August 2023 - update

Training

Attending training courses is vital in ensuring both personal and organisational growth. It provides a platform to continuously enhance your skills and expand your knowledge of the NHS and finance systems that we work in. By investing time in training, you invest in yourself, enhancing your expertise and opening doors to new opportunities.

There is an abundance of training available, for example, via the Skill Development Network, HFMA, OneNHS Finance, and various other professional bodies. The Staff Development Steering Group is committed to the development of the finance team and works to make sure individuals have access to the training they require, as identified in the PACE appraisal process.

This section of the finance monthly updates will signpost relevant training courses that you can attend. This link will also take you to the Finance and Procurement intranet page dedicated to staff development.

Below are the events currently open for bookings on the Skills Development Network website

To follow....

Cisco Finesse Contact Centre

The Finance and Procurement Team has identified a need to monitor phone call traffic more effectively to improve customer service and operational efficiency.

The proposed solution is to implement the Cisco Finesse contact centre solution. Cisco Finesse is a comprehensive and flexible web-based desktop contact centre solution used to manage and handle customer inquiries and requests efficiently via interactive phone calls. This is a robust and flexible solution for contact centre management that will help the Finance and Procurement team deliver high-quality customer service.

Benefits

• Advanced Call Routing: ensuring calls are directed to the right members of staff, reducing wait times and improving the customer experience.

• Multichannel Support: Cisco Finesse supports a wide range of communication channels, including email, chat, and social media, making it easy to communicate with customers using the channel that works best for them.

• Integrated Analytics: includes powerful analytics tools that provide real-time insights into call centre performance, agent productivity, and customer satisfaction, allowing the Finance Team to make data-driven decisions that improve business processes and customer experiences

• Customisable User Interface: The user interface is highly customisable, allowing the Finance Team to tailor it to their specific needs. This can include customising dashboards, creating custom reports, and integrating third-party applications.

• Scalability and Flexibility: It’s designed to be highly scalable and flexible, making it easy to add or remove agents as needed.

• Integration with Other Cisco Products: Cisco Finesse is designed to integrate seamlessly with other Cisco products, such as WebEx Teams and WebEx Calling, allowing the Finance Team to leverage the full suite of Cisco tools to improve communication and collaboration within the Trust.

We have a few things that are being looked at to improve efficiency across the department.

Intelligent Automation (ibots – also known as AI) - The Directorate is currently in the planning stages for the introduction of “robotic” processes to parts of our work. The idea of this development is to automate some of our simple, repetitive processes (for example checking people’s eligibility to purchase items through the Viv Up Salary Sacrifice Scheme). Find out more information by viewing the RPA document and the RPA plan.

Financial Services – Inbox Solution - The proposed solution is to implement Sunrise Sostenuto, a service that provides a centralised incident management system for incoming emails. The service will allow the Finance and Procurement team to manage incidents efficiently and effectively, assign tasks to team members, and track progress in real-time. Find out more by viewing the inbox solutions document and the inbox solutions plan.

Financial Service – Phone Lines Solution - There is a need to monitor phone call traffic more effectively to improve customer service and operational efficiency. Cisco Finesse is a comprehensive and flexible web-based desktop contact centre solution used to manage and handle customer inquiries and requests efficiently via interactive phone calls.Find out more by viewing the phone lines solution document and the phone lines solution plan. CISCO Telephone number to call is 01925 972 767.

We also have some useful information for Excel users. Hayley Lishman in Secure Care Division has explained the X Lookup in detail if you follow this link.

There is also an Excel shortcuts document which is very useful for day to day use

Hello everyone,

Over the past couple of weeks I have been invited into a couple of primary schools within the Warrington area to talk about my ADHD and how it affects my personal life. These were a mixture of virtual talks and in person talks to a few classes combined. This was such an eye opener as the children were pleasant and I was surprised at engaged they were with the questions they were asking me. I must stress that I am not qualified and I wasn’t there to offer any advice or guidance and this was explained to the head teachers prior to the talks.

I have been working with one school in particular and I have gained a good relationship with all the staff members and thus had all the pupils create a diversity tree.

The teachers had each pupil draw around their hand and cut the drawings out to place it around the tree like a leaf. The children had freedom of choice in the colours so I was surprised at how evenly spread out the colours were

The below image was the outcome.

If you have any suggestions or topics you wish for me to add into the communication please feel free to contact me.

Lee Gough - Finance Analyst in Community (CYP Families and Sefton)

We also have some valuable information about Diversity which you can view by following this link.

Achieving happiness

Happiness is an electrifying and elusive state.More than simply positive mood, happiness is a state of well-being that encompasses living a good life, one with a sense of meaning and deep contentment.

Feeling joyful has its health perks as well. A growing body of research also suggests that happiness can improve your physical health; feelings of positivity and fulfilment seem to benefit cardiovascular health, the immune system, inflammation levels, and blood pressure, among other things. Happiness has even been linked to a longer lifespan as well as a higher quality of life and well-being.

Attaining happiness is a global pursuit. Researchers find that people from every corner of the world rate happiness more important than other desirable personal outcomes, such as obtaining wealth, acquiring material goods, and getting into heaven.

But how to be happy?

Happiness is not the result of bouncing from one joy to the next; researchers find that achieving happiness typically involves times of considerable discomfort. Genetic makeup, life circumstances, achievements, marital status, social relationships, even your neighbours—all influence how happy you are. Or can be. So do individual ways of thinking and expressing feelings. Research shows that much of happiness is under personal control.

Regularly indulging in small pleasures, getting absorbed in challenging activities, setting and meeting goals, maintaining close social ties, and finding purpose beyond oneself all increase life satisfaction. It isn't happiness per se that promotes well-being, it’s the actual pursuit that’s key.

Misperceptions abound when it comes to what we think will make us happy. People often believe that happiness will be achieved once they reach a certain milestone, such as finding the perfect partner or landing a particular salary.

Humans, however, are excellent at adapting to new circumstances, which means that people will habituate to their new relationship or wealth, return to a baseline level of happiness, and seek out the next milestone. Fortunately, the same principle applies to setbacks—we are resilient and will most likely find happiness again.

Positive psychology is the branch of psychology that explores human flourishing. It asks how individuals can experience positive emotions, develop authentic relationships, find flow, achieve their goals, and build a meaningful life.

Areas to work that generate positive emotions

There are many different areas to work on that can generate positive emotions. Some of these include:

Expressing gratitude

This involves being grateful for the good things in your life, both big and small.

Focusing on the good things

This involves looking at what you have instead of focusing on everything that is wrong with your life.

Taking care of yourself physically and emotionally

This includes taking steps to improve your physical health, getting enough sleep, eating well, etc. It also includes not letting hurtful emotions like anger or jealousy get the best of you.

Finding ways to help others

This includes finding new opportunities to give, either by volunteering or by taking steps at home.

Positive psychology is a valuable and interesting concept but should be used in the right way – to support people who might be feeling low or distressed – not as an alternative to getting help.

If you should feel the need for further support, you could contact your GP or by utilising one of the many services available via our trust:

• Access to Staff Psychological and Mental Health Support
• Life Rooms
• Psychoeducational CBT Group: Manage Your Mood and Build a Rewarding Lifestyle
• Mental wellbeing resources

Last few weeks to join team Mersey Care for NHS North West Games 5K

We are looking for participants to take part in a running/walking event at Princes Park in Liverpool on Sunday 24 September. The Liverpool 5K and 1K Family Fun Run, are two of the most popular events on the NHS North West Games calendar.

The idea behind the Games is to encourage physical activity for NHS Staff and their families. The events are free to take part in, open to all ages, all abilities and all levels of fitness. To find out more and represent Mersey Care, you can see the booking link here.

Kev Williams has completed a 5k Race for Life and has so far raised £75!

If you would like to donate to this worthy cause, please visit Kevin's Race for Life (cancerresearchuk.org)

If this has inspired you, visit Race for Life to find your nearest event.

Congratulations to Lydia who got engaged in Tenerife on top of a volcano at a height of 3715 metres!

Who’s who

A big welcome to Chelsea Shields, Senior Finance Analyst in Community Care in Financial Management. Chelsea started with us at the end of March 2023. 

“I have come from CEDAS where I worked as a Senior Finance Administrator for 8 years. My role included raising purchase orders for core stock, specialist equipment and wheelchairs. I worked in a very small team of just myself and one other person in our mini ‘finance’ department. I am now working in the Community Care division as an analyst.

I have a little girl who is almost 1 and a cockapoo called Coco. I studied Spanish at university and spent a year living in Seville. I always wanted to be a Spanish teacher, but now here I am in finance

I have a very large family and spend my weekends going on family walks/bike rides/camping trips and days out. 

My hobbies include doing nails and makeup for my family and friends. 

I will watch pretty much anything on TV apart from anything scary, and my favourite food is pasta!”

New starters

A warm welcome to Laura Callister who has recently started in P2P Finance as P2P Assistant in the Non PO Team.

Hi All, I’m Laura.  I joined the NON PO team in July so fresh into the role and appreciate all your help.

I am a mum of 2 girls 16 & 10 (ying & yang) so that being said I have 2 full time jobs, one working with you all in finance and the girls PA, hair stylist, never ending bank, life coach etc etc as many of you who have children know.

I also have 2 pet dogs, 1 being a new puppy of 11 weeks old, I have recently down sized in the pets department and did own horses. I enjoy walks in the outdoors, camping, girls football, horse riding and spending time with my family.

I am usually a shy person at first but once you get to know me I enjoy good banter. Can’t sing at all on karaoke but I enjoy having a go, also think I could out dance Beyonce on nights out.

Happy birthday to the following people...

August

8  August,  Anila Sharma

10  August, Lyn Stanton and Sandra Allen

11 August, Esther Steele

12 August, Lydia Arnold

16 August, Sally Proffitt (50)

17 August, Lauren Pickavance

20 August, Hayley Lishman (40)

September

8  September, Ben Ormrod

11 September, Phil Nichols

15 September, Natasha Lee (50)

22 September, Chris McCormack (60)

23 September, Carol Smith

30 September,  Sarah Delaney (40)