Background:
Stephen Matthews is the Chief Executive of the Cedar Foundation, a charitable organisation based in Belfast, Northern Ireland that provides services for people with disabilities. Stephen has been associated with the CMI for six years as a Fellow Member and is currently using what he has learnt at the CMI to shape the Cedar Foundation’s senior management team and structure. His personal learning experiences with the CMI are enabling him to make a greater impact on his organisation.
The challenge:
Social care within Northern Ireland is changing as a result of necessary improvements to the way services are commissioned and delivered. For Stephen the challenge is to ensure that any impact on the Cedar Foundation as a result of changes to the social care system, is well managed. This is important for the ongoing stability of the Foundation, and to manage the expectations of those individuals who use its services.
Goals:
Stephen has two key priorities. Firstly, he needs to enable his staff to manage change effectively. To do this, they must have an increased awareness of how social care might change in the next four to five years, while continuing to deliver current services efficiently to meet the expectations of service users.
Secondly, as the Cedar Foundation is a charitable organisation, both funding and resources are very limited. As Chief Executive, Stephen needs to encourage senior managers to be innovative to ensure that staff continue to feel motivated, despite being able to offer fewer financial rewards or incentives than other employers.
Stephen says: “We need our managers to have a combination of skills, to enable them to cope with the changing social care environment. These include effective communication skills, a clear understanding of what the future might hold for our organisation and the ability to manage resources and finances efficiently.
“In addition, we aim to equip our managers with strong leadership qualities, so they are able to manage the day to day systems and processes that the organisation relies upon, while ensuring they fit with the overall strategic direction of the business.”
Action:
As the Foundation’s Chief Executive, Stephen is applying what he has learnt through CMI to his organisation as a whole to help ready it for group membership. As an individual member, Stephen is able to access CMI research and information resources which he strongly feels have helped him to develop his understanding of key management issues and inform his practice.
CMI’s research into issues around the importance of motivating and rewarding staff, has also led Stephen to set up a system for recognising and rewarding achievements in the workplace. He explains:
“We have two approaches to staff rewards. The first is to hold recognition events. These are fun days out for high achieving staff with an emphasis on team building. Recently we took staff on an open bus tour around Belfast, which was something staff members had expressed a desire in doing.
“The second approach is to give employees opportunities to present their work at conferences and networking events. For example, in June, five of our employees will be heading to Prague for the European Union Supported Employment conference. Not only is it a great professional opportunity for those who are going, but it’s our way of recognising their professionalism and the impact they are having.”
To build on this he has applied for CMI group membership for the Cedar Foundation, to enable his teams to use the CMI’s Continuing Professional Development (CPD) resources and up to the minute research. In addition, group membership will provide the Cedar Foundation with opportunities to share best practice with other organisations from the health and social care industry and enhance their corporate network.
Results:
So far, the methods that the Foundation is using to recognise staff achievements are having a profound effect on staff satisfaction, staff retention, levels of short term sickness leave, and staff turnover.
Stephen says: “Staff satisfaction levels are at 90% which is very good. Our short term sick leave levels are at 2.4% which, for an organisation of our size, is below average. We have a low staff turnover too.
“The internal benefits are clear, but all of these factors are also having a positive impact on our service users. Satisfaction levels among service users are also at 90%. This is almost certainly because our staff our happier, so the way they handle customers has improved.”
The Cedar Foundation is on the brink of being accepted as a CMI group member, which Stephen believes will have an immediate effect on the business’ performance.
"Being a group member is a clear indicator that we are on the right track and working hard to meet the future challenges within our sector. Staff motivation is already very high, but I think CMI membership will lead to an increase of positivity and enhance our opportunities for a competitive future.”
Printer-friendly version
Send to friend