Introducing the Insourcing “A-Team” (well…2 of them anyway!)

Before our day in the health team begins, Ian French – Principal Category Manager will often be on a lovely morning walk (even the torrential Midlands rain doesn’t put him off!), whereas I much prefer a cup of tea and breakfast at my desk to kick the day off. We both work remotely, but we have found an approach to work that ensures we have a strong work life balance.

Morning: Prepare for the day you want
Our workday starts with a daily check-in message; when I started with NHS SBS, this was a part of the role which really stuck out for me. That check-in meant I knew there were people I could reach out to for support – it’s also a great way build those informal relationships that are the backbone to any team. To structure our day, Ian and I prioritise writing a daily to do list using our overarching tasks on Microsoft Planner. For Ian, this is particularly important as he’s recently been diagnosed with ADHD, a process which was advocated for, and supported by NHS SBS. We then work through our emails to check for anything urgent or immediate to do with our framework agreements – Respiratory Equipment and Services, Teleradiology and Insourcing of Clinical Services.

Success through support
To build strong working relationships, gain market insight and ensure compliance, we meet regularly with the suppliers on our framework agreements. These meetings can be ad hoc to support on specific contracts and agreements, or our regular catch-ups where we check-in with suppliers. Similarly, we meet with customers in order to provide support and expert advice where requested. This can range from confirmation on processes, innovative brainstorming and even discussion of potential future works and how these sit in with legislation and regulation. We really value these meetings with both customers and suppliers; they help us create those strong relationships that place us front and centre to make the process as easy and straight forward for all (something that is often really appreciated within the world of procurement).

It’s important that we keep up to date with market developments, budget allocations and NHS England guidance and announcements. As our Insourcing framework lead, Ian regularly meets with NHS England, stakeholders such as IHPN and relevant professional unions and societies to garner key feedback, initiatives and information and feed this into our work, ensuring that our framework agreements remain up to date, fit for purpose and guaranteed to support and assist our customers.

Lunchtime refresh
NHS SBS strongly advocates for diaries to be blocked out to ensure that we all have a lunch and screen break. Working from home has lots of benefits; however, it is incredibly easy to get caught up in work and stay at the desk to work through lunch breaks. As our mental health first aider, Ian is a very strong advocate for making sure we take a break. I will often take myself for a lunchtime walk (should the Scottish weather permit) and Ian will take a screen break and time out to enjoy a bite to eat with his wife (who also works at NHS SBS) whilst making a conscious effort not to talk about work – easier said than done when you both work in the same home-office for the same company!

Powerful projects and leading through innovation
Our day-to-day isn’t just about meeting with customers and suppliers, it’s also looking at the customer needs for new framework agreements, looking at innovative areas. Here, we can shape our ideas; it’s extremely rewarding to see these. For me personally, seeing these ideas come to fruition is one of the most rewarding areas of the job as our ideas are truly valued and we are given the autonomy to explore these fully.

As well as creating ideas, we also work on the renewals for our current offerings. To start this process, we engage with the market; it’s important to us that our framework agreements support the NHS. Once we’ve engaged with the market, there’s tender documents and specifications to write – a lot goes on in the background before we can award a framework agreement. One of the biggest stages is evaluating the suppliers who bid for a place. There’s a fantastic ethos across Procurement where we support on other colleagues’ tenders alongside external stakeholders. It’s a great example of teamwork, which is actually one of NHS SBS’ company values.

More than just a day-job
Our day-to-days may be busy working with customers and suppliers, but as a team who work remotely from Elgin in Scotland down to Rushden in Northamptonshire, we want to ensure that we all know each other as a team – something that can be hard with remote working. We hold monthly team meetings in person at our Manchester office to discuss strategy and best practice and share lessons learnt in addition to team quizzes, led by Quiz Master Ian, to build the camaraderie and have something a bit different to break up our day Efforts like these ensure we remain connected and energised for our work.

Personally, the freedom for innovation, diversity of work, strong team spirit, and priority placed on work life balance makes this an incredibly enjoyable and fulfilling role. No day is the same and the flexibility ensures we can remain happy and enthusiastic about our work making this more than just the usual ‘9-5, what a way to make a living’, to quote a certain Dolly Parton.