Pace: Autonomy and Innovation

A defining feature of working in the independent sector is its pace -the ability to innovate, adapt and implement change quickly. We heard that leaders are not only receptive to change and comfortable with failure but often encourage staff to identify and implement service improvements freely. The only limitation – a desire to ensure any good practice is spread across the organisation and doesn’t lead to variations in service quality.

Several factors underpin this sense of quality:

• Rapid decision-making: Staff reported that improvements are made without months of delay. This is helped by the smaller size of many of the independent providers, but enhanced by an open-mindedness from managers to suggestions with minimal entrenched bureaucracy and hierarchy to filter through.
  
  
• Autonomy: Employees feel trusted to propose and test new ideas, sometimes even trusted to test new ideas without asking first.
  
  
• Listening culture: Suggestions are welcomed and acted upon, whether clinical or operational. Leadership and management are close to the front line – visible and open. The lack of hierarchy means in some organisations staff with ideas can drop a Teams message to the CEO or leadership team, without needing to schedule a meeting via a PA in three months’ time.
  
  
• Patient impact: Faster change means improvements are felt by patients sooner.

Key Findings:

• Ideas for change can be implemented quickly
• Staff feel empowered and autonomous.
• Organisational agility drives innovation and better patient outcomes.
  
  

“I remember one of the directors saying – be free to try anything you like, but be quick to succeed or fail”

Kathryn Young, Homelink Healthcare

“I joined the business last July and by September I was running our colleague engagement survey. Immediately the Executive Team allowed me to digitalise the reporting process without going through a major business case, meetings and hierarchies. It was a game changer to have the autonomy to be an expert, make a recommendation and for that to be signed off very quickly. The culture and the morale that flows from that is something that’s really attractive as a potential employee -  you can come in and really change things for the  better and really innovate your field to become industry leaders.”

Gemma Bullock, Ramsay Health Care UK