Helping quality stay practical behind the scenes
While many parts of QPA involve direct day-to-day support for practices, Joanne Oakes works one step behind that – helping ensure the systems, tools and team support are strong enough for the whole program to run well.
As Manager of Practice Onboarding and Certification, Jo leads and supports QPA’s Quality Accreditation Managers and compliance teams, with a focus on consistency, practical systems and continuous improvement across the accreditation journey.
It is work that often sits behind the scenes, but it shapes much of what practices experience.
“My focus is on ensuring we deliver a high-quality, consistent program,” she says. “That includes developing resources and systems, supporting staff through challenges and growth, and creating practical tools for both practices and internal use.”
Tell us about your role at QPA.
I primarily lead and support our QAM and compliance teams rather than working directly with practices every day.
A lot of my work focuses on developing systems, resources and tools that help the program run well – both for practices and internally.
No two weeks look the same, but the priority is always making sure the program remains strong, practical and well supported.
What part of the role do you particularly enjoy?
I really enjoy improving workflows and implementing tools that make things clearer and more manageable.
A lot of accreditation can feel complex at first, so finding ways to structure systems that make the process easier for both staff and practices is something I find very rewarding.
What do you enjoy most about supporting staff?
Seeing the team recognised for the work they do.
When practices share positive feedback, it reflects the effort, care and professionalism that staff bring every day.
It is a strong and dedicated team, so it is rewarding to support them and see them succeed.
QPA often talks about quality as practical, not just procedural. What does that mean to you?
For me, good quality is consistency.
It is when processes are embedded in everyday work rather than something revisited only when accreditation comes around.
Usually, you can tell because nothing feels rushed or forced when the survey visit approaches.
What are practices often doing better than they realise?
More than they think.
A lot of the work is already happening – team discussions, ethical conversations, training, quality improvements – but it is not always being formally captured.
Often it is less about what is missing and more about recognising and documenting what is already there.
What advice do you often give practices?
Start with reviews and audits.
If you do not have a clear baseline, it is difficult to know what progress looks like or whether changes are making a meaningful difference.
A strong starting point helps everything else make sense.
What do you value most about being part of QPA?
The opportunity to keep learning and developing.
I also value being part of a team that is genuinely committed to improving how we support practices.
Seeing people grow in confidence and seeing the team achieve wins is something I really enjoy.
What keeps you motivated?
Continuous improvement.
Working with the team to refine and evolve the program so that what we deliver stays practical, relevant and genuinely useful for practices.
What do you enjoy outside work?
I enjoy learning new things.
Quite often that means disappearing down a rabbit hole researching something I have come across and wanting to understand it better.
Something colleagues might not know about you?
I used to work as a photographer for a skydive centre, leaning out of planes to photograph people as they jumped.
I also helped test tandem parachutes, which basically meant acting as a guinea pig and jumping from 10,000 feet.
I was never especially good at the landing part though – that was always harder than the jump itself.
And, for the record, I was not the only one. A friend once landed on a sheep!