Human Resources Strategy

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2 Human Resources Strategy Applies to: All Employees for Approval Date of Approval Review Date: Name of Lead Manager Director of Human Resources and Corporate Affairs Version 5 Date: October 2012 Author: Director of Human Resources & Corporate Affairs 1

3 Contents 1. Introduction Vision and Values Background Our Approach to the HR Strategy... 5 i) Transformation through Leadership... 6 ii) Delivering our Values... 6 iii) Planning for Quality Services and Value for Money HR Theme: Transformation through Leadership... 8 Organisational Change... 8 Leadership and Management... 9 Individuals Leading in Innovation... 9 HR Objectives: Transformation through Leadership HR Theme: Delivering Our Values Linking Values to HR Practice Engagement and Partnership Delivering Quality HR Management HR Objectives: Delivering Our Values HR Theme : Planning for Quality Services and Value for Money Delivering Quality Improving Wellbeing and Attendance Delivering Value for Money Planning our Workforce Workforce Planning and the Long Term Financial Model Terms and conditions and the contractual model HR Objectives: Planning for Quality Services and Value for Money HR Governance Structure Wirral Community NHS Trust Board (reporting to Wirral Community NHS Trust Board) Responsibilities for delivering the HR Strategy Links to Other Strategies Appendix 1 HR Goals

4 1. Introduction Wirral Community NHS Trust s Human Resources (HR) Strategy sets out the organisation s approach to the delivery of its vision and strategy through its people. Our workforce represents over 80% of the costs of the organisation, and is therefore our most important and valued resource. How we manage, develop, motivate and engage our employees will be key to our success as a Trust. In particular, as a Community Trust which deploys staff across a range of settings from clinics and doctors surgeries to people s homes, it is our employees who truly represent what our Trust is, and how it is perceived. It is therefore of paramount importance that our strategy for managing our workforce is aligned to our vision, values and strategic objectives. Every aspect of every member of staff s job should be about supporting the delivery of our core purpose delivering high quality integrated community services to the people who depend on us. Our HR Strategy is the vehicle through which we have the right staff, with the right skills, in the right numbers to fulfil this ambition. We will invest in training and developing our staff, in providing the right resources and environment and in supporting them through change to ensure that we adapt to the needs of our patients and our commissioners in providing integrated services and, where required, responding in an increasingly competitive environment. We will invest in recruiting the right staff who share our values. We aim to provide competitive but attractive terms and conditions, and we will ensure through appropriate induction that staff are equipped rapidly to do the job they were hired to do. We will continue to invest in their training and development to ensure that we have the right skills to meet the changing environment; we will constantly review how we provide services and support staff through change. We will provide a healthy environment and invest in supporting people s health and well-being, including a supportive environment for people to recover quickly, and return to work when they are sick. We will have high expectations of our staff but we will treat them fairly and equally. Above all we will create an environment where staff are supported to do the very best they can in their job and an organisation for which people feel proud to work. Simon Gilby Chief Executive & Jo Harvey Director of Human Resources and Corporate Affairs 3

5 2. Vision and Values To be the outstanding provider of high quality, integrated care to Wirral and the communities we serve. Our values are: The Trust s vision and values are at the heart of everything we do, and have been developed in partnership with our employees to define our approach to the delivery of our services. 4

6 3. Background Wirral Community NHS Trust is one of a small number of Community Trusts created under the Transforming Community Services agenda. Previously part of NHS Wirral, it separated from the Primary Care Trust in April 2011, to become an NHS Trust in its own right. The majority of the employees working in the Trust transferred from the PCT, and during our first year, we have worked hard to involve employees in creating the Trust s vision, values and identity. The Trust employs 1400 people, 85% of whom are in daily and direct contact with the people using our services. We provide a wide range of clinical services in community settings, and employ doctors, nurses, allied health professionals, technical and support staff. Geographically, our staff are widely dispersed, providing services out of community clinics, GP surgeries and patients homes. The Trust has had a policy to keep management costs low, in order to focus on providing high quality patient care as a priority. The importance of the Trust being one of the new wave of Community Trusts cannot be underestimated. It creates an opportunity to establish a different way of working in the NHS, which is much more closely aligned to the needs of the population we serve. It also creates new challenges for staff, as we move towards becoming an FT, and respond to the demands of the new commissioning environment where competition is a necessity. Teams across the organisation will need to respond flexibly and creatively to ensure our services continue to offer the highest quality and meet patient and commissioner demands. HR activity is delivered every day across the organisation by managers in our services, and the development of these managers to become transformational leaders is essential to provide the kind of working environment that will encourage innovation and achieve excellence. There is a small central HR department of 20 people, delivering both operational and strategic HR services to the Trust. We have a business partnering model, with HR Business Partners (HRBPs) providing high level, professional advice and support to the organisation in relation to organisational change, HR planning and performance as well as employee relations issues. In addition there are the core HR services Recruitment, Contracts and ESR. Learning and Development services, with the exception of Corporate Induction and Managing Attendance training, are provided through the Quality and Governance Service. 4. Our Approach to the HR Strategy We aim to have a true partnership with our employees in which we all work together to achieve the same shared vision for the future. Our HR strategy aims to define the shared approach we will take to people issues in our organisation. We recognise that our employees are our competitive strength, and a resource of skills, potential and value to be deployed for the benefit of the Trust and its patients. We need to work in partnership with our employees to transform our organisation to 5

7 meet the challenges presented by the changing health economy. We need strong, visionary and inclusive leadership, to provide the framework and context in which our employees can flourish. We recognise that whilst we are a high performing organisation, we must continue to drive forward cultural change to ensure that our working practices fit with our values and the competitive environment we now operate in. We need to develop the commercial and leadership skills which will deliver services fit for the future. Excellent people management practice has been shown to have a direct link to positive patient outcomes, and our Trust is committed to ensuring we have the highest standards of HR practice in place for the benefit of our staff and our patients. In addition, we recognise that our employees represent an important constituency of our membership, and have an important voice in our future as a Foundation Trust. We have decided to have one staff constituency to give every employee an equal voice. In addition, permanent employees are automatically members of the Trust after a year s service, demonstrating the importance we place on employees having the right to hold the Board accountable. This HR strategy supports the Trust s strategic objectives and in particular supports the strategic themes of People and Resources and Enabling Functions. The strategy is based on the followinghr principles which contribute to an effective organisation: Delivering organisational change and transformation successfully Focussing on the issues which are business-critical quality, value for money, and integrated services The provision of high quality people management activities The key elements of the Strategyare delivered through 3 HR themes: i) Transformation through Leadership We will develop an ethos of leadership across the Trust to transform the organisational culture and deliver our vision.we will address leadership at every level of the organisation and enable both teams and individuals to take forward innovation, change and improvement for the benefit of themselves, each other, the patient and the organisation. ii) Delivering our Values This sets out how our values will be incorporated into every aspect of the Trust s culture, through the employment journey. It describes how we will manage our workforce using best practice principles to develop a mutually rewarding relationship between the Trust and its employees. This includes ensuring that our activities relating to recruitment, induction, appraisal, performance management, employee relations activity, essential learning and management development are all designed to promote and embed our organisational values. 6

8 iii) Planning for Quality Services and Value for Money Delivering quality is at the heart of what we do, and the quality of our services is linked directly to the input and management of the staff providing them. Value for Money (VFM) is essential both to deliver maximum efficiency for commissioners and to ensure we continue to deliver our financial commitments as an FT. Our workforce plan details the approach we will take to develop the future workforce model required to deliver the model of integrated service delivery that forms our vision. This will require changes to the structure of the workforce, and will require collaborative and integrated working with partners, including Social Services. Each HR theme is supported by HR objectives, set out at the end of each section and HR goals (appendix 1) which will measure the effectiveness of the implementation of our strategy. HR Goals have initially been established for a period of 3 years, and will be reviewed and updated annually to ensure they measure the longer term aims of the strategy. 7

9 5. HR Theme: Transformation through Leadership We will develop an ethos of leadership across the Trust to transform the organisational culture and deliver our vision. We will address leadership at every level of the organisation and enable both teams and individuals to take forward innovation, change and improvement for the benefit of themselves, each other, the patient and the organisation. Organisational Change The Trust is faced with a very different operating environment to that which has been in place for many years. Competitive tendering to both retain existing contracts and win new ones is now part of every Trust s activity, and we need to ensure that we are in a position to respond to this. That requires us to be flexible and agile as an organisation across every service to maximise quality through effective and efficient working. We will use expertise from both internal and external sources to ensure we are competitive, innovative and quality driven. The nature of the shift in culture needed will require us to formally review the way in which we implement organisational change to ensure it is values driven but also proactive and engaging, delivering flexibility and putting patient rather than organisational, professional or individual needs at its centre. This will be a challenge for some teams where there are longstanding relationships and working arrangements in place. However, our staff are committed to the future of the Trust, as well as to providing the best possible care to the Wirral community and we will work with them to ensure that where change needs to take place, employees are properly engaged and involved in delivering it, and we avoid prolonged and damaging disputes that fail to move the organisation forward. The success of the new approach will depend on managers creating a working environment where change and innovation are expected and led from within. Once we have established the process for managing change, this approach will then need to be refined and developed as part of our cultural transformation, through partnership with employees and their representatives, and through continuous evaluation of tendering experiences and internal re-structuring exercises. We will put in place robust communication and engagement pathways to ensure employees are at the heart of, not the brunt of, decisions affecting them. We are committed to meeting our legal obligations as an employer, and will always seek to avoid a negative impact on our employees where possible. Indeed, it is our priority to protect and create jobs wherever possible. This will not always be possible, but our commitment to our employees includes exploring options for redeployment to retain staff where appropriate, and avoiding compulsory redundancies wherever possible. Where difficult decisions have to be made we will ensure this is done in a fair, transparent manner, and involving employees and their representatives in line with our policies. 8

10 Leadership and Management We recognise that the day to day management culture in our Trust is an essential part of ensuring we deliver excellence.having core management skills in place will mean that we build the foundations from which to move forward and create great leaders. To ensure that all our managers have the same level of core skills, we will introduce a management development course that will address the key skills and knowledge that every manager in our organisation should possess, including HR skills, finance, governance and risk management. However, management skills alone will not deliver our values or our vision. We will develop a culture of excellent leadership, and not only in our managers, but in its broadest sense in employees across the organisation who will become leaders in their areas of work. Leadership is about acting independently, with both responsibility and accountability, inspiring and encouraging others to develop and perform to the best of their ability, encouraging and embracing innovation and ideas. As part of our Organisational Development Strategy we have identified leadership as a key area of development, particularly in the area of managing organisational change, which is now a fundamental part of our working life. We will establish a leadership development framework Leading for the Future, which will provide the means to identify and develop leaders. There will be a range of opportunities both through a formal leadership development process, but also through specific targeted leadership activities in individual PDPs, personal development resources and team based activities. The approach will be inclusive; all our employees have the potential to be leaders in their work, and everyone will have the opportunity to access part of the framework. The leadership framework will also include a defined talent management and succession planning process to identify and develop future senior leaders at band 8 and Board level, ensuring that the Trust has a talent pipeline to safeguard its future. We will aim to work in partnership with other local Trusts, as well as with our partners in Social Care, and the wider community, to provide opportunities both for our employees to gain development in other environments, as well asfor others to gain experience with us, forging relationships and establishing further potential sources of recruitment. To take forward this key piece of work, we will develop a Leadership Task Force. This will comprise of Board Members, Senior Leaders and team members from across the organisation, who will be the Steering Group for this key piece of work, as well as champions and ambassadors for its principles and content. Individuals Leading in Innovation The ethos of shared leadership, where all team members can take on a leadership role will be at the heart of our strategy. Leadership will be included in every individual s appraisal. Managers will also be encouraged to develop leadership skills within teams, supported by appropriate processes to allow local decision making where appropriate. The principle of earned autonomy where high performing teams are given greater independence and freedoms to control their area of 9

11 business will apply, supported by appropriate performance monitoring and management processes. We recognise that those who understand the possibilities of our services best are our staff who work within them. We have talented employees who have the knowledge and understanding to identify ways of improving our services as well as making efficiencies. We will create an environment where innovation and the sharing of ideas is the norm, and our staff will not be afraid to put forward their ideas. We will create space in every team s work plan to consider improvement and innovation, and to enable the sharing of ideas. Managers will be supported to facilitate this type of discussion so that the outcomes are managed positively. In addition, we will introduce a scheme which encourages, recognises and shares new and innovative practice, however small, to encourage and promote the practice. HR Objectives: Transformation through Leadership The following objectives will be delivered to address the areas identified in this theme, which will be supported by a detailed implementation plan: Establish a Leadership Task Force with responsibility for delivering the Leading for the Future framework. Develop and implement the Leadership for the Future framework, to prioritise leadership skills across the organisation and identify and develop leadership potential. Put in processes to identify and develop leadership across all parts of the organisation. Establish talent management and succession planning processes to identify and support the development of future band 8 and Board level staff Establish robust partnerships to introduce development opportunities across the local economy Develop a new approach to organisational change which delivers the required changes in skill mix and service delivery models to deliver excellence. Ensuring robust engagement and communication to ensure employees are partners in the process. Introduce a core management skills programme which will be mandatory for all employees who supervise staff. Introduce a scheme to share and promote innovation in teams and individuals 10

12 6. HR Theme: Delivering Our Values This sets out how our values will be incorporated into every aspect of the Trust s culture, through the employment journey. It describes how we will manage our workforce using best practice principles to develop a mutually rewarding relationship between the Trust and its employees. This includes ensuring that our activities relating to recruitment, induction, appraisal, performance management, employee relations activity, essential learning and management development are all designed to promote and embed our organisational values. Linking Values to HR Practice Our values, set out at section 2, have been developed with our staff, and reinforced through our Foundation Trust consultation exercise, where staff confirmed that they represented what we stand for as an organisation: These values set a framework for the expected behaviour of every member of staff. They define what the public, patients and stakeholders can expect when dealing with us. It is essential that our values shape the employee journey, from the very beginning, through to the end of the contract of employment. By focussing on our values, we can influence the way the workforce is built, how it responds to the environment we operate in and continue to improve on levels of engagement of staff. All members of staff are partners in the future of the Trust, and are expected to live the values of the organisation in every part of their work. Values can be interwoven into many aspects of HR practice, and a key step to helping employees to understand how they can demonstrate our values, will be the development of behaviour descriptions for each of our values, and to share these widely with staff. This work has already begun through the appraisal process, but will be developed further, using staff focus groups and feedback from Staff Side and Staff Council to understand how to make these behaviours relevant for a range of staff. How we recruit and induct our employees is a key step in establishing a positive employment relationship. We will develop our recruitment process to ensure that we identify the right people to work in our organisation, both in terms of skills as well as their commitment to our values and our vision. We aim to distinguish ourselves from other employers through our offer in its widest sense through offering attractive roles with the prospect of high levels of job satisfaction and prospects, presenting a competitive reward and benefits package and describing the culture of the organisation, and the positive experience that applicants can expect as an employee of our Trust. We will also ensure that the recruitment and induction process reinforces values at every stage, and enables individuals to join the organisation with a well-established understanding of our purpose and ethos. We will develop an innovative on line induction process to achieve maximum engagement with employees before they start work with the Trust. 11

13 Once employed, the way in which we manage employees, both through our performance framework and appraisal system, as well as on a day to day basis, should be driven by our values, so that employeesreceive a consistent message which correlates with their experiences at a local level. This also includes the application of our disciplinary and grievance processes, which should uphold our values both in principle and application. We will review and ensure our appraisal process delivers our values as well as the accountability we expect from all employees. We will review and ensure that our employee relations processes offer the highest level of integrity, as well as prompt, fair and transparent action. Recognition of employees contribution is an important part of our engagement with them. Feedback from the Staff Council shows that this something that our employees feel strongly about. Managers should be responsible for recognition on a day to day basis, but a programme of more formal recognition is also needed to share and celebrate widely the contribution of individuals and teams to the success of our Trust. Employees should also recognise our values in the way they leave the organisation, particularly on retirement. We need to recognise the contribution made by retiring employees and ensure they are supported as they leave the Trust, recognising that they may still be patients and future members of our organisation. Engagement and Partnership Engagement and partnership are a key part of the HR strategy. We acknowledge that there is increasing pressure both on individuals and organisations in the developing health economy landscape, and employers and staff who work together in partnership, achieving high levels of employee engagement and involvement will be the most successful. This will require a cultural shift in which everyone is engaged in securing the organisation s future through positive participation in its transformation. We need to engender a can do, flexible and customer/patient focussed culture, where each individual plays their part in the wider success of the organisation. We will continue to cement and build upon the strong foundations of our partnership with staff side organisations, who provide a key role in representing and supporting their members and in consultation and negotiation. We value the local intelligence that they bring to discussions, and we will continue to keep them informed and involved in key decisions affecting the Trust through the Joint Forum, acknowledging that there will be instances where difficult decisions may have to be made, and their support in managing such situations is invaluable. The Staff Council, comprising of elected members from across the Trust, has been a key development in our approach to engagement and partnership. Launched at the end of 2011, it has become an invaluable mechanism by which we can better understand the issues causing concern to our employees, as well as a vehicle to have discussion and feedback on key developments with the workforce. As well as responding to issues raised at both Staff Council and Joint Forum, the national NHS Staff Survey is undertaken annually to obtain the views of all employees on the themes of the NHS constitution. 12

14 The survey provides us with an essential metric to understand the impact of HR policies and management practice that support the work life balance of our employees and so provide better healthcare for patients. The results enable the improvement of local working conditions and practices and help us to make progress in involving and engaging employees. They also provide us with a benchmark against other NHS organisations. We are committed to sharing the results of the survey with our employees and identifying appropriate strategies to respond to any issues raised. We have already addressed the quality of appraisals and equality and diversity training, and in addition to the annual staff survey we will use local targeted surveys to further explore the issues that arise annually. We are determined to create an environment where employees feel valued, understand their responsibilities, and are able to influence their work and contribute positively to innovation and change. We are committed to building a Trust where this kind of engagement is the norm, and staff and managers are empowered to lead the delivery, development and improvement of their service. To do this we need strong leadership at every level in the organisation, an open and responsive culture, and a sense of collective and personal responsibility amongst all employees. Delivering Quality HR Management HR support needs to be focussed on enabling managers to deliver their service plans supporting the strategic objectives and values of the organisation. There will be a focus on growing the HR capability of managers across the Trust, through management development, coaching interventions and the development of a performance management culture which has an expectation of excellence in both management and leadership as a priority. The HR model is based on a professional framework that provides best practice advice, tailored to the needs of the organisation. This is currently delivered through an operational team delivering key HR transactional services such as recruitment, contracts and employees records with an HR Business Partner Team providing employee relations and strategic support, including change management. In addition the HR team undertakes central wellbeing and employee benefits support, staff survey administration and provision of management training. We will continue to develop the HR Business Partner Model in particular, to ensure that the services receive professional input into the strategic planning as well as supporting them to improve in the day to day leadership and management of their workforce. A key part of the support HR provides to the organisation relates to the information provided to the Board as well as to Managers to enable them to monitor workforce issues. We will continue to develop the reporting arrangements for workforce issues to ensure both appropriate and timely information is provided. Workforce information will continue to be provided through the national ESR system, but we will seek to develop solutions to enhance in particular, sickness absence monitoring and employee relations monitoring. We will also explore the benefits of e-rostering to enhance staffing allocation and time and attendance monitoring. We will also consider the benefits of wider management ownership of employee information and monitoring through manager self-service in ESR. 13

15 HR Objectives: Delivering Our Values The following objectives will be delivered to address the areas identified in this theme, which will be supported by a detailed implementation plan: Ensure that prospective employees are attracted to the organisation through a framework of targeted activities to ensure inclusion for all parts of the community and beyond. Develop a comprehensive Work Experience Programme to provide engagement with the younger, NEET and unemployed communities, and to develop a pipeline for future recruitment, membership and volunteers Increase both the efficiency and effectiveness of recruitment processes, maximising the use of technology and enabling assessment of both competency and fit with organisational values. Introduce innovative induction processes, including online onboarding to make the new starter experience dynamic and inspiring, identifying key messages and information, and obtaining feedback from new starters on their perceptions of our Trust. Incorporate values into all relevant learning and development activities, particularly those targeted at patient contact and management development. Put in place meaningful recognition processes, e.g. staff awards, to ensure employees understand that their contribution and efforts are appreciated. Continue to listen and respond to employees through the Staff Survey, but recognise the value of local, timely feedback, and using mini surveys and the valuable input of the Staff Council and Staff Side to engage with employees on issues which are important to both the Trust and its employees. Establish clear performance management processes to ensure accountability at all levels of the organisation. Ensure that the provision of internal HR services offer high quality which includes value for money 14

16 7. HR Theme : Planning for Quality Services and Value for Money Delivering quality, and as part of that Value for Money, is at the heart of what we do, and the quality of our services is linked directly to the input and management of the staff providing them. This part of our strategy will set out how we will achieve quality through our HR practice, including tackling the key issue of high absence levels through a strategy to improve attendance. Our workforce plan details the approach we will take to develop the future workforce required to deliver the integrated service delivery model that forms our vision and delivers our financial plan. Delivering Quality The Trust s strategy is focussed on delivering high quality services to our patients and service users. The contribution of HR management practice to patient outcomes (mortality and adverse events), patient experience, quality of care and the efficiency of care delivery, has been well documented. In particular, ensuring appropriate staffing levels and staff satisfaction form a key theme of our Quality Strategy. We have included specific areas of HR which we will target to ensure that we focus our efforts on those areas which will make a difference to patients. The Quality theme Getting Staffing Right and Improving Staff Experience therefore contains the following objectives: To demonstrate there are sufficient numbers of staff with the right competencies, knowledge, qualifications, skills and experience to meet the needs of people whouseservices at all times. (see key HR themes in section 3 Workforce Plan) To develop an annual Quality Strategy and work plan to ensure that staff views inform the Board in their decision making about services and patient care. To increase the number of real time staff surveys undertaken and to learn from the feedback. Improving Wellbeing and Attendance We recognise as a Trust that our sickness levels in 2011/12 were high in comparison to the North West average and when benchmarked with other Community Trusts. A project was undertaken with staff side, HR and management representatives to produce a strategy to address this. Your Wellbeing, Our Future recognises that the causes of high sickness absence are complex, and brings together a number of initiatives to address these: A focus on wellbeing and change in language to engage the workforce in the management of attendance Introduction of a more robust Managing Attendance policy Appointment of a new occupational health service with a focus on streamlined processes, early intervention and management support Introduction of an Employee Assistance Programme including a 24/7 helpline for employees 15

17 Provision of fast track physiotherapy for employees Access to lifestyle services to improve employee wellbeing Appointment of a Wellbeing Lead to support the robust management of attendance We will continue to deliver this strategy and identify new initiatives to improve the wellbeing of staff and bring about a sustained improvement in attendance rates the target is a rate of 3.4% or less. We aim to instil a culture of attendance, with recognition for those staff who achieve 100% attendance. We recognise that staff are unavoidably ill from time to time, and we support those staff who are genuinely too ill to attend work. We will however ensure there is a culture in place which ensures our employees want to attend work because it is a positive and supportive environment to work in, understand their responsibilities and the impact of nonattendance and do not take sick absence in response to organisational change, relationships of work or lack of managerial control or support. Delivering Value for Money Value for money (VFM) across all services in the Trust is a key aim of our Cost Improvement Programme. However, it is essential when delivering VFM that quality is not compromised, and that any changes to the workforce are considered carefully. Whilst change is inevitable, and necessary to achieve our strategic vision, the risks of making changes to services without engaging staff, or which affect skill mix for example, need to be considered carefully. Such risks are assessed using the quality governance framework for our CIP, and any substantial changes in relation to workforce issues are considered by the Director of Human Resources and Corporate Affairs before being approved. It is essential that VFM is also considered in relation to HR services (as well as other corporate services). We have already undertaken a review of Occupational Health and Counselling services, and have achieved savings and increased robustness whilst improving the quality of the service. It is essential that this process is undertaken in relation to other key SLAs such as Payroll, and this will be undertaken in conjunction with the Finance. Given the size of our Trust, we will also review the VFM of providing in house HR services, and whether a shared service model would be more cost effective. Such a decision has to be considered carefully in terms of the quality of the service offered and ensuring that the service is fit for purpose. Planning our Workforce The Trust has developed a five year workforce plan to support the Integrated Business Plan and deliver the strategic vision of the organisation. The overall aims of this plan are to: Ensure service plans are fully aligned with the Trust s strategic objectives and long term financial projections Understand the current profile of the workforce and benchmark this with Trusts locally and nationally 16

18 Develop realistic plans and targets to address key workforce issues Identify of training and education requirements to support the plan Align terms and conditions with strategic aims The plan will also consider our future requirements such as addressing succession planning and targeting recruitment through the local community e.g. through strengthening our relationship with local schools and higher education establishments. 38.4% of our employees are over 50 years of age; this presents a challenge to our longer term planning, particularly given the flexible retirement opportunities foremployees on protected nursing status. Conversely, the changes to retirement age and NHS pension scheme arrangements will provide for a workforce that will work longer but are also likely to require more flexible working arrangements. Development of a flexible and agile workforce will be a key element of our workforce plan. To respond to the challenges of AQP we will need to ensure that we introduce flexibility both through staffing models and terms and conditions. We are developing a clinical strategy that sets out our intention to lead the implementation of an integrated care model which will support us in meeting the needs of the population and our commissioners. This model will provide seamless care for patients, between a range of provider organisations, addressing the need to reduce emergency admissions and keep people out of hospital. This will require much greater multi-disciplinary working, as well as integrated working with the acute hospital, social care and the 3 rd sector. New roles will be developed and education requirements will be reviewed. In an integrated model of care we would be seeking to develop more generic roles, not fixed in traditional role description. We would introduce this through a competency model, which has already been used in the restructuring work we have undertaken in our Public Health teams. Workforce Planning and the Long Term Financial Model Whilst the upside scenario in terms of our plans will see an increase in some services, requiring an increase in staffing, for which we need to plan, there are also a number of key financial challenges which underpin our current workforce planning process: the need to achieve at least a 4.5% saving each year to meet our financial targets 70% of our Cost Improvement Programme is against pay budgets each 1% reduction in cost equates to approximately 1% reduction in WTE an annual 1.5% growth in activity due to predicted demographic changes high level assumptions have been used to assess the impact for future years annual incremental drift of 2% as well as future pay awards, estimated at 1% from 2013 To account for the continued financial pressure, our Cost Improvement Programmes will inevitably include service redesign and increased flexibility of contracts, to achieve the necessary savings. 17

19 We aim to align service redesign with commissioner requirements at the same time as releasing efficiency savings. We have also introduced a governance structure to ensure that any CIPs are thoroughly assessed in relation to impact on quality of services as well as on staff. Whilst an impact on employees, for example a reduction in numbers, may be necessary, full consideration will be given to the options and risks around any such changes. Terms and conditions and the contractual model The cost pressures arising from inflation in the wage bill will also be considered in relation to the terms and conditions that apply through Agenda for Change. The Trust will participate in discussions at national as well as regional level, in an attempt to achieve reductions in these pressures through wider consultation mechanisms. We remain committed to the national pay framework and the benefits it brings, as long as it delivers the level of financial flexibility needed to remain competitive. We will pursue changes locally where we believe this is necessary in the interests of financial stability and to avoid redundancies, or in the interests of market competitiveness, and we acknowledge the freedoms that foundation trust status will provide in this respect. Changes to the contractual model will however be required both in terms of some of the cost pressures arising from current pay and grading arrangements as well as the need to introduce more flexible contractual arrangements to support the impact of AQP i.e. in order to be competitive and avoid redundancies, we need to introduce more flexibility in our contracts, both in relation to hours and locations, as well as providing more temporary opportunities to supplement the core workforce. In GP Out of Hours we are reviewing the contractual model to achieve less reliance on bank and agency doctors. This will also reduce the associated risk in the model currently in operation. Any such changes will only be pursued after appropriate consultation with Staff Side colleagues, and will also take into account the impact on recruitment and retention. HR Objectives: Planning for Quality Services and Value for Money The following objectives will be delivered to address the areas identified in this theme, which will be supported by a detailed implementation plan: Deliver the Managing Attendance Strategy Your Wellbeing, Our Future across the Trust, with the aim of reducing absence levels to a maximum of 3.4% annually Deliver the Trust s quality objectives relating to Getting Staffing Right and Improving Staff Experience 18

20 Support the long term financial model through well governed Cost Improvement Programme and implementation of appropriate skill mix model Ensure that workforce plans demonstrate the links between individual services and the organisational vision Address key workforce issues such as age profile and equality and diversity Support the long term financial model through a well governed Cost Improvement Programme and implementation of appropriate skill mix models Ensure that learning and development plans address the needs of the organisation, through integrated workforce planning 19

21 8. HR Governance Structure Wirral Community NHS Trust Board Executive Director Lead: Chief Executive The main duties of the Board are to monitor the implementation of the organisation s HR Strategy and to ratify through its relevant committees the organisation s policies and procedures which relate to HR. (reporting to Wirral Community NHS Trust Board) Executive Director Lead: Director of Human Resources and Corporate Affairs The purpose of the committee is to ensure the organisation has effective processes in place to deliver and that risks relating to the workforce are effectively managed. The committee provides assurance to the Board that the HR Strategy is being driven throughout the organisation. The committee will receive regular quarterly workforce reports to inform them of key data and issues relating to the management of the workforce. The committee will receive an annual report updating them of progress in relation to the HR Strategy. 9. Responsibilities for delivering the HR Strategy The Chief Executive has overall accountability for HR and workforce issues within Wirral Community NHS Trust and the Board demonstrates commitment through the endorsement of the HR Strategy. The Director of Human Resources and Corporate Affairs is responsible for: Leading on the development of HR policy and practice in the Trust, providing assurance on the HR objectives which are reported to the Board and ensuring the ratification of HR policies and procedures takes place through the appropriate structures. The Director of Quality and Governance is responsible for: Leading on the development of Learning and Development policy and practice in the Trust, ensuring it is aligned with the Trust s vision and strategy and providing assurances on the Learning and Development objectives which are reported to the Board The Director of Finance is responsible for: Ensuring that the Cost Improvement Planning process takes into account workforce risks to which are fed into the performance management process for regular review 20

22 All Directors and managers are responsible for: Ensuring the aims of the HR strategy is delivered in their teams. 10. Links to Other Strategies The HR strategy is directly linked to the Organisational Development Plan, the Quality Strategy and the Equality Diversity & Human Rights Strategy. 1 1 Updated 11 August

23 Appendix 1 HR Goals Goal Date to be achieved by Reporting Structure Information Source Quality Assurance of Data/benchmarking 100% of new employees to the organisation to have attended corporate induction within six weeks of commencing in the organisation 31 October 2012 Monitored monthly at the Induction Group Reported quarterly to the HR 100% of new employees to the organisation to have completed their local induction within four weeks of commencing in the organisation 31 October 2012 Monitored monthly at the Induction Group Reported quarterly to the HR 100% of new employees to have completed online pre-induction by day 1 of commencing in the organisation 31 March 2013 Monitored monthly at the Induction Group HR Reported quarterly to the 100% of new starters to report they are satisfied or very satisfied with the 31 March 2014 Monitored monthly at the Induction Group HR 22

24 Goal Date to be achieved by Reporting Structure Information Source Quality Assurance of Data/benchmarking quality of the induction they received Reported quarterly to the 95% of employees to attend their Mandatory Essential Learning programme within the agreed timeframe 31 March 2012 Monitored monthly at the Learning and Development Group Quality & Governance Service Reported quarterly to the 95% of employees to attend their Mandatory Service training matrix requirements with thin the agreed timeframe 31 March 2012 Monitored monthly at the Learning and Development Group Quality & Governance Service Reported quarterly to the 100 % of eligible employees to have an annual appraisal 31 August 2012 Reported annually to the HR 100% of eligible employees to have a learning and development plan as a result of the annual appraisal process 31 August 2012 Reported annually to the HR 23

25 Goal Date to be achieved by Reporting Structure Information Source Quality Assurance of Data/benchmarking A 0.15 increase of employees reporting job satisfaction in the National NHS staff survey 31 March 2013 Reported annually to the Staff Survey National Benchmarking with Community Trusts A 5% reduction in employees reporting they have been subject to harassment, bullying or abuse from staff in the National NHS staff survey 31 March 2013 Reported annually to the Staff Survey National Benchmarking with Community Trusts A minimum of 6 mini surveys per annum to be conducted to address local issues 31 March 2013 Reported annually to the HR A decrease in the staff sickness rate reported by Division to the national NHS target of 3.4% 31 March 2013 Reported quarterly to the HR National/local Benchmarking with Community Trusts A 1% decrease in the use of agency staff within the organisation 31 March 2013 Reported quarterly to the Finance 100% of employees with management responsibility to have undergone 31 March 2012 Reported annually to the HR 24

26 Goal Date to be achieved by Reporting Structure Information Source Quality Assurance of Data/benchmarking managing attendance training 50% of band 8 appointments to be from the internal talent pipeline. 31 March 2015 Reported annually to the HR 100% of employees with management responsibility to have undertaken management development course 31 March 2014 Reported annually to the HR 100% of band 8 employees to have received Leadership Development training 31 March 2014 Reported annually to the HR Achieve 4 week average investigation time for all employee relations cases 31 September 2013 Reported quarterly to the HR 25