A letter from our CEO Kevin Monk
The recording of our recent eRostering Webinar is now available to view.
Our team has had a few changes, so here's an update on the SARD team.
The recording of our recent ESR Wrapper Webinar is now available to view.
It’s 5AM, awoken by the slam of an ambulance door. The young paramedics spring from their position. Kind, comforting chatter as they gently guide my neighbour into the blinking, whirring, tech hub on wheels. At 98, you start to expect the unexpected. What’s one more hurdle? Resilient to her own frailty. They, young, spritely, striding through an 8 hour shift of relentless caring. Thanks to those who endure.
We have a new video player, designed to work better for NHS Trusts across the UK.
This year had its ups and downs. A lot of ups and a very big down in losing Jonathan. But I think we did something that's really important to do whatever life is throwing at you. The wise old wizard and chess master Adam Robinson put it well at the beginning of last year - "LEAN IN to each moment, every encounter, expecting magic or miracles". That's what we're going to be doing again, this year. We're leaning in to 2019. Come enjoy the magic and miracles with us in 2019.
Let's talk about spex, baby. Let's talk about all the good things; and the bad things, that may be.
This year had its ups and downs. A lot of ups and a very big down in losing Jonathan. But I think we did something that's really important to do whatever life is throwing at you. The wise old wizard and chess master Adam Robinson put it well at the beginning of last year - "LEAN IN to each moment, every encounter, expecting magic or miracles". That's what we're going to be doing again, this year. We're leaning in to 2019. Come enjoy the magic and miracles with us in 2019.
It saddens me to report the death of our Chairman, Jonathan Wood. He was fighting a 2 year battle with cancer. Our thoughts are with his wife Linda and their two children, William and Arthur.
SARD have opened a second office in Canterbury, Kent.
It might be worth reconsidering the password policy of your organisation. If you want a strong password try combining four common words.
We're regularly migrating clients from our competitors. We have built sophisticated technology to upload information from them. It's now a painless process to transfer over to SARD.
We are recruiting for a new support team member in our Crystal Palace office.
We are sad to say goodbye to Ben Travis as Board Director at SARD following his move from his role as Chief Executive of Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust to become Chief Executive at Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust.
I believe Artifical Intelligence is going to fundamentally change our world. Over the course of a year, I meet hundreds of doctors who are using our system to input their appraisal information and it surprises me how few anticipate AI to play a role in their future career.
Actually, it's been an annus mirabilis for us at SARD. We've welcomed new clients; UCL Hospitals, Public Health England, Oxford University Hospitals, South London and Maudsley, and a few more we're not allowed to tell you about, yet.
We have a rule that we don't give deadlines for software changes. This may sound evasive and non-commital but we don't believe it serves us or our clients to attempt the impossible. We're not alone in thinking this way many software companies have a similar no-deadlines policy.
This is possible, cheap and simple. You'll need no prior technology knowledge and I'll explain by example. You'll have safe data and operational resilience if you follow this simple principle - separate your data from your tools.
Organisations define a majority of their procurement requirements with a presupposed solution. As a result, the winning bid is not as cheap or effective as possible. They can fix this by making the problem, and not the solution, the backbone of the document.
An obsession for the last 3 years has been customer service. I love it! I read and watch countless books and videos on the subject. My perception of it has completely changed.
When Apollo 11 took the first men to the moon, NASA intended that a computer would guide the landing. The site selection team had picked a smooth patch of ground. But the guidance system was taking the Lunar Module into a field of boulders the size of a football pitch. So, in the last 500ft, Neil Armstrong turned off the ‘targeting computer’. He took manual control, landed, and the rest is history. Later Apollo landings switched off the computer at final descent.
Revalidation professionals will be aware of Annual Organisational Audits and Quarterly Information Templates. Designated bodies use them to feed data back to NHS England. SARD eases the process by generating AOAs and QITs at the touch of a button.
