We all know KFC has spent decades maintaining the secrecy of its infamous chicken recipe. While the secrets to our fast turnaround times may not be locked in a vault, there is a recipe for continually enhancing the efficiency of our drug, alcohol, and steroid testing while still delivering the highest quality service to clients.
Like Colonel Sanders, we’re not going to reveal all our secrets but, as we introduce even faster turnaround times for test results, we persuaded managing director Kim Bagley to share some of the ingredients that make up our industry-leading efficiency. Here’s what she had to say...
Marginal gains
“It's actually very simple. It's not one major breakthrough but the culmination of hundreds of incremental improvements made over time. This continuous process of improvement has kept us at the forefront of innovation in delivering testing efficiencies.
“Our ‘secret recipe’ has been years in the making. Of course, I can’t divulge every detail, but these are some of the key elements that have driven the business to where we stand today.
“One of our most significant investments has been in the development of our own bespoke software. When the industry-standard software was reaching its capability limits, we took the bold step of creating our own. This move has taken our efficiency up a gear, which was unattainable with our previous system.
Another key is our people
We hire the best staff. We are ideas people. Great listeners. We keep our eyes peeled and our ears open to feedback, and we learn. We seek out people with a 'can-do' attitude, coupled with specific interpersonal, technical; or scientific skills.
“Additionally, we are committed to fostering a culture of proactivity in every aspect of our business, even down to answering calls promptly. While it may sound simple, it's not always a given in our industry.
Investment in machinery, at the right time, has also been crucial
It’s not about investing when a machine is coming to the end of its life. We make strategic investments in equipment, which frees up time for our staff who then put that time to better use.”
Meeting client needs
“Our clients’ priorities are the ability to rely on the precision of our testing and the accuracy of test results.
Often these results can have life-changing implications for families, and so our clients are keen to have them as quickly as possible.
“Our latest incremental step is to speed up turnaround times even further. Reducing them by hours, not minutes, is no mean feat when our operations are already lean, and yet we have managed it without compromising on quality.
“This latest development means that the majority of our results will be despatched the day after receiving the samples - an unprecedented achievement in the industry.
"We continue to guarantee a three-day turnaround.
“However, in reality, many clients will receive their results sooner. This reflects our absolute commitment to constantly improving our service and supporting clients through important cases.
“Through these incremental improvements (and many others in the lab), coupled with strategic investments, and a skilled team, we've achieved efficiencies, which are unparallelled in our industry.
“We will always prioritise constant improvements - giving our clients peace of mind, safe in the knowledge they can rely on our innovative approach to testing.”
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