London, Monday, 28th November 2022
At MSI Reproductive Choices UK, we are investing significantly to deliver a sustainable and client-centred digital strategy which will enhance access to our services and provide us with a far better insight into what our clients need, both now and in the future.
We interviewed Steph Canavan – Executive Director of Digital and Transformation at MSI UK – to find out more about digital transformation at MSI and her role within it.
At MSI, we are consistently striving to provide the best service for our clients. This includes digitally transforming the organisation so that it is accessible for all. The development of digitally enabled healthcare has the potential to put clients even more at the centre of their treatment. It has the power to provide people with information to manage their care in a way which suits them, empowering them to make more informed decisions. Moreover, digital healthcare allows people to combine online and offline (or more traditional face-to-face) care.
It is essential that our clients trust us to deliver high quality care; our digital strategy will ensure we have better data and insight to continually improve our services. Our overarching vision for the digital strategy is – ‘Deliver a seamless, digitally-enhanced user journey ensuring clients are informed, supported and empowered’.
“Ultimately, my favourite part of the job is ensuring clients are informed, supported and empowered.”
Hi Steph, thanks for your time today. Can you tell us how and why you started working for MSI?
This is my second time working for MSI. I first worked here in 2010 as an IT project manager before moving to the Middle East for seven years where I started my own business. When I came back, I immediately thought about MSI again as I am so passionate about what we do, providing reproductive choice to people across England. I came in as an interim Head of Information Governance to bring the organisation in line with General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Since then, there have been several changes to my role, and I am now the Executive Director of Digital and Transformation.
Can you tell me more about your role at MSI?
My focus is on the digital transformation of the organisation to improve our services. I help design our strategy based on what our clients need. A lot has changed in the past twenty years. For example, in the past, our call centre staff could only communicate with clients over the phone.
Now, At MSI, we’re striving for an omni-channel approach, meaning that clients can get in touch with our specialist teams in a way that suits them (calling, using webchat, emailing, completing an online booking form). In 2020, we launched our live-chat tool on the website, to allow clients to contact us more discreetly without the need to ring and we now chat with over 700 clients a day.
We know that for some clients, calling to make an appointment can be daunting. Some clients don’t speak fluent English or are unable to find the privacy to make a phone call. Currently, this tool allows clients to chat with our skilled client care coordinators, but we aim to evolve the chat to be available with our nurses too for aftercare queries. We have reached over 100,000 chats in 2022 so far, which shows us how much this service is needed. As a result of our transformation so far, our teams in the contact centre no longer needs to be physically inside the building but can work remotely via a hybrid approach enabled by our cloud technology platforms.
Why is it so important that MSI digitizes the service for clients?
It is important for our clients to have a choice in the way they communicate with us. Whether it is about abortion services, contraception or vasectomy, some people want to talk over a live chat, some would rather talk in person, or on the phone.
To get to this point, we interviewed clients to find out what they really wanted from the service. We listen to our clients’ needs and individual experiences to inform the transformation of the organisation. As mentioned, our clients did not want to phone us for multiple reasons, including, not wanting their families to overhear, not having time to call or being too nervous to speak over the phone. Therefore, we developed the live-chat tool on the MSI UK website in 2020.
What is your favourite part of the job?
There is so much variety here. No one day is the same. I love the agility of MSI – we can change and evolve quite quickly all enabled by our investment in cloud technology. I have also got the backing of my team who always offer wonderful ideas and make things happen. Ultimately, my favourite part of the job is ensuring clients are informed, supported and empowered. It’s great to be able to bring people on the journey and display a tangible output that results in our clients getting the best from our services. We really get to see this when clients share such wonderful stories on our website.
What makes you proud of the work that you do?
The team. I am in awe of the work that our colleagues do here. The amount of determination and dedication people put into their work is amazing. I think that is because we are all here with one mission, and that makes me proud. I am so honoured to be working on the digital transformation project with such a wonderful team, ensuring our clients are supported every which way during their experience with us. Finally, our Manchester Centre just received ‘Outstanding’ in their recent unannounced Care Quality Commission inspection. The pride in this result is testament to the mission every single colleague carries for MSI, and it is wonderful to be a part of this.
Feel free to connect with Steph Canavan on Linkedin.
Read more from our colleagues
At MSI UK, we love interviewing our colleagues to find out more about their work and how their roles contribute to our mission to deliver quality reproductive healthcare. Below, you can read some of our latest interviews:
- “I have never felt more like a midwife than I do in this role.” – Interview with Grace Louisa Ash, MSI UK Practice Development and Advocacy Midwife, about what being a midwife and an advocate for nurses and midwives across England means to her.
- “We are here to help empower people to make the decision that is right for them.” – Interview with Ben Tallis, Client Services Advisor at our National Call Centre in Bristol, about supporting the clients who phone up our call centre from all over England.
- Why making a difference is a real privilege – Interview with Ailish McEntee, MSI UK Named Midwife for Safeguarding Adults and Children, about safeguarding at MSI UK, and how we care for and support our clients.
- “Being a part of MSI and helping so many people access care feels amazing.” – Interview with Sarah Salkeld, Associate Clinical Director at MSI UK, about contraception services at MSI UK, and the importance of having the choice to access contraception.
- “I’ve never felt more like a midwife than I do here.” – Interview with Giselle Barnes, Clinical Services Matron at our Bristol clinic, about what being a midwife in abortion care means to her.
Careers at MSI Reproductive Choices UK
At MSI Reproductive Choices, we are looking for pro-choice and passionate professionals to join us in our mission.
MSI Reproductive Choices employs over 500 people in the United Kingdom alone, all of whom are dedicated to delivering the highest quality abortion and vasectomy care.
We know that our most valuable assets are the people that work for us. By joining MSI Reproductive Choices, you’ll become part of a committed team that work to make sure we provide the best possible care and support to our clients.
If you are interested in a career at MSI UK, find our current open positions here: Join Our Team
