Don’t be alarmed! What I mean, when I say it is time to fight back is,
You guys are well ahead of Mr Timpson’s high expectations. In fact, you aspire to ‘great expectations.’ I want to encourage you today not to ever give up. You might never see the full impact of the difference you are making but I can tell you it lasts a lifetime.
I see those ‘great expectations’ as I work with you, I see it in the people you care for. I know it from experience of being a looked after child.
So, much bad press lately has tarred everyone in residential care with the same brush. Inspections have been crushing moral and causing anxiety and huge business insecurity and disruption.
This has included the closure of services who were themselves amongst the great but could not keep their heads above the regulation tsunami.
So, back to the topic. New regulations & standards give us a great opportunity to revamp our message and our image and use these as weapons to fight back with. You have many tools at your disposal that you have to work with like it or not. So why not use them to the max?
I use a number of strategies that are tried, tested and work. You can use them to fight back, build a reputation of massive impact and restore your confidence in standing up to judgements that don’t reflect reality.
So, here we go. The first document you need to look at is your Statement of Purpose. Getting the structure compliant is just the beginning. You can have a compliant structure but if your content isn’t inspired you are missing a great opportunity to hustle your opponents.
I will give you some examples next time but for today think on this. When you go into Tesco, Sainsbury’s or the like and see the magazine display what is it that makes you head for one and pick it up for a quick flick through? What was it that grabbed your attention? Was it a great headline? A glossy picture? The way it looked? The promise of what it held inside? What was it?
As you plan your revised Statement of Purpose, think about what it is that inspires you and get it in there. What would make you want to pick it up and read it?
Start the fight back! Next time I will give you a few ideas how to add some shimmer, shine and readability factors that commissioners and placement teams love to see.
Have a good day
Maggie Danesfahani
Inspection & Improvement Specialist
PS: You can pick up a statement of purpose template and a quick guide to getting your team inspired about it here.
There are some practical 5 minute reads and practical tips on our blog.
