Synergia

🎓 Wrapping up a fantastic semester with our two University of Auckland interns, Aneesha and Emily!

As part of their placement paper, they spent 60 hours with the Synergia team, contributing to a range of projects, including data cleaning, data analysis and visualisations, literature reviews and much more . Their fresh perspectives and enthusiasm were invaluable, and we thoroughly enjoyed having them on board.

Thanks, and Emily, for your hard work and contributions! 🎉

Welcome back to another Synergia Staff Spotlight! 🔦

This week, Dr Matt Wright hits the stage...

What is the most rewarding project you've worked on? 📓

The Patient After Hours and Urgent Access (PAUA) SLAT. This is an alliance that is made up of all providers of urgent and emergency care in Metro Auckland. I am heavily involved in strategy and clinical impact. We have built up a large database of non-identifiable line-item data over the last 10 years from Urgent Care Clinics, Emergency Departments and St John, with significant detail and accuracy in the last five. The organisations involved get independent reporting on various quality indicators and the database allows questions from alliance members to be answered quickly - for growth and understanding of the system. Most recently we have provided providers with information on specific important diseases they have been involved in the care in, with a mechanism to give this information back to the clinician(s) involved in the case, for learning and review.

What’s the most interesting place your work has taken you? ✈️

Before COVID, we did a piece of work in the Philippines (Bataan) redesigning their provincial healthcare system. We were hosted by the governor of the state and met with public health officials, and spent time visiting the various healthcare facilities. We learnt about the local set-up of healthcare, where community leaders and religious elders support whanau to know when the right time to keep healthcare is. We provided a blueprint for the a new universal healthcare system, and some of the principles are relevant to the New Zealand setting. Being in a different country for a week at a time also allowed an appreciation of a different climate and culture, and a new appreciation of the New Zealand healthcare system.

What’s your favorite team-building activity or exercise at Synergia? 🧩

Despite having a small team and spending a reasonable time with each other, there is always more opportunity to connect and understand the various paths that have led us to the same office. We have done two activities worth mentioning. The first is an ice-breaker, to line up on a line from most recently arrived in New Zealand to first arriving in NZ, and then tell a story or two about your ancestors. This made for an interesting line up of cultures and background, and even a tale of prison time from one of the Synergian's great grandfathers. The second was spending time exploring our family history in depth in small groups, as a way of painting who we are today. It also allowed us a chance to discuss how this has shaped us ending up at Synergia, and strengthened the fact that everyone has the same reasons - which resonates with our organisations' values.

Tune in again to hear from more Synergian's!

Synergia was delighted to host Hon. Matt Doocey and Rawinia Thompsons visit with Tū Whakaruruhau, the collaborative delivering the Integrated Primary Mental Health & Addiction Program (IPMHA) across Tāmaki Makaurau) on July 10th.

It was an energetic and positive kōrero with a strong shared focus on improving population wellbeing through the delivery of quick, easy to access, and effective wellbeing support to Aucklander’s experiencing any form of distress.

Synergia looks forward to continuing to provide leadership and analytics support to this important front-line program.

https://www.aklwellbeingcollab.co.nz/

🎉 Synergia Staff Spotlight Series 🎉

Welcome to our brand-new series: "Synergia Superstars!" 🌟 Each week, we’ll be shining a light on the amazing individuals who make Synergia what it is. First up, Dr. Sarah Appleton, our Managing Partner! Let’s dive in and get to know her better!

💬 What's the best part about working with the Synergia team?
The connection and collaboration that happens through our mahi together and with others. Being surrounded by smart brilliant people that really want to make a difference through their work. No one is about the 9 to 5 – we are all about the value creation.

💬 What is your advice for young professionals starting out in their career?
Ok, this got me thinking a lot. I would say:

👥 Build your reputation and network through high quality engagements
🚀 Don’t let others limits become yours
🏢 Get in the office

The first one relates to being prepared and present with both colleagues and clients. Avoid hiding behind a laptop screen as it can lead to disengagement. Being prepared means doing your research, which is particularly important for earlier career professionals. You can quickly demonstrate your credibility by sharing some valuable facts and insights at the right moment.

Number two addresses the importance of not letting others’ doubts limit your achievements. This is patricianly common for women and earlier career professionals in the workplace. Back yourself and go for it! The support of a great mentor will also do wonders here.

My third point may be unpopular but being in the office offers more opportunities for growth and development for people earlier in their careers. Office presence (providing others are there) gives you access to amazing mentors, opportunities to learn by osmosis, exposure to workplace culture, connections to clients, and unplanned opportunities to bounce ideas with others.

📚 What book are you currently reading?
The Glass Cliff: Why women in power and undermined and how to fight back by Sophie Williams. It is a fascinating data led examination of The Glass Cliff social phenomenon – the hiring of women into leadership roles when a business is already underperforming – naturally reducing their chances of success.

On the lighter side I am reading Rachel’s Holiday by Marian Keyes book. Helps clear the mind before bed!

Thanks for sharing, Sarah! Stay tuned next week for another Synergia Superstar! 🌟