ISQua's 39th International Conference 2023

Using an online consensus-building approach to redefine, measure and improve staff engagement in major change

Why look at staff engagement?

Engagement: Proactively seeking staff perspectives, enabling influence in decision making, and encouraging ongoing involvement in implementation.

Major Change: Change that has a profound impact on staff, affecting a large numbers of individuals, involving actors across the system, including challenges defining the problem and finding solutions.

•The health and care system faces severe challenges and pressures

•These include workforce shortages and record waiting lists

•Service/system changes through legislation like the Health and Care Act 2022 - in England.

•There is evidence of staff burnout and wellbeing challenges as seen in the NHS Staff Survey results.

•Poor attention to staff engagement is often cited as a reason for failure in change initiatives.

Summary: Staff engagement is hard to do in the current health context. But with current system pressures, planned changes, and the overall impact on staff, it has never been more important.

Methods: online consensus-building

Task 1: Exploring what does good staff engagement mean to you? (n = 162)

Task 2: Ranking the most important elements shared by participants
(n = 76)

Task 3: Identifying what’s needed from a successful measurement approach (n = 88)

Task 4: Reviewing our co-developed tools (n = 159)

Summary: We followed an online consensus building project that enabled the involvement of over 300 people working to improve health and care.

Key results: New definition and measurement tools

The work resulted in:

•A new 10-point definition of staff engagement

•A new 20-question survey tool for staff

•A 15-point planning and reflection tool for change leaders

•Guidance for measuring staff engagement.

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Summary: We produced a new definition to guide engagement during change and the means to measure it effectively drawing on a ‘Measurement for Improvement’ approach.

These are intended to be used together, with the ‘Planning and Reflection’ tool designed to reduce the burden on survey respondents and consolidate learning for future change.

Conclusions: Staff engagement and the potential for online consensus methods

•Our rationale was strongly reaffirmed by participants. New approaches are needed, and staff engagement often falls short.

•The ‘Foundations for Change’ are particularly important. These include clarity of rationale, a shared sense of ownership with staff, and investment in the capacity and capabilities needed to effectively contribute.

•Psychological safety is now a widely recognised idea within teams and organisations. There is a growing expectation is that this is given to staff.

•Measurement approaches need to balance consistency and flexibility, thoroughness with proportionality, and accessibility with expertise.

•A Measurement for Improvement approach can help organisations measure engagement in an effective but lean and pragmatic way.

Our broader conclusions point to the potential of online consensus building to bridge the gap between researchers and those with the knowledge and experience to answer their questions.

ISQua's 39th International Conference 2023

USING AN ONLINE CONSENSUS-BUILDING APPROACH TO REDEFINE, MEASURE AND IMPROVE STAFF ENGAGEMENT IN MAJOR CHANGE

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