Drivers for retention in the NHS

Engaging a board level champion will help you maintaining a strategic focus on retaining your highly valued NHS people. The board should regularly review retention-related data and be accountable for any identified actions. 

Further resources: 

• Retention in the NHS: board pack – NHS Employers
• Get your board onboard with health and wellbeing priorities - NHS Employers
• Board buy in to support the rising cost of living - NHS Employers

Be proactive by implementing a continuous improvement approach which allows you to adapt and tailor your retention strategy to a local context, as needed. 

Further resources: 

• Retention and attraction: a visual model - NHS Employers
• Improving retention through staff engagement - NHS Employers
• Improving staff experience and staff engagement at QEH (case study)- NHS Employers

Ensuring a culture which promotes equality and diversity by implementing actions set out in NHS Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Plan will strengthen your approach to staff experience and help foster retention.

Further resources: 

• Embracing staff feedback to embed cultural change - NHS Employers
• Top tips for supporting the psychological safety of staff - NHS Employers
• Equality, diversity and inclusion web hub - NHS Employers

Collaborating and fostering good working relationships with key partners in your organisation who work to support staff experience and bring the NHS People Promise to life will maximise your collective impact and strengthen your retention strategy.

Further resources: 

• Staff experience in the NHS  - NHS Employers
• NHS People Plan and Promise - NHS Employers

Throughout relentless pressures on NHS trusts, we've seen innovation, transformational changes and real improvements to bring the NHS People Promise to life and improve staff experience. Continually facilitating a supportive, compassionate and psychologically safe environment will help boost retention of your staff. 

Further resources: 

• Retention web hub - NHS Employers
• Conscious retention – creating a more secure workforce - NHS Employers
• Retention discussions: from reaction to prevention - NHS Employers

Investing in dedicated resource and ensuring capacity for action will help to drive this work forward. Giving protected time to leaders and line managers on this work will support the development of end-to-end improvements in the experience of staff. 

Further resources: 

• Retention: learning into actions -  NHS Employers
• Investment and upskilling line managers - NHS Employers

Taking a data-led approach, including self-assessment and seeking feedback from staff who are thinking about leaving, will help you understand the reasons staff are thinking about leaving, identify hot spots and areas to learn from, and evaluate the impact of your interventions.

Further resources: 

• Retention in the NHS: employer briefing - NHS Employers
• Evidence-based approaches to workforce wellbeing - NHS Employers

Leaders should embed a compassionate and inclusive culture built on civility, respect and equal opportunity. Line managers play a key role in supporting colleagues to stay and stay well in the NHS. 

Further resources: 

• Improving staff retention - NHS Employers
• Health and wellbeing top tips for supporting line managers - NHS Employers
• Teamworking, psychological safety and compassionate leadership - NHS Employers
• International retention toolkit - NHS Employers
• The expectations of line managers in relation to people management – NHS England