Sonic Healthcare differs from other companies in many ways, with one major and defining difference being our corporate culture. We believe that healthcare is not ‘just another industry’. What we do is of vital personal importance to individuals - and to those close to them.
Achieving and maintaining excellence in healthcare demands an all-pervading, supportive culture. In order to protect ours, we distilled and then formally documented it. Sonic's culture is encapsulated in our Core Values and Foundation Principles.
We invest a great deal in nurturing our culture internally, across the entire organisation, for the ongoing benefit of our customers - as well as ourselves.
Sonic Core Values
Click to viewOpens in new window
In early 2000, a Sonic Healthcare planning weekend was held to discuss future strategies for the rapidly growing company and to identify ways of assimilating the Sonic practices in spite of their geographical spread.
A team was set up to define and establish the Sonic Healthcare Core Values. Its brief was to consult widely throughout all levels of the practices of Sonic Healthcare and, through an inclusive process, to distil the essence of the values and cultures of the practices into one defining document.
This document was to be equally relevant to every single employee of Sonic Healthcare, irrespective of their role. It was intended that the Sonic Healthcare Core Values would then form a point of common reference for Sonic Healthcare in all its internal and external dealings.
Thousands of people working in all areas throughout Sonic Healthcare were consulted over the ensuing months and, after working through many draft versions, the Sonic Healthcare Core Values were agreed on.
These Values have been embraced enthusiastically as a uniting code of conduct by Sonic Healthcare people. They are the yardstick by which each of us measures our interactions with our work colleagues and our customers, and our performance in our various duties.
Sonic Medical Leadership Principles
Click to viewOpens in new window
The Foundation Principles were developed as a template to guide each Sonic business in its relationships with its stakeholders, its communities and its staff.
The ‘roof’ of the Sonic house enshrines the belief that each Sonic subsidiary should operate as a specialist medical diagnostic practice, with leadership that is sympathetic to the special complexities, obligations and privileges of medical practice.
The ideals encompassed in the underlying ‘pillars’ of the house are the ideals of good medical practice in any setting and support the concept of medical leadership.
Although many of our Sonic businesses are larger than typical medical practices, they are unlike many other healthcare corporates. By adhering to the ideals captured in the diagram, each of our businesses has an unerring focus on the needs of its patients and referring doctors.
There is a great deal of detail behind each aspect of the Foundation Principles diagram, with goals, actions and measurable Key Performance Indicators that can be benchmarked for continuous improvement throughout Sonic.
In essence, The Foundation Principles is an overarching blueprint for the Sonic business strategy and an important part of our unique identity.
The Sonic Healthcare Foundation Principles have continued to exert a major influence on the development of Sonic Healthcare and how it and each of its operating practices are viewed by referring doctors and patients.
The Foundation Principles, together with the Sonic Core Values and the unique federation model are now the major determinants of Sonic Healthcare as a company. They have been instrumental in Sonic Healthcare’s expansion into the UK, Europe and the USA, where like-minded diagnostic companies have elected to join with Sonic to promote a medically-oriented and profession-based operation on the global stage.
In 2004, the SonicConnect program was established as a company-wide initiative to promote internal appreciation of Sonic Healthcare’s unique culture, values, model and reputation. Based within Sonic’s head office in Sydney, Australia, the SonicConnect department is a permanent facility within the group which will ensure that our unique and highly valued features are preserved into the future.
