When asked if this new role is a step up from her previous one, she explained “I’m now more heavily involved in the accounting side of the business than I was before. I was previously leading the credit control team, and now I’m the number two to the Group Accountant. Although I’m still pretty new to my current position, I’m already feeling like I have a deeper involvement in the work we do. As you progress through the business, you get to see the bigger picture which is really refreshing.”
Nicola has been with Fresenius Medical Care for nearly 14 years. When asked what she loves about working at Fresenius Medical Care, she said, “If you want to learn, they will teach you. The learning and development opportunities are fantastic, and they’ll support you to venture into different areas you’re interested in, like I did. I moved from the accounting team, to leading the credit control team, then back again. Although it was my idea to do this, Fresenius Medical Care supported me. Not only did they encourage flexible working, enabling me to work from home when I needed. They also offered the training course sponsorship agreement to enable me to take my accounting qualifications.”
Despite working on the financial side of the business, Nicola still feels a connection to the patients. “I’ve never been patient facing within my role, but I truly think that everyone who works for Fresenius Medical Care needs to visit a clinic at least once. It’s easy, when you’re sitting in an office all day, to forget the impact of the work you do, but in a clinic, you can actually see it.”
“That’s something that is pretty unique to Fresenius Medical Care. No matter where you sit in the organisation, there’s a drive to always put patients first. They make sure you know why and how your job is important, and that it’s helping patients, which is really great for morale.”
“We’re always encouraged to live the company values. The Values Nominations were introduced a few years ago which have been brilliant for staff engagement. Each month, everyone in the whole organisation can nominate anyone for doing something that speaks to our values, which are: collaborative, proactive, reliable, and excellent. It means that people are being recognised for their work and all the nominations are publicised, meaning no one gets left out. No matter what your job is, your job matters.”