NHS HR professionals believe employees have responded positively in the face of uncertainty around job security, a survey by Right Management reveals. Over half of those surveyed do not think staff believe there is still long-term job security and job opportunities in the NHS. However, 60% think staff have become more agile and resilient; while 57% agree NHS staff continue to see their job as important, possibly explaining the tenacity of employees to perform in tough times.
And 85% of HR managers say they have a talent management strategy in place and 82% think senior management view these strategies as a valuable tool for managing their organisation. But only 19% were very confident they had the resource to develop and adapt these strategies going forward.
A divide between clinical and non-clinical employees is being fuelled by a belief that clinical staff are less likely to be affected by cuts. This has since been realised with NHS management costs to be cut by £850 million by 2014. HR managers and directors believe there will be more career development investment for clinical staff (13%) over organisational management staff (5%).
Almost six out of 10 respondents (58%) agree workers also see a significant divide between senior management with a clinical background and those with a management background, demonstrating that roles perceived as less useful are being identified by staff as at risk.
Despite employees believing HR is doing a good job, they do not recognise its strategic value. When asked if the attitude of staff towards the HR function had become more positive or negative over recent years, 61% of respondents said it was more positive. However, only 41% of respondents thought staff would agree that HR plays an important strategic role within the organisation.
Andy Lowe, practice leader at Right Management, said: "During this critical time of change for the NHS, HR is going to be fundamental to ensure the organisation has the right people and skills to be effective in the new world. There are good intentions with the talent management strategies already in place. Now would be the key time to ensure these strategies are executed to guarantee the NHS doesn’t just survive the next few difficult years, but that it succeeds."
"It is positive that staff are demonstrating their resilience at this time of uncertainty and that they recognise how HR supports them. To bolster this and to demonstrate its strategic role, HR needs to ensure their organisations align their talent strategy with their organisational objectives."
Survey reveals how threat of spending cuts is damaging staff performance
HR managers and directors across the NHS have revealed how the threat of significant public-spending cuts is affecting staff performance and, critically, threatening to widen the divide between clinical and non-clinical staff.
