17749 Staff Focus sept 2009_Layout 1 22/09/2009 10:45 Page 1
focus
Trust earns prestigious status
After a series of staff interviews and a challenging external assessment, the Trust has been awarded Investors in People (IIP) accreditation, meaning we are now officially recognised as a top quality employer. IIP is a highly prestigious and much soughtafter national standard of good employment practice and organisational improvement that provides a framework to help organisations improve their people management practices. It ensures that all staff understand what the organisation is trying to achieve, that they are appropriately trained and developed and that they are encouraged to take personal responsibility for improving services for the benefit of local people who need care. The assessment feedback report concluded, ‘It is very evident that South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust has come a long way. The history of the organisation is complex, and the organisation itself is relatively large, diverse and geographically challenging. However, the stories that people tell about working in the Trust are generally quite straightforward – their focus is on the users of the services, their needs and their care.’ Other observations made by the IIP assessors were that our staff are encouraged to make suggestions and improvements in the way that services are delivered, that learning and development activities are widely available and that staff feel valued for the work they do. Speaking about achieving IIP accreditation, chief executive, Steven Michael, said, ‘This is excellent news. IIP accreditation shows that we are an employer that local people would choose to work for and it highlights our
Helping South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust staff deliver high quality care
STAFF
commitment to providing a supportive working environment. Without the professionalism and dedication of staff we could not continue making a difference to people‘s lives and moving our services forward.’
Alan Davis, director of human resources and workforce development added, ‘Many thanks to all staff, especially those who were interviewed as part of the IiP process throughout last year. You helped us gain a real insight into the strengths and weaknesses we have as an organisation and helped us prepare for the IiP assessment that deemed us a success. We are thrilled to have been accredited as we believe there is a clear link between investing in staff and improved care for service users and carers. This is what we are all about, and what attracts people to work in our services.’
Achieving IiP accreditation is undoubtedly an important achievement for the Trust, but the Trust is committed to continuing this good practice and will work with the Investor in People Standard over the next few years, endeavouring, as always, to make further improvements. An important aspect of this continued work will be the Wellbeing at Work partnership. The responses to the recent survey, along with the staff opinion survey, will provide a solid grounding to progress further work.
September 2009
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With all of us in mind