Core

A Guide gets you through difficult territory. They won’t pick your destination, though they may make suggestions. “This summit has a better view.” “We can get to that destination in half the time.” You are in charge of where you want to end up.

The Guide won’t carry your bags. Your party does the heavy work.

What they will do is lead you by the optimal route to where you want to be. Their knowledge of the area and experience of previous journeys means they can avoid the pitfalls and dead-ends and select easier and quicker paths.

In business terms, that’s what a Decision Guide does. It’s still your business, you understand what you are about, you make the decisions on what you want to change and your people do the work to change it.

I bring the subject matter expertise in making business choices and the experience of seeing how it’s been done before.

I may make suggestions:

• I raise awareness of drivers for change, new things to try, new challenges to be met.
• I help clients understand the environment in which they operate
• By making the connections across this environment I open up new possibilities to them
• An honest discussion and review tests significant business change before investment is committed

I lead you by the optimal route to your objective:

• I work with clients to define a set of agreed shared objectives
• I help them to make strategic decisions by selecting the optimum portfolio of initiatives, programmes and projects
• I give them the tools and facilitation to improve the quality of their decisions
• I help clients review their existing activity or plans to confirm their benefits and / or identify new ones

My role is to take you through the process of making those decisions so that you choose the best option and take the optimal route to business success.

I collect personal information that you share with me in the course of business. In handling this information, I am bound by the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR). This page will explain how this affects the way I work.

Keldale Business Services Ltd, is registered with the ICO

I David Waller am both the Data Controller and the Data Protection Officer. My company and contact details can be found at:

https://ico.org.uk/ESDWebPages/Entry/ZA328960

The information about you that I collect comes from you via email.

You have no legal requirement to share information with me, but if you do not I will not be able to communicate or do business with you.

The purpose of collecting personal information from you is to enable me to correspond with you, to provide my professional services and, where you are acting on your own behalf, to maintain my billing and accountancy records.

The categories of data/information I collect include: your name and contact details, your payment preferences and anything you tell me that is pertinent to the work you wish me to do for you.

You give me permission to hold and use this information in line with these guidelines when you provide it to me.

I keep the information you give me for seven years, which is the length of time suggested by my professional body and insurance company for client records.

Sharing your information:

If a third party (e.g. an employer or collaborating organisation) is involved, I will share relevant information with them where necessary.

You have rights over the information I hold about you. These are

Portability - you can ask me to send your information to someone else

Rectification - if you think my records are wrong you can ask me to change them

Erasure - in some circumstances you can ask me to remove your details from my records (this is sometimes called 'the right to be forgotten')

Fair profiling - you can ask that any processes I automate are done by a person instead of a computer. I don’t currently automate any information processing, although I do use online forms to collect information.

Right of access - you can have a copy of the information I hold at any time, by requesting it in writing. If you do this it will be provided within 30 days and free of charge.

Restricting processing - in some circumstances you can request that I stop processing your information

Objection - you can object to the way I process information (e.g. if it is used to send you direct marketing and you don’t want to receive this) and can ask me to stop using it in the way

Information - you have the right to understand how I collect and process your information (hence this privacy notice)

You can learn more about these rights on https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-the-general-data-protection-regulation-gdpr/individual-rights/

You can withdraw your permission for me to use your information at any time, although it would risk the failure of any contract between us. I can’t be held liable for poor work if you withhold crucial information from me.

You have a right to complain to the ICO if you have any problem with the way I store or use your data, or if you do not think your rights are being respected

My use of cookies:

I use StatCounter, a web analytics service, to track visitor activity on my website. These stats help me to understand how people are interacting with my website, which in turn helps me to develop it in a way which is useful to my visitors. The information collected is non-personal statistical information such as pages visited on the site, the duration of individual page views, paths taken by visitors through the site, data on visitors' screen settings. When you visit my website, a StatCounter analytics cookie (called "is_unique") may be placed in your browser. This cookie is used only to determine whether you are a first-time or returning visitor and to estimate unique visits to the site. No personal information is stored in the cookie.

I also sometimes embed links or content from other websites. These are clearly identified, but as a result you may be presented with cookies from these other sites. I cannot control the dissemination or operation of these cookies and you should check with the third party websites for more information.

Choosing not to accept cookies:

If you choose not to accept cookies, this may impact or reduce the functionality of some areas of my website.

You can find out more about StatCounter, and set your browser to refuse their cookies by clicking this link: http://statcounter.com/about/set-refusal-cookie/

To refuse third party site cookies you will need to check with the originating sites. Or, if you prefer not to deal with cookies on a 'site by site' basis you can use your browser to control which cookies you accept. http://www.aboutcookies.org/ will advise you if you do not know how to do this.

If you want to ask any questions about my use of cookies, please contact me.

David Waller BSc MBA CMgr FCMI MBCS CEng CITP

I’d like to think that I know Benefits Management. I’ve been doing it for a while now.

I was active in Cranfield University's Benefits Management research, applying the method in the rollout of BT's intranet, one of the first, largest and most successful corporate intranets (we achieved efficiencies and savings of £750M / year). I then took this experience to my customers in finance, utilities and central government.

I extended Benefits Management beyond its project management roots to develop new business and improve customer relationships. This proved valuable in winning Local Government partnerships and in BT's successful bids to the NHS worth over £1Bn.

I was recruited into the NHS to establish a public sector focused benefits management toolset. Since I moved into health, I’ve covered a range of topics from telecare to service re-structuring. I recently helped hospitals achieve strategic benefits from electronic patient records. I am presently a Benefits Lead in Health and Social Care informatics programmes, assisting local health economies to appreciate the value of sharing care information.

I’m joint owner of the Yorkshire Benefits Management Network which enables me to keep the methodology fresh and at the forefront of my clients’ service improvement activity.

A benefit is a result that a stakeholder perceives to be worthwhile.
And behind that simple statement lies all the complexity that comes with differing stakeholders and what they believe is valuable to them.

You’re selling* complex products and services to complex clients. The idea of giving the client what they want isn’t easy when they don’t fully understand the benefits they can have.
Your clients need to know that they are:

• Making the right choices
• Getting the most out of their investments

This means managing the benefits. You and they need to know where the benefits will come from and why they were chosen.
It means making sound connections between the objectives they desire, the benefits they need and solution that will get them there.

*If you provide in-house services, you must ‘sell’ them to your bosses and colleagues to persuade then to invest. They will still be spending money, even if they don’t give it to you.

"Benefits Management, it's not rocket science."

A common view of Benefits Management is that it’s not rocket science. True, but it’s nearer rocket engineering. It requires proper planning, meticulous effort, an understanding of the materials and careful monitoring of performance if it’s to be done well.  

Benefits Management is the best application of scarce resources to select and deliver appropriate benefits to identified stakeholders.

It means understanding your business environment to set sound, strategic objectives. Working out who your project is really for and what they actually want. Designing a feasible effective and economical solution that achieves the results you want. Planning, effort, understanding and monitoring; it's not trivial but the rewards are well worthwhile.

Contact me. I can help you

I’m a Decision Guide.

I bring the Benefits Management subject matter expertise to making business choices and the experience of seeing how it’s been done before.

It’s still your business, you understand what you are about, you make the decisions on what you want to change, and your people do the work to change it.

My role is to take you through the process of making those decisions so that you choose the best option and take the optimal route to business success.

In Keldale I’ve been fortunate to do some interesting things:

• Assist customer strategies - Public Policy Forum thought leadership, Ambulance Service restructure
• Develop future markets - Identity management, PACS x-ray digital imaging
• Solution design - Working Time Directive, Long Term Conditions, Public Sector Mobile Services
• Solution development - Local Development Authority project £1M Social Housing Alarms
• Understand the customer's 'RoI' - Highways Department PFI preparation
• Improved win-rate - Local Authority / Private Partnership Local Govt preferred bidder £150M, Local Govt partnership £220M
• Successful customer change management - Diabetes Contact Centre, Govt Dept Intranet Requirements Capture consultancy,
• Requests for BM assistance - LDA, NHS, Police

And I've worked with some big and interesting organisations...

I curate the website www.benefitofexperience.com, all the old Keldale blogs and articles (and new stuff as well) are now there.

If you'd like to dig deeper or you have a particular project where you think I can help, then please get in touch. Contact me at:

david.waller [at] keldale.com

07780 533876

Keldale Business Services Ltd.
Registered in England and Wales No. 7721202
Registered Office: Keldale House, Beal Lane, Beal, N Yorks, DN14 0SQ