Corporate Vision March 2017

CORPORATE VISION / March 2017 43 Fire in the Belly ## Name: Philip Bartey MinstD, Group Chief Executive Company: Autism Plus Address: The Exchange Brewery, 2 Bridge Street, Sheffield, S3 8NS Email: [email protected] Telephone: 0114 384 0284 Web: www.autismplus.org g is increasingly leading to Autism Plus being the preferred provider because we offer powerful progression routes that have not been replicated by our competitors.” When Philip first joined Autism Plus in 2005 his main aim was to focus on the staff. At the time motivation was low, there was a bullying and blame culture and the attrition rate was in excess of 30%. “I spent my first year focussing on changing the culture and this led to the attrition rate falling to 2%,” embellishes Philip. “It has since grown to around 8% but remains well below the industry average. My approach was simplistic. I could not accept inheriting an unhappy workforce. If they are demotivated, dreading to come to work, not feeling valued then this must impact on the vulnerable people we are there to support so for me it was a crucial starting point. Building trust and confidence with staff led to better communication, understanding, engagement of staff and we could embark upon the journey of growth and diversification as a team. I introduced CEO Cup of Tea meetings held across the service locations four times per annum. The meetings were in accordance with Chatham house rules –open and informal- an opportunity to chat with the CEO, to present ideas, to explain what works well and what does not work so well. “At the same time I launched ‘Parents Question Time’ events. Engaging with parents and families is crucial to our business and it is important for me to hear first-hand how they feel about our work and the changes to the lives of their offspring. “Having laid the above foundations or prerequisite approaches to embarking upon our strategic journey I engaged with my senior team, staff and the board to develop the strategy. I have a strong interest in military history because that is where strategy was born. Men and women thrown together in conflict and crisis were forced to develop strategies to keep them alive! Strategy can be quite boring a subject for some people so I introduced military examples and analogies that we could translate into our own approaches. I wanted my board and team to feel passionate about our business, to understand the challenges and opportunities and to develop that corporate ‘fire in the belly’ motivation.” As a highly successful CEO Philip clearly has outstanding attributes which have helped him climb the ladder in his career, but humbly, he doesn’t comment on these, and instead tells us how his early career in business prepared him well for the career change in the social care arena. “Undoubtedly my early career in business helped me in understanding the importance of meeting customer needs, getting the product or service right, motivating the team, why inspirational leadership matters and in constantly seeking continuous improvement. I seek out ways of identifying and creating the USP or advantage over the competition that makes a real difference to service users and I have never lost that ‘fire’ in my belly that drives me onwards and upwards.” With regards to the future, Autism Plus aspires to be the service of choice for autistic and disabled people and wants to roll out this unique service nationally. “We strive for continuous improvement - there is no ceiling when it comes to meeting customer needs and driving up quality of service and products,” Philip says. Autism Plus has ambition to extend its work nationwide and is finalising its strategy to achieve this in recognition that the autistic population is growing and demand for services and support is increasing substantially. With the state withdrawing support, providers need to adapt the way they work without compromising quality. “I think it will take us five years to achieve the national step change but Autism Plus is up for the challenge as ever. “Where will I be in five years’ time? Still alive and kicking I hope and still seeking excellence through change and growth. These are challenging but exciting times. I want the best possible outcomes that can be achieved for disabled and vulnerable people.”