In 2014, I was a fresh graduate, bursting with passion. And a burning desire to find a job!
It wasn’t too long after I graduated that I found myself working for Meridian as a Productivity Specialist. Whilst you read a lot about the company prior to an interview, being on the ground and actually working for the company is something you can’t quite capture through Uncle Google. One of the things I didn’t quite appreciate was just how involved we got in the nitty gritty of things. And it’s something that till today, creates an enormous amount of excitement when I talk to people about what we do as an organisation.
My first day after the usual company induction was spent observing radiologists reporting on scans. I clearly remember a moment of panic and alarm as the doctor quickly apologised to me, saying there’s a patient who needs his attention next door and he had to shoot off. Wow! I was just a wall away from a patient and I’m observing what actually happens on the frontline. To this day, I find myself reflecting and thanking my lucky stars for not being stuck in an office, trolling through data and writing a report that may/may not even make its way up the list of priorities. I was ACTIVELY involved in working hand in hand with those at the frontline to deliver real change. Me! I was able to do that.
I re-joined Meridian a few months ago to head up the company’s Sales and Marketing team. And I still get very excited about the fact that what we do is very different. We actually do the doing. We roll our sleeves up and really get down to the root cause of the problem. And work hand in hand with the frontline to deliver solutions.
And best of all? Well, before I say that, let me say with pride that we’re not about expensive IT systems and software. We actually work with staff right at the frontline of healthcare to coach them, but really importantly, work with them to create new processes and systems that are tailored for them in their situation. It’s not always about fancy Excel spreadsheets and AI powered predictive modelling app based widgets. You use a whiteboard? Ok, let’s turn that into something that you can use to see whether people have the right amount of work allocated. Don’t know how to use Excel? No problem, how about we use a paper and pen for now.
I take huge amounts of pride in that we are different. We work with people to make change happen, in a way that is sustainable and tailored to the very organisations that we are asked to work with. And I can’t wait to begin having more of these conversations with clients as we look to find ways to improve productivity to meet the inevitable challenges they face in dealing with a post Covid-19 world that looks to be incredibly different.
Muhammad Haji
Meridian Productivity
