Welcome to episode 36 of Continuous Quality Compliance Today I am talking about… planning your year so you are on track to comply with the standards. Planning is key to meet compliance otherwise you will do activities and not evidence or you will not do the right type of activity to meet compliance. I plan in December for the year ahead. It is strategy then I break it down into 90-day cycles. I look at what can be delegated . What you should be looking at is what audits need adding or even taking away look at the frequency of audits sometimes you have to do them more often if you find issues and noncompliance every time or if you consistently are complaint you could reduce the frequency. If you have changed process you would want to audit that. You will also want to audit tasks which are not part of compliance. For instance, look at your Sales and marketing how is you lead generation? Repeat clients, what is the best seller what add on can you have to stand out from others in the same marketplace. Look at the Assessment framework what do you need to achieve for Good once you are working closely to that look at how you can Outstanding . For Outstanding you need to think outside the box be innovative use technology be engaged with your clients and staff. You also need to think about how you will sustain being outstanding. So Good may be more achievable. I believe in being realistic and reduce stress then try to go for Outstanding if it is realistically not going to happen. Empowering your staff and training them is an important aspect of compliance getting feedback is important. If you have 10 or more employees, then it is good to look at a platform like Engagement Multiplier there is a link in the notes. https://www.engagementmultiplier.com/partner/tarunachauhan/ (https://www.engagementmultiplier.com/partner/tarunachauhan/) You can do a free trial and still get a report which is useful. I have a client who loves using Engagement Multiplier it has helped them to meet so many criteria both for local authority and the CQC and it has given them an idea of what their employees think and they can address challenges and issues as they arise not when its escalated. I am a partner with them I only partner with organisations I trust. By planning how you will meet compliance you will get more accomplished and have a clear idea of where you are headed. I see to many businesses trying to meet the standards without a clear plan. That does not work! I have been accredited for standards other than the CQC I was always working towards being inspection ready with evidence gathering being routine. Not something you rush around trying to gather because you have date for inspection. I made it easy to gather the evidence ensure it is part of business as usual and forms are not cumbersome. When planning for the year talk to staff get ideas from them they will be engaged and help you because they will know what the plan is. I work with business on my 12-month programme to support them to be inspection ready I look wider than just CC because your business is wider than CQC. There are different levels of service depending on how many audits I do. Planning the year ahead is important otherwise it is kike starting a care journey and not knowing the destination. Make sure all staff know your values and what you need to focus on. The registered manager role is complex, and you cannot do it alone if you do because you are small you have to have a clear plan in place, so you do not get overwhelmed. http://www.tchauhanconsultancy.co.uk/ (www.tchauhanconsultancy.co.uk)