Staff Survey Results

Meeting:

 Public Board

Date:

15.03.2023

Report Title:

 Staff Survey Results Report

Agenda Item:

 PUB22/3/93

Author:

Lauren Singleton, Deputy Director of Culture and Leadership

Lead Director:

Dr Hein Scheffer, Director of Strategy, Culture and Education

X

SR1b: If we do not ensure our leaders are developed and equipped, there is a risk that we will not be able to change our culture, and value, support, develop and grow our people

X 

SR6: If we do not deliver sustainable regulatory compliance and develop positive relationships, we will have limited ability to deliver our strategy

Equality Impact Assessment

No negative impact identified

X

Recommendation:

The Trust Board is asked to review the 2022 NHS staff survey results summary and discuss the achievements and challenges in comparison to the data from 2021. The data, as collated by the nominated contractor, Picker Management, was embargoed by NHS England until the 9 March 2023.  Based on the final 2022 NHS staff survey results, a summary slide deck has been provided to encourage debate and discussion on the survey outputs.

The Trust Board is asked to review the suggested options at the end of this paper and approve the proposed next steps following the national release of data on the 9 March 2023.

Previously considered by:

Executive Leadership team and also People Committee

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide the Trust Board with an overview of the NHS staff survey results. The results are to be discussed, as well as reviewed noting achievements, ongoing challenges, and the impact of the various cultural initiatives, including Fit for the Future.

The paper is also designed to provide a range of options for next steps, in conjunction with an internal communications plan. The Trust Board is asked to consider these options and approve the proposed next steps.

Executive Summary

EEAST took part in the NHS annual staff survey towards the end of 2022. In early January 2023, EEAST received its (embargoed) results, generated from a 60% response rate of EEAST staff.

The results indicated a more positive outlook than in comparison to the data obtained from the 2021 NHS staff survey. On the majority of the questions, EEAST obtained improvements to the satisfaction rate of staff, making EEAST the top organisation out of the seven ambulance trusts survey by Picker, for the level of year-on-year improvement.

The outcome indicated a more positive outlook in comparison to the 2021 NHS staff survey results. Out of the seven (7) comparable ambulance trusts surveyed, EEAST was rated number one (1) for the most improved overall positive score.  This is an indication that interventions have started to make steady progress.

Whilst the data highlights that progress is clearly being made, there is still work to be done on a number of fronts.  Firstly, to increase the proportion of staff who participate and engage with the survey and secondly to improve the outcomes for our staff by delivering on our vision. There were also a few areas highlighted which show a decline in satisfaction compared to 2021, which will require further review and action.

A number of activities have been proposed to take the data from the NHS staff survey forward, and build upon the intelligence it provides on the ‘health’ of the organisation.

The NHS Staff Survey is conducted annually. All eligible NHS organisations in England are required to participate in the survey. Picker, the survey contractor, worked with 7 ambulance trusts on the NHS Staff Survey 2022. Each organisation receives a report which shows the results in comparison to the average of similar organisations, as well as the organisation results from 2021.

The NHS staff survey results for EEAST were received early January 2023 (all be it embargoed). The results of the final survey were officially embargoed until 9 March 2023, however have been shared earlier, with all organisations for the purposes of internal analysis and discussion.

A total of 117 questions were asked in the 2022 survey; of these, 112 can be compared to 2021 and 97 showed positive scores in relation to the 2021 data. EEAST achieved a 60% completion rate; higher than the average of other ambulance trusts at 50% and of EEAST’s 2021 response rate at 48%.

At a glance, the 2022 NHS staff survey results show positive results for EEAST. Out of the seven comparable ambulance trusts, EEAST was the top organisation in terms of showing the most positive change in responses between 2021 and 2022 data. A breakdown of the changes in response between 2021 and 2022 data can be shown in figure 1 below, with 43% of questions showing a better response than the previous year.

Whilst this shift change in response is a positive indication of progress, it is important to consider the context in which the answers are provided. Despite the change in responses, EEAST was still bottom of the league table in comparison to the other seven ambulance trusts. This is due to, as shown in figure 2, 85% of our questions rated significantly worse than the ambulance sector average. In effect, this means we have made great progress forward compared to 2021, but still lag behind other ambulance trusts in most instances.

It is also important to note that whilst the responses reflect a positive upward trend from last year, some are only a proportionally small increase, for example; an 18% positive response to a question may be better than last year’s 16% but it represents less than a fifth of the workforce is satisfied.

The report shows that most questions have a positive result in comparison to last year. However, consideration must be given to the proportion of the workforce that have responded positively, which in some instances, is still small. This suggests that there is clearly more work to be done to increase the overall percentage of satisfied staff.

For ease of review, the accompanying NHS staff survey summary has been developed to provide a high-level overview of the data. Within the summary document, a review against the outputs of the BME survey has also been made to further validate and evidence experiences identified through employee feedback.

The results of the NHS staff survey were released for publication on the 9 March 2023 which follows the release of the Trust’s BME survey results. The NHS staff survey is generally a good news story, highlighting some positive progress in the right direction, whereas the BME survey is a much harder read, outlining some poor behaviours and experiences for certain staff.

The combination of these results being released within a similar timeframe may lead to a mixed message of progress for our workforce, which in turn could lead to an unclear narrative of change across the organisation. To mitigate this issue, Internal Communications will be framing the communications to outline:

• We’ve seen some positive steps in the right direction BUT we have more work to do
• EEAST is committed to finding out what the key issues are AND taking meaningful action. This can be seen by the launch of the BME survey and the LGBT+ and Disability surveys.
• The employee voice continues to be an essential tool and we thank everyone for their continued input and support.

A full communications plan has been drafted, and approved, by the ELT and People Committee for the BME survey and the NHS 2022 staff survey results. This will be implemented from the 27 February 2023.

The following recommendations are made to ensure the NHS staff survey is fully reviewed and communicated:

1. It is proposed that a task and finish group (TAFG) could be set up to take the top/worst 5-10 themes and identify some additional solutions where required. This TAFG could report into the Culture Oversight Group. The TAFG may identify that existing workstreams are already covering some of the key themes from the survey; this will be recorded and tracked to validate any actions taken.

2. In 2022, a number of communications sessions were run by the ELT for the Senior Leaders across EEAST. These sessions covered the survey outcomes ahead of the official release of the information, this ensured Senior Leaders were equipped with the knowledge to answer questions from the workforce. It is proposed that this exercise is repeated through a dedicated briefing at the Leadership away days planned for 23 and 27 March 2023.

3. A review of triangulated data could be started in February 2023, to analyse the NHS survey outputs along with safeguarding, ER Cases and Freedom to speak up cases. The proposed report could provide a comparison of triangulated data since the last review, and outline proposed actions, covering both organisation wide themes plus ‘hot spots’ across the organisation. It is proposed that this report could be presented to the Raising Concerns forum in April 2023.

4. It is proposed that an action plan is also formed within each sector/directorate. Picker will provide separate reports for the different departments across EEAST and these will be cascaded to the individual leadership teams, via the HR Business Partners (HRBPs). The HRBPs will then support the sector/directorate to build a specific action plan, which includes KPIs and deliverables, based upon the key themes in their departmental survey report.

The NHS staff survey provides EEAST with an organisational health check; a compass for seeing progress, ongoing challenges and the impacts of intentional change programmes. The results indicate that EEAST has made some great strides forward in terms of its culture and in many respects, has turned the employee narrative around towards a more positive outlook.