Building Staff Morale into the Finacial Equation

A common sense approach to bringing the true “value” of positive staff morale into financial planning, budgets & change management.

As far as I know pretty much everything in the NHS has a cost code, this information is then used to plan, manage and of course generate “charges” for treatments and procedures for accounting purposes. Thus management can see how their budgets are being deployed and identify areas where savings and improvements can be made.

Sounds perfectly sensible, or does it? So is there something missing from the equation, something not factored in to how budgets are calculated and managed that is actually creating unseen costs downstream?

If the above is the conventional wisdom lets challenge that for a moment drawing in part from my experience with internal comms, managing change and workforce development matters.

A friend of mine has had a very tough life, from childhood sexual abuse to time in prison for violent episodes, for him hospitals represent institution and authority, as he say he still never enters a room without first looking for his escape route.  

Against all his expectations and fears his experience when being assessed for a hip operation was an “epiphany”(his words)  and he was so moved he wrote to the hospital concerned to thank them, as everyone one he encountered from cleaner to consultant showed a kindness and compassion that was alien to him at the age of nearly 70.

This tells me that from a patients perspective interacting with what is clearly a very happy organisation has had a very positive outcome. It goes beyond just that visit, he is now far more likely go to the NHS with a problem rather than waiting till it becomes critical and needs expensive intervention.

Now reflect on what it is like working at Homerton who made him feel so at ease and where the caring nature clearly runs through every strata of the staff.

I know if it was me working in that atmosphere it would make me want to stay, to make best value of training when offered and my job satisfaction would be very sustaining.

If one continues this line of reasoning and you take a look at how hospitals perform, there is a very strong correlation between the morale of the workforce and hospitals that have “problems”.  Can anyone show me a hospital with high staff morale that has got itself in the news for the wrong reasons…I am pretty confident that if there are examples out there they - are isolated?

So in summary the up sides of a happy workforce where morale is high do have tangible and quantifiable benefits:

Less cost of recruitment as your workforce wants to stay.

Organisational memory is retained as a consequence.

Patient experience is improved with all the proven benefits to them

Happy teams look after each other, problem solve and collaborate.

The culture becomes far easier to manage when change happens.

In an open culture good ideas are given space to emerge.

If I wanted to make a change to how the NHS spends its valuable resources it would be to factor in the “value” of the benefits I have highlighted.

So how do you make that work within the existing framework?

I think the answer is simple, it’s not rocket science to work out the cost to the NHS of people leaving having received training plus the cost of recruitment. High staff turnover rates in a department means the core staff are constantly having to bridge the gap till the new person is up to speed. What does that cost in terms of efficiency and team morale?  

In the care sector, if a carer leaves after the first year the hard cost to the sector is said to be around £3,500! The figure for those leaving the Health sector would be considerably higher given the additional investment in training.

So that if you like is the business case, now how to integrate that in to the cost code model?

My solution is to award a financial value to staff morale, to think about it in financial terms.

So that actions taken that may enhance staff morale have a cost code with a positive value applied to it, which is included in the calculations.

If all plans that involve staff should be required to factor in the morale costs, so those with a negative value that were damaging to morale would be working with the true and real costs to the organisation, not in isolation on a project by project basis.

The approach means that financial planning has the human element inbuilt in to the accounting process, initiatives that have a high score on the “morale scale” factored in to the total budget are actually saving downstream costs that still have to be covered by another part of the business anyway, it’s all part of the same pot of money after all.

To engage staff in the process, who I believe would see this as an extremely positive step in their workplace by management; they could be asked to help put the value on the things that they feel are important in terms of staff morale.

I suspect it will vary very little from hospital to hospital, this is a people thing. After a year there would be an extensive data set from which one might be able to standardise the “morale/wellbeing cost code”.

To not factor in the positive and negative effects of staff morale is to bury ones head in the sand because the figures and evidence around retention and recruitment alone can show that these are hard costs to any Trust.

Compassion is another area that has a direct financial value to both care and health, I don't personally believe you can train people to be compassionate in any lasting way. It is very poor value for money.

You can however facilitate those with compassionate natures to the benefit of patients and the service overall, but you have to think a little different.

I would go further and say that the "common good heart found in compassionate people " is the glue of happy teams, the source of real job satisfaction. 

There has been a huge investment in training around "compassion" post Francis, such an insult to many for whom putting the patient first is instinctual.

It is possible to identify the people with the right stuff in them at the recruitment stage. I created a tool that was very good at measuring compassion http://tinyurl.com/bfp3qw3

Jon 

copyright Jon Bryant 2015

Sharing stories and experiences to help with our suicide prevention research

Sharing stories and experiences to help with our suicide prevention research

I had never considered myself as a person with a learning disability, it’s just the way it has always been.  At 60 I still struggle to spell even short words, like how many "L's" are there in "really" gets me every day.

So education in the 60's was a painful process and quite damaging as it just highlighted all the things I couldn’t do.

I was pretty sure I was reasonably intelligent but just couldn’t fathom why things like spelling and reading eluded me and was so easy for my classmates.

The school did have a word for my struggles  "laziness"! being the most common. Yet to me it felt like climbing a mountain everyday.

I left school having failed completely when it came to exams. The fall out was that in my teens I discovered drugs. To cut a long story short I was unaware of why drugs were so attractive to me, I couldn't help myself and things escalated ... I was injecting for 5 years.

When finally I started to see what a mess I was in (some years after those around me had), I found myself sitting on a window ledge 3 floors up feeling desperately miserable, trapped and lonely as I watched the people next door (who I didn’t know so wasn’t invited) prepare for a party in their garden.

I am soooo lucky! there was a phone nearby and self preservation kicked in so I rang the Samaritans and we TALKED, but for many they may be beyond that point of self preservation, engulfed in a downward spiral. Its so hard to stand back and realise what’s happening to you enough to recognise the seriousness of these feelings and do something about it.

For a person with a learning disability it may be all the harder for them to make sense of these feelings and express themselves.

Although I knew nothing of dyslexia I did discover the visual and creative world was the place for me, it played to my strengths, scratching my creative itch in a positive way, so I was very lucky young man. 

A Happy Ending

With hindsight my call for help was also the moment when my life changed direction in a good way.

I've been a video director and photographer for some 35 years now. Which in a strange way brings me full circle as I am now about to help create suicide prevention tool for people with a learning disability.

This is where you come in, I need your help to better understand the people we want to help and how best to communicate to them in a language everyone and anyone involved understands.

There is a considerable amount of academic work and research in this area, which is not only very hard for me to assimilate as its so technical but also it doesn’t give me the insight into the "heads hearts and minds" of the carers, families, friends and support workers in the lives of those who have felt suicidal.

The suicide prevention tools we are working on are for people with a learning disability and the people in their lives. As a director I learn by talking to people, asking questions and getting their personal insights and reflections so I really get a feel for what's in their heads hearts and minds. That is the key to making these tools effective, real world input.

What I am looking for?  it's people’s first hand accounts and experiences around the topic of suicide, suicidal thoughts, changes in behaviour, triggers, warning signs, solutions, personal strategies etc. In fact anything you feel might help us better understand this challenging subject from a 360 degree perspective.

It could be in any form, a blog and email, an offer to chat or to answer questions. Anonymity and confidentiality is a given, people can always get a friend to send us something.

Grassroots is the Brighton based suicide prevention charity who have already won the funding for this important work and it’s them you should touch base with please if you have a story, experience or a reflection you would be happy for us to learn from.  

Chris Brown, a director at Grassroots is the person to contact, she is often out training and doing amazing things to grow the charity and get the message out  so usually best to email her at Grassroots
chris@prevent-suicide.org.uk 

Please say if you wish to be anonymous its not problem, the important thing is to send us your experiences, so it's part our research process and knowledge base as we develop the tools.

We are intending to create some surveys soon too so that the information gathered is structured as Chris tells me there are some gaps in this kind of research data. It may also become a very useful resource for anyone who is part of a persons life who has learning disabilities and has concerns around suicide.

A key part of our strategy is to help facilitate the all important conversation, so the tools will be very accessible for all, relying a lot a "See and Hear" approach not text as in Easy Read.

If you want to learn more about the visual language we will be using as part of the toolkit then have a read of my blog. http://tinyurl.com/b8twhhy

To learn more about the great work at Grassroots:

Website www.prevent-suicide.org.uk
   Facebook http://bit.ly/Grassface
  Twitter http://bit.ly/GrassTwit
  Blog http://bit.ly/Grassblog
  YouTube http://bit.ly/GrassTube
 

Grassroots Suicide Prevention is a registered charity number 1149873 and a company limited by guarantee 5687263.

If you want to contact me:

jon.bryant@btclick.com @Chicustard on Twitter.

Standing back and looking in

I like not knowing what I can’t do….

Copyright Jon Bryant 2013

In at the Deep End

So let me boldly go, not knowing what I can’t do and offer “an outsiders” uneducated view of how communication passports might work….note to self … not your strongest sell so far Jon! That said I do place great value on “the novice mind” so there is an outside chance I won’t need an orthopaedic surgeon to remove feet from mouth, sure you will tell me if I do

A fully Qualified Novice.

One of the pleasures of being a video director is the way one gets parachuted into new areas and subjects that you know nothing about, you have a short time to absorb a great deal and then deliver solution to a totally new audience. I imagine that in some ways this is very similar for LD Nurses with each new patient.

The Joy of Tweet.

I joined in on a recent #LDnursechat the topic was communication passports and as it's been suggested by LD professionals that my visual language could play a “powerful role” in this area, things have been fermenting ever since (odour free I promise).

The History bit in 138 words… a lucky escape!

Some years ago I created a visual language for people with a learning disability with, as usual:) no previous experience of the subject or the audience. This is the story of how it first got started http://tinyurl.com/b8twhhy  Converting a 43 page legal document into pictures and simple language was not the easiest “first place” to start, but a look will help make better sense of what follows.

Didn’t expect this to happen.

Since I first mentioned it on Twitter in January this year I have had almost 1000 hits on the blog and to my surprise and delight the professionals, academics and experts in the field of Learning Disability have given me great feedback and support. This has lead to several meaningful projects, helping a hospital make its POVA services accessible to the very people they are reaching out to.

I am also delighted to have been approached to collaborate on creating a Suicide Prevention tool for a Brighton based organisation. Another very rewarding project is helping a national advocacy create a tool for parents with LD and Family Court staff including the security staff and judges. Its key role is to make the process easier to understand and less intimidating for parents with a learning disability or intellectual impairment when attending the family courts. This is where the future of their children may be being decided and they need to “make their case”.


Am I over simplifying things?…I rather hope so.



Would it work if we had 50 signing languages for the deaf?

Obviously not, one of the themes I picked up on from the #LDnursechat is a lack of consistency, there seemed to be local/regional differences in the format and content of communications passports around the UK.

If you are giving a blind person directions…it's pointless pointing.

Communication is a two way affair. One essential role of communications passports I would have thought is the ability to help both parties understand each others needs and provide a common language to facilitate this. It’s vital for good outcomes that both patient and the hospital staff communicate effectively.

Takes 2 2 Tango and 2 2 Communicate...          
A catch 22?

The lack of standardisation and awareness dilutes the effectiveness of communications passports. Sometimes they are not even looked at, apparently. Trying to raise awareness of something that comes in multiple forms can only be targeted with a scatter gun approach and as a consequence its effectiveness is hugely diluted. Selling a single proposition is always a much easier process, more cost effective and more sustainable. It's not like we have a different driving license & tax disc for each County we pass through, or when on-line every form is different depending on where you live! I have spent all my working life raising awareness so it is part of my solution.

He’s put that hat back on!

With my novice hat firmly in place I may at this point enter the foot in mouth zone. My knowledge of what is already in use re passports is to be honest, sparse, so I'm putting my hands up to that now. Being non medical it’s not that easy to get sight of current passports. Therefore I'm hoping to substitute my lack of knowledge with what I hope is common sense.

Out comes the Directors Hat next.

Looking from the outside in, the first thing that seems“logical” is to harvest as many variations of pre existing communications passports along with feedback on what works, what doesn’t and also a “wish lists” from all sides.

I never mind being called “Big Ears”.

The critical thing is to listen in equal measure to passport holders themselves and their carers/family and on the medical side, HCA’s, LD Nurses, Dr's and Consultants. My focus will always be on the users shaping the final output, only they know what works in the real world. The objective being to distill all the “good practice” from the cocktail of current solutions that is in use across the UK at present.

When hurdling don’t forget your vest!

I realise the vested interests in peoples own version of the communication passport is the biggest hurdle to overcome if my solution is to become a reality. This asks a fundamental question “what is best for LD people and more widely the NHS?" It would be a great shame if the reason a project like this stalls is because people don’t really want to act as a team with one goal in favour of retaining their version of the comms passport. So I have a plan B, that’s my job - bet you didn’t see the producers hat go on:)

Plugging my Plug-in Bolt-on Standalone

It would be possible to keep your vest on and still join in the game... I see the visual language as being a powerful plug in or bolt on to pre existing communications passports, providing the additional communication tool to enhance the many interactions that are part of being a patient in hospital.

Like the Family Courts project with the Dudley Advocacy this aspect of the work is about helping prepare for the daunting ,and making the unfamiliar a bit more familiar before the event. I can see the visual language tool being very effective in this role.

Just getting my other foot ready now:)

I am pretty sure that much of what currently exists is in written form, and while it’s designed to provide a “profile” of the person and information about them, aspects of their personality, abilities and limitations, preferences etc, I wonder how helpful these passports are in enhancing the frequent communications that relate to a stay in hospital for a person with LD and those interacting with them
? It is this role that I want to expand on next.

Pick a card... Any card you like.

When I first mentioned my ideas around this I was rather firmly put in my place on Twitter, “and just how did I expect to train all the people like LD nurses to use it?” Call me radical…though I prefer Jon, but if my vision for this works for the passport holder with a learning disability or perhaps brain injury then it should require no training for staff to use it anyway.

The concept is simple, naturally:) To help an LD patient express their needs and feelings to strangers(staff) in an unfamiliar place (hospital), they bring with them a set of cards that are about playing card size.

It’s a game of 2 halves.

On one side is an image that the person with LD understands to have a specific meaning. You will have seen the sort of images I make from the visual tenancy project. The back of the card could be pre printed with a written explanation on it so that anyone shown a card simply has to read it to know what it means. So as promised no training required.

Its OK to take sides

The reverse of the card could also be blank, this means that staff or carers can write down what this card means to that person…. "I feel sick; I am a bit scared; can I have a drink?; can you take me to the toilet?; I like tea not coffee; are you a doctor?"  Or "my bed is wet; can I get up for a walk?; thank you; I feel better now; I have a headache; mine's a vodka! ;can I play football here?; What time does the party start?"

I do actually think humour should be part of the mix, the LD people I worked with when creating the visual language all “got” humour and its value should not be overlooked in a hospital setting and what it does to improve communication and a sense of well being.

By working with both LD people, their carers and staff, the archive of images will build up based on what is proven to work. Those involved in interacting with the person, HCA’s and LD especially will from their years of cumulative experience be able to identify the 20 or 30 most common communication problems very quickly I am sure. This is gold dust for me.

The Pig and the Monkey

My role will to be that of “piggy in the middle/translator” listening to both users and providers to create a“vocabulary” that bridges the communications gaps they identify. I will be setting up a survey monkey so I can get that list of communications issues from everyone’s perspective.

Future proof… no Tardis required

If I could now ask you to now install your imagination app and jump in my Tardis… after wobbly visual effect and suitable radio phonic soundtrack you arrive with a carer and person with learning disability preparing for a stay in hospital.

They use a cloud based app to access and download images from the Visual Language resource. These are then loaded on to a smart phone or tablet or printed out. There are also a series of clips aimed at gently explaining what going into hospital will involve for the person with LD and their carers. The hospital also has a set of images available on the ward that they can use to help them communicate in a non verbal way with anyone. They are laminated plastic so reusable and hygienic.

Rides off into sunset on white horse…no hat this time.

The Nirvana of this concept would be that over time the archive grows to cover all aspects of independent living for LD people ,enhancing communications for both them and care and support services, for better quality of life.  In time, like road signs, the images become standardised and universally used and understood like signing for the deaf and braille for the visually impaired.

Less process more action, did someone say “action?”

This could be created and delivered very easily, it doesn’t need endless meetings and committees, external consultants, why?  All the expertise is out there now held by people like you, and its about me listening and responding creatively. What do you want to say and who do you want to say it to? 

Scaleable Start

What I am suggesting is completely scalable so one would start with a one ward pilot, getting input from everyone. When it feels like the concept is refined, then role out a little wider and listen and learn, adapt and modify all the time.

Organic is good for you

The critical thing is that it needs to evolve organically, ward by ward, hospital by hospital, user by user. Trying to go the route the NHS prefers e.g. come up with all the solutions before implementation, spend years in consultation, testing and research, is pointless and will be wasteful and disproportionate. With the right support this could be up and running in 3 months at a ward near you.

Buddy can you spare a dime?

To get the ball rolling this just needs funding and support from one phase to the next, so there is minimal risk to the NHS or charities involving themselves in it as it grows in well managed stages. When critical mass is achieved, the evidence base is there and then that's the time to roll it out more widely. Like all resources of any real value it will expand and change to meet demand over time.

Simple peeps!

The cost of the research, creating the images, the cards and the apps is insignificant, in creative and production terms it’s not complex at all and would represent a few months work with a small team. This project is purely about communication and that’s what I have done for 35 years, there is no huge changeover, re training, or new working methods to implement or overcome. 

Did I mention Simple and Cost Effective Awareness Raising and Training?

As to training and awareness raising across the NHS, "If a patient shows you a card with an image on and you are unsure of what they mean just read what is written on the back" ....so that's the training session over....only took 5 seconds and 27 words....Job Done! ...or have I over simplified things?

999

Do I need that surgeon I wonder?

I would love to get a small representative group together, comprising LD people and their carers, especially LD nurses and also relevant charities and organisations to give me their input and see if we can get this to a pilot stage.

I am sure I have bitten of a few more toenails than I can chew so please put me right via jon.bryant@btclick.com or @Chicustard on twitter.

I am on a bit of a mission to make this work and hungry to learn more so got my big ears on, not decided about the hat though:)  

Thanks for reading.

Jon

jon.bryant@btclick.com

About Jon    http://tinyurl.com/bxtp7bx

M 07831 832 439  

Copyright Jon Bryant 2013

Developing a generic version of the Visual Tenancy Agreement

  Working together… 

A proposition for Housing Associations

COPYRIGHT JON BRYANT 2013

 

I have a simple proposition for a small group of Housing Associations to work together and help me create a generic Visual Language version of  tenancy agreements. In return I will provide each association with a fully branded version for distribution via DVD, USB sticks & the web, images for print and web pages and DVD media at virtually cost price. This includes a licence for life and updates.  

 

What needs doing...

The pictures that make up the visual tenancy agreement DVD are complimented by a very simple “Plain English” narrative and designed to work for all audiences. If you have a look at this blog you can see a good selection of the imagery I have created and the thinking behind it. http://tinyurl.com/b8twhhy

Originally made and tested with input from supported living tenants it now has the endorsement of many influential professionals in Learning Disability so I can be 100% confident that it will meet the needs of supported living tenants. The way I designed it also means it also works for all your general needs tenants as well, so its perfect for induction and also for existing tenants where you may wish to reinforce understanding of the terms of their agreement. 

I have had tenants contact me on Twitter requesting DVD’s to take to their landlords because they found it so helpful in making the complex easy to grasp.

I won’t tell…

If you can honestly say you understand the legalise found in every  set of terms and conditions, insurance policies and agreements we all have to sign up to you are in a very small minority.

Even when tenancy agreements are simplified many are still text based, a very long list of “You must not”. This is not a perfect solution for all of your tenants who may have low literacy problems for whatever reason.

However by providing tenants with both your written agreement and a visual version ensures that they fully understand every aspect of their tenancy from day 1 leading to improved compliance and helping avoid potentially costly interventions. Its also very welcoming, your new land lord has gone the extra mile for you to make things easier to understand.

 

The History

As it was made some years ago for Origin Housing but it  now needs to be taken apart and rebuilt to create an up to date “ un branded and generic version”. By re creating it in modular form I can then bespoke the design of the pages and menus easily and cost effectively, so if you update your corporate branding or merge its quick and easy to update.   

Platforms for delivering media have changed considerably with the cloud and apps and intranets now common so I also want to make it future proof and app friendly.

To do this properly there is a good deal of research to be done to ensure the content of the new generic version matches everyone’s requirements. In order to achieve the above “up grade” it’s quite a complex and time consuming task and I am looking for support. 

 

The Deal
 

 My solution is to get 5 or 6 Housing Associations “Working Together” and in return for this support the discounts on DVD’s and licences guarantee a return on the investment and savings year on year.  By getting a group of you to work together I hope to mitigate any housing associations concerns about “perceived risk and exposure” as you are working together. 

Put simply in return for a contribution towards development and production I offer the following deal to ensure your investment in the development is re payed "with profits". We can fine tune this offer around your needs.  

 

      1)    Heavily discounted License fee, one off payment then free for life.

2)    DVD’s at virtually cost price for the next 5 years

3)    All the images in print ready format and optimised for the web

4)    A version of the visual tenancy agreement you can both host and copy to media such as USB sticks (these can be branded)

5)    Finally I will brand your version of the tool, normally a chargeable addition, so it follows your corporate identity guide.

 

 

 

 

Mitigating Your Exposure
Funding can be held anywhere I am not expecting anyone to place the full amount with me. I would see staged payments with agreed milestones I can evidence as the most practical way forwards.

 

References and Testimonials
I have done over £100,000 of work for Skills for Care, £40,000 with Origin Housing and worked with Thames Water for a decade on much of their internal and external communications. I am old school my reputation and my work are all I have ever used to promote myself. 

Summary

In exchange for supporting me to make a generic version I can make available to others I am repaying that investment very generously through discounts so there really is something tangible in it for you year on year.

I already have two Associations on board, bpha and Erimus but to do this project justice I am still looking for 3 or 4 others to join the “club”. I will be encouraging the housing associations to work together, getting your tenants involved to help me shape the final product.

Interested to know a bit more, would like me to send you a DVD?

Call me, Jon Bryant on 07831 832 439 or email me jon.bryant@btclick.com  
 Twiter @Chicustard 

COPYRIGHT JON BRYANT 2013

Behind a simple concept is a broader vision

Behind a simple concept is a broader vision that can benefit so many & provide an income for charities.
Copyright Jon Bryant 2013 

So what am I looking for?

My lone voice even with my directors hat on lacks the influence required for this project, it needs organisations or groups to work together to get behind the project acting if you like as project champions in their particular sector be it housing, mental health, advocacy, rehabilitation, life skills learning disability etc.   

I am in discussions with several national charities to make specific tools for their needs and also to then make it available for purchase, thus creating a revenue stream. As the visual language is a non verbal form of communication language is not a barrier, therefore the opportunities for those who get behind it are  not just limited to the UK regards sales. 

Because of the considerable endorsement/validation from the mental health professionals who want to use it for their work I now feel completely confident that what I have created is fit for purpose in the housing sector. It also means that anything new I produce will benefit from their expertise, input and their full endorsement.

 My Vision for the Tenancy Agreement

If you havn't seen how a 43 page legal tenancy looks in my visual language here you are:   http://tinyurl.com/b8twhhy

Any individual housing group or association producing their own version needs deep pockets to do a proper job and many are far too small anyway. I try to make every project I work on a benchmark, by which others are judged in that particular sector, it’s always been a good creative driver for me.

 Concept for Housing

The logical way forwards as I always see it is… Rather than individual housing organisations spending valuable resources to produce their own version, if they for example got together and created a central pot to fund a generic version e.g. unbranded and not site specific, this would tick lots of boxes. Everyone needs to understand their tenancy agreement and this would ensure that.

It has a “benevolent” aspect to it as well as it would mean that even the smallest players in the housing sectors could then access an off the shelf solution at a price they could afford, it also raises ability for the sector to meet their equality and diversity objectives.

There are a lot of housing people out there! So given the volume for a very small outlay landlords are actually getting all the benefits of a £17k project to ensure their tenants understand their rights and responsibilities.

The version you may have seen is designed to work on any platform, I am also looking to create and app.

 Different Options for the Housing Sector

For the slightly bigger players or any that want it, I could offer a simple “branded” but not personalised version, where we “badge it” as you see TV channels do it, usually top right of screen.

Take the branding forwards to next level, I could modify the menus and intro etc. to reflect their corporate design manual  and their organisation but essentially nothing else changes.

The final level/option is to change all the backgrounds so they are now shots that show an organisation’s own properties.  I designed the project to make this possible without too much effort, so that contains the costs for the future.

All of the above use the generic version as the "base metal" and as I have worked with brands like Pepsi, RayBan, Porche, VW, BT, Halifax NHBC etc. I have a good working knowledge of brand identity and design matters. 

 Logical Next Steps

Having invested so much time and love in this project and having been of work for 18 months with now resolved health matters, yippee:)  I can’t afford to personally fund the next and very important step. I need to communicate with as many different landlords from across the country as I can in order to identify exactly what needs to go in to the final generic version. It can all be done on-line so costs will be sensible but absolutely vital we meet everyone’s needs.

Once that is done I will need to fund the re design of the generic graphics to ensure a good long shelf life of circa 10 years I can then produce it in all the useful formats for all platforms.

As I have other business interests I would need take a “royalty” on sales and mentor a start up rather than become bogged down with repetitive production work which is not my thing these days. I am very drawn to creating work and training opportunities for people especially with learning disabilities if the chance arises.

Summary 

The visual language will continue to be developed as it has a role in communicating so many things. I am in discussions on the mental health side re making image cards that people with learning difficulties or any form of verbal communication can select and prepare to take with them to hospital to help tell staff of their needs. It even works for simple tasks like shopping so I intend to build up a library over time.

I know it is a big ambition but to me its just common sense and elegant because everyone wins and I do mean everyone!

My Personal Pitch

I have a very broad skills set and solid track record in comms and video production so forgive the cross sell but I am up for anything that’s going right now. Here is a page about my background,  
http://tinyurl.com/d7z6mur I also create 3D modelling and have developed some very clever software for asset management in housing sectors, it's on trial with the Environment Agency currently but I would be delighted to demo it for anyone who is interested.

Copyright Jon Bryant 2013