Staff engagement is a critical factor that can significantly improve the success and impact of your team. This webpage provides essential information on why staff engagement is important and some practical resources for managers to draw on to make this real in your team.
Benefits of Staff Engagement
Engaged employees tend to be more motivated and committed to their work. When employees are engaged, they are more likely to put in discretionary effort, go above and beyond their job responsibilities, and find innovative solutions to challenges. This increased productivity can lead to better overall performance and improved bottom-line results for your organisation.
Staff engagement plays a vital role in reducing turnover rates. Engaged employees feel a stronger sense of loyalty and connection to the organisation. They are more likely to stay with the company for the long term, reducing recruitment and training costs associated with high turnover. Additionally, a stable workforce leads to greater continuity, knowledge retention, and a stronger team dynamic.
Improve Organisational Culture: Staff engagement contributes to a positive organisational culture. When employees feel valued, respected, and involved, it creates a supportive work environment where collaboration, trust, and open communication thrive. This positive culture promotes teamwork, employee satisfaction, and a sense of belonging, leading to higher morale and overall well-being within the workplace.
Enhance the Patient Experience: Engaged employees have a direct impact on the experience of our patients, customers and others we provide services to. When employees are enthusiastic about their work and genuinely care about the success of the organisation, it reflects in their interactions with patients and other end users. Engaged staff members are more likely to deliver exceptional service and build stronger relationships. On that basis, good staff engagement is a great way to bring the NHSGGC values to life with your team.
Foster Innovation: A culture of staff engagement fosters creativity and innovation. Engaged employees feel empowered to share their ideas, provide feedback, and contribute to problem-solving. By encouraging and valuing employee input, managers can tap into a diverse range of perspectives and harness the collective intelligence of the team. This collaborative environment nurtures innovation and continuous improvement.
Staff engagement is a crucial element for any successful organisation. By prioritising staff engagement, managers can unlock numerous benefits such as increased productivity, improved retention rates, a positive organisational culture, enhanced customer satisfaction, and a fostered environment for innovation. Remember, engaged employees are more likely to go the extra mile and contribute to the overall success and growth of the company.
Current Staff Engagement Resources and Frameworks
Understanding what is in place currently, and what you, as managers, already do to engage your team, is the first step. The information below showcases a few examples of the tools already available to you:
Below, we’ve outlined further resources, guidance and practical support, which will help you to create a more engaged, motivated, and person-centred team that will ultimately drive forward a positive staff experience.
Further Resources
For further resources on staff engagement, we recommend exploring the following links: –
Internal Resources
Managers’ Guide
Click here to view our “Equality Law: A Manager’s Guide to Getting it Right” document.
Personal Development Planning and Review
Click here to view information relating to Personal Development Planning and Review.
iMatter: Staff Experience Success Stories
Click here to view the Staff Experience Success Stories page which provide examples of how action planning discussions can influence improvement going forward.
How to Run Engaging Improvement Sessions
Click here to view our iMatter page, where you can access information for action planning as a team and as a line manager.
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External guidance/information
Jos de Jong: The power of staff engagement
In this talk, Jos de Jong shares his insights on how to create engagement with staff. He talks about the importance of creating a sense of purpose, providing opportunities for growth, and building trust.
Dan Ariely: What makes us feel good about our work?
In this talk, Dan Ariely argues that people thrive more from a sense of purpose and progress than from happiness. He shares insights on how leaders can create an environment where workers care about what they do and feel cared about in return. Click the link below to view the talk.
Click here to view useful links / QR Codes to YouTube videos covering the following topics:
Creating a poll in advance of a MS Teams meeting starting
Creation and use of whiteboards within MS Teams
How to create MS Forms
How to set up and manage breakout rooms in MS Teams
Setting up and using Google Jamboards
How to use Mentimeter
How to Run Local Staff Surveys
The Knowledge Services Team can help with running Staff Surveys – they recommend and can provide training on Webropol for this.
Workforce Strategy 2021-2025
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) is an organisation which is renowned for modern high-quality patient care and progressive medicine. It is therefore vital that we continue to attract and nurture the most talented and public service focused people, both locally and from around the world and achieve our ambition of ‘Growing our Great Community’.
Our Workforce Strategy 2021-2025 sets out how we will achieve this and develop NHSGGC under our corporate objective of ‘Better Workplace’.
Our current and future employees are our greatest strength and this Strategy describes the foundations, framework, support and opportunities which underpin our four workforce pillars.
Health and Wellbeing
Learning
Leaders
Recruitment and Retention
In order to achieve the ambitions outlined within the Workforce Strategy 2021-2025, a suite of supporting strategies and plans have been developed to operationalise the actions contained within the Strategy.
Staff Health Strategy 2023-2025
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde continues to prioritise the health and wellbeing of our workforce. Our current and future staff are our greatest strength and this Strategy underpins the Board’s Workforce Strategy and reflects our aspirations to be a Better Workplace.
The focus of the Staff Health Strategy 2023-2025 has moved towards recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and support to staff to improve their wellbeing as new challenges arise. We have a strong foundation to build upon as evidenced by the many initiatives that have been introduced and embedded, including the Active Staff Programme, provision of Mental Health Support and the ongoing rollout of Peer Support. None of this is possible without the help and support of local teams across the organisation and Staff Partnership colleagues. Our staff equalities forums and the Staff Health Working Groups in Acute Services and our six Health and Social Care Partnerships also have a key role to play in delivering the actions which will flow from our strategic intent.
Internal Communications and Employee Engagement Strategy 2022-2025
Engaging internal communications and high levels of employee engagement are crucial to continually developing our aim of being a better workplace. This underpins all our NHSGGC’s Workforce Strategy actions.
The NHSGGC Chief Executive and Employee Director have reinforced their joint commitment to improving the safety, health and wellbeing culture within NHSGGC, through the development of the SHaW Framework.
All staff have a responsibility for safety, health and wellbeing within NHSGGC. A set of guidance documents outlined the roles and responsibilities for employees, managers and directors.
Workforce Plan 2022-2025
Each year NHSGGC is required by the Scottish Government to develop and publish a workforce plan which sets out the strategic direction for workforce development and the resulting changes to our workforce over the next year and beyond.
The NHSGGC Workforce Plan is developed using the NHS Scotland six steps methodology and the NHS Careers Framework. Both of these workforce models enable us to take a coherent view of the workforce across all job families and sub-groups. The Career Framework in particular is a useful tool for modelling and implementing workforce change and we are promoting and encouraging the use of this tool in NHSGGC.
Local workforce planning activity is managed within the Acute Services Division and within the Health and Social Care Partnerships (HSCPs). In addition, there are workforce plans which focus on cross sector issues and plans based on service delivery models.
The workforce implications of service change and redesign are also set out in NHSGGC’s financial and service plans at Board and Divisional/HSCP level. These workforce implications highlight any planned recruitment activity and are further analysed in the project implementation documents (PIDs) which are prepared to support any significant service change and which set out the financial, workforce and equality impacts of any proposed changes.
All of the above workforce information is analysed and summarised by the workforce planners in order to develop the annual NHSGGC Workforce Plan.
To help us achieve this vision, we have three ambitions:
Attract, retain and value the most skilled, diverse and talented people from our local communities and around the world, proving we are a world-class public sector organisation.
Empower our Human Resources and Organisational Development workforce to deliver a digitally-enabled world-class recruitment and onboarding service for our future talent that is inclusive and person-centred.
Ensure use of high-quality data to drive forward workforce planning and recruitment initiatives as we strive to be a world-class public service.
Our Recruitment and Attraction Plan sets out how we will achieve these ambitions, ensures recruitment and selection is inclusive and attracts candidates from diverse backgrounds, and develops NHSGGC under our corporate objective of ‘Better Workplace’.
Workforce Equality Action Plan
The Board Workforce Equality Group (WEG) aims to further develop NHSGGC as an inclusive organisation that engages with staff across all aspects of employment, in a way that reaches to the core of our organisational values and meets and exceeds our legal requirements as an equal opportunities employer. The WEG is responsible for the NHSGGC Workforce Equality Plan. The group includes representatives from the Staff Disability Forum, the Black and Minority Ethnic Staff Network, the LGBT+ Forum, staff-side, Human Resources and the Equality and Human Rights Team.
Our staff are treated fairly and consistently, with dignity and respect, in an environment where diversity is valued.
Our data collection is legally compliant and is used to improve equality and diversity of our workforce.
We can demonstrate that we are an exemplar employer by participating in recognised equality frameworks and charters.
We have taken all the actions in our control to reduce equal pay gaps by sex, disability and ethnicity.
Staff from equality groups are fully engaged in contributing to the Workforce Equality Group.
National workforce strategies
The NHSGGC Workforce Strategy 2021-2025 has been supported, driven, shaped and complemented by a suite of national workforce strategies aimed at Scotland’s health and social care workforce.
Health and social care: national workforce strategy
It supports their tripartite ambition of recovery, growth and transformation of their workforce and the actions they will take to achieve their vision and ambition.
Health and social care delivery plan
The Health and social care delivery plan sets out the Scottish Government’s programme to further enhance health and social care services. Working so the people of Scotland can live longer, healthier lives at home or in a homely setting and they have a health and social care system that:
is integrated;
focuses on prevention, anticipation and supported self-management;
will make day-case treatment the norm, where hospital treatment is required and cannot be provided in a community setting;
focuses on care being provided to the highest standards of quality and safety, whatever the setting, with the person at the centre of all decisions; and
ensures people get back into their home or community environment as soon as appropriate, with minimal risk of re-admission.
Previous strategies
Previous strategies and plans supporting the Workforce Strategy can be accessed below
Staff Health Strategy 2021-2023
NHSGGC has been and continues to be very mindful of the need to ensure we maximise all our efforts to ensure we can support the health and wellbeing of our workforce.
Our current and future staff are our greatest strength and this strategy underpins the Board’s Workforce Strategy and reflects our aspirations to Grow Our Great Community.
In order to ensure we are best placed to reflect and recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as deliver our corporate objectives and transformation ambitions we need to ensure that our workforce are supported to deliver the changes we need to make. We recognise that our staff need time to recover and reflect on the impact of the pandemic on their mental health and wellbeing and whilst Mental Health was one of our top priorities in our previous strategy it is a key component of our ambitions for our Staff Health Strategy for 2021-2023.
The Armed Forces Covenant
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde has reaffirmed its ongoing commitment to those individuals who currently serve, our Reservists and those veterans who are key members of our society by signing the Armed Forces Covenant.
The strong relationship between NHSGGC and the UK Armed Forces is greatly valued, with the Health Board already working to support employees who also are Reservists.
By signing the Covenant, NHSGGC pledged its commitment to supporting armed forces veterans, recognising the value they contribute and acknowledging that serving personnel and military families should be treated with fairness and respect.
The Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS) encourages employers to support members of our workforce who are part of the Armed Forces Community.
NHSGGC’s dedication to ensuring that all members of its workforce feel valued is evident, with a particular emphasis on supporting those who are part of the Armed Forces Community. The organisation’s communications and activities are carefully designed to celebrate and encourage this community, and we were delighted to be recognised for this work through achieving the Gold level in the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme.
Are you a member of the Volunteer Reserve Forces or a Regular Reservist working in NHSGGC?
The regular training that the Reserve Forces undertake brings essential skills into the workplace such as leadership, communication, team working and organisational ability, which ultimately lead to improved performance in the workplace.
The Reserve Forces Training Policy is an established National NHS Scotland policy within our suite of workforce policies and we hope that we can be confident that all NHS Scotland employers are treating their staff who are members of the Reserve Forces equally.
To help us to ensure you are aware of the support that NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde can offer, we would ask you to register with the Board Contact: Diana Hudson, Staff Experience Adviser, Diana.Hudson@ggc.scot.nhs.uk.
When registering, we ask that you complete the Reservists Registration Form and submit this to the Board Contact. By completing these details, we’re able to securely hold your contact details to update you on any changes to policy, process or any other information in relation to NHS Reserve Forces staff. Please get in touch with the Board Contact for a registration form.
Staff Governance is a term which describes the framework for managing employees inside NHS Scotland. The commitments surrounding the framework, are in place to ensure all staff have a positive experience at work, where they feel motivated and engaged with their role, team and the Board.
Staff Governance is defined as: “a system of corporate accountability for the fair and effective management of all staff”.
It can be measured through assurance that the Standard commitments are being met, and this is assessed locally via the Staff Governance Committee of each Board.
Staff Governance Standard
The Staff Governance Standard sets out what each NHSScotland employer must achieve in order to continuously improve in relation to the fair and effective management of staff. Click on the links for more information.
There are 5 Staff Governance Standard commitments set out what staff can expect from their NHS Scotland Board, and they are that staff should be:
Well informed
Appropriately trained and developed
Involved in decisions
Treated fairly and consistently, with dignity and respect, in an environment where diversity is valued
Provided with a continuously improving and safe working environment, promoting the health and wellbeing of staff, patients and the wider community.
However, the Standard also sets out corresponding responsibilities for staff (at any level within the organisation). Staff should:
Keep themselves up to date with developments relevant to their job within the organisation
Commit to continuous personal and professional development
Adhere to the standards set by their regulatory bodies
Actively participate in discussions on issues that affect them either directly or via their trade union/professional organisation
Treat all staff, patients and service users with dignity and respect while valuing diversity
Ensure that their actions maintain and promote the health, safety and wellbeing of all staff, patients, service users and carers.
These dual commitments are in place to ensure all staff have a positive experience at work, where they feel motivated and engaged with their role, team and the Board.
NHSGGC Staff Governance Committee assesses how well the Board is complying with these Standards.
The Vision and Framework for Fair Work in Scotland, state that, by 2025, people in Scotland will have a world-leading working life where fair work drives success, wellbeing and prosperity for individuals, businesses, organisations and for society.
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) is committed to the Fair Work principles in order to deliver Scottish Government ambitions of a Fair Work Nation.
As a large public sector organisation, we work in partnership to align the Fair Work principles through commitment to the Staff Governance Standard, as well as a range of other activities and plans across the organisation including, the Procurement Strategy, Workforce Equality plans, Learning and Education activity, the Staff Health Strategy, Safety and Wellbeing plans, flexible and family friendly HR policies, and our Workforce Plan. Additionally, NHSGGC are proud to be a Living Wage Accredited employer.
Staff Governance Committee
The Staff Governance Committee (SGC) is a standing committee of each NHS Board which, together with the Clinical Governance Committee and Audit Committee, forms the full governance framework for NHS Boards.
The purpose of the Staff Governance Committee is to provide assurance to the Board that NHSGGC meets its obligations in relation to Staff Governance under the National Health Service Reform (Scotland) Act 2004 and the Staff Governance Standard. The Staff Governance Committee is a Standing Committee of the Board.
The Committee ensures that structures and policies are in place to provide assurance that all staff are:
Well informed
Appropriately trained and developed
Involved in decisions
Treated fairly and consistently, with dignity and respect, in an environment where diversity is valued
Provided with a continuously improving and safe working environment, promoting the health and wellbeing of staff, patients and the wider community.
Each Health and Social Care Partnership, Acute Services and Corporate Directorate have their own Staff Governance arrangements and structure.
The Staff Governance Committee meets four times per year to review and as part of each Committee meeting, speakers provide assurance that structures, actions and processes are in place to meet the Standard.
The NHSGGC Staff Governance Committee is co-chaired by Ketki Miles (Non-Executive Director) and Ann Cameron-Burns (Employee Director).
The Staff Experience Team runs a programme of Collaborative Conversations Staff Engagement Sessions to hear more from staff about their staff experience.
Our recent programme of conversations was run with staff to test how we were using feedback from iMatter and Investors in People. At those Staff Engagement Sessions we asked staff for their input on what difference they’ve seen over the last year and what they think would make the biggest difference to their experience at work and the experience of colleagues.
The staff feedback was provided to the Investors in People Cluster groups to inform their improvement plans and help create a better workplace in all our areas.
The team is now working with local services and teams to identify key themes from the 2023 iMatter survey and following up with staff to better understand what improvements we can put in place.
Staff experience takes account of a staff members full employment journey, from being a prospective candidate right up the point they leave an organisation.
As an employer, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) wants to ensure all staff have a positive experience at work, through:
Ensuring visibility of, and access to, the right people and the right information at the right times
Developing capability, inspire ownership, accountability and trust at all levels, and empowering the workforce
Ensuring equality, diversity and inclusion to continuously establish a fairer workplace for all
Creating and embedding two-way, feedback rich conversations throughout the organisation
Encouraging a culture of excellence, celebrate success, benchmark against world class standards.
The Staff Experience team work in a number of areas, to ensure NHSGGC staff to have the most positive experience. The key areas of work and contact details for the team are outlined below.
The Staff Experience Team
Our Staff Experience team is committed to growing an inclusive organisation, where every employee is treated fairly and consistently, with dignity and respect. To get in touch, please email us at ggc.staffexperience@ggc.scot.nhs.uk
The team consists of the following members and you can contact them via the buttons below:
