RECORDS, DATA & DOCUMENTS
‘It’s difficult not to feel like the entire process is unfair’
Steve Robinson, founder and MD of Sales Engine, the UK’s leading bid support firm for health and social care providers, explains why most trusts’ bids to run services end up as expensive failed exercises.
It’s
fair to say that to many NHS trusts, bids are a necessary evil. They represent a
huge opportunity to safeguard funding, grow the trust’s influence and optimise the quality of care provided – but it comes at a cost. Cost in terms of adding more work and upheaval to already-frazzled people, the drain on finite financial resources, and the impact on that most precious commodity: time.
Furthermore, it’s likely this is just the beginning, as consolidation and change pits smaller trusts against larger counterparts. The turmoil continues and the pressure increases.
However the biggest reason that bids are viewed with a mix of suspicion, cynicism and fear is that the odds simply seem stacked against the NHS trust. Their opposite numbers in the private sector, with greater budgets and resources, look to have everything under control with each bid carefully managed, packaged and delivered with consummate ease and skill. Whilst the reality behind closed doors might be different, it’s difficult not to feel like the entire process is unfair.
What not to do
Fighting fire with fire is a natural and completely understandable response to the apparent unfair advantage enjoyed by the private sector. In our work, we see many trusts bravely allocate scarce funds in developing expensive in-house business development and bid teams. The harsh reality is that these well-intentioned exercises rarely succeed. This is usually down to a combination of cultural, technical and financial issues.
A bid takes a unique level of collaboration between the clinical and business teams. Your clinical team have a day job (a mighty important and stressful one at that) so will squeeze their response and support to the bid in when time allows. In addition, there is the impact of well- intentioned but sporadic senior involvement, leaping into action for the common good but often at the wrong time, ultimately confusing an already stressful situation. Amid all of the above, your frazzled project manager has the unenviable task of walking the tightrope between trying to keep things on track and
being seen as a distracting nag.
The net result is that the team is completely misaligned and the bid response suffers from a lack of process, version control headaches and quality control issues (any of these sound familiar?).
While this might make for uncomfortable reading, it’s easy to see why most bids end up becoming an expensive failed exercise. There’s also a good chance it’s happening on a bid somewhere within your trust today.
frequently than they would care to mention).
It’s this part of the bid response puzzle that gives NHS trusts their best opportunity to level the playing field – the combination of people and technology. Tools such as Xait Porter provide a platform upon which teams can become aligned, where each moving part understands the role they play and can contribute when and how it is most valuable to the overall bid.
The controls afforded by a centralised platform help stamp out the frustrations that overshadow many NHS trust bid projects – wasted time, duplication, sporadic and inconsistent responses.
This allows best practice to flourish, both in terms of efficiency by pulling upon best-in-class responses from previous bids and in managing quality throughout the process, culminating in pre-agreed review and sign-off stages.
The experience of David Plummer at Camden & Islington NHS Foundation Trust is a case in point. He said: “The introduction of Xait Porter into our bid process has helped us see the wood for the trees. Outside of the quick wins such as time-saving and version control, it’s also formed the basis of much improved collaboration across the entire bid team, from clinical experts through to bid managers. The team now focus their time on improving answers not trying to find them.”
What you can (and should) do The good news is that it’s not all bad news.
Healthcare bids are not about building a team of slick salespeople with patter to match, they’re about developing a process that is robust, works within the parameters of the wider team and allows best practice to blossom, even when deadlines loom and stress levels start to spiral.
The lack of robust process and misaligned teams is not a phenomenon limited to the public sector – it also strikes at the heart of your private sector competitors (and more
Of course, technology in isolation is not a panacea to the issues faced by NHS trusts as they throw themselves into yet another bid. However, tools like Xait Porter, coupled with considered planning and a focused team, can address the common pitfalls of bids. ‘Goodbye’ wasted time, duplication and lack of control, ‘hello’ quality input, robust review and sign-off processes – and won bids?
Steve Robinson
FOR MORE INFORMATION W:
http://salesengine.co.uk/health-social-care/
national health executive Nov/Dec 14 | 61
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