How RelateCare’s values come from the top down

RelateCare was established in 2013, initially as a joint venture between Rigneydolphin and US healthcare provider Cleveland Clinic. With Irish headquarters in Waterford, it recently opened a hub in Tralee, but has employees working remotely across every county.

The healthcare communications consultancy and outsourcing agency also has a patient co-ordination centre in Cleveland, Ohio, and a hub in Little Rock, Arkansas, taking the total number of employees to 1,000 in Ireland and almost 400 in the US.

Conor O’Byrne, chief executive, says the company, which began as a family-run business, has maintained a “supportive environment”, always considering the needs of employees — and this, he says, has led to a great deal of loyalty over the years.

“People who left often returned, which was a testament to the relationships and connectivity that was built up,” O’Byrne said. “And in more recent years, through ambitious growth plans, supported by our board including MML, the strategy has centred around taking the best bits of the old and blending them with new and existing external talent and experiences.

“Now it feels like the company is coming out of its teenage years, ready to face life and reach its potential. And fresh talent into the business across all levels is now broadening our management philosophy and styles, which is being embraced.”

O’Byrne says the company, which provides patient access and engagement solutions to healthcare organisations around the world, made a “huge shift” to remote working during the pandemic and this has also helped both staff and management to weather the past few turbulent years.

“It is a great testament to our teams and their dedication that within days, the business could operate almost as normal from an IT standpoint,” he said. “We continue a hybrid working model today and feel it’s really important to offer employees options and choice regarding workplace setting.

“Operating in healthcare service delivery, we have acutely noticed the additional mental-health strains on the patients we serve, but also on our employees, so feel it is important to have a new lens when thinking about business delivery.

“Rising costs are a huge concern and there is not a day that goes by where we don’t think about what we can do to improve things for our employees. The challenge is global in scale and one that is the top priority in our business, as the company is nothing without engaged employees.”

This concern for employee welfare was no doubt noted by judges on the Best Managed Programme, as the company was delighted to be awarded accreditation. And O’Byrne says it will continue to maintain the same ethos and company philosophy going forward.

“It has been a great experience,” he said. “The changing landscape can sometimes absorb a management team, but it is important that we have the opportunity to extract from the day-to-day, and this process, with external business experts, enabled that.

“We believe that we are on a journey and even after so many years, we are still in the early stages. But we are blessed to be able to make such an impact in our interactions on a daily basis, and the award is a significant milestone along the road.

“Healthcare can be a very rewarding industry and while we may not be at the bedside we try and instil the importance of the jobs which our teams carry out and a mantra that ‘every interaction matters’ into our culture. Health is your wealth, as they say, and there is nothing more real than dealing with the ups and downs of health in society.”