This week on Behind the Scenes at Florence we're talking to Jen, our Branch Nurse in Scotland. Jen had never worked for a startup before joining us, and she loves the autonomy Florence gives her.
What do you do at Florence?
My role is clinical management and support for nurses in Scotland. I’ve been a nurse for just over thirteen years myself; I started out in A&E in Glasgow and then I moved to Australia and was an agency worker over there for a couple of years. Then, for the last few years I’ve been part of a clinical standards team for the Department of Work and Pensions.
What made you want to join Florence?
I’ve never been involved with any sort of start up before so I thought it was quite exciting to be part of a company from the beginning and get to be involved with the innovation and growth.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given?
“If something is worth doing, it's worth doing well.”
That’s especially relevant with a company like Florence where there is such a lot of growth. The growth is great but you need to make sure the foundations are strong in the first place.
It’s not the time to be cutting corners, we want to be making sure that everything that's getting done is getting done well from the start. This is so the infrastructure is all in place to ensure we don’t lose the quality and core values that make Florence exceptional.
What’s your favourite thing about working at Florence?
I’ve got a few answers for that!
I think it’s been really nice getting to know the nurses. There’s over 250 nurses working for Florence in Scotland currently, and I love getting to have meetings with them and having a bit of a chat. There’s such a variety of clinical knowledge and experience amongst the nurses which can be fascinating to hear about.
The other thing I love is meeting the internal staff and getting to see how infrastructure for a new company comes together; plus getting to speak to people about setting up the technology side of things, or the content creation for Academy. It’s very much every day is a school day which I really enjoy!
What’s the biggest challenge Florence is facing at the moment?
I guess it’s probably the growth.
Whilst it is a good thing, you need to make sure you grow in a way where you’re not losing the quality and making sure that people are still being as well supported as they were in the early stages. We want to make sure that continues so there’s no dip in quality of what we’re providing as we get larger.
What’s a fun fact about you that might surprise us?
I am a certified infant sleep consultant and I run my own business called ‘Wee Sleepy Ones’, providing support to parents of newborns up to five year olds who are having any sort of sleep issues.
I started this when I was on maternity leave with my son and wanted to learn how to improve sleep for my own family, but it has now become a passion project in my free time. I love being able to help sleep-deprived parents and have a really positive impact on their quality of life.
What piece of advice would you give to someone thinking about joining Florence?
It’s not your typical workplace.
Florence is very open to continually making changes and improvements, so come prepared to ask lots of questions and if you think there is a way to do something better, then don’t be afraid to make suggestions and try new ways of doing things.
Where do you see Florence in 5 years?
It would be great if we’re the ‘go-to’ company for any kind of healthcare staffing solution, because we have the reputation of having high quality staff and user friendly technology.
We're hiring for a variety of roles across all departments. If you'd like to help us revolutionise the healthcare sector then check out our open roles here.
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