DH - What matters to staff in the NHS - 19 Jun 08

• Extract from : http://tinyurl.com/4fyh43

A seminal piece of research revealing what really matters to NHS staff has been published today by the Department of Health.

Thousands of NHS staff contributed to the research through focus groups, interviews and a widely distributed survey.

The research identified four themes that summarise what matters to staff:

• The support I need to do a good job
• A worthwhile job with the chance to develop
• The opportunity to improve the way we work
• The resources to deliver quality care for patients

Clare Chapman, NHS Director General of Workforce said:

• "What Matters to Staff in the NHS is the first report of what motivates NHS staff and makes them feel supported in delivering a great service.

• "We need to build upon this evidence to help the NHS create a better working environment that will help to further improve the quality of patient care."

The NHS Social Partnership Forum, which brings together the Department of Health, NHS Employers and the NHS Trade Unions, supported the publication of the findings through a joint statement.

On behalf of the Forum, Karen Jennings, Head of Health at Unison, said:

• "Staff are the essence of the NHS and it is critical that we understand what is important to them. The research findings should inform the development of future health policies and we are pleased they have already informed Lord Darzi's Next Stage Review."

Alastair Henderson, Acting Director of NHS Employers said,

• "We welcome the publication of these research findings. We believe they can reinforce efforts by employers, trade unions and the Government to develop policies and practices that help our staff feel valued, empowered and able to make an even greater difference to patient care than they do already."

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Notes:
1. The qualitative research comprised of 40 group discussions involving over 200 NHS staff and seven in depth interviews.
2. The quantitative research included over 32,000 self-completion questionnaires which were sent to randomly selected staff from across England and in all staff groups between August and September 2007. It included 48 NHS Trusts and a range of GP practices.
3. Results are based on a total of 9,080 questionnaires - a response rate of 28%, which was above the predicted response of 8,000 questionnaires.
4. A full copy of the report can be found on the Department of Health website: http://tinyurl.com/6nbyr8

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NHS Employers - What matters to staff

• Extract from : http://tinyurl.com/4bn9wt

Thousands of staff in a range of NHS settings have contributed to Department of Health research on what matters most to them in their work. This summary outlines the ten factors that matter most and the work NHS Employers is doing in this area.

The Department of Health has published a comprehensive report, What Matters to Staff in the NHS based on extensive research commissioned from Mori. NHS Employers said the report strengthens the case for effective staff engagement and adds impetus to the range of initiatives already in place aiming to improve the experience of staff working in the NHS. Identifying and acting on what matters to staff is an issue that many NHS employers locally already see as a priority.

The qualitative and quantitative research came up with ten factors that have been grouped into four themes.

Theme 1: The resources to deliver quality care for patients

• I've got the knowledge, skills and equipment to do a good job.
• I feel fairly treated with pay, benefits and staff facilities.

Theme 2: The support I need to do a good job

• I feel trusted, listened to and valued at work.
• My manager supports me when I need it.
• Senior managers are involved with our work.

Theme 3: A worthwhile job with the chance to develop

• I have a worthwhile job that makes a difference to patients.
• I help provide high quality patient care.
• I have the opportunity to develop my potential.
• I understand my role and where it fits in.

Theme 4: The opportunity to improve the way we work

• I am able to improve the way we work in my team.

Staff were also asked to rank how well they felt their organisation was performing against each of the factors. Staff were most positive about having a worthwhile job and feeling trusted, listened to and much less likely to feel that senior managers were involved in their work or to feel fairly treated with pay, benefits and facilities.

The ten factors have also been mapped against key outcomes of patient and public satisfaction with the NHS, staff advocacy of the NHS and motivation to provide high quality patient care.

Where staff work and the extent of patient contact in the job was found to be important - for example general practice staff feel valued and motivated but are more critical about the NHS overall, nurses, doctors and AHPs feel positive about their team but less so about the NHS as a whole. Managers and newer members of staff are more likely to be advocates of their employer and the NHS than other groups.

The factors on which the report concludes the NHS is delivering less well and needs to improve are:

• I understand my role and where it fits in
• Senior managers are involved with our work
• I have the opportunity to develop my potential.

Those that need to be celebrated and maintained:

• I've got a worthwhile job that makes a difference to patients
• I feel trusted, listened to and valued at work
• I am able to improve the way we work in my team.

See our response to the research in the media centre.

NHS Employers' work
The What Matters to Staff report has been endorsed by the Social Partnership Forum. In a statement welcoming its publication NHSE acting director, Alastair Henderson said: 'We welcome the publication of these research findings. We believe they can reinforce efforts by employers, trade unions and the Government to develop policies and practices that help our staff feel valued, empowered and able to make an even greater difference to patient care than they do already.'

NHS Employers is taking forward a range of work aimed at improving the experience of staff working in the NHS.

We are working closely with DH and the NHS trade unions as members of the national policy group on staff engagement, which will include publication of the business case and further support for trusts.

We will collate a database of good practice on staff engagement initiatives, building on our national conference on engagement in London on July 15.

Staff engagement will also be a major theme at our annual conference, Leading workforce thinking, in November.

Through our membership of the national staff survey working group we are working with DH and the NHS trade unions to help maximise the potential of the staff survey. Based on the latest staff survey findings, the SPF has identified five priority areas in which actions plans are being scoped:

•  work -related stress
•  violence
• harassment, bullying and abuse
• appraisal
• staff engagement and job satisfaction.

We are continuing to work closely with the NHS Confederation networks to ensure that areas where improvements are most needed - such as among ambulance staff - get the necessary support.

We have established a joint steering group with the NHS trade unions to look beyond the Improving Working Lives programme and established an employers' reference panel on the issue. The work has commenced with an assessment of the original standards and whether they need updating as well as revitalising the IWL leads network.

We will be supporting a new set of awards to celebrate the top employers in healthcare, due to be launched by Emap next month, and sharing the initiatives put forward by entrants through our website.

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