Bringing Our Managers Together: Connecting Across IHCM

Over the past two weeks, colleagues from across IHCM have come together for our Managers Meetings in the North and South, creating an important opportunity to connect, share ideas and focus collectively on our priorities for the future.

Both meetings were extremely positive. For many colleagues, it was the first opportunity to meet people they had previously only spoken to by phone, email or Teams. Putting names to faces, making new connections and learning more about the different services and teams across IHCM was an important part of both days.

The meetings were designed to be interactive, and from the outset, managers were encouraged to contribute, challenge and share their experiences. Dr Quazi Haque, Group Chief Executive Officer, opened by reflecting on the progress IHCM has made over recent months and our continued focus on strong governance and leadership, quality and regulation, greater visibility and sustainable growth.

A key theme throughout the meetings was how the different parts of our organisation connect and work together to support our services.

Nikesh L. Davda, Group Chief Financial Officer, introduced colleagues from Finance and talked about how the team is working more closely with services. The focus is on giving managers clearer information and greater understanding of performance, helping them make informed decisions at a local level.

That connection between good information and effective management continued through the digital transformation discussion led by Leah Moss, Group Director Business Transformation, and Ellie Fyrogeni, Group Head of HR. As our systems become increasingly joined up, the aim is to reduce duplication, simplify processes and make the information managers need easier to access. Ultimately, better systems should mean less time spent navigating processes and more time focused on teams and the people we care for and support.

Quality was equally central to the conversation. Dr Imran Malik, Group Chief Medical Officer, and Sheetal Shah, Group Head of Legal, Compliance and Risk, encouraged managers to explore what outstanding looks like in practice. The discussion demonstrated how strong quality and regulatory outcomes depend on good leadership, effective oversight, accurate information and a culture of continuous improvement.

The final workshop, led by Andy Wadley, Group Head of Commercial Partnerships, brought many of these themes together by looking at pathways across IHCM. Managers explored the breadth of services available across the Group and considered how greater collaboration between providers and services can create more joined-up pathways for the people we support.

Perhaps one of the most valuable outcomes of both meetings was simply bringing people together. Conversations continued during breaks and over lunch, experiences and ideas were shared, and colleagues developed a better understanding of the wider organisation and the expertise available across it.

As IHCM continues to develop, that connectivity will become increasingly important. Central support functions, people, quality, digital systems, operations and growth do not work in isolation. By connecting our teams, information and services more effectively, we can strengthen the support available to managers and ultimately improve the experience and outcomes of the people using our services.

Thank you to everyone who attended, contributed and shared their ideas. The North and South Managers Meetings were an opportunity to recognise how much has already been achieved, while continuing to build the relationships and ways of working that will help shape the next stage of IHCM’s development.