciding what our business is, what it will be, and what it should be is systematic analysis of all existing products, services, processes. markets, end uses, and distribution channels. Are they still viable? Are they likely to remain viable? Do they still give value to the customer? And are they likely to do so tomorrow/ Do they still fit the realities of population and markets, of technology and economy? And if not, how can we best abandon them – or at least stop pouring in further resources and efforts.’
Marketing & innovation
‘Any organisation in which marketing is either absent or incidental is not a business and should never be managed as if it were one.’
Decisions & Communication
With any decision ‘understand the problem’ first before you try to seek an answer.
‘Opinions come first’ not facts in decision-making.
‘The first rule in decision-making is that one does not make a decision unless there is disagreement.’
The effective manager ‘uses conflict of opinion as a tool to make sure all aspects of an important matter are looked at carefully.’
An effective decision ‘has to be “sold” after it has been made.’
Communication is perception (it is the recipient who communicates), expectation, is demanding and is different yet interdependent with information (which is logical and impersonal)
Avoid professional ‘workmanship’ that doesn’t fit with the organizations aims – this is the stone polisher who doesn’t or refuses to realise you are trying to build a cathedral on time and with limited resources.
General
‘Krupp provided his workers with housing, schooling, health care, training, small loans at low interest…..The Krupp firm at Essen might be called the first welfare state. The workers.. gave their loyalty to the firm and family for an entire century’ But ‘’it eventually destroys itself, for it creates expectations which, in the long run, no business enterprise – and no institution – can live up to.’
Monday, 3 January 2011
Tuesday, 28 December 2010
The planned story for 2011: How the NOH team will fight back
Let’s get in the water and not just dip our toes. Let’s fully engage with existing and prospective customers to ensure we are the best and most profitable medical services company in the world.
We enter 2011 with good news and bad news.
The good news is that we have the most prospects at the start of a New Year then we have ever had in 8 years. That is 9 potential new clients worth more than 1 million pounds per year in revenues. 5 oil and gas, 1 mining, 2 media, 1 sports. We also have prospects with the NHS and private schools.
The bad news is that although we maintained our service standards we had a terrible financial 2010. So the first 3 months of 2011 will be very hard work.
We have taken decisive action to reduce costs by the following actions:
1) Moving admin from the basement of NOH to 126 Harley Street (they do our X-rays). This saves 36K per year.
2) Redundancies/natural leavers – saving over 30K per year
3) Reduced admin hours – saving over 20K per year
4) Salary cuts in admin – saving 40K per year
5) Fixed fees for doctors – saving over 30K per year
6) More work for nurses – saving on doctor’s fees
In total over 170K of cuts to our overhead. We now know our fixed costs per month and can budget for these with much less variation than ever before.
One additional cost is the 10K we will spend on rolling MBA interns (Rotman University/American Intercontinental University), students and Chinese (via Carrie Waley of Mandarin Consulting) support staff. These costs will be much less than full-time staffers and carry no agency/recruitment fees. They come out of the marketing budget.
Almost half our revenues are things we give to our clients: vaccines, medication and kits. So in 2011 we need to do a lot more of that and make it easier for clients to get these things from us: on-site, off-site and via the web.
2011 will see us co-ordinating and managing a LOT more off-site work.
We may also drop some services that don’t add up to decent numbers or profits.
Our breakeven figure for each month of 2011 will be communicated to all the team and we will track this daily, weekly and monthly.
We are improving:
• billing processes and will review all bills within 24 hours of the previous days daily takings
• sending all invoices within 24 hours with purchase orders
• identifying invoice discrepancies within 24 hours
• proper management of cash and the reconciliation
• re-instatement of the weekly stock meetings to ensure adequate but not excess stock
• management of creditors (people we owe money too)
• management of debtors (people who owe is money)
We will undertake regular cash flow projections based on 1) the first 6 months of 2010 and 2) the last 6 months of 2010 both with the 10% price uplift and new 20% VAT.
The new marketing plan will be shared with all. The budget for this will be around 60-80 K (around 5% of turnover). Marketing and innovation are how we will win new customers in 2011 and beyond and increase usage amongst our existing customers.
One of the key elements of marketing costs us nothing. It’s the staff attitude, engagement, commitment and training to ensure excellent customer service. Jay Levinson describes customer service as ‘anything the customer wants it to be.’ We will stick with that!
In 2011 we will do new things, we will do something differently but all with one aim ‘to be the best and most profitable medical services company in the world.’
The Story of 2010: A review
The year started badly with the loss of Australia visas. This was a random event in that we were acknowledged as a good quality provider but the Australian Government wanted to cull providers. Our main competition in London had a technology advantage over us in that they had for years had in an-house X-ray service. We planned to have an on-site X-ray service but too late!
This loss was 200K of cash revenue per year. That monthly cash income helped us pay our bills on time. What should have happened was a radical, deep cut in our overhead last January. Instead, I only shaved a bit off overhead. The surgery was way too superficial!
It reminds me of the Jack Welch quite about companies seeking to reduce margins by 4-5% when they should be looking to cut 40-50%.
I have to ask myself what led to this false hope (hubris) and lack of action?
We had new work from the NHS, which we expected to grow and not dry up as it did (new government changes).
We also had tenders for:
Oil Company A (9 months later they still have not decided!)
Security Company B (a lot of effort, a whole day to present and then the most annoying thing was that the board had not even agreed any budget for the tender)
Media Company C (possibly postponed because of their own financial issues)
My message to HR Managers is ‘don’t waste people’s time if you don’t have board approval for the budget of your tender!”
Message to self: make the cuts first, and hope for more business later!
Our main costs are rent and people. To be at Number One Harley Street (as Carlsberg might say ‘probably, the best medical address in the world’) we pay a huge premium (80 pounds per square foot). However, for our administration, this premium is too much.
Finally, in 2011 we are moving administration from 1 Harley Street and saving 36K a year in the process. We should have done this some time ago (it was considered but never implemented).
Our other high costs are salaries, admin and medical. On the admin side we had too many people, some of the wrong people, failed to recruit effectively and incurred high agency costs.
The numbers game was complicated in that the most talented person was covering maternal leave and needed to be kept on when the less efficient ‘leaver’ returned. The ‘leaver’ did not work out and eventfully resigned. Along the way we had the classic problems of line management due to under attention and under investment on my part.
Resolving some of the people and organisational issues took up a lot of time. Recruitment failures all carried a price, both financial and organizational. The worst example (now gone) lost in 1 day business that it had taken 9 months to capture! The loss may be as much as 1 million pounds over a 10 year period.
The key message about the right people, in the right seats, doing the right things at the right times is so true.
The other lesson is to recruit for engagement and then with the right team ensure that all employees are both engaged and satisfied. Alongside this communication raises its head. Email doesn’t cut it. So many people claim to know nothing or only a % of the facts despite receiving an in-house email. Nothing can beat regular team, meetings and internal newsletters (which people sign off on when they have read them).
Managing doctor’s hours is complex and trying to maximize fee earning time more so still.
In 2011, I return to more clinical work to keep costs down.
Operational change and efficiency have been slow but in the right direction. It still bugs me that the organisational memory is not as good as it should be and too many staff still do not know, what (by now) I believe they should know.
The challenge for 2011 is: ‘How do we ensure that everyone knows what they need to know and knows where to find the information that they need to best serve our customers?’ Answering these questions will be one of the priorities for 2011.
A Wiki (more later) may be part of the answer.
On the strategic side I think that we have a lot right. It just needs tightening up.
Our strategy is for more work in the following areas:
Oil and gas (5 tenders in 2011)
Mining (I tender)
The NHS (now post White Paper reforms)
Private schools (bursars. Headmasters, nurses)
Media ( 2 tenders)
Sports clubs (Rugby Hep B tender)
Our focused marketing plan for 2001 had been developed and will be shared with my team (thanks Jay Levinson!).
The 2011 marketing plan was simple – to upgrade the website, focus on core markets, undertake more tenders (still an area of weakness).
The new website clarifies what we do but came 3 months too late in the year. I have concerns that our Search Engine Optimisation (SEO – how Google and others find us) is sub-optimal and we may need to review the decision not to spend any money on Google ads etc. The second half decline in 2010 revenues is still hard to explain.
The November ‘Medical Innovation’ conference was a success and we will now run this annually.
In 2011 we will hold a promotional evening for Japanese companies.
Finance has been a key problem. The lessons from this:
• Billing needs to be accurate and on time
• We need a constant review of daily, weekly, monthly income
• We need a constant review of daily, weekly, monthly of trends
• We need budget planning and rolling forecast (monthly)
• Appropriate action to reduce costs
• Appropriate marketing to do more of the most profitable things we do
In 2011 I cannot afford to take an eye off the numbers as I did in 2010. I will need to know on a daily basis what we have taken in so far each month in cash, credit cards and what is to be billed. I need to know what our standard overhead is and what exceptional expenditure has occurred during the same period.
I need to regularly review
1) the profit and loss
2) the balance sheet
3) the monthly management accounts
4) the projected cash flow based on rational assumptions of the data.
I need the full facts as to who is owed money at any one time and why this is so.
How much pressure are debtors under themselves! How much pressure are they causing us? All this needs to be recorded.
How soon are our invoices going out (should be within 24 hours)? Are they accurate? Are they associated with the correct purchase orders? Does each customer companies’ accounts department know who we are and why we should be paid on time? Is all this safely documented? Are we emailing or calling prior to the invoice due date, on the date, with appropriate follow up and action (possible suspension of services) if 7 days late? Are we ensuring each relevant invoice to us is billed on to our clients?
If what we owe is rising, have we attempted to make any agreements and if so with whom, when?
In relation to our customers we need a weekly overview of:
1) Who has been in for what?
2) Who has made enquiries and what has been the follow up
3) Review of our VIP and celebrity clients (why did famous comedian, Mr Funny, make his second vaccine appointment at another clinic when he seemed happy with us first time around?)
In the 2011 report to follow I will share the plans for this year and in a separate document the marketing plans for 2011.
This loss was 200K of cash revenue per year. That monthly cash income helped us pay our bills on time. What should have happened was a radical, deep cut in our overhead last January. Instead, I only shaved a bit off overhead. The surgery was way too superficial!
It reminds me of the Jack Welch quite about companies seeking to reduce margins by 4-5% when they should be looking to cut 40-50%.
I have to ask myself what led to this false hope (hubris) and lack of action?
We had new work from the NHS, which we expected to grow and not dry up as it did (new government changes).
We also had tenders for:
Oil Company A (9 months later they still have not decided!)
Security Company B (a lot of effort, a whole day to present and then the most annoying thing was that the board had not even agreed any budget for the tender)
Media Company C (possibly postponed because of their own financial issues)
My message to HR Managers is ‘don’t waste people’s time if you don’t have board approval for the budget of your tender!”
Message to self: make the cuts first, and hope for more business later!
Our main costs are rent and people. To be at Number One Harley Street (as Carlsberg might say ‘probably, the best medical address in the world’) we pay a huge premium (80 pounds per square foot). However, for our administration, this premium is too much.
Finally, in 2011 we are moving administration from 1 Harley Street and saving 36K a year in the process. We should have done this some time ago (it was considered but never implemented).
Our other high costs are salaries, admin and medical. On the admin side we had too many people, some of the wrong people, failed to recruit effectively and incurred high agency costs.
The numbers game was complicated in that the most talented person was covering maternal leave and needed to be kept on when the less efficient ‘leaver’ returned. The ‘leaver’ did not work out and eventfully resigned. Along the way we had the classic problems of line management due to under attention and under investment on my part.
Resolving some of the people and organisational issues took up a lot of time. Recruitment failures all carried a price, both financial and organizational. The worst example (now gone) lost in 1 day business that it had taken 9 months to capture! The loss may be as much as 1 million pounds over a 10 year period.
The key message about the right people, in the right seats, doing the right things at the right times is so true.
The other lesson is to recruit for engagement and then with the right team ensure that all employees are both engaged and satisfied. Alongside this communication raises its head. Email doesn’t cut it. So many people claim to know nothing or only a % of the facts despite receiving an in-house email. Nothing can beat regular team, meetings and internal newsletters (which people sign off on when they have read them).
Managing doctor’s hours is complex and trying to maximize fee earning time more so still.
In 2011, I return to more clinical work to keep costs down.
Operational change and efficiency have been slow but in the right direction. It still bugs me that the organisational memory is not as good as it should be and too many staff still do not know, what (by now) I believe they should know.
The challenge for 2011 is: ‘How do we ensure that everyone knows what they need to know and knows where to find the information that they need to best serve our customers?’ Answering these questions will be one of the priorities for 2011.
A Wiki (more later) may be part of the answer.
On the strategic side I think that we have a lot right. It just needs tightening up.
Our strategy is for more work in the following areas:
Oil and gas (5 tenders in 2011)
Mining (I tender)
The NHS (now post White Paper reforms)
Private schools (bursars. Headmasters, nurses)
Media ( 2 tenders)
Sports clubs (Rugby Hep B tender)
Our focused marketing plan for 2001 had been developed and will be shared with my team (thanks Jay Levinson!).
The 2011 marketing plan was simple – to upgrade the website, focus on core markets, undertake more tenders (still an area of weakness).
The new website clarifies what we do but came 3 months too late in the year. I have concerns that our Search Engine Optimisation (SEO – how Google and others find us) is sub-optimal and we may need to review the decision not to spend any money on Google ads etc. The second half decline in 2010 revenues is still hard to explain.
The November ‘Medical Innovation’ conference was a success and we will now run this annually.
In 2011 we will hold a promotional evening for Japanese companies.
Finance has been a key problem. The lessons from this:
• Billing needs to be accurate and on time
• We need a constant review of daily, weekly, monthly income
• We need a constant review of daily, weekly, monthly of trends
• We need budget planning and rolling forecast (monthly)
• Appropriate action to reduce costs
• Appropriate marketing to do more of the most profitable things we do
In 2011 I cannot afford to take an eye off the numbers as I did in 2010. I will need to know on a daily basis what we have taken in so far each month in cash, credit cards and what is to be billed. I need to know what our standard overhead is and what exceptional expenditure has occurred during the same period.
I need to regularly review
1) the profit and loss
2) the balance sheet
3) the monthly management accounts
4) the projected cash flow based on rational assumptions of the data.
I need the full facts as to who is owed money at any one time and why this is so.
How much pressure are debtors under themselves! How much pressure are they causing us? All this needs to be recorded.
How soon are our invoices going out (should be within 24 hours)? Are they accurate? Are they associated with the correct purchase orders? Does each customer companies’ accounts department know who we are and why we should be paid on time? Is all this safely documented? Are we emailing or calling prior to the invoice due date, on the date, with appropriate follow up and action (possible suspension of services) if 7 days late? Are we ensuring each relevant invoice to us is billed on to our clients?
If what we owe is rising, have we attempted to make any agreements and if so with whom, when?
In relation to our customers we need a weekly overview of:
1) Who has been in for what?
2) Who has made enquiries and what has been the follow up
3) Review of our VIP and celebrity clients (why did famous comedian, Mr Funny, make his second vaccine appointment at another clinic when he seemed happy with us first time around?)
In the 2011 report to follow I will share the plans for this year and in a separate document the marketing plans for 2011.
Saturday, 6 November 2010
Executive summary a New Vision for Health & HR
Executive Summary: A New Vision for Health and HR
Number One Health
Number One Health is a private medical services provider/consultancy based in London but with the ability to provide services globally through selected partners. The expertise within NOH, since its foundation 7 years ago, has led to the company working with more than 51 companies and includes: Occupational Health, Public Health, Travel Health, Tropical Medicine, Sexual Health, and Private GP services, Pandemic Flu, Health Services Consultancy and Health Screens.
The administration team supports 10 hand-picked doctors and 40 nurses.
Our Value Proposition: The problem we are trying to solve for busy HR managers
Number One Health has observed that the health focus of many companies is too narrow and we believe that significant cost-gains could be achieved with a wider-angle lens used by the HR department for the management of health linked to the business needs. Evidence for the potential cost gains is outlined in the main document in terms of the benefits of Occupational Health, the limitations of insurance and the benefits of a more holistic view of employee health.
Our Number One Solution
Number One Health’s solution is for HR and senior business executives to work together with an assigned medical team or person as part of a 'Health Improvement Team for the business’ (HIT). This team would have as its remit clear aims and objectives which can be measured, costed and scored alongside improved business effectiveness.
We would work with you to measure existing data on your workforce, collect new data, advise on possible health improvements. Keep you up to date with relevant medical advances and technology that could help your workforce. Cost and measure the impact of interventions so that you can see the ‘bottom-line’ short or long-term cost savings.
Potential Cost Savings
Number One Health believes that the narrow focus on employee health represented by current PMI or OH alone is costing companies many £100s per employee per year. Ignoring the general health and welfare of employees is also costly.
Health Improvement teams or activities have been introduced effectively in:
Nestle
Marks and Spencers
Unilever
Tata Industries
Problems with current options in Health
Private Medical Insurance (PMI) – Models vary but the ideal includes self-referral. Models without this have awkward barriers to access. Uninsured costs have been estimated as ‘between 8 and 36 times the scale of costs recoverable through insurance’.
Occupational Health (OH) – depends on the contracted level of cover and may lack capacity to do more. For national companies there is very limited choice in service providers.
Lifestyle – These schemes are to be encouraged and some come with PMI.
Number One Health’s proposition is an overview of all of these with added benefits.
How Number One would engage with your business
Number One Health would charge your company for time spent with the Health Improvement Team (HIT), data analysis and any specific services (ie health screens) undertaken.
The Health Future
Number One Health believe this new vision is part of a new market in health care and should grow steadily achieving benefits for the companies and profitable work for NOH.
The Number One People
The Number One Health Team is led by Dr Charlie Easmon who has experience in all the relevant clinical areas and has assembled an excellent medical team supported by a first-rate administration team.
The Number One aim for 2010
In 2010 NOH seeks to work with at least 2 companies with at least 500 employees between them.
Your Investment
Create a Health Improvement Team with Number One Health and measure the cost and wellness benefits at the end of 12 months.
Number One Health
Number One Health is a private medical services provider/consultancy based in London but with the ability to provide services globally through selected partners. The expertise within NOH, since its foundation 7 years ago, has led to the company working with more than 51 companies and includes: Occupational Health, Public Health, Travel Health, Tropical Medicine, Sexual Health, and Private GP services, Pandemic Flu, Health Services Consultancy and Health Screens.
The administration team supports 10 hand-picked doctors and 40 nurses.
Our Value Proposition: The problem we are trying to solve for busy HR managers
Number One Health has observed that the health focus of many companies is too narrow and we believe that significant cost-gains could be achieved with a wider-angle lens used by the HR department for the management of health linked to the business needs. Evidence for the potential cost gains is outlined in the main document in terms of the benefits of Occupational Health, the limitations of insurance and the benefits of a more holistic view of employee health.
Our Number One Solution
Number One Health’s solution is for HR and senior business executives to work together with an assigned medical team or person as part of a 'Health Improvement Team for the business’ (HIT). This team would have as its remit clear aims and objectives which can be measured, costed and scored alongside improved business effectiveness.
We would work with you to measure existing data on your workforce, collect new data, advise on possible health improvements. Keep you up to date with relevant medical advances and technology that could help your workforce. Cost and measure the impact of interventions so that you can see the ‘bottom-line’ short or long-term cost savings.
Potential Cost Savings
Number One Health believes that the narrow focus on employee health represented by current PMI or OH alone is costing companies many £100s per employee per year. Ignoring the general health and welfare of employees is also costly.
Health Improvement teams or activities have been introduced effectively in:
Nestle
Marks and Spencers
Unilever
Tata Industries
Problems with current options in Health
Private Medical Insurance (PMI) – Models vary but the ideal includes self-referral. Models without this have awkward barriers to access. Uninsured costs have been estimated as ‘between 8 and 36 times the scale of costs recoverable through insurance’.
Occupational Health (OH) – depends on the contracted level of cover and may lack capacity to do more. For national companies there is very limited choice in service providers.
Lifestyle – These schemes are to be encouraged and some come with PMI.
Number One Health’s proposition is an overview of all of these with added benefits.
How Number One would engage with your business
Number One Health would charge your company for time spent with the Health Improvement Team (HIT), data analysis and any specific services (ie health screens) undertaken.
The Health Future
Number One Health believe this new vision is part of a new market in health care and should grow steadily achieving benefits for the companies and profitable work for NOH.
The Number One People
The Number One Health Team is led by Dr Charlie Easmon who has experience in all the relevant clinical areas and has assembled an excellent medical team supported by a first-rate administration team.
The Number One aim for 2010
In 2010 NOH seeks to work with at least 2 companies with at least 500 employees between them.
Your Investment
Create a Health Improvement Team with Number One Health and measure the cost and wellness benefits at the end of 12 months.
A New Vision for Health & HR
Number One Health’s New Vision for Health and Human Resources (HR)
It’s the quality of the relationship that counts, plus the effort you put into making it work
Human Resources: the management and development of people. People who rarely spend a whole life time well. People who may be born with illness or disability or have either or both thrust upon them for short or long periods.
Some health problems may be work-related but whether caused by work or not these problems will have an impact on employee productivity and effectiveness.
In all good businesses HR is strongly linked to the business needs. However, in few businesses is the management of health linked to the business needs. As a simple example, an employee strains an ankle at football and takes time off work. If the employee is waiting to see a physiotherapist it makes some sense for work to pay for early treatment so the employee can get better quicker and get back to work quicker.
My observation is that the traditional links between HR and health are too narrow to truly help the business needs.
Some, but not all, HR managers see their duty on health as covered once they have signed off on a Private Medical Insurance (PMI) scheme. However, by its nature PMI has exclusions and in many cases excludes primary care, pre-existing conditions and rarely gives cover for cancer. The perfect employee in these terms only ever breaks a leg, has no pre-existing conditions and never gets cancer.
Other HR managers feel that their duty on heath is covered by appointing a doctor either full time or ad-hoc. However, few drill down to 'what sort of doctor do I actually need?’ Doctors offer themselves as GPs or Occupational Health (OH). Some try to be both and claim a 'Chinese wall' operates to separate their functions, however this makes no sense. A GP acts on behalf of an individual employee not a company. An occupational health doctor acts as a middle ground between an employee and a company. The role of a GP and an OH are mutually exclusive.
Sadly some OH doctors have the same ‘legacy status' as old software. Their views and opinions date from a clubbable era where they were mates with a long departed Chief Executive and their actual interest in helping to manage and improve the health of employees in the business is limited. They take a stand to defend their corner and will not let managers interfere with their role and their lack of collaboration with the business can at times be antagonistic. This is clearly less than ideal.
In the UK the problems for HR managers is made more difficult by an unusual health landscape in which 90% of health care is free and only 10% private. Logically, no company would want to pay for something which is free but is that true? If you were offered a free postal service but that service had long waiting-times, erratic delivery patterns and poor customer service would you make the business decision to stay with the free service or would you pay for a more personable, customer-orientated, timely and efficient service? The NHS is free but with exponentially rising health care costs and only a linear increase in revenues, the quality of what is free has to be variable in both quality and location (postcode lottery).
So what is Number One Health’s New Vision for Health and HR
The new vision, in fact, goes back to core principles adapted in the early days by Unilever, Marks and Spencer’s, Cadburys, Tata of India and many other successful international companies (see quotes at end).
The new vision is based around the fact that the health and well-being of employees can be helped by the company in such ways that it increases the productivity and retention of the employees and these lead to increased profits.
The company that is serious about its business needs to be serious about the health and well-being of its employees. It wants to:
Ensure maximal productivity of all employees
Encourage healthy lifestyles
Reduce and manage stress
Reduce and manage musculo-skeletal injuries
Reduce and manage sickness absence
Efficiently manage return to work after illness or disability
Integrate the disabled into its business
Such a company realises that costs need to be seen in terms of ‘opportunity costs’. In simple terms does it cost me more to do nothing!
This new vision is far wider than the ticking 2 boxes 1) I have PMI 2) I have an assigned doctor (of some sort).
The new vision is for HR and senior business executives to work together with an assigned medical team or person as part of a 'Health Improvement Team for the business’ (HIT). This team would have as its remit clear aims and objectives which can be measured, costed and scored alongside improved business effectiveness.
Areas covered would include all those listed above and amongst other issues:
Toxic Managers (how do we deal with an upstream problem that is causing down stream stress and affecting staff retention?)
Stress audits
Sports injury related return to work
Industrial injury related return to work
Home stress
Carer stress
Chronic disease management
Pandemics
Surgery
Dentistry
Cancer
Vaccines
Duty of care
Travel
Corporate manslaughter
The HIT would help the business manage predictable health problems of employees, react effectively to the unpredictable ones and look across the local health landscape. For example, if local NHS services are excellent in areas A,B,C these would be used, if poor then an alternative would be costed and balanced against the loss of productivity caused by waiting for a ‘free’ service.
Partnering with a health services provider vs contracting for health
(If we are together nothing is impossible. If we are divided all will fail)
Number One Health believe that contracts to cover the required aspects of health care are too complex to be meaningful or manageable. Contracts can cover simple aspects like fee per procedure etc but there needs to be allowance for the health care related problems and questions outside of any such contractual strait-jacket. These items can be covered by a retainer and/or fee per new incident.
A learning organisation is ‘human beings cooperating in dynamic systems that are in a state of continuous adaptation and improvement.’
Number One Health believe in understanding your business and its success factors. We believe in ‘relational dealings …characterised by fewer, longer term contracts that require deeper involvements and cultural adjustments to achieve success. Rather than looking over a defined and often entrenched, boundary at each other, firms have to consider mutual goals, joint performance measures, formal information and communication, system linkages, C3 (cooperation, coordination and collaboration) and softer issues such as building trust and commitment. The task of managing collaborative contracts is more time-consuming, difficult and specialised than the ‘choreography’ of internal, organisation processes….’
We also believe that ‘establishing a regular pattern of inter-firm interactions that support the transfer, recombination or creation of specialised knowledge is likely to bring considerable benefits to both partners.’
Our high relationship model with your company includes:
Proactive relationship management
Joint objectives
High-level commitment
No-blame culture
Avoidance of adversarial practices
Visibility of performance measurements
Joint planning
Open communications
Others who previewed our New Vision for Health and HR
If every business had a health care programme think what a difference it would make in human and economic terms Lord Sieff when Honorary President of Marks and Spencer ‘On Management '
True wealth, which is health
Leonardo Da Vinci
Despite the National Health Service there is much left undone and much scope for medical care at work Marcus Sieff (Marks and Spencer)
....to be lacking in consideration in any way for the life, health and happiness of the employee is the most short-sighted policy a firm can adopt William Lever Founder of Unilever
In order that people may be happy in their work, these three things are needed: they must be fit for it, they must not do too much of it, and they must have a sense of success in it John Ruskin (1851)
It is important to emphasise here that staff health and well-being is more than just the absence of disease. Rather, it puts an emphasis on achieving physical, mental and social contentment. As our Interim Report made clear, there is a strong business case for investing in staff health and well-being. Organisations that prioritised staff health and well-being performed better, with improved patient satisfaction, stronger quality scores, better outcomes, higher levels of staff retention and lower rates of sickness absence.
Staff health and well-being priorities need to be fully aligned with the wider public health priorities of increasing exercise; tackling obesity; reducing smoking and excessive drinking; and improving mental health.
Undertaking such assessments, and shifting the focus of staff health and well-being services towards prevention and health promotion, will require a remodelling of occupational health services............
…. training in health and well-being should be an integral part of management training and leadership development…………….
At the heart of our vision was the concept of a comprehensive, proactive staff health and well-being service, commissioned and delivered to common standards and in consultation with staff and their representatives.
Spending on staff health is sometimes erroneously considered a poor use of scarce resources. As our earlier report made clear, we believe that investment in staff health and well-being services will more than pay for itself through reducing sickness absence and improving productivity.
Dr Steve Boorman (NHS workforce review)
It’s the quality of the relationship that counts, plus the effort you put into making it work
Human Resources: the management and development of people. People who rarely spend a whole life time well. People who may be born with illness or disability or have either or both thrust upon them for short or long periods.
Some health problems may be work-related but whether caused by work or not these problems will have an impact on employee productivity and effectiveness.
In all good businesses HR is strongly linked to the business needs. However, in few businesses is the management of health linked to the business needs. As a simple example, an employee strains an ankle at football and takes time off work. If the employee is waiting to see a physiotherapist it makes some sense for work to pay for early treatment so the employee can get better quicker and get back to work quicker.
My observation is that the traditional links between HR and health are too narrow to truly help the business needs.
Some, but not all, HR managers see their duty on health as covered once they have signed off on a Private Medical Insurance (PMI) scheme. However, by its nature PMI has exclusions and in many cases excludes primary care, pre-existing conditions and rarely gives cover for cancer. The perfect employee in these terms only ever breaks a leg, has no pre-existing conditions and never gets cancer.
Other HR managers feel that their duty on heath is covered by appointing a doctor either full time or ad-hoc. However, few drill down to 'what sort of doctor do I actually need?’ Doctors offer themselves as GPs or Occupational Health (OH). Some try to be both and claim a 'Chinese wall' operates to separate their functions, however this makes no sense. A GP acts on behalf of an individual employee not a company. An occupational health doctor acts as a middle ground between an employee and a company. The role of a GP and an OH are mutually exclusive.
Sadly some OH doctors have the same ‘legacy status' as old software. Their views and opinions date from a clubbable era where they were mates with a long departed Chief Executive and their actual interest in helping to manage and improve the health of employees in the business is limited. They take a stand to defend their corner and will not let managers interfere with their role and their lack of collaboration with the business can at times be antagonistic. This is clearly less than ideal.
In the UK the problems for HR managers is made more difficult by an unusual health landscape in which 90% of health care is free and only 10% private. Logically, no company would want to pay for something which is free but is that true? If you were offered a free postal service but that service had long waiting-times, erratic delivery patterns and poor customer service would you make the business decision to stay with the free service or would you pay for a more personable, customer-orientated, timely and efficient service? The NHS is free but with exponentially rising health care costs and only a linear increase in revenues, the quality of what is free has to be variable in both quality and location (postcode lottery).
So what is Number One Health’s New Vision for Health and HR
The new vision, in fact, goes back to core principles adapted in the early days by Unilever, Marks and Spencer’s, Cadburys, Tata of India and many other successful international companies (see quotes at end).
The new vision is based around the fact that the health and well-being of employees can be helped by the company in such ways that it increases the productivity and retention of the employees and these lead to increased profits.
The company that is serious about its business needs to be serious about the health and well-being of its employees. It wants to:
Ensure maximal productivity of all employees
Encourage healthy lifestyles
Reduce and manage stress
Reduce and manage musculo-skeletal injuries
Reduce and manage sickness absence
Efficiently manage return to work after illness or disability
Integrate the disabled into its business
Such a company realises that costs need to be seen in terms of ‘opportunity costs’. In simple terms does it cost me more to do nothing!
This new vision is far wider than the ticking 2 boxes 1) I have PMI 2) I have an assigned doctor (of some sort).
The new vision is for HR and senior business executives to work together with an assigned medical team or person as part of a 'Health Improvement Team for the business’ (HIT). This team would have as its remit clear aims and objectives which can be measured, costed and scored alongside improved business effectiveness.
Areas covered would include all those listed above and amongst other issues:
Toxic Managers (how do we deal with an upstream problem that is causing down stream stress and affecting staff retention?)
Stress audits
Sports injury related return to work
Industrial injury related return to work
Home stress
Carer stress
Chronic disease management
Pandemics
Surgery
Dentistry
Cancer
Vaccines
Duty of care
Travel
Corporate manslaughter
The HIT would help the business manage predictable health problems of employees, react effectively to the unpredictable ones and look across the local health landscape. For example, if local NHS services are excellent in areas A,B,C these would be used, if poor then an alternative would be costed and balanced against the loss of productivity caused by waiting for a ‘free’ service.
Partnering with a health services provider vs contracting for health
(If we are together nothing is impossible. If we are divided all will fail)
Number One Health believe that contracts to cover the required aspects of health care are too complex to be meaningful or manageable. Contracts can cover simple aspects like fee per procedure etc but there needs to be allowance for the health care related problems and questions outside of any such contractual strait-jacket. These items can be covered by a retainer and/or fee per new incident.
A learning organisation is ‘human beings cooperating in dynamic systems that are in a state of continuous adaptation and improvement.’
Number One Health believe in understanding your business and its success factors. We believe in ‘relational dealings …characterised by fewer, longer term contracts that require deeper involvements and cultural adjustments to achieve success. Rather than looking over a defined and often entrenched, boundary at each other, firms have to consider mutual goals, joint performance measures, formal information and communication, system linkages, C3 (cooperation, coordination and collaboration) and softer issues such as building trust and commitment. The task of managing collaborative contracts is more time-consuming, difficult and specialised than the ‘choreography’ of internal, organisation processes….’
We also believe that ‘establishing a regular pattern of inter-firm interactions that support the transfer, recombination or creation of specialised knowledge is likely to bring considerable benefits to both partners.’
Our high relationship model with your company includes:
Proactive relationship management
Joint objectives
High-level commitment
No-blame culture
Avoidance of adversarial practices
Visibility of performance measurements
Joint planning
Open communications
Others who previewed our New Vision for Health and HR
If every business had a health care programme think what a difference it would make in human and economic terms Lord Sieff when Honorary President of Marks and Spencer ‘On Management '
True wealth, which is health
Leonardo Da Vinci
Despite the National Health Service there is much left undone and much scope for medical care at work Marcus Sieff (Marks and Spencer)
....to be lacking in consideration in any way for the life, health and happiness of the employee is the most short-sighted policy a firm can adopt William Lever Founder of Unilever
In order that people may be happy in their work, these three things are needed: they must be fit for it, they must not do too much of it, and they must have a sense of success in it John Ruskin (1851)
It is important to emphasise here that staff health and well-being is more than just the absence of disease. Rather, it puts an emphasis on achieving physical, mental and social contentment. As our Interim Report made clear, there is a strong business case for investing in staff health and well-being. Organisations that prioritised staff health and well-being performed better, with improved patient satisfaction, stronger quality scores, better outcomes, higher levels of staff retention and lower rates of sickness absence.
Staff health and well-being priorities need to be fully aligned with the wider public health priorities of increasing exercise; tackling obesity; reducing smoking and excessive drinking; and improving mental health.
Undertaking such assessments, and shifting the focus of staff health and well-being services towards prevention and health promotion, will require a remodelling of occupational health services............
…. training in health and well-being should be an integral part of management training and leadership development…………….
At the heart of our vision was the concept of a comprehensive, proactive staff health and well-being service, commissioned and delivered to common standards and in consultation with staff and their representatives.
Spending on staff health is sometimes erroneously considered a poor use of scarce resources. As our earlier report made clear, we believe that investment in staff health and well-being services will more than pay for itself through reducing sickness absence and improving productivity.
Dr Steve Boorman (NHS workforce review)
Monday, 4 October 2010
Moving from 15 PCs to 15 Imacs and 2 Ipads!!!
We are two months in and most of it went well. The actual change for 15 Imacs occurred over a weekend but it took some time for staff to get used to the new aways of working. We are not yet fully Macced as we still used Word and Excel instead of Pages and Numbers but that will come. Look forward to making more use of Ichat.
One early headache was the integration of Sage and I would suggest you make sure your Mac people can do this promptly. Our booking software had some teething problems. we are looking into MacPractice but i cannot say they are user friendly to get started with.
Was it worth it? A resounding YES because we have more efficient machines, with less down time and these will pay for themselves within 2 years. The Apple shop does a good 2 year leased deal which helps keep costs down. More to follow!
Plus i love my Ipad!
One early headache was the integration of Sage and I would suggest you make sure your Mac people can do this promptly. Our booking software had some teething problems. we are looking into MacPractice but i cannot say they are user friendly to get started with.
Was it worth it? A resounding YES because we have more efficient machines, with less down time and these will pay for themselves within 2 years. The Apple shop does a good 2 year leased deal which helps keep costs down. More to follow!
Plus i love my Ipad!
My ideal Office Manager
I have had 7 years to think about this and ma delighted to share this with you. Constructive comments are appreciated.
The ideal office manager
High expectations are the key to every thing
Understands and follows NOH mission, vision, action and business plans, sales processes, guides for managers and leaders
To be the MINDER who ensures the Grinders (key operational staff) provide operational and customer excellence for the work identified by the Finder (CEO)
Has a bias for action and no paralysis by analysis
Is able to optimally execute CEO requirements and constantly develops 'know how' to exceed CEO and organizational expectations especially 1) gets the right people together with the right behaviours and the right information to make better, faster decisions and achieve business results 2) calibrates NOH people based on their actions, decisions, and behaviours and matches them to the non-negotiable of the job
Constantly seeks to improve processes and procedures as well as quality
Is able to report on operational functions at any point in time
Has their finger on the pulse of all aspects of the business
Is house proud and ensures the cleanliness, tidiness and organisation of all aspects of the business
Ensures inventory systems are in place for on- site and off- site stuff
Has cold weather strategy
Has warm weather strategy
Ensures and maintains Care Quality Commission compliance
Understands and maintains Investors in People
Ensures seamless interaction with the call centre
Provides CEO with core dashboard data
Has identified the needs for the WIKI for the team
Constantly questions how and what we are doing and how each aspect can and should be improved
Acts in a timely manner to achieve both quick wins and long term goals
Implements and reviews the balanced business score card
Has organisational presence and authority amongst all staff and suppliers
Liaises with other high quality practice managers and brings learning from them into NOH
Is the know how person at NOH
Anticipates the CEOs concerns
Ability to reflect and learn from the past
Fully understand and constantly analyses NOH position in it's markets, compares to competitors and develops maximal distributive channels ( how we get our services and products to market)
Knowledge
As above key NOH policies and day to day parameters of best medical customer service
Attitude
Pro-active, can-do, constant improvement
Decision-making
Timely and linked to appropriate actions
Manual
Hands-on, head-in approach at all times
Communication
Regular updates to CEO based on dashboard and key events, regular updates of team with monitoring of progress in key areas of human, operational, strategic, financial and marketing success/failures
Human
Manages HR with the highest standards for recruitment, retention of the best but also ensures the successful and appropriate removal of poor performers after an acceptable and not too long qualifying period
Engages with all staff to fully understand their day to day processes and makes suggestions and implements change to improve efficiency and efficacy
Understands clients needs and does every thing to ensure the ultimate customer experience
Maintains excellent HR records
Ensures a culture of discipline in all staff
Works to the core ideas of the balanced HR score card
Develops staff health benefit plan
Develops staff charity plan
Canvasses, digests the opinions of the medical staff and listens to their needs
Ensures appropriate discipline of medical staff
Ensures all staff discipline
Collates client delight and complaints for action to constantly improve our customer care offering
Ensures effective induction of new staff and students/interns with all to sign off on the hard version or the virtual version
Operational
Liaises the call centre
Reviews call centre records and makes required changes
Ensures website updates
Ensures iMac folders up to date
Ensures promotional PDFs and templates up to date
Ensures efficient quotes for business and appropriate follow up
Ensures efficient implementation of on site and offsite business
Sets the highest standard for offsite business that ensures the development and maintenance of the maximal reputation for NOH
Ensures client communication is regular and to the highest possible standards
Deals promptly with concerns/incidents and action on any complaints and incidents
Ensures the highest standard of health and safety
Develops the companies green policy
Develops, monitors and reports to CEO on staff engagement and satisfaction
Ensures staff working hours are complied with, optimally used and are not excessive
Ensures phones are answered promptly
Ensures voice mails are dealt with daily
Ensures email enquiries are dealt with daily
Ensures and optimises friendly and collaborative teamwork
Arranges monthly early close with staff tea break
Ensures efficient and timely creation of databases and efficient and timely communication with existing and potential clients
Arranges events to a high pre-agreed standard
A tight dedicated daily process and progress review for induction of new clients with feedback to CEO of how day 1 went, contacts client personnel and client HR or medical on Day 2 &3 to endure delight with process, confirms and feedsback to CEO that Optimal SLA and SOP have been achieved
Ensures data for agreed CEO management dashboard is available in a timely fashion
Ensures effective delegation where the output/outcome of delegated work is regularly reviewed for timely success
Strategic
Thinks ahead for the businesses needs for growth
Anticipates worse case scenarios and how these can be mitigated or avoided
Has contingency plans in place for all emergencies
Develops rolling student programme
Financial
Ensures any lease agreements are efficiently dealt with
Ensures billing is accurate and timely
Ensures pricing in all media is up to date
Constantly Assesses opportunities for cutting costs or making processes more efficient
Reviews competition and pricing structures
Marketing
Works with CEO on growth strategies
Reviews and optimises marketing material
Reviews and optimises staff customer handling training
Reviews and optimises presentation areas within the clinic
The ideal office manager
High expectations are the key to every thing
Understands and follows NOH mission, vision, action and business plans, sales processes, guides for managers and leaders
To be the MINDER who ensures the Grinders (key operational staff) provide operational and customer excellence for the work identified by the Finder (CEO)
Has a bias for action and no paralysis by analysis
Is able to optimally execute CEO requirements and constantly develops 'know how' to exceed CEO and organizational expectations especially 1) gets the right people together with the right behaviours and the right information to make better, faster decisions and achieve business results 2) calibrates NOH people based on their actions, decisions, and behaviours and matches them to the non-negotiable of the job
Constantly seeks to improve processes and procedures as well as quality
Is able to report on operational functions at any point in time
Has their finger on the pulse of all aspects of the business
Is house proud and ensures the cleanliness, tidiness and organisation of all aspects of the business
Ensures inventory systems are in place for on- site and off- site stuff
Has cold weather strategy
Has warm weather strategy
Ensures and maintains Care Quality Commission compliance
Understands and maintains Investors in People
Ensures seamless interaction with the call centre
Provides CEO with core dashboard data
Has identified the needs for the WIKI for the team
Constantly questions how and what we are doing and how each aspect can and should be improved
Acts in a timely manner to achieve both quick wins and long term goals
Implements and reviews the balanced business score card
Has organisational presence and authority amongst all staff and suppliers
Liaises with other high quality practice managers and brings learning from them into NOH
Is the know how person at NOH
Anticipates the CEOs concerns
Ability to reflect and learn from the past
Fully understand and constantly analyses NOH position in it's markets, compares to competitors and develops maximal distributive channels ( how we get our services and products to market)
Knowledge
As above key NOH policies and day to day parameters of best medical customer service
Attitude
Pro-active, can-do, constant improvement
Decision-making
Timely and linked to appropriate actions
Manual
Hands-on, head-in approach at all times
Communication
Regular updates to CEO based on dashboard and key events, regular updates of team with monitoring of progress in key areas of human, operational, strategic, financial and marketing success/failures
Human
Manages HR with the highest standards for recruitment, retention of the best but also ensures the successful and appropriate removal of poor performers after an acceptable and not too long qualifying period
Engages with all staff to fully understand their day to day processes and makes suggestions and implements change to improve efficiency and efficacy
Understands clients needs and does every thing to ensure the ultimate customer experience
Maintains excellent HR records
Ensures a culture of discipline in all staff
Works to the core ideas of the balanced HR score card
Develops staff health benefit plan
Develops staff charity plan
Canvasses, digests the opinions of the medical staff and listens to their needs
Ensures appropriate discipline of medical staff
Ensures all staff discipline
Collates client delight and complaints for action to constantly improve our customer care offering
Ensures effective induction of new staff and students/interns with all to sign off on the hard version or the virtual version
Operational
Liaises the call centre
Reviews call centre records and makes required changes
Ensures website updates
Ensures iMac folders up to date
Ensures promotional PDFs and templates up to date
Ensures efficient quotes for business and appropriate follow up
Ensures efficient implementation of on site and offsite business
Sets the highest standard for offsite business that ensures the development and maintenance of the maximal reputation for NOH
Ensures client communication is regular and to the highest possible standards
Deals promptly with concerns/incidents and action on any complaints and incidents
Ensures the highest standard of health and safety
Develops the companies green policy
Develops, monitors and reports to CEO on staff engagement and satisfaction
Ensures staff working hours are complied with, optimally used and are not excessive
Ensures phones are answered promptly
Ensures voice mails are dealt with daily
Ensures email enquiries are dealt with daily
Ensures and optimises friendly and collaborative teamwork
Arranges monthly early close with staff tea break
Ensures efficient and timely creation of databases and efficient and timely communication with existing and potential clients
Arranges events to a high pre-agreed standard
A tight dedicated daily process and progress review for induction of new clients with feedback to CEO of how day 1 went, contacts client personnel and client HR or medical on Day 2 &3 to endure delight with process, confirms and feedsback to CEO that Optimal SLA and SOP have been achieved
Ensures data for agreed CEO management dashboard is available in a timely fashion
Ensures effective delegation where the output/outcome of delegated work is regularly reviewed for timely success
Strategic
Thinks ahead for the businesses needs for growth
Anticipates worse case scenarios and how these can be mitigated or avoided
Has contingency plans in place for all emergencies
Develops rolling student programme
Financial
Ensures any lease agreements are efficiently dealt with
Ensures billing is accurate and timely
Ensures pricing in all media is up to date
Constantly Assesses opportunities for cutting costs or making processes more efficient
Reviews competition and pricing structures
Marketing
Works with CEO on growth strategies
Reviews and optimises marketing material
Reviews and optimises staff customer handling training
Reviews and optimises presentation areas within the clinic
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)