WHO WE ARE

 >> Our Vision & Our Mission
>> Business
>> The Team
>> Staff
>> Company Policies
>> Equality, Diversity and Disability Policy
>> Information Assurance and Security Policy
>> Training Policy
>> Health and Safety Policy
>> Environment & Sustainability Policy

Our Vision & Our Goal

Our vision is to become the leading provider of management consultancy services to the Health and Social Care sector and commercial interests, within the UK. To enable us to do this we have become a first choice supplier of consultancy services delivering genuine value for money to our clients. We believe in building strong client relationships based upon integrity and respect by:

• Offering the highest value added to our work
• Working in a collaborative and inclusive manner with clients to ensure deliverable outcomes
• Giving impartial advice based on practicable evidences
• Structuring our business on long term client relationships
• Always charging fees at a fair rate and on a fixed price basis wherever possible
• Employing the most qualified, talented and creative people
• Flexibility in our approach to work based on the client’s needs, resources and timescale
• Having an open and pleasant working relationship with our clients
• Building strong and enduring relations with people founded on mutual values and beliefs

Our goal is to work in partnership with clients to help improve their businesses, gain efficiencies and enhance profitability. Our people are qualified, experienced and creative professionals. We believe that the results we achieve are driven by the insight of our staff coupled with our robust methods. We understand that our clients are interested in measurable benefits. Whether it’s running a finance transformation project, a training programme or seeking a new critical hire for a client, we always remember that successful delivery is what makes our clients come back for more.

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Business

Byrnes Freeman offer management consultancy services to both public and commercial sectors that covers all stages of the project lifecycle - from strategic business case to whole life cost monitoring.

Our projects range from full Project Management on large national programmes to individual consultancy appointments and are applicable to any public or private sector enterprise.

Our project management experience within this arena encompasses:

• Public and private healthcare, local authority, central government and education sectors
• Capital works, IT programmes and business change
• Project and programme management
• Technical advice and monitoring for clients in PFI/PPP (NHS Trusts or funders)
• Primary care, acute care and research facilities

Methodologies
Byrnes Freeman utilises a number of key standards and methodologies in its work, and takes pains to maintain a high degree of compatibility and compliance with UK government standards for such tools. This document provides details of these.

PRINCE2
PRINCE2 is the OGC’s major project control methodology, mandated across government for managing major projects. Byrnes Freeman has extensive experience of tailoring "localised" versions of PRINCE2 to create an appropriate standard for a public organisation, adapted to individual management structures and geographic/reporting layouts. Most of our consultants are qualified in the first instance by their vast practical project management experience. The great majority of our consultants hold this qualification.

MICROSOFT PROJECT
Microsoft Project is the proprietary project planning/management software package we use to control client projects. It maintains a clear track of progress and helps to quickly and accurately control meetings, project milestones, etc. A major additional plus are the powerful graphical capabilities which help us to communicate progress clearly and effectively without asking clients to wade through lengthy written reports to find what they need to know.


BALANCED SCORECARD
Government interest has grown in the “Balanced Scorecard” approach developed at Harvard in the early 1990’s. Now fairly mature, this has attractions in being more adaptable to the needs of major business change. We have used Balanced Scorecard very effectively in IT Strategy development and in developing formal Business Cases for investments and projects – the process of balancing between the four perspectives (see diagram) is a powerful tool for identifying and realising benefits and costs. An added attraction is the concentration on measures. This suits Government priority to see clear and evident progress against KPIs (key performance indicators) and targets.

INFORMATION ECONOMICS
Information Economics is a structured way of looking at the use of technologies and systems in organisations, which emphasises the business management viewpoint and priorities. It focuses managers on real value and worth in ICT investment, expressed in financial terms to which general managers readily relate. We apply a set of basic standards by which the real value of investment pinpointed through the "hidden" or "intangible" benefits and costs. At a higher level, Information Economics is about integrating investment in applications and supporting technology infrastructures within the routine pattern of decision trade-offs in business.

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The Team

Our strength lies in the endless combination of skills and services we can provide from a single source and our ability to match the right resource, with appropriate skill set to the assignment.

Our people are:

Committed and energetic: Our staff recognises that their time expenditure is the client’s money. All of our people are willing to go the extra mile.

Client focused: We only employ people who are willing to develop client relationships, and understand that mutual respect is essential for good business.

Qualified for their roles: Most of our consultants will have completed post graduate education including MBA, PRINCE2, LEAN, Six Sigma and IPD qualifications.

Creative: A creative solution to a problem can save time, money and offer our clients competitive advantage.

Experienced There is no substitute for ‘in the field’ experience. All of the consultants who join Byrnes Freeman have strong track records in a specialist field.

Up for the challenge: We don’t encourage people to stay in their comfort zone. All of our consultants are asked to embrace new learning experiences.

Across our organisation we have experts in fields as diverse as:

Advanced Technology Architecture Asset Management Communications Controls Corporate Resilience Planning, Policy and Economics Environment Interchange Performance Improvement Service Improvement & Re-design

Logistics Materials Consulting Planning Project and Programme Management Research & Development Security Consulting Software and IT Services Sustainability Services Change Management Risk Consulting World Class Commissioning

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Staff

Suzanne Dean (Managing Director)
Suzanne established the Byrnes Freeman Consulting group having worked in healthcare consulting for the last 8 years. She is Managing Director of this thriving UK & European practice and continues to lead on assignments as well. She has a first class mix of professional, formal and personal skills gained across the commercial Healthcare and Public NHS sectors and through an MBA level education.
Suzanne gained her experience of working on complex Public Sector programmes as an Interim Contractor within the NHS and Local Government; where she led challenging and demanding programmes and projects; as diverse as clinical process design and stakeholder engagement, to IT transformation and World Class Commissioning.

Simon Freeman (Senior Consultant)
Simon has wide ranging experience in a number of commercial and public sector environments, spanning twenty years. During this period he has worked as a practitioner for change and in delivering achievable targets to deadlines and results-oriented outcome factors to deliver appropriate and robust solutions.
Previous experience has included work in the private commercial sector, MOD, DfES and LA (Children’s Services). He is therefore, skilled in both product and service oriented companies and organisations.

Pam Bosworth (Senior Consultant)
Pam is a person with an extensive nursing, medical and IT background. Having worked in different countries, cultures, Hospital, Medical and Industrial settings.
She has proven leadership skills involving managing, developing and motivating teams to achieve their objectives. First-class analytical, design and problem solving skills, and is dedicated to achieving and providing high quality services.
She has gained solid knowledge and experience of the healthcare industry by working in both the private sector and NHS at senior levels in acute, primary care, tertiary and allied Sectors within a variety of transformational roles.

Paul Byrnes (Associate)
Paul has a wide past experience in sales and marketing, his consultancy work spans human resource management coaching, leadership, organisation development, and workforce planning, development and redesign.

Caroline Boya-Hanssen (Associate)
Caroline is involved in consultancy work which covers strategy and clinical service redesign, leadership development, organisational development and coaching, especially of clinicians.

Dr. Stephen Flower PhD. (Associate)
Stephen comes from an IT background and has wide ranging experience in all areas of consultancy for IT planning and integration of services.

Hannah Lightbody (Associate)
Hannah’s consultancy work encompasses coaching and personal development, leadership development, strategy and organisational development and delivery of sustainable change.

David Thomas (Associate)
David’s consultancy work covers strategy and clinical service redesign, leadership development, organisational development and coaching, especially of clinicians.

Mark Johnston (Associate)
Mark's consultancy work spans human resource management, coaching, leadership, organisation development, and workforce planning, development and redesign.

Gemma Hale (PA/Office Manager)
Gemma has a well developed mechanism for managing staffing and office requirements, conference call technology and diary keeping for keeping the office side of the business running efficiently. She has a particular interest in working with consultants to recognise and understand processes for change. She has worked extensively with health care teams.

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Company Policies

Our aim is to improve your organisation’s performance, helping you to do what you do better.

Our style of working is to combine skills and experience with pragmatism, aiming to work closely with the client’s project team and other staff, paying particular attention to their objectives, culture and environment.

Our advice is completely independent covering a full range of services from strategy into action, to organisational development, CRM and business processes to effective ICT and web solutions.

With a strong focus on the effective management of change we successfully integrate people, processes and technology to help our clients tackle the most challenging management issues. Our clients are our partners, in relationships that often develop over a number of years and many projects. People appreciate the benefits of our down to earth approach. Our skilled and experienced consultants are committed to making your organisation more successful by offering you a personal service with honesty and integrity. Your interests always come first and we will work with you to discover new business possibilities, options and solutions that will move you forward and improve your performance.

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Equality, Diversity and Disability Policy

Byrnes Freeman is an equal opportunities employer and will not tolerate discrimination on grounds of gender, marital status, sexual orientation, race, colour, nationality, religion, age, disability, HIV positivity, working pattern, caring responsibilities, trade union activity or political beliefs - or any other grounds.
This policy covers all aspects of employment, and applies to all dealings with staff, associates, subcontractors and any other person with whom we may conduct business.

Underpinning Principles:
The following principles apply in all personnel matters:
fairness – all people must be treated fairly
courtesy – that staff shall treat each other with professional courtesy and no one will be subjected to victimisation, discrimination or harassment;
reporting – should any employee or contractor experience or observe unfairness or harassment in any of the Firm’s dealings with people they should bring it to the notice of a Director;
review – any reports involving alleged discrimination will be reviewed by the Directors

We will demonstrate our commitment by:

• promoting equality of opportunity and diversity within the communities in which we work and with all our partners and workforce;
• aiming to build a workforce which reflects our customer base, within the diverse communities in which we work, with the aim of having parity of representation across the workforce;
• treating our customers, colleagues and partners fairly and with respect;
• promoting an environment free from discrimination, bullying and harassment, and tackling behaviour which breaches this;
• recognising and valuing the differences and individual contribution that people make;

The cooperation of all employees is essential for the success of this policy. However, responsibility for achieving its objectives, and for compliance with the relevant Acts of Parliament and the various Codes of Practice, lies with the company. Behaviour or actions against the spirit and/or the letter of the laws on which this policy is based will be considered serious disciplinary matters. Every person working for Byrnes Freeman has a personal responsibility for implementing and promoting these principles in their day-to-day dealings with customers, with each other and with partners.

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Information Assurance and Security Policy

Byrnes Freeman operates in accordance with a certificated quality management system under ISO 9001.
We recognise that all Government/Public Sector clients are expected to comply with security related legislation (e.g. Data Protection Act especially principle 7), BS7799
When Byrnes Freeman consultants are engaged on assignments, we operate under a contractual “duty of care” to ensure any client information provided to us or prepared by us is secured in accordance with the protective label and associated handling rules.
Our technical and non-technical security procedures are implemented to meet at least Data Protection principle 7 requirements and the security objectives of BS7799. Our own risk assessment indicates an exceptionally low level of risk to any breach of Confidentiality, Integrity, Availability or Accountability of our own or client related information.

Personal Security
Byrnes Freeman recognises that public sector clients may wish to security check our consultants. Byrnes Freeman recruitment and contract placement procedures include basic checks on identity as well as any security clearance already held. This usually is by inspection of passport, driving licence, recent utility bill to home address as well as telephone or written references to previous employer/s. We are always willing to complete any necessary security questionnaires required by the client as well as comply with other reasonable personal security measures.

Disclosure
Byrnes Freeman recognises that clients often require a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) to be signed either corporately or personally by each consultant deployed. Byrnes Freeman policy is to assess client NDAs on a case by case basis.

Need To know Principle
Byrnes Freeman Directors and Consultants must ensure that information assets generated or received in the execution of client contracts will only be made available to those with a valid “need to know” about them or their contents.

Electronic Mail
The use of Byrnes Freeman MS Outlook/Exchange email and Consultant/Associate private email facilities is considered on a case by case basis for assignments. A general rule is that protectively marked documents are not attached to emails unless expressly authorised by the client and have risk assessed the likelihood and impact of misdirection and/or unauthorised access. Where they are sent appropriate passwords and/or encryption mechanisms are also agreed on a case by case basis.
Anti-spam defence is applied to all company email accounts.
Password and access permissions are configured to control network and system access and to enforce appropriate separation of access to email accounts, company and client related file stores. This includes all assignment records, personal and financial/accounting information. The use of strong passwords is enforced.

Secure Erasure/Deletion
On completion of assignments all “sensitive” documentation electronic or manual is deleted (unless required for legal reasons). Any original source paper documents are also returned to the client or disposed of according to relevant Information Governance protocol.

Consultants
Individual consultants can and occasionally work from home-offices when not required to be on site or at Head Office. In the event of absence of a key consultant/contractor Byrnes Freeman Directors and associate resources can be called upon to respond to urgent client needs and maintain service continuity.

Data Protection
Byrnes Freeman is committed to protecting the rights and privacy of individuals in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998. In order to comply with the law, information about individuals is collected and used fairly, stored safely and securely. It is not disclosed to other third parties unlawfully.
Byrnes Freeman ensures all staff are made aware of the need to maintain the confidentiality, integrity and availability of company and client provided information. This includes compliance with Official Secrets Act and confidentiality agreements agreed in tenders/contracts.
Staff are notified to contact a Director in any case of doubt or difficulty on the protection/processing of personal data as well as confidentiality of non-personal sensitive information.

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Training Policy

Byrnes Freeman is committed to continuous training and development of its employees both in job-related skills training and lifelong learning for personal development. Our employees are our greatest asset; helping them to develop is crucial to the achievement of our goals. All training practices and procedures endeavour to support individuals to achieve these goals and to create a motivated workforce capable of meeting new challenges, skilled and competent in all aspects of our work.
Training needs will be analysed in a number of ways as set out below.
Our consultants and support staff acquire and maintain their high level of subject matter knowledge through a variety of sources including:

• Attending formal commercial training courses;
• Participation in in-house seminars and workshops;
• Through personal research and study;
• Courses and briefings by professional bodies, technology suppliers, and industry trade associations.

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Health and Safety Policy

Byrnes Freeman Ltd recognises its duty to comply with the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

Objectives In order to achieve compliance with the policy, Byrnes Freeman Ltd uses the following objectives:

• to set and maintain high standards for health and safety at its offices;
• to ensure that these standards are communicated to all employees;
• to ensure that all staff have the necessary information, instruction and training to enable them to work in a safe manner;
• to ensure the dissemination and discussion of relevant information on health and safety issues;
• to promote and to encourage health and safety awareness of employees;

Responsibilities
To ensure the welfare of all staff, the avoidance of accidents, and the promotion of safe workplaces, the following responsibilities have been established.

• the practical compliance with the Health and Safety Policy in their work areas;
• ensuring that the operations under their control are, as far as is reasonably practicable, conducted without detriment to the health and safety of employees or others who may be affected by their activities;
• ensuring that they co-operate with any risk assessment, inspection and audit;
• ensuring that all accidents, incidents and near misses, within their area of work, are reported to the relevant team leader/manager.

Individual Responsibilities
By the nature of our business, our staff and associates will work for much of their time on client sites. During such periods, they are expected to:

• continue to operate to the same standards and rules of health and safety as if they were at our own offices, insofar as these are applicable
• ensure that they immediately familiarise themselves with the client’s health and safety policy, and comply with any requirements thereof.
• Co-operate in implementing the requirements of all Health and Safety legislation, related codes of practice and safety instructions;
• refrain from doing anything which constitutes a danger to themselves or others;
• immediately bring to the attention of their manager/team leader any situations or practices that are noted which may lead to injuries or ill health;
• ensure that any equipment issued to them, or for which they are responsible, is correctly used and properly stored;
• be responsible for good housekeeping in the area in which they are working;

This is a statement of policy by Byrnes Freeman Ltd of its intentions, and arrangements for ensuring the health and safety of its employees, and contractors whilst working in our offices or on client site.

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Environment & Sustainability Policy

General
Byrnes Freeman is committed to action in the following areas:

• maintaining and improving the internal and external environment where ever possible;
• promoting positive and responsible attitudes to the environment through its practices;
• minimising the use of materials and energy and developing procedures to enhance recycling and recovery of materials.

Environmental Objectives:

• to reduce overall the carbon footprint of the company and individuals therein; whether concerning transport, office consumables and natural resources

In the Office:
Although Byrnes Freeman is not a manufacturing or distribution company, there are still many areas in which an environmental policy is appropriate, and where all employees and associates should be aware of the environmental consequences of their actions. In particular attention should be paid to the following points:

• Use/order re-cycled stationery whenever possible.
• Other supplies (e.g. toner cartridges for printers and copiers) should also be purchased in re-cycled form wherever practicable. All used cartridges are to be stored and recycled as part of our purchasing process.
• All waste paper is placed in the appropriate bins which are sited in offices.
• Be conscientious with regard to natural resources such as water and energy
• Use company Intranet, phone and email systems for communication
• By default, electronic copies of documents should be sent to a client, supplier or other contact unless there is a specific need to despatch a paper version

The above principles are only examples of ways in which we can become environmentally more aware. There will be many others and staff are requested to be alert to the possibilities for future action. Suggestions for policy improvements and additions are always welcomed.

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