In the final part of an insightful look into team ReferAll, Vijay Patel, Rachel Stokes and Alan Louden share their thoughts, hopes, fears and what they've been learning during the pandemic.
Vijay Patel
What you do at ReferAll?
I work with the Software Development Team, helping to maintain existing functionality and adding new features to the ReferAll system.
What’s it like to be a ReferAll employee?
Being part of a team; I never feel I’m on my own. Help is always at hand when dealing with challenges.
What motivates our business?
Being in a position to help others from a healthcare perspective, with our software offering.
What are you learning from this pandemic?
We’re not alone and together we can pull through, even though we may have to modify how we go about our daily lives.
Rachel Stokes
What you do at ReferAll?
I look after ReferAll’s marketing and PR, a role that’s fairly new to me.
What’s it like to be a ReferAll employee?
We’re a close team and I feel we all have the same goal; enjoying being part of creating something great – the future of ReferAll.
What motivates our business
Having spent my career working in health and wellbeing programmes, I empathise with our customers. Preventative health services are often the ‘forgotten service’. Our motivations come from having been there, done that and knowing how incredibly important it is to feel supported when working in a team that helps people to improve their health.
What are you learning from this pandemic?
To keep on, keeping on.
A few years ago, I spent many months recovering from a bowel cancer diagnosis. Two years on I’m thankfully a ‘healthy survivor’ but lockdown took me back to when I couldn’t live life to the full; spending a lot time at home can be a real shock to both physical and mental health. I’ve drawn on my experiences and made sure I continue to look forward.
Alan Louden
What you do at ReferAll?
My role as Head of Business is a pretty varied one which involves input in all commercial aspects of our business, but principally overseeing the sales and marketing functions.
What's it like to be an Employee at ReferAll?
Like any growing organisation, life at ReferAll is pretty fast-paced. Decision-making is quick which is great, which means the team spend more time doing than thinking about doing! As a relatively small organisation we all tend to crossover from specific functions into generalist roles which again is great as it encourages variety and leads to a broader understanding of the business.
What motivates our business?
At the very heart of the organisation is a genuine desire to help people lead healthier and happier lives. While this may seem like a very grand vision, it’s one that we hold very true to our core; after all, is there any more humbling responsibility than helping someone improve their health and wellbeing?
What are you learning from this pandemic?
On a general level, that teachers do a great job (speaking with 12 weeks of lockdown home-schooling experience!!!), and that the NHS truly is a magnificent organisation and one that we should be very proud of and grateful for.
On a personal level, while I’ve always stayed relatively trim, I’ve increasingly grown to appreciate the incredibly important role that physical activity can have in alleviating mental health pressures; for myself and my family. We’ve all missed our friends, families and colleagues during this time, but putting on the trainers and getting out into the fresh air has been a very welcome release.
Thanks for joining us in this 3 part blog series. I'd love to hear from you with any questions you may have for our lovely, cheery team members or just to say 'hi' and tell us how you are doing 😊 email me: