Winners toast success across 17 health service categories
At the glittering HR and People Management Association (HPMA) awards evening, Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust picked up prizes as overall winner and winner in its category Appreciate Champion for its staff engagement programme.
The trust’s entry highlighted how its recently developed model had brought major improvements to staff engagement and employee voice. It uses the ‘WWL Way toolkit’, which offers a choice of options to apply locally, avoiding a one size fits all approach.
Judges said that the programme had created a culture in which teams felt empowered to engage in, and offer up, service improvements through their own initiative.
The NHS has faced criticism for closed cultures where staff felt their ideas and concerns were ignored but this winning best practice example has shown how cultural change can yield real results.
The trust said that during 2012/13 under the programme 35 per cent more staff felt communication from management was effective, 34 per cent more staff said there was improvement in day-to-day frustrations being quickly resolved, 32 per cent more staff felt senior managers encouraged new ideas and 26 per cent more staff felt involved in changes in their area.
The judges lauded this “gold standard example of a systemic and sustainable programme to improve staff engagement and satisfaction”.
Another notable winner on the evening was Derbyshire Community Health Services NHS Trust, which was named the winner in three categories.
Amanda Rawlings, director of people and OD, won HR director of the year, and the trust scooped the HR team of the year for its People Services team, and the Courage to Manage Award for its work on culture change.
Rawlings said: “The morale boost for the whole team is fantastic. To win one award is a big thrill but to win three was just overwhelming. The level of excitement and the buzz this has generated amongst the team is wonderful and well deserved recognition for all their hard work, I am so proud of them. Winning these awards has created a new level of excitement about what we can achieve next.”
Kevin Croft, HPMA president, said: “In our 23rd year of the HPMA’s annual awards programme, celebrating excellence in HRM, we are proud to say that good practice is alive and well in the health service, despite the backdrop of continuing change and financial focus.
“We have 17 awards this year and saw more high quality entries than ever, this is really encouraging for the future of our profession, the health service and ultimately patient care.”
Full winners list
Appreciate Champion
Overall winner and category winner
Organisation Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust
Capsticks award for innovation in HR
Winner
Organisation Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust
Social Partnership Forum award for partnership working with trade unions
Winner
Organisation Business Services Organisation and Trade
NHS Health at Work Network and Syngentis award for excellence in improving employee health and wellbeing
Winner
Organisation ABMU Health Board
GateHouse award for excellence in organisational development
Winner
Organisation Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust
Award for best practice and innovation using ESR
Winner
Organisation St Helen’s and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals Trust
Bevan Brittan award for HR’s contribution to organisational change and/ or turnaround
Winner
Organisation Bradford District Care Trust
CIPD award for best improvement of HR capability in a team
Winner
Organisation Black Country Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
The Aston OD award for team-based working
Winner
Organisation Hywel Dda University Health Board
The HSJ award for strategic approach to recruitment
Winner
Organisation North Middlesex Hospital NHS Trust
The CMP Resolutions ‘Courage to Manage’ Award
Winner
Organisation Derbyshire Community Health Services
Academi Wales award for leadership development
Winner
Organisation Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Deputy HR director of the year
Winner
Louisa Graham, head of organisational development
Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
HR director of the year
Winner
Amanda Rawlings, director of people and OD
Derbyshire Community Health Services
HR team of the year
Winner
Organisation Derbyshire Community Health Services
President’s Award for lifetime achievement
Winner
Andrew Foster, Chief Executive
Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust