Adding Value from Non Finance Value Makers

There has been an explosion in FFF Value Makers in the last year and it is amazing; Finance across the nation coming together and making the connections that will drive not only NHS and the public health sector Finances forward but provides a shining beacon for collaboration to all. 

Each Value Maker brings their own skills and their own enthusiasm to FFF.  For some it is sharing learning or accessing the learning of others, for others it is the seeking of support in the daunting world of change.  Whatever the motives are we have over 1,000 people in NHS Finance making small changes every day.  As Margaret Mead wrote:

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world.  Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”

This is great for Finance what started as a small group in London heading to 5 years ago has grown, there is still no job description, no clear goals for a person to achieve; all that is required is the will to make a difference and as a colleague of mine said, “simply sign-up to be positive.”

I know here at Leeds if there is a task that needs doing outside the normal scope it is the Value Makers who are in the lead of the changes. When I joined FFF as a Value Maker I worked in Internal Audit and the thought of a Radical Internal Auditor amused our then Director of Finance but the journey I have been on has been long and has taken many turns.  I now report to the Associate Director Commercial and Procurement but have a role that bounces between, Finance, Procurement, Planning, Informatics and Operational.  It is a great place to be but, can I still be a Value Maker if I don’t work in Finance? 

The answer is simple just look at any Trust Board in the country the Non-Executive Directors are drawn from outside healthcare, they bring knowledge, scrutiny, wisdom and an ability to question. 

I used to think questioning from those outside meant they hadn’t done their research, they hadn’t understood, but in actual fact it is a way of checking we are doing the right things for the right reasons.  As a non-finance Value Maker I can bring my knowledge of the organisation, my wisdom and learning from elsewhere into Finance but at the same time I can ensure that the rest of the Trust understand the need for Financial Management and complies with the Trusts financial regulations.

At Leeds it is not merely people like myself that sit on the edges of Finance that are Value Makers,  we are lucky that we have an Informatics Project Manager and the Head of Informatics Transformation as Value Makers.  They are links to other departments but they can again bring some of the questioning that is so essential to develop to the table.  So when you are looking for your next Value Makers and Finance and Clinical Educators who are the people that can support you and your organisation, what challenge can they bring.  There is a real bonus to all in Finance to understand the way in which we work and to establish great links with the rest of the healthcare community.