My amazing client Michelle has a great Elderly care business. She cares so much about making sure her clients are happy and well taken care of. All of her staff are carers at the heart and so their clients and their children were happy with the service. However, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) regulated processes of the business were being neglected.
They were aware of this and knew that a CQC inspections was coming up and so started to prepare for it; getting their paperwork up to date and restructuring their organisation. However, the day to day running of the business and keeping their many many clients cared for meant that their reactive work kept trumping their proactive planning and documenting work.
This meant that when they were inspected, the findings were not favourable as they were unable to produce the documentation necessary to evidence their great work, team management and development.
This led to them getting a CQC expert in to help them get into shape and hire additional staff to get their backlog covered.
The positive is that this situation was the kick the business needed to really get into shape and professionalise for sustainability and growth. However the lesson came at a high price! The cost of fixing what they knew was broken affected their profitability and they lost some customers due to the unfavourable CQC report.
The lesson here is clear, even if you think the change needed in your organisation may rock the boat with your team. You still need to take the action. Your business deserves the very best chance of success and that means that difficult conversations may need to take place.
Remember –
Be clear about the rationale for change – Make it clear why you can’t continue to run your business in its current state.
Get input from your team – Take suggestions from your team, they’ll often have bug bears that they’d love to see changed and they may also have the ear of your clients/customers.
Short term pain for long term gain – Most people are change adverse, but when they see the benefits.
You can never communicate too much – Clear transparent communication with your team will help to keep everyone motivated during the change process.
Set realistic timelines – Rome wasn’t built in a day. So plan accordingly, especially as you’ve got to balance your client needs with your business needs.
If you need support bringing your change plans to life, schedule a call to discuss how we can help you.