Spelling out value

HFMA vice-president Bill Gregory (pictured below) and I recently attended a conference in New York, organised as an update on the state’s Design System Reform Incentive Payment programme (DSRIP). This is the main mechanism used by the state health department to restructure its Medicaid health system (the government insurance system for those on limited income).

It aims to introduce integrated healthcare underpinned by a reformed payment system.  A small number of states pursue similar programmes – read more about the approach in my blog, Learning from the DSRIP nation, on the HFMA website or in our recently launched app.

The emphasis at the conference was on the ‘why’ and not so much the ‘how’ or the ‘what’.  This was summed up in a TED Talk by Simon Sinek in 2009, where he talks about businesses underpinned by clearly defined values. He uses Apple as an example. On the face of it, the company makes a dull product – a phone. But through clever marketing, it has drawn us in with its passion for technology. It is the greater sense of mission that attracts the consumer and provides real value. It also draws in many young people keen to work for the organisation.

When it comes to values-driven people, I can’t find a better example (in accountancy anyway) of our own membership. Many of you would not dream of leaving the service – and that’s not because of the allure of the pension scheme or the attraction of the working conditions. For many accountants in the NHS, it’s the satisfaction they get from working in their organisations, the extraordinary feeling from the idea that you’re making a real difference. 

So it’s no surprise that, by extension, your professional association has the values of the NHS at its heart. When I joined the HFMA, I knew this. And while I had previously known the association was well supported, I quickly came to understand just how fundamental members were to its success and its work programme.

Volunteers were and are the bedrock of the HFMA. And there is a group of key supporters whose passion, particularly at branch level, simply drives the organisation along.

Recently the board asked the staff of HFMA to consider what values exemplified the association. They came up with four suggestions:

H:  High quality – we aim for excellence, continuous improvement, innovation and professionalism in all our work

F: Fair – we strive to do the right thing and to be open, honest and independent

M: Member-focused – we aspire to put members at the heart of everything we do

A:  Accessible – we aim to be friendly, caring, supportive and collaborative

I’d like to thank the staff group, led by head of policy and research Emma Knowles, for developing this easy-to-remember list of values. But what do you think? Would you add to or modify this set of suggested values? 

I’m proud to lead an organisation that means something to so many people and which has some important values at its heart. It’s at times like we’ve been through recently that these become important touch points as we look to deliver more with less. 

Please get in touch with your views at [email protected]