Our plan is to integrate staff engagement into everything we do in the organisation, so that staff feel supported and empowered to have their say and make changes to improve patient care, services and their working environment.
The results of our first staff engagement pulse check survey, carried out in September, give a snapshot of how staff were feeling at the time in the organisation. The response rate of this survey was 33.2%, which means that the results can be considered representative of the Trust as a whole.
The survey has 47 questions and is carried out quarterly, inviting a quarter of staff to complete it each time. Every member of staff will be given the opportunity to
complete the survey once a year. The questions specifically relate to how engaged and supported staff feel as part of their teams and by the organisation, as well as what improvements can be made. The scores (out of 5) from the first quarter are attached. Results from the first pulse check highlight areas within the Trust which were positive, such as staff dedication, persistence and discretionary effort. In addition areas were also identified where there was room for improvement. In particular this included staff energy levels and advocacy – the extent staff would recommend the Trust to others.“Trust” was the highest scoring enabler for this quarter and can be considered an area of strength for the organisation. “Trust” refers to the extent that staff felt they had an appropriate level of responsibility, freedom to do their job and could choose their own working methods.
“Recognition”, the extent staff felt valued by their manager and by the Trust as a whole, was the lowest scoring enabler and is a key area for improvement. Several comments made by staff indicated that they do not feel recognised for what they do.
A second area which has potential for improvement is “mindset”. This refers to how positive and optimistic staff feel about their work and their ability to overcome challenges, as well as how confident they feel in themselves and the future of the Trust. A key theme within the comments was the negative impact that staffing levels within the Trust is having on staff confidence to fulfil their role and duties.
Now the work really starts as we will be looking to address many of the issues raised by staff and trying to improve some of the areas that returned lower results. The staff engagement team will be reviewing the feedback, ideas and concerns from staff and looking at ways that we can use these suggestions to make improvements within the organisation.
The second staff engagement pulse check has been issued to the next 25% of staff and is a great opportunity for our staff to share how they feel about working for our Trust.
For further detail please contact Katy Treasure, Staff Engagement Lead on 01522 707482 or email [email protected]