Define personal role in relation to developing a vision for services

For this assessment criterion, you will be required to explain the aims and objectives of your vision for your service area. This means discussing the factors that informed the development of your organisation’s aims and objectives and how they are aligned with the organisation’s vision. Some aspects which you may wish to consider are provided below.

The business planning process – maintenance of and potential growth

Business planning involves creating goals, aims, objectives and strategies that ensure the survival and growth of the organisation. It will be closely linked to the organisation’s vision so that business goals are set in the same strategic direction.

Competition/market competitors – national and local

Keeping a close eye on competitors is crucial for ensuring that an organisation stays competitive within the market. It is also useful to see what successful competitors are doing so that you can model your own organisation on their best qualities. SWOT analysis may be used to compare your own business with the competition. This involves making candid lists in four categories:

• Strengths – the strengths of your organisation – what your organisation does well
• Weaknesses – areas that your organisation could improve in
• Opportunities – are there any market trends or local initiatives that could help your business?
• Threats – is there anything that could threaten your business? what are your competitors doing better than you?

With more service users opting to arrange their own care through personal budgets and direct payments, it has become even more important to be able to differentiate your organisation from the competition. Staying ahead of the competition can help your organisation to establish itself as a market leader (locally or nationally) and achieve its vision more quickly.

Service redesign

Service redesign is the process of changing the way an organisation operates to produce better outcomes. For example, this could mean changing staff roles, delivering care in a more person-centred way, introducing new IT systems to reduce costs etc. When researching your competition and the market, you may discover new ways of doing things that you wish to introduce into your own organisation.

Local and national data which informs the service area

Local and national data can be used to inform the services you provide both now and in the future. For example, national demographics about people living longer and increased cases of dementia would suggest a need for more dementia care services in the future. Gaps in the local market may be identified by examining the Market Position Statement of your local authority. This data can be used to inform your short and long-term objectives, whilst preparing your organisation for the future.

Needs of individuals requiring care and support services and needs of local communities

The needs of individuals and local communities should feed into the decisions you make about your organisation’s business aims and objectives – after all, if there is little or no demand for the services you plan to provide, it is unlikely to be successful. Market research can be used to identify the needs of individuals and the community – this could include surveying existing service users to identify their current and future needs.

New trends in digital technologies and innovations

Embracing new technology and innovations can help to push your organisation ahead of the competition. It is also important to keep your organisation up-to-date with current technologies and innovations because maintaining the status quo can result in your organisation falling behind the competition.

Risks – actual and potential

You may have already identified risks to your business when you performed a SWOT analysis. The threats list will include factors that could have a negative impact on your business. These risks can be actual or potential. Actual risks are those which are a real risk. Potential risks are those that could possibly be a risk but may depend on other factors or you have incomplete information to assess if it is an actual risk. Planning, preparing for and mitigating risks is important when planning your organisation’s aims and objectives.

Your influence or not in respect of engaging in change and/or growth

Your attitude towards change will have a bearing on whether you are able to drive growth within your organisation. As a leader, you should have a positive attitude to change, embrace it and be able to motivate others to do the same.

Staffing needs in support of the above

When your business changes, including the provision of new services and the redesign of existing services, staffing requirements will need to be reassessed. This could involve recruitment, redeploying existing staff to other areas of the business or recruitment drives.