The lowdown on Operation Epic

If you’ve been waiting for the lowdown on all things Operation Epic since my last post, here it is!

As always, the team didn’t disappoint with all of the body systems well represented and dressed accordingly.

Andrew and Stuart kicked off the day, starting as the left and right sides of the brain. While the right brain is more often known for being the creative side, Andrew certainly illustrated there’s no shortage of right brain activity within this left brained accountant! Stuart’s roamed through the Despicable Me movies, which may not have been the most traditional way of delivering a strategy update, but would else would you expect from someone whose right brain is always well and truly on fire?

Finance is the oxygen to any business, and ours is no exception. Nancy talked us through the numbers, and briefed the team on the new ERP system which is going to jet propel the organisation into a whole new level of information driven power.

The two operational ‘arms’ of Epic Pharmacy: Hospital & Oncology and Aged Care were next to hit the stage. They showed both the impact the rebrand had via a tour of sites around the country, but also the workload and commitment given by our teams to deliver the outcome.

If your people aren’t at the heart of your organisation then you really need to take a good hard look at your business priorities.It was completely fitting that Mariaan occupied the cardiac space to update us all on the range of activities that she and the HR team have been working on. The results of the recent BUPA Wellness Survey  many of us participated in were fascinating, and give some great insights into where future wellness program activities can be focused.

An equally appropriate choice, our Brand and Communication team are definitely the mouthpiece of the Epic business and never disappoint with their team costumes. Thursday was definitely no exception!

A body part allocation that required a little more convincing was naming IT as the digestive system, but as Scott told us on the day, there are plenty of correlations; both take their inputs in in big quantities, break it down into digestible chunks to distribute through the wider body to keep it functioning and if a virus hits, then watch out as the impacts can be significant!!

We have a lot of laughs every National Managers’ Day, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything as funny as Stew W taking the stage to talk us through the real facts behind the pile of poo being dumped on pharmacy by some members of the press at present. Stew is always a cracking good sport, and happily put his hand up to wear one of the most unique costumes we’ve ever seen!

Emma and I closed out the day with an eye on what the future holds, and an update on the myriad of projects that Epic Digital is working on to better connect us with both our patients and other healthcare professionals.

While there was plenty of action on the stage, the breaks also provided no shortage of entertainment.  We’re all about celebrating at Epic, so the opportunity to recognise Robyn and Jordan for their impressive milestones couldn’t go un-missed and delivered the chance to revisit one of Jordan’s past Epic costumes, with a flashback to Harry Potter day!

As a tangible illustration (pardon the pun!) of what technology can deliver, we were joined by Rentertainment for a bit of MindArt, where our thoughts were turned into artworks via a headband which translated electrical stimuli into imagery. This was absolutely fascinating, with no two people producing the same images, and a very obvious ability to change the output on the screen by changing the intensity and content of your thoughts.

To keep the puns rolling, at the end of the day Epic coloured drinks served in syringes injected a burst of rehydration and kicked the evening off in style.

Operation Epic delivered a truly successful outcome, and thanks to all who may not have been physically present in the room but followed along via social media. The #OperationEpic hashtag delivered over 160 000 impressions throughout the day, with many of your contributions incorporated into our presentations as the day went on, resulting in a sense of interaction and engagement not only with the wider Epic business teams but across the healthcare industry.