Get your board onboard with health and wellbeing priorities

Purpose

As a senior leader you will be expected to understand the impact of staff wellbeing on staff outcomes and patient care, speaking with confidence and commitment about the evidence. You will:

• support and champion the importance of the health and wellbeing of the NHS workforce
• be credible, authentic and lead by example to demonstrate your involvement in and practice of wellbeing in the workplace
• ensure the health and wellbeing of the workforce is considered at the outset of all board discussions or equivalent meetings
• use and share your knowledge to articulate how staff health and wellbeing is important to deliver broader organisational goals, including improving staff engagement and financial savings
• be willing to challenge other board/senior members and colleagues to ensure the wellbeing of staff remains a core consideration at all times.

Key responsibilities

• Engage, listen and support wellbeing conversations, actively seeking opportunities to provide key wellbeing messages both internally and externally.
• Have a detailed understanding of what is impacting the wellbeing of your staff at a local level based on staff outcome statistics and employee feedback.
• Engage with staff at all levels and encourage communications, ensuring that the views of employees are used to effectively influence decisions relating to the wellbeing of the workforce.
• Be available for staff to discuss wellbeing issues and support staff groups to raise challenges constructively when it impacts on the wellbeing of staff.
• Act as an example to all staff by actively participating in the wellbeing programme, publicly advocating and encouraging employees to get involved.
• Establish strong local relationships with those working on the wellbeing agenda (clinical lead and workforce health and wellbeing lead as a minimum), supporting them to shape and achieve their objectives.
• Commit to influencing this work nationally by sharing your knowledge and expertise across the health system.
• Shape and support the development of the health and wellbeing lead role, including actively promoting the benefits of the role and its impact on workforce wellbeing.
• Challenge stigmas associated with physical and mental health by encouraging staff to speak openly about their wellbeing and seek support in the workplace