We are only halfway through Q1, in what still feels like the beginning of a new year, and I find myself returning to an old theme. Particularly in a business that provides public services. It’s the people that matter.
The people who receive the service, the people who provide the service, and all the other people who are involved along the way.
It was the confluence of a few things that got me thinking.
The Medequip Big Thank You Day, a SCIE report on the proposed National Care Standards, the reflections of an NHS manager and Newcastle United’s recent results.
The BTYD is in its 11th year and recognises exceptional performance amongst our staff. People who go above and beyond for colleagues, partners and people who use our services and their families. The thing that makes BTYD really special is that nominations in each category are made directly by people in the organisation or by those working for our partners. It’s people in the organisation recognising and valuing their colleagues' special qualities and taking the time to fill out the nomination form. 1300 nominations this year, more than ever.
Held at the end of January, there was enough energy in the room to power our expanding fleet of electric vehicles, and so many stories of dedication, support and all-around loveliness. Any Managing Director would get a little emotional at that… wouldn’t they?
Then there is the proposed National Care Standards. A recent report from SCIE, based on consultation and research, made some sensible and insightful recommendations and reminded me again of how dependent we are as a society on so many people we don’t seem to value. The SCIE report was built on broad consultation, and the Casey Commission will no doubt make a strong contribution to the final recommendations.
But I still wonder if a bureaucratic solution, however well-meaning, is going to change how society treats people who need or provide care and support? Or is there more mileage in the reframing work being championed by Social Care Futures and others?
Recognising that social care is neither a political nor a public priority, this work is trying to shift the prevailing narrative that social care is about people in crisis draining resources, to one that says social care is the glue that keeps our society together and that most of us or our families or will need a bit of it at some time.
I’m not an expert in these things, but do we think National Care Standards, a National Care Service and some TV adverts are going to shift the dial?
Big changes are afoot in the NHS, too. Like many others, I have read and commented on the headlines in the NHS 10 Year Plan. The drastic reductions in staffing budgets across what used to be NHS England, the sweeping changes in organisational roles and responsibilities at the same time as an increased focus on the deep and systemic issues of moving to a focus on prevention rather than treatment, a move to community rather than hospital and the supporting shift to digital rather than analogue.
Despite the headlines, and what I am sure have been Herculean efforts to get this ball rolling, the reality on the ground is that we are still at the very start of the beginning of this plan. Many NHS Managers I have heard from are juggling their own and organisational uncertainties alongside this massive change agenda. I have really valued their honesty and understanding of the impact this can have on those who provide care and support. It might also explain why there is a lot of “watch this space” type messaging circulating through the commissioning of community equipment, technology-enabled care and wheelchair services.
So, what’s any of this got to do with a die-hard, season ticket-holding fan of a decidedly mid-table Newcastle United FC?
Well, in my experience, success and failure are often seen as close relatives, or two sides of the same coin. Sometimes the same event can be interpreted both ways, depending on whose perspective you consider or what you choose to measure to define the success or failure.
What is more important is how things are done, by which I mean “the performance,” and how people relate to each other along the way. Difficult news can be communicated sensitively. Impact on people or organisations can be acknowledged and managed, and we can all choose to try and understand people who have different views from our own. We can all play our own “beautiful game”.
If we focus on the measures of success that our people value, will that translate into organisational and commercial success?
It might be only a stable but underwhelming season as far as league and cup results are concerned, but as a long-time Newcastle FC season-ticket holder, I am enjoying the performances and the people I am connected with more than ever. The company of family and friends, the home fans around me and the contribution of the other team’s fans to the atmosphere all add to the highs and lows. Results matter, but so too does performance.
As it is in football, so it is in life. I’ll hold off judgment on the National Care Standards and the NHS changes and see if any different people and process success measures appear.
And in my own areas of influence, I’ll try and hold onto that BTYD feeling.
As Medequip and I share the journey, I’ll continue to believe that the health and social care system works better when organisations and people respect each other, work together and believe that the results and the performance both matter.
And that in all that…it’s the people that matter most.