8th July 2024
Emily joined the Transformation Unit in 2018 and has worked on a wide range of projects during this time. As a Transformation Consultant, Emily delivers projects and programmes within our portfolio and works with the wider management team to ensure the successful delivery of our services.
Currently, Emily is working on a project to procure and implement a single network Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) to support the transformation of Pathology services in Cheshire and Merseyside alongside other internal and external responsibilities.
In this article, Emily talks about a typical week in her life at the TU, including how she manages her projects and internal responsibilities.
A week in the life of a Transformation Consultant
Emily Pyrah, Transformation Consultant
Monday
- I start the week with a walk before work and log on at 8:30. The working day begins with a project huddle, where members of the project team get together to discuss priorities for the week, deadlines, and meetings. All team members take an action to update the risks and actions on the programme plan to ensure this reflects the most accurate position. We have some workshops coming up so we also take time to run through the agenda and go through any outstanding actions that need to be prioritised this week.
- On a Monday morning, we have an opportunity to check-in with colleagues virtually, discuss the work week ahead and flag if you have capacity or need any support.
- I have a workstream meeting in the afternoon for one of my projects. Operational colleagues attend and provide updates in relation to the outstanding actions and current position for their teams. I circulate a summary of the discussion and actions following the meeting.
- I finish the day by preparing an agenda and some slides for a network meeting that is scheduled for the following week.
Tuesday
- I am in the office today for a couple of meetings. It’s a great opportunity to catch up with colleagues face-to-face.
- We are working towards a tight timeline for our procurement and contracting workstream, so I need to review some documents and update them following a recent engagement session. These are then circulated with the workstream lead, for review and sign off.
- Next is a Whole Team Meeting. Chairing responsibilities rotate between the team and the agenda includes an energiser, strategic update, summary of the TU performance dashboard, project updates, internal updates and celebrating our successes!
- I head out at lunch time to grab a coffee and a sandwich with a friend.
- A colleague and I have been developing a road map for the next stage of the programme. We catch up to confirm that the roadmap is aligned with the implementation approach and discuss the appropriate routes to share this to get feedback.
- I finished the day by preparing slides for an upcoming Quality Huddle slot. A forum created for all TU colleagues to partake in exploratory, rich, and value-adding conversations to promote quality in delivery of ongoing projects and programmes.
Wednesday
My day today is busy with lots of Teams meetings, including:
- A meeting with a client to plan the upcoming workshop schedule, communications approach and deliverables.
- A meeting with the clinical lead for a clinical redesign project to review a referral criteria document we have been developing and agree how this will be cascaded to relevant teams.
- A quick Project Management Office check in for a business case we are working on. The project develops rapidly so regular communication is needed.
- I end the day with a 1-2-1 with my home line manager, we discuss my general health and wellbeing, projects and internal workload. This time we also looked through my competency framework to see if there is anything that needs to be refreshed following some recent project work.
Thursday
- I am out of the office today, supporting an event for a project I am working on. I arrive at the venue early to set up the room, prepare activities and check the IT and sound is working correctly before attendees begin to arrive promptly at 9am.
- My role is to ensure everything runs smoothly, coordinate presenters and activities and to capture discussions and outputs from the day for the post event write up. Throughout the day there are key discussions and feedback that it is essential I capture to inform the next stage of the programme.
- It’s a long day but I really enjoy being out at events, meeting new people and seeing the energy and value attendees get from the day.
Friday
- I am working from home today and it’s a day of finishing off outstanding tasks on my list before the working week concludes.
- As always, Friday morning starts with the Friday team check in, a short corporate update from a member of our leadership team and a quick team round up sharing highlights from the week and weekend plans. A check in that started during the pandemic is now a permanent fixture as we continue to work remotely.
- Most of the day is spent finalising the event write up and producing a supporting slide pack, I send this off to the client for review and feedback and upload all relevant materials to SharePoint.
- I have a client meeting to check in and update on the procurement and contracting workstream and check progress against the timeline. We agree to meet on a weekly basis as the workstream continues to move at pace.
- I spend some time sorting my inbox, updating my project plans following a busy week of activity and completing my timesheets.
- I always end the week writing a to do list for the following week. It helps to get everything out of my head and feel prepared for the week ahead!
For more information on the NHS Transformation Unit
W: https://transformationunit.nhs.uk/