Cultivating a Culture of Care: A Healthy Partnership with SWYPFT

South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (SWYPFT) employs over 4,000 dedicated professionals and is recognised as one of the top NHS trusts to work for. Despite their commitment to employee health and wellbeing, increasing service demands and financial challenges highlighted the need for a shift in focus. SWYPFT sought to move beyond reducing sickness absence to embrace a holistic approach to employee engagement, health, and wellbeing.

The existing NHS staff survey was unable to capture the nuanced drivers and barriers to wellbeing, making it difficult to foster cultural change. SWYPFT set clear goals to identify sources of stress, highlight areas of positive wellbeing, and implement actions that would support sustainable improvement across the workforce.

In partnership with Robertson Cooper, SWYPFT adopted a comprehensive, long-term approach to mental health and wellbeing.

Key actions included:

  • Regular Wellbeing Surveys: Using the Good Day at Work questionnaire, SWYPFT gained valuable insights to shape sustainable wellbeing strategies.
  • Wellbeing Brand Development: A distinctive brand and targeted communication strategies increased survey awareness and engagement across all employee groups.
  • Detailed Data Analysis: Access to the Good Day at Work platform enabled in-depth exploration of findings, including benchmarking against other NHS trusts and the wider public sector.
  • Solution Groups and Action Plans: Managers were supported in identifying specific cohorts for engagement, developing wellbeing action plans, and monitoring progress to create a culture of ownership and accountability.

Insights from the Good Day at Work survey revealed key strengths at SWYPFT, including above-average scores for work-life balance, pay and reward, and workplace relationships. However, the survey also identified challenges, such as nearly 50% of staff experiencing major stressful events, with 66% of those events being work-related.

Within six months, SWYPFT achieved measurable improvements:

  • 3.6% reduction in staff turnover.
  • 7% decrease in stress-related sickness absence.
  • Significant reductions in overall sickness absence, leading to savings of £70,000.

These early results exceeded expectations and underscored the transformative impact of SWYPFT’s partnership with Robertson Cooper on employee wellbeing and organisational performance.

Key Features

  • 3.6% reduction in staff turnover
  • 7% decrease in stress-related sickness absence
  • £70,000 saved through significant reductions in overall sickness absence
What South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust said

Working with Robertson Cooper made the whole wellbeing survey process more efficient and professional. Being able to benchmark our performance against industry norms – seeing what we were doing right, as well as flagging up any issues, was hugely valuable. Robertson Cooper helped us to reframe our thinking around wellbeing. The knowledge, tools, and support they provide enable us to focus on achieving our wellbeing goals.

Director of Human Resources & Workforce Development

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