Knowing what customers want and need is so important, yet everywhere you look there is evidence that this isn’t being heeded. Take the recent political events for example; irrespective of what side of politics you stand, almost every voter was appalled or at least disappointed at the process that led to the changing of the Prime Minister. Not more than 10 days later, a sitting government is about to lose a seat with an almost 30% swing against it and all you read about is tha

Every now and again I am reminded that the business of “social care” really is women’s work. It shouldn’t be, as women do not have a monopoly on “caring” but the lack of investment in the sector, low pay, and unreliable working hours means that women tend to be the front line of social care. What doesn’t always make sense to me is that whilst most of the work (paid and voluntary) is done by women, senior positions and decision making roles are mostly held by men. Been to an N

For many years, our funders required us to have strategic plans; not so we could follow them not measure the effectiveness of what we did, but because we needed them! Times have changed and the next time you hear a customer ask for your strategic plan before they decide to use your service, will be first time. Strategy is about understanding the environment within which you operate and making choices about what you will do. Planning is about making choices about how to use th

Learning Number One – A new Brand and Marketing Plan isn’t the answer When the going gets tough, it seems social care organisations get a new brand and a new marketing plan. Although brand and marketing are important in the evolving social care market place, it should not become your central strategy. Your brand is more about your people and their behaviour that the artwork, font logo and colour scheme you choose. If you want to invest in your brand – invest in your people

We hear a lot about how managers and leaders in the sector need to be innovative, yet many have done this all their lives. So, why is it that we often don’t acknowledge innovation in the workplace? There are reasons for this but the most common one is that for innovation to be effective, it should be embedded into what you do – not a separate part or unit or program. You don’t need an innovations team, but a team of innovative people. Here are five simple things you can do (a