The ‘Get to Know’ series showcases staff from around the NHS Workforce Alliance to give you a glimpse of the variety of roles in our organisation and the people who perform them.
This month, we’re pleased to introduce Adam Howes, Strategic Analyst Manager at NHS London Procurement Partnership.
What is your background?
I am originally from the southwest, and have lived and worked in and around that area for the majority of my life. In February 2021, I moved to Oxford with my partner and was fortunate enough later that year to get a role as Strategic Analyst Manager at NHS London Procurement Partnership (NHS LPP) – part of the NHS Workforce Alliance.
I mostly have a data background, previously working at a trust in the southwest as part of the team installing an EPR system and before that as a Business Intelligence Analyst at a trust in Somerset. This was great in building my understanding of the day-to-day operations of a hospital and the incredible amount of information I could use to support clinical colleagues.
I have tried out some other careers beforehand, qualifying as a primary school teacher and then as training to be a chef, which helped me understand the things that were important to me. They have also taught me some skills that have been helpful throughout life in general such as managing tantrums and making a mean crème brulee.
What is your role within the NHS Workforce Alliance, and what does it involve?
I work on the data side so my role involves using all the data we have available to us to provide insights both internally within the alliance and to our trusts that we work with and for. My colleague Titus Anjorin, Senior Strategic Analyst Manager and I maintain and develop the reports that are available via my.lpp and are always looking to develop and enhance what we are currently offering. I also manage a team within NHS LPP, separate to my Workforce Alliance role.
Why are you passionate about this?
I am passionate about helping people. While I don’t have the skills to help clinically, providing insights is where I can do something that helps trusts (and therefore staff and patients) across the NHS. I strongly believe in a healthcare system free at the point of use for everyone and the work everyone in the Alliance does goes a little bit towards supporting that aim.
What is the greatest challenge you face at work?
As a data person, it’s always around what data we can get and the quality of that information. The information that is submitted by suppliers to us is extremely useful and valuable but there are challenges with it. There is work that goes on behind the scenes cleansing and validating the data to ensure that it provides as much insight as possible. The term data munging is one I came across recently and essentially it’s all of the manual and automated work getting erroneous or unusable data into a state that is useful. Hopefully not going to change my job title to Data Munger though!
What was your first job, and how has it impacted your career?
My first job was as a bank assistant as a summer job in between university. It taught me hard work and also gave me my first interaction with the general public from a work perspective. The other main thing was that I realised the importance of accuracy and precision, unsurprising when you are dealing with money, each penny is important.
How would you spend a perfect day off?
Tricky question to answer as there are so many things that I can think of. I guess three things spring to mind immediately. I have recently got into geocaching where you use GPS coordinates to find a hidden object someone has placed in a particular area, it could just contain a piece of paper to record you found it or it could be a little container to leave a trinket for the next person to find. It’s a great way of seeing new places that you might not have come across before.
Other than that, I am a keen lego builder so having some time to unwind and relax with that and finally, a nice meal to top it off, whether eating out or cooking at home.