Look for quality in an ordinary working day

What we found in the news

The Care Quality Commission's 2023/24 State of Care report (opens in a new tab), published in October 2024, includes examples from adult social care services rated outstanding. It describes providers:

putting people at the heart of all decision making

These examples come from a small sample of inspection reports, rather than a study proving which management practice causes better care. They prompt us to consider where an organization looks for evidence of its own quality: the ordinary working day offers a useful place to begin.

Why this matters to us

Quality can sound like something that lives in a report. People encounter it in smaller moments. Can they find someone to ask? Does a colleague explain a change? Is a preference treated as useful information when it complicates the timetable?

Leaders cannot understand every encounter from a dashboard or an occasional visit. They can, however, create regular opportunities to notice how the service works and ask why.

We like quality conversations that connect experience with the conditions behind it. A thoughtful welcome may depend on time, clear information and a colleague being available to help. Those are operational matters leaders can examine.

Choose a small part of an ordinary day

Imagine a hypothetical program manager looking at how first-time participants arrive. The team has a welcome procedure, but the manager wants to understand how it works during a normal session.

With appropriate arrangements and respect for privacy, the team gathers different perspectives: the reception colleague, the activity leader and participants who wish to contribute. They examine the sequence without turning it into a performance staged for management.

Perhaps a visitor receives helpful directions but waits without knowing who will greet them. Perhaps the printed program is clear, but a last-minute room change has not reached reception. Perhaps a staff member has found a good way to introduce choices that the wider team could learn from.

Record what was observed separately from what people think might explain it. That distinction keeps curiosity open.

Ask what made the experience possible

If an encounter went well, identify the support behind it. Was information easy to find? Did the colleague have enough time? Had the participant already shared a preference through an appropriate route?

If something was difficult, examine the same conditions. A rushed exchange might reflect unclear roles, conflicting tasks or a shortage of cover. It may also require individual support or another response. The point is to investigate, rather than choose an explanation before hearing the people involved.

Include the person receiving the service in the interpretation where possible. Staff may feel an arrival was efficient while the participant felt uncertain about what they could choose. Both observations deserve attention.

Avoid turning one encounter into a verdict about the whole organization. It is a starting point for a better question.

Bring the finding back to the people doing the work

Agree a practical response the team can try. In the illustrative program, that might mean clarifying who greets new participants and how reception knows that person is ready.

Explain the reason for the change. Invite staff to say whether it is workable during a busy session, and ask participants whether the new arrangement is clearer. Keep the existing strengths in view as well as the difficulty being addressed.

Return after the team has used the change. A new instruction is not evidence that the experience improved. Ask what happened and whether the adjustment created a different problem elsewhere.

This need not become a large inspection exercise. A focused, respectful look at everyday work can give a manager something concrete to discuss and a team something manageable to improve.

What this means for the people you serve

People contribute knowledge about quality through the service they experience. Offer more than one way to share that knowledge, including a private conversation where appropriate. Someone should not need the confidence to speak in a group to explain that an arrangement is confusing or that a small kindness mattered.

The genus connection

Where enabled, genus feedback, recorded participation and staff workspaces can provide information for a quality discussion. They do not replace direct experience, professional judgment or the organization's quality responsibilities.

Configured tasks and resources may help colleagues follow through on an agreed change. The partner portal and insights (opens in a new tab) describe current capabilities; whether they fit a particular quality process needs to be agreed with the organization.

One question for your next team meeting

Which ordinary moment in our service would teach us most if we understood it from several people's perspectives?