Our Values, Trust Objectives and Collective Leadership

Introduction

Welcome to the Trusts Every One Mattersvalues led Appraisal documentation which has been developed to support and guide you through the appraisal process. This documentation is for all non-medical staff.

All staff are expected to take part in appraisal, which includes preparing for the meeting, taking an active part in the discussion, followed by working towards agreed objectives and implementing your Personal Development Plan (PDP) afterwards.

The purpose of appraisal is to summarise and discuss your job and performance over the previous year, to recognise and praise your achievements, to identify objectives for the next year, and to agree any training or development needs you may have. It is also an opportunity to explore and understand the Trust’s wider objectives and see how your job role contributes to the overall success of our Trust.

Our Values, Trust Objectives and Collective Leadership

It is important that our values are threaded through everything we do. This means that we not only do the right things, but that we do them in a way that meets our values. A simple example to describe this is that one of our values is ‘collaborative’, so if you want to change something, you should involve others to get their views, rather than just doit yourself. You will see in the appraisal documentation that you are asked to reflect upon how you demonstrate ourvalues as you go about your everyday work, and how you support the Trust objectives.

Linked toour values is “collective leadership”, which simply means everyone taking responsibility for delivery of safe, effective and efficient patient care and services, whatever job we do, and wherever we work. It doesn’t matter if you are clinical, admin or work in corporate teams - we all have a role to play in contributing to the success of our Trust as a whole, and not just our own bit of it. In simple terms, it’s when we all believe that it’s best to worktogether, and help each other to get things done with the same goals in mind.

Collective Leadership is 100% supported by the Trust Board who are keen to see that everyone gets the opportunity to play their part in the success of our organisation, and receive recognition for their contribution. One way to do this is through appraisal.

Collective Leadership is defined by 6 ‘domains’ or expectations which have been recognised by monitor and the CQC as being essential to successful organisations, and are included under the CQC ‘well-led’ domain. You will see in the appraisal documentation that we are using the Collective Leadership domains to guide your appraisal discussion. In doing so, you will get the right support you need in the right areas to continue to deliver exceptional patient care and services.

So why is appraisal important? Research by the King’s Fund (and others) has identified that effective leadership, good communication and appraisal helps staff to feel more valued and motivated which in turn has a direct impact on patient safety and patient experience – to the extent that patient mortality reduces. In addition, the research also demonstrates that staff health and well-being improves and that sickness rates improve. Good effective meaningful appraisal is therefore very important to us all, and we want to help you make it work. Doing appraisal (and ticking the box) is not the most important part – it is the quality of the discussions you have, and how you are supported which matters. This is what makes the difference to you, our patients, your team and our Trust.

Aidan Kehoe

Chief Executive

Appraisal Guidance - Preparing for your Appraisal

The following guidance will help you fill in the appraisal documentation. Complete each of the boxes in as much detail as you can. You will get the best from your appraisal if you prepare well and do most of the talking! It’s your time to shine, and your time to get the recognition you deserve for your achievements and efforts. We all want clarity though on what is expected of us. You should walk away from appraisal with a very clear understanding of what you are to do, by when and what help and support you need. All appraisals must take place between April & June each year. Make sure you have an agreed date and time to meet with a manager for your appraisal, if you can’t make it for any reason, make sure another date is put in.

SECTION 1 – 10 STEPS TO A GREAT VALUES LED APPRAISAL (completed April – June)

1. The first 5 boxes help you demonstrate what you have achieved over the last year against each of the Trust Values, which are listed in the shaded boxes paired up with the Collective Leadership domains. Think about real examples of what you have achieved. Most staff say they can’t think of anything, but when they do, they are surprised and pleased with what they have done. What were last year’s objectives? Did you achieve them, what examples of effort and success do you have to share?

1. Moving on, think about how engaged you feel in decisions or changes which affect you at work, do you feel involved and included, are you listened to? What is working well and what could be better? How motivated do you feel?

1. Think about your day to day work and how things could be done differently. You do the job, you know the job and you know what can be improved, make sure you raise your ideas with your manager. If you can think through how something could be done differently as well as what needs to be done, so much the better. Think about quality improvement and where inefficiency and waste can be reduced – make those ideas known. When thinking about QEP (Quality Efficiency Productivity) schemes, please remember - “When you focus on cutting costs, you automatically reducequality, but when you focus on increasing quality, you almost always reduce cost”. William R Brody. President John Hopkins University. If your ideas are bigger than your ward/dept, why not submit them to Ideas Street?

1. What about your health and wellbeing? Look at the linkand see if there is anything we can help you with, have you taken advantage of the opportunities we have on offer, do you know about them? What have you done to improve your own health and well-being?

1. Have you thought about a coach? Coaching is a great way to get the development you need to get the best out of your job and future potential. Have a look at the intranet site to help you decide and see how to go about accessing a coach.

1. Do you know how your job contributes to the overall success of your team and the Trust? Can you recognise the contribution you make to the Trust objectives and how important that is? Write down some examples of your particular contribution.

1. Think about next year’s objectives and your Personal Development Plan. What do you think will change about your job? Do you have the skills needed? What training might you need to do your job even better? What opportunities are there for you to develop? Think about last year’s objectives. What got in the way? If you couldn’t get things done, were you able to raise this to find a solution, if not why not, what could be different this year?

1. What skills/talents do you have which you don’t use - how could you use them within your job? If not, why not enter them onto our Skills Register? E mail with the title SKILLS REGISTER - you never know when you might be able to share these skills!

1. You may be looking for promotion or career progression, or you might not. If not, that’s perfectly fine. You might be very happy doing the job you are doing, doing it well and developing in that role. However if you are interested in career development or promotion – discuss it!

1. If you manage staff, arrange for your team to complete the Leadership Behaviours Pulse Check tool which is available online This will provide you with an anonymised report on your leadership style and behaviour, which you should discuss at your appraisal to identify areas where you are doing well and areas to improve to feed into your PDP. Most managers find this really helpful, and are usually surprised and pleased with the feedback they get.

SECTION 2 – SUMMARY ANNUAL APPRAISAL & SIGN OFF (completed at the end of your appraisal discussion)

This section provides the opportunity for your manager to record a summary of your performance and achievements over the last year. It also includes a record of completion of objectives and mandatory training. You will not be able to take up any other training unless you are up to date with mandatory training. For senior staff/executive directors there is a declaration specific to their role.

SECTION 3 – SUMMARY APPRAISAL REVIEW (completed October – December)

As we know, things change, so you should also have another opportunity in 6 months’ time to review your appraisal, and check that things are on track. A meeting should be arranged between you and your manager to discuss progress, and it will be helpful if you just read through the original document to prepare yourself, identifying anything to discuss. If anything changes in the meantime, or you need clarity on anything, you can always raise your questions with a manager at any time.

SECTION 4 – RECORD OF OBJECTIVES AND PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN (agreed at annual appraisal, completed during the year)

These are templates to agree what you need to do by when, and what help and support you need to do it. Objectives should be SMARTER (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time bound, evaluated & recognised) so you can measure success.

Appraisal Guidance - Preparing for Appraisal as the Manager

The following guidance will help you prepare to appraise your staff. Appraisal is a time for reflection and forward planning and should be a valuable motivating experience for you both. Aim for the staff member doing most of the talking, you should opt for a ‘coaching’ style, listening to what they have to say, and giving praise, acknowledgment and recognition, whilst being absolutely clear about your expectations going forward and what an important part your staff have to play in the success of your team and the Trust overall. Of course it takes time – but if you approach it in this way, it should be time well spent for you both.

All appraisals must take place between April & June each year. Managers should ideally not appraise more than 8 members of staff to allow for a meaningful appraisal, so it is important that you agree an appropriate appraisal cascade for your area. Make sure that have agreed an appropriate time and place for the appraisal discussion, and that you have asked all the staff you are appraising to prepare. If you can’t make it for any reason, make sure another date is put in.

SECTION 1 – VALUES LED APPRAISAL (completed April – June)

1. Consider all the boxes in section 1, ensuring you have real examples of achievements, and effort made by the member of staff which you can thank them for. Appraisal is not the time to raise things the member of staff isn’t doing, if they haven’t previously been told. You should raise performance issues as and when they arise. You may of course refer to progress made on such issues during appraisal discussions. You may also find it helpful to read to appraisal guidance for staff above.

1. Review progress on previous objectives, identifying and recognising progress, and spotting where things have got in the way. If progress hasn’t been made, it is appropriate to discuss it, however as previously mentioned, it shouldn’t be the first time the individual hears it. Use the opportunity to discuss, find solutions and move things on.

1. Think through ideas for objectives, which are meaningful and link to how they do their job in achieving the team objectives, and find examples of how they contribute to delivery of the Trust objectives so they can see how what they do really makes a difference. Objectives are not ‘add ons’ to the job, they set out how to do the job better, or how the individuals job is changing to help the team move things on. For example, do they need to do something differently, or do different things?

1. Think through any training and development the staff member may need – particularly if you are agreeing objectives which are about doing different things. Think broadly about training needs – coaching, reading, e-learning, shadowing or secondments are very effective ways of learning, often more so than training courses. Be clear that if the staff member wants to take up any personal development for their own career for example, this takes second place to any training or development needed to do the job.

1. Discuss any skills/talents the individual has which they aren’t using. This could be from a previous job e.g. project management, clinical skills. Can they be used in the current job? If not encourage the member of staff to enter them onto the ‘Skills Register’ held by Learning & Development to that they can be used if needed.

1. The final question is an optional but important question. Staff will of course be wanting promotion or career development which needs to be discussed, however many staff will be perfectly happy doing what they are doing. If you are confident that they are performing well, and continuing to develop that’s perfectly fine, staff must not feel under pressure to discuss their future if you are both happy. If you have a member of staff who is ‘ready now’ for the next step, you should e mail learning and development to enter them onto the Talent Register (using the title TALENT REGISTER). This is for those who you believe are capable of getting to the next step, it’s not a guarantee they will, only that they are capable. If further development needs are required they should be entered onto the PDP.

1. If your member of staff is a manager themselves, they will have asked for feedback from their teams in the ‘Leadership Behaviours Pulse Check’, which they will have as an anonymised report. Ask to discuss this to identify any areas of good practice to praise and any areas of development for the PDP.

SECTION 2 – SUMMARY ANNUAL APPRAISAL & SIGN OFF (completed at the end of the appraisal discussion)

This section provides the opportunity for you as the manager to record a summary of performance and achievements over the last year. You will also need to check on completion of objectives and mandatory training. Staff are not able to take up any other training unless they are up to date with mandatory training. If you are appraising staff on AfC 8c and above, please note the declaration of achievement of objectives which must be made each year to allow those on the top of scale to retain their increment. For Executive Directors, there is a ‘Fit & Proper Persons’ declaration which must be made specific to the role.

SECTION 3 – SUMMARY APPRAISAL REVIEW (completed October – December)

It is good practice, and makes appraisal more meaningful if it is reviewed at least once during the year. So please remember to book a review date between October & December. This doesn’t have to be a detailed meeting, only a check in to see how things are going. You don’t need to wait for the review however, you will obviously keep a check that things are on track at regular intervals, to praise achievement and/or find solutions to any blocks and barriers.

SECTION 4 – RECORD OF OBJECTIVES AND PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN (agreed at annual appraisal, completed during the year)

This is an important section. The quality of the appraisal discussion will be lost if staff are not clear about what is expected. Spend some time ensuring objectives are SMARTER (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time bound, evaluated & recognised) so that progress and success can be measured. You will have already thought this through at points 4 & 5 above. Spend time with the member of staff agreeing what needs to be done, whilst recognising their hopes and aspirations. Please follow up that this section is completed and agreed.

Finally – you are accountable for appraisal taking place, and for the quality of the discussion. Please make sure that both the date of appraisal is entered onto ESR, and that the signed final document is available for audit by the end of June. ESR will be used for reporting and audit will be used to assess quality.