80% of NHS workforce never sit at a desk
5 ways to improve staff experience
A practical guide for NHS communications, digital and people leadership teams in community and frontline settings.
Nearly 30% of NHS staff have considered leaving their organisation, while replacing experienced clinical staff can cost thousands of pounds per employee. Creating a better staff experience can help improve retention, strengthen communication and support workforce wellbeing. Here are five practical actions NHS organisations can take.
The problem in numbers
What your staff survey is already showing
National NHS Staff Survey results show how many staff feel informed, valued and connected to their organisation. A mostly deskless workforce makes every one of these harder to move, because the people most at risk of feeling left out are the hardest to reach.
NHS Staff Survey: how staff feel about work
% responding positively
Being enthusiastic about my job
67%
A third aren't feeling it. Connection and recognition are what move this number.
Would recommend their organisation as a place to work
60%
Your internal advocacy score. How staff talk about you starts with how informed they feel.
Look forward to going to work
53%
Nearly half don't. Feeling part of the organisation is a big driver of this.
Felt unwell from work-related stress in the last year
47%
Almost half. Removing daily friction and admin is one lever you control.
Satisfied their organisation values their work
42%
The lowest score here, and the one a culture of recognition speaks to most directly.
Often think about leaving their organisation
31%
A retention and recruitment cost. Staff who feel disconnected are the first to go.
0%25%50%75%100%
Indicative national figures based on the NHS Staff Survey. Confirm the latest published year before using externally.
01
Replace multiple systems with one intranet
Employees spend almost 20% of their working week searching for information needed to do their jobs.
A working intranet brings everything into one easy-to-use digital space: a single trusted source of truth for information.
- Reduce admin and increase productivity
- Improve compliance with access to policies
- Allow staff to communicate between themselves
- Reach more employees for consistent messaging
02
Reach staff wherever they work
Around 80% of staff in community settings are deskless, spending much of their day walking wards, visiting patients and carrying out general hospital work.
Providing intranet access through a mobile app delivers the workforce the freedom to access everything at their fingertips, 24/7.
- Connect and inform remote workers
- Ensure frontline teams receive updates anywhere
- Increase the number of people being reached
- Support more consistent service delivery across locations
03
Make staff feel valued
Feeling valued is one of the most important drivers of employee engagement.
Creating opportunities for recognition, leadership praise and staff celebrations helps employees feel appreciated for their work, strengthening morale and fostering a more positive workplace culture.
- Increase staff satisfaction and morale
- Help employees feel valued and recognised
- Improve staff retention
- Reduce recruitment costs
04
Connect every system into one
NHS organisations rely on multiple systems, from EPR and PAS platforms to workforce and communication tools, with critical information often spread across different locations.
Connecting these systems into a single digital environment creates a trusted source of information, helping staff with a single sign-on across all platforms.
- Increase time with patients
- Reduce duplication through a single source of truth
- Enable faster and more informed decision-making
- Improve productivity through a simpler digital environment
05
Take the admin off staff
Automating repetitive processes removes unnecessary administration and improves consistency.
That frees teams to focus on the activities that have a greater impact on patients and services.
- Increase patient-facing time by reducing administrative tasks
- Improve consistency across routine processes
- Reduce manual effort and the risk of human error
- Allow staff to focus on higher-value activities
Better staff experience starts with better access
Improving staff experience does not always require large-scale transformation programmes. Often, the biggest gains come from making information easier to access, reducing administrative burden and ensuring staff have the tools and support they need to perform at their best.
Whether through a modern intranet, mobile access for frontline teams, staff recognition, connected systems or intelligent automation, organisations that remove friction from the working day create a more informed, productive and engaged workforce.
The result is not only a better experience for staff, but more efficient services, improved organisational performance and ultimately better outcomes for patients.
Want to apply any of these to your trust?
Book a short call with our NHS team and we'll talk through how to put any one of these five ideas into practice in your organisation. No obligation, and no pitch.
Book a callA practical conversation about your workforce, not a sales demo.
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