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Friends Road Medical Practice provides extensive general and personal medical services in a primary care setting to a catchment of 8,500 people in Croydon, South London.

The team of 17 at the Practice has always been committed to ensuring that patients and customers are cared for in a friendly environment by professional, competent and motivated staff.

It first achieved the Investors in People Standard in 1998 and was awarded prestigious Champion status in 2005.

Back in 1998, the Practice desperately needed to develop some kind of framework that would enable it to develop and implement robust policies and procedures, whilst ensuring there was a process for developing the team members to their full potential.

The partners at the Practice felt that a renewed focus on staff and the working environment could bring about real benefits in what is very often a stressful place to work. It was starting with a blank canvas as it had no policies or procedures in place and there was no training or development of staff.

“We chose Investors in People because we believed it would improve our recruitment and retention processes,” said Karen Northwood, Managing Partner. “We also wanted to develop the concept of being a ‘learning’ organisation with highly motivated, competent staff in place. We believed that by achieving a recognised quality standard we could really ‘add value’ to the organisation and its people.”

“Working with Investors in People helped us put together a clear business plan that dealt with both short and long term objectives,” says Karen. “This meant we were able to plan more effectively through the development of the business strategy and by becoming, we believe, a learning organisation.”

Part of the process for the Practice has been to ensure each team member has a clear understanding of their role and responsibilities. This has meant involving them at all levels in the business planning process and empowering them to contribute to the ongoing development of the organisation. This has led to staff receiving good training and having access to a comprehensive continuous learning and development programme.

“Transforming the recruitment and retention process was a key challenge for us,” says Karen. “We now have clear policies and procedures in place and all employees are given a comprehensive employment pack when starting a post. As a result of Investors in People, we have also introduced person specifications, a detailed induction programme and job evaluation along with a learning and development strategy.”

Friends Road now has an ongoing commitment to lifelong learning and development throughout the organisation. It has a continuous in–house training programme, which is complemented by external training and development initiatives.

 “We also have two Away Days each year using an external facilitator,” adds Karen. “We use this to share what we feel has worked well and not worked well, with one day for the partners and one day for the whole team. These are really well received and end with some form of celebration to reward us all for our hard work and achievements.

“We believe it ensures everyone truly feels part of the organisation and is one way we can thank the team for their efforts.”

The Practice recognised that it was essential to both value and develop its greatest asset, its staff. By successfully implementing the strategies, it began to see continuous improvements in terms of performance and effectiveness throughout the team. This is turn meant the team was keen to learn and develop themselves and wanted to have ownership of the process. It has enabled the Practice to develop a culture of continuous learning and development and this has inspired the team to want to grow.

As a direct result of these initiatives, Friends Road has seen a significant reduction in employee turnover. It used to have at least two to three staff vacancies each financial year whereas as today its ‘newest’ employee has been there for almost four years! The Practice now has one of the best staff retention rates in the area and the lowest level of sickness with rates down by 35 per cent.

“Investors in People also taught us the importance of evaluation and review,” comments Karen. “We are now able to measure our performance, identify gaps and continuously review and improve on what we are doing as an organisation. Initially we thought in terms of integrating Investors in People into the culture of Friends Road but it is more than that because it is our culture, it underpins all that we do as an organisation.”

The Practice is subject to an annual patient satisfaction survey conducted by the Public Health Department. It selects 800 of its patients at random and asks a series of questions that come under 43 headings ranging from clinical experience, access to services and premises to attitude of staff.

“The local and national average is approximately 75 per cent; our Practice has improved its performance by an average of 11 per cent and has an approval rating that averages 86 per cent. We are consistently in the top five per cent of all Practices.” adds Karen.

 “Everyone lives and breathes the culture and no–one has to work hard at it,” concludes Karen. “Investors in People has become the umbrella for all that we do and much of our culture now seems to come naturally. We are all open to learning and development and want to share what we have achieved through Investors in People with other organisations.”