Emma Owen

I am a highly motivated, resilient and adaptable individual who has a passion for improvement and organisational effectiveness. I am an experienced workforce practitioner and have a broad knowledge of the Health Board, NHS and public sector working. Having been employed within workforce for over 20 years I have developed my skills across the different functions of workforce to ensure that I have a balanced skill set. Learning the different functions of workforce has been incredibly important to me to ensure that I can be the best practitioner possible. To support my self-development I have also undertaken a number of self-guided learning activities to understand the different professions within the NHS, this supports me to undertake my role with compassion and to be able to have constructive conversations.

My role allows me to use my expert knowledge on system functionality and workforce processes/policies to influence decision making across the Health Board to ensure that service groups have access to and use the information & systems available to them to deliver the best care possible for the population within Swansea Bay. The use of systems is integral to operational decision making that impacts on staff wellbeing and patient care.

My previous role of being an advisor on terms and conditions of service has supported not only the configuration of the systems but also the practical application or undertaking analytical assessments of effective working practices. I have identified a number of examples of practices that breech NHS terms and conditions of service and provided guidance and options available to ensure compliance and wellbeing of staff.

Applying the core values and strategic direction of the Health Board I have successfully collaborated with a number of service groups to embed systems to improve effectiveness. As a system expert and workforce lead I have frequently identified issues with rosters that have implications to the staff ad service. I have experience in analysing data, identifying issues and working with the service to implement remedial action. In a recent example I identified that poor rostering practices led to inefficiency and members of staff not being paid correctly. Consequently, I worked with the service, managers, payroll and individuals affected to implement changes that resulted in improved service delivery and financial management.

I have a vast amount of experience in understanding strategic aims and using my knowledge to apply these operationally in the development and use of the workforce systems. I have supported the Health Board in developing plans to harmonise the systems used to achieve cost reductions and consistent reporting. A recent example of this was the decommissioning of a system which required the migration of approximately 2,500 users. I developed a robust business plan which secured additional funding for the migration.

I am also part of several work programmes that are focussed on aligning and delivering the workforce and National Health and Social Care Workforce Strategies. My role is to influence and deliver the digital components of the strategies which requires me to work across a number of professional groups. My key aim is to integrate systems, their data and use to achieve our strategy. An example of this is flexible working, which is a key objective of the Health Board and its retention strategy. I co-chair a flexible working group whereby there has been some feedback from the "big conversation" that the Health Board needed to be more flexible with staff identifying their worked shifts, consequently, we are trialling a self-rostering pilot. My role has been to provide advice on governance to safeguard minimum staffing levels, how the systems are utilised to manage the rosters, data gathering and benchmarking, It is critical to demonstrate improvement and measure effectiveness on the workforce and service.

I have strong communication skills that assist me to engage with a range of individuals at all levels. I have used my communication skills in a number of situations to achieve a positive result and often in difficult circumstances. I have supported service groups in consultations on changing working patterns which required me to respond to queries in a sensitive manner whilst accurately articulating the implications for staff.

I have a vast network of colleagues across different professional groups and sectors across the UK and frequently undertake benchmarking activities that support my work to ensure that the Health Board keeps abreast of technological developments.

I have experience in leading change programmes that have been highly complex and require engagement. During a boundary change I was responsible for ensuring the disaggregation of workforce systems which required both technical and process changes.

I have forged excellent working relationships with corporate services, service groups and staff side representatives.
I am highly experienced and effective at working with a range of stakeholders to undertake service assessments and identify opportunities for improvement. I frequently engage with staff, managers and other stakeholders in a range of discussions.

I have assumed a leadership role across Wales advising other Health Boards on system implementation, configuration and effectiveness. I am also a member of a number of national groups that work collaboratively to oversee the development of systems to ensure that they meet the needs of Welsh Government reporting. A recent example of this is where I was acting on behalf of NHS Wales to negotiate changes to acuity recording systems and work with external suppliers to develop and test functionality to ensure that it met Welsh Government reporting requirements. I have also assumed a leadership position across Wales which require me to be pragmatic and negotiate to ensure that customer needs are being met.

I have a strong knowledge base of the financial issues that impact on the delivery of services and the role of technology in managing effectiveness. During my role of being a rostering project manager I worked closely with finance and corporate nursing to develop a set of key performance indicators to measure cost reduction.
As a budget holder I also been successful in securing multiple invest to save funding initiatives from Welsh Government that has supported the Health Board in implementing and expanding the use of systems to achieve increased effectiveness and cost reductions. This required me to work with finance and other leads to develop proposals, present at Welsh Government and respond to questions.

I have excellent analytical skills that support my role as a project manager to always seek for potential solutions to overcome barriers. My previous role as a service improvement lead has allowed me to develop a range of skills to ensure that changes are controlled and managed to lead to successful implementation.
I am constantly seeking to identify opportunities for improvement and to make a difference.