Retention and progression
Attracting diverse talent requires a different strategy to retaining talent within an organisation. This section outlines ways in which the health sector can review, enhance and reinvigorate their processes to ensure that workers remain in the sector and have opportunities to progress. Prioritising retention and progression, particularly for those who have historically faced barriers, will minimise the risk of losing talented individuals from the industry altogether. Organisations with lower staff turnover enjoy lower costs in hiring new staff and a rewarding working environment.
Review your progression processes to eliminate bias
An open and transparent approach to progression, with clear internal recruitment and secondment policies will ensure all staff are aware of internal opportunities for skills enhancement and progression. Conduct a review to determine where existing processes could be made more equitable.
Secondments are a significant lever within the healthcare sector, which enable staff the opportunity to experience various roles, with the potential to progress throughout the sector. They can also help to address short term needs to fill vacancies, and help to build the workforce through on the job experience prior to a permanent position. Here is an example of a secondment policy which provides guidance on secondment requests.
NHS East of England released a research-backed review entitled No More Tick Boxes on how to make recruitment and career progression processes more equitable and inclusive. Areas of consideration in the review include mitigating bias, positive action, and the importance of workforce diversity.
Organise regular check ins with employees
An individual development plan (IDP) is a tool to assist employees in career and personal development. Its primary purpose is to help employees reach short and long-term career goals, as well as improve current job performance.
Our research highlighted a lack of visibility of progression routes and opportunities in the sector, with diversity most visible among lower-level roles. Developing an IDP empowers Priority Groups to carve out a bespoke career path for themselves. This helpful resource contains an IDP template which you can adapt for your organisation. Including EDI focused metrics in line managers’ IDP is a great way of creating accountability for EDI, and ensuring that responsibility for EDI is in place throughout your organisation.
Regular check-ins are a great way to build psychological safety, meaning employees are likely to report higher levels of trust and feel able to share any concerns or feedback they may have about the organisation’s culture and ways of working, providing an opportunity to raise and resolve concerns at an early stage. Managers must ensure they discuss career progression equally and fairly with all their team members, help staff identify skills gaps and training, and discuss wellbeing.
All primary care staff in England have access to NHS Practitioner Health - the free mental health service for NHS doctors and dentists, is now available to all staff working in primary care in England.
Guidance and toolkits in relation to wellbeing are available on FutureNHS, such as ‘Caring for yourself while you care for others: A toolkit for nursing ambassadors to look after their own health’. This toolkit was developed by NHS England Midland’s Nursing directorate, and includes the perceptions of nursing teams, alongside recommendations for inclusion and the needs of Priority Groups in the Midlands workforce.
Set up mentoring arrangements for employees from underrepresented groups
Mentoring is one of the most effective strategies for fostering diversity and inclusion in the workplace. Our engagement with employers validated mentoring programmes as a desirable intervention. Research sessions indicated these schemes are regarded as a main means of improving the progression of diverse employees. Reciprocal mentoring schemes help both parties improve and use their soft skills, such as active listening and compassion, traits which are regarded as key for career progression.
The University of Sussex provide access to free resources to plan and set up a mentoring scheme, with evaluation tools. As statutory bodies, ICBs would benefit from mentoring employees from underrepresented groups to improve diversity in leadership, to best serve diverse workforces and communities.
The NHS launched an initiative for those involved in PCN’s - Looking After You Too, which provides coaching for colleagues from ethnic minority backgrounds. This comprises three confidential coaching sessions which are easily accessible and tailored to individual need, and may include support to manage a team or reflecting on career goals and ambitions.
Supporting the continuous development of your staff has numerous benefits, including improved staff morale, greater retention, a higher-skilled workforce and greater productivity. Supporting your staff to upskill or change roles can start with small gestures. Allow time to understand the ambitions and intentions of your workforce through regular check-ins. For smaller practices and NHS trusts, your actions can be as simple as providing people with the time or support to pursue courses that will help them reach their desired position, or where necessary, providing employees with a chance to improve their English. Staff are more likely to stay when they feel valued - showing your commitment to their development is an integral part of building a mutually beneficial relationship.
East London NHS Trust staff are encouraged to participate in in-house and external leadership development programmes. They have targeted consultants in underrepresented groups, inviting them to apply for the clinical excellence awards, following this up with support to complete the application forms (see page 35 in link below).
Run a returners’ programme for people who have taken a career break
Returner programmes are formal schemes offered by employers to provide training and support to people who have taken time out of the workplace. While it is good practice to offer these to all, given the gendered nature of those who typically take time out of their career for caring responsibilities, returner schemes are likely to particularly help women, and even more so women of minority ethnicity. They provide people who have taken career breaks the opportunity to refresh their skills and build professional networks. According to research by PwC, addressing the career break penalty could provide a £1.7 billion boost to our yearly economic output.
HEE (now merged with NHS England) provided guidance for those who have been out of the sector due to maternity leave, ill health, or any other reasons. Find out more about the SuppoRRT initiative.
Return-to-work programmes can provide the sector with new sources of talent, helping to find experienced individuals who may have been missed with standard recruitment methods.
Staff shortages in the health sector affect service users, including the workforce. NHS Employers run a Return to Work programme to help bring GPs back into general practice. Find out more guidance on how to do this, with further details on the Return to Practice (RtP) programme.
Gov.uk released a general returners toolkit for employers to offer advice and support on returning to work after a career break.