The SINCRO Method

I did not invent it in an office. I named it after realising that in a health department with two hospitals and 24 sites, in a 20-hospital group during its integration, in a business school and in a telecoms operator, I had always done the same things in the same order.

1. S

   S · Situate

   Listen and measure before proposing anything: walk the processes where they happen, talk to the people who do the work, review complaints, audits and incidents, and set the baseline.

   Deliverable: Baseline and a map of the real situation

2. I

   I · Identify what is critical

   Separate the important from the urgent: key processes, risks, and legal, standard or regulatory requirements that cannot fail.

   Deliverable: Risk map and priorities agreed with management

3. N

   N · Normalise

   One common standard for every site: the non-negotiables the same everywhere, the rest adaptable. Just enough documentation, in one place, easy to find.

   Deliverable: A common standard and document control people actually use

4. C

   C · Commit

   Involve the people who do the work: multi-site working groups, champions at each site, committees and hands-on training.

   Deliverable: A network of champions and teams who own the system

5. R

   R · Review

   Common indicators, internal audits and the voice of the customer reviewed every month in a meeting that decides. Every finding becomes an action with an owner and a date.

   Deliverable: Monthly scorecard and an improvement cycle in motion

6. O

   O · Operate without me

   Pass the external assessment (certification, accreditation, regulator) and leave the system running without depending on one person.

   Deliverable: An autonomous system and a successful external assessment