Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia Quality Assurance Programs
Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia Quality Assurance Programs has been selected as an Employer of Choice in The Australian Business Awards 2019. The Australian Business Award for Employer of Choice [EOC] recognises organisations which have developed leading workplaces that maximise the full potential of their workforce through practices that demonstrate effective employee recruitment, engagement and retention.
The Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia Quality Assurance Programs (RCPAQAP) is a world leader in the provision of external quality assurance (EQA) for pathology laboratories. They offer a comprehensive range of EQA for all disciplines of Pathology. The organisation was formed on 2 June 1988 when Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia (RCPA) registered a company (RCPAQAP) to bring together the existing standalone ‘Quality Assurance Programs’ (‘QAP’s) into a single management structure.
The organisation consists of some 80 staff and is characterized by a flat management structure, high staff retention rates and a culture that is values based and principles led. They consider their success is a result of many factors, with trust at the core.
The culture of RCPAQAP is both underpinned and exemplified by their Values: Excellence, Innovation, Professionalism, Customer Service. In 2015, they decided they wanted to inspire staff to share RCPAQAP’s Vision – to be the recognised industry leader in external quality assurance in Pathology, both nationally and internationally, and to proudly work with them to achieve that goal.
The imperative, therefore, was to create a values-based, transparent and cohesive organisational culture where employees are genuinely valued and willingly collaborate for organisational success. Only by instilling such a culture, it was believed, could they ensure delivery of their Mission – to provide resources, products, services, data, and insights for assessing the diagnostic and technical proficiency of laboratories in each discipline of Pathology and for the purposes of supporting patient safety, continuing medical education and research, now and into the future.
The RCPAQAP believes that its greatest asset in achieving its strategic objectives is its people; and that professional development contributes to personal job satisfaction, workplace productivity, reward, and recognition. The organisation also believes their approaches to education, training and development, performance, recognition, and remuneration increase their attractiveness and support their retention goals.