Finance & Corporate Services Teams

Collective Learning in the Corporate Services Directorate

Having launched iMatter in Healthcare Improvement Scotland in May 2015, an example of where the report has provided a useful focus for attention would be in the Finance and Corporate Services Directorate. F&CS was part of the first of three staggered cohorts. After completing their anniversary questionnaires in May 2016, the directorate met in September 2016 to discuss the report.
The directorate included, at that time, 5 diverse teams each of which had already received their own team report, and had been able to identify the key areas that they wanted to work on. The teams were:

• Finance
• IT
• Corporate Services
• Planning
• Human Resources and OD & Learning (NB This team has since separated into two: People & Workplace, and OD & Learning)

At the event, these key areas were shared where distinct themes emerged, such as the importance of individual and collective learning. In order to create a consistent action plan that truly reflected what people wanted to work on, all members were given coloured dots to place against those areas that were most important to them. This led to a shared commitment for each member to take time to learn something - anything - and then to share that learning with colleagues. (In other words, to fulfil the staff governance standard of committing to continuous personal and professional development)

When the directorate met again in December 2016, each team gave a presentation that included examples of what they had learned. Examples ranged from someone who took a week to undertake an introductory course in health economics to help their understanding in a specialised role, to others gaining more advanced excel skills, right through to the more informal sharing of top tips in how to make best use new and existing technologies.

Anticipating that this might be an outcome, an opportunity for shared learning was built into each of these directorate events. These have included

• a fun and interactive introduction to '5S' (a Lean quality improvement methodology);
• an introduction to Process Mapping (in this case, of 'festive' deliveries)
• an informative session on the work of another directorate.

These elements all received very positive feedback on the evaluations of each event.
The learning itself increased confidence and capability for individuals, whilst the sharing of it with others has enhanced relationships and understanding of each other's roles. A further positive by product has been increased creativity and collaboration across the directorate.