Media centre

In response to the announcement today at the NHS Confederation conference of What Matters to Staff in the NHS research findings, Alastair Henderson and Sian Thomas, joint acting directors of NHS Employers, said:

"Today's announcement strengthens the case for effective staff engagement and adds impetus to the range of initiatives already in place aiming to improve the experience of staff working in the NHS. 

"Identifying and acting on what matters to staff is an issue that many NHS employers locally already see as a priority. At NHS Employers we are implementing a range of initiatives to help employers ensure their staff feel valued and motivated to deliver the highest standards of patient care.

"Although the NHS national staff survey shows staff are satisfied with their jobs we know there are a number of areas where more work needs to be done, particularly on staff involvement and acting on feedback. 

"There is growing recognition that improving staff engagement at local level is critical, and NHS Employers is creating opportunities for NHS organisations to share learning by collecting good practice and will be holding a national event next month on this.  

"While the report shows that more needs to be done to ensure staff feel supported by senior managers locally, the feeling of needing more support is common across all staff groups including amongst managers. It is therefore vital that the learning from this report is taken forward in a positive way for all staff groups."