Here at Florence we’ve been getting to know the people who make up our team with our Behind the Scenes series. This week, we’re talking to Derek who used to work in care himself. He saw first hand the issues in the industry and now he works every day with us at Florence to help us fix them!
Who are you and do you do Florence?
My name’s Derek Brown and I’m the managing director at Florence for the north of England and Scotland. I’ve been here for two and a half years. Previously I was manager of various agencies in and around Scotland, I’ve also worked in different care settings for 13 years as a care manager.
That allowed me to build up an understanding of care and the challenges that care is facing.
What made you want to join Florence?
I was happy within the role I was in but when I met Dan Blake he gave me some of his charm and sold what Florence’s values are. I like that we’re working that bit quicker, that bit smarter and we’re trying to do the right things to ensure care staff get paid well and that the care settings we provide to are able to save money and get quality staff.
This attracted me to Florence. I was interested to see how technology could help the care sector because I was used to pen and paper, phoning round and filling shifts.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
To always listen and learn. I truly believe that if you’re able to help somebody then you should help them, not because you’re looking for something back, just because it’s the right thing to do.
I believe that the people that work for you are the ones that have the answers. I’m not the person with all the answers, that’s for sure! My team has more of the answers than me.
What’s your favourite thing about working at Florence?
I like that it’s dynamic and that there’s constant change.
I like that there’s inspiring people, there’s a young vibe and culture, which is exciting. I love that people are bringing new ideas to the table.
There’a a freshness about what we do and we’re not set in our ways - we’re willing to try new ideas and introduce change.
What’s the biggest challenge that Florence is facing at the moment?
Understanding the best way for us to grow. It’s about getting the right people in the right positions within Florence.
Having the right people working with us will help Florence achieve our goals.
What’s a fun fact about you that might surprise us?
As a kid I competed at a national level in chess!
What’s a piece of advice that you would give someone thinking about joining Florence?
I would say do it!
Come and join us with a positive attitude, a willingness to learn, be positive within the team and you’ll be successful at Florence.
Where do you see Florence in five years’ time?
We’ll be international and be able to support all different types of care and job roles within care; senior nurses, carers and maybe even move into covering all the other roles people work in within care.
Hopefully we will be working within all care settings, I mean if you are going to put a person on the moon, they will need medical care! If you go to put someone on a cruise ship, they’ll need medically trained staff.
I really think that all of these other types of opportunities that nurses and carers have I would love to be able to offer them on our platform.
If you want to join Derek and the Florence team, we’re hiring! Check out our available roles here.
