Embedding the EEAST Values and Behaviours Framework

Meeting: Trust Board – Public Meeting

Date: 6 November 2024

Report Title: Embedding the EEAST Values and Behaviours Framework

Agenda Item: PUB24/11/2.4

Author: Lauren Singleton – Deputy Director of Culture and Leadership

Lead Director: Marika Stephenson – Chief People Officer; Dr Hein Scheffer – Director of Strategy and Transformation

Purpose: Information noting

Link to CQC domain:

Well Led

Link to Strategic Objective:

Be an exceptional place to work, volunteer and learn

Link to Strategic Risk:

SR1a: If we do not ensure our people are safe and their wellbeing prioritised, there is a risk that we will be unable to attract, retain and keep all our people safe and well
SR1b: If we do not ensure our leaders are developed and equipped, there is a risk that we will not be able to change our culture, and value, support, develop and grow our people

Equality Impact Assessment: No negative impact identified

Previously considered by: ELT

Recommendation: To note the initial plan to embed the evolved values and behaviours plan.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview into the next steps of the values and behaviours implementation. This is an initial plan for review and awareness of the general approach that will be undertaken throughout the Trust

Executive Summary:

The evolved values and behaviours were generated from a number of ‘big conversations’ that took place across EEAST throughout 2024, supported by our partner Clever Together. These values and behaviours were soft launched at the recent Leadership Away days in Newmarket, however more work is required over the next 6-9 months to fully embed these throughout the organisation, from this introductory launch.

An initial plan has been drafted to design the implementation process for our evolved values and behaviours. Predominantly, this plan forms two parts: embedding the values throughout all aspects of life at EEAST, and turning our values into action.

Embedding the values throughout the Trust has already begun. A task and finish group (TAFG) has been set up to start mapping where the evolved values and behaviours can be embedded into documentation, processes, meetings and policies. We have called upon all sectors, directorates and areas of specialism to consider where else we can and should embed these values beyond what we already know and are working to map their areas into our plan.

The TAFG are currently auditing and mapping out their proposed implementation activities; these have been mapped out on the last slide of the enclosed slide deck, for what we currently know. This plan, centred upon the employee lifecycle, will expand and grow as we identify more areas across the Trust through the ongoing work of the TAFG.

Some activities, such as our Leadership Development Framework, already include the new values and behaviours and are beginning to roll this through our phase 2 cohort which started at the beginning of October 2024. We are taking a pragmatic approach to embedding our new values; some parts of our Trust benefit from working to the new values already (such as our Leadership Development Framework), others are planning to update documentation in preparation for the launch in February 2025.

The second part of the plan – ‘turning values into action’ - is the longer-term piece of our implementation plan. This is where we see the cultural change and evolution taking place, reinforced through the earlier work on embedding values throughout every ‘employee touch-point’. We envisage a 2-3 year Trust-wide training programme for every member of staff supporting this work, helping the workforce translate values and behaviours into every-day action alongside development on sexual safety, professional boundaries, and preventing bullying and harassment. This work is subject to business planning and budgetary constraints but is anticipated to begin from April/May 2025 onwards.

Within the second part of the plan, we are also re-shaping our appraisal documentation to incorporate values and behaviours, providing the mechanism to hold staff to account. The appraisal document will soon be transferred to the new digital appraisal process and, as part of the new form, it is proposed that we consider introducing a new behavioural measurement (based on our evolved values and behaviours) as part of the overall performance appraisal and review. This step is the first of many required to overhaul and improve performance appraisals at EEAST and is an important part of bringing our values to life, allowing everyone to be held to account on a consistent description of behaviours.

Finally, within the initial plan (slide deck), there is also a first draft of a proposed values and behaviour measurement dashboard. This requires refinement and targets to be set, however is designed to be illustrative in the first instance and provide assurance that we will be measuring our successes of this programme fully. Each year we run a ‘workplace behaviour’ survey for our workforce, to understand and take proactive action against cases of harassment or bullying. Our next survey, proposed to run from February 2025 in conjunction with the launch of our values, will become part of our baseline measurement and later, assessed each year to review impact.

Introduction / Background:

Following a Board decision in October 2023, the Trust has undertaken a consultative process to:

Develop its new strategy for 2025-30
Review its five values and behaviours

The process was undertaken in consultation with our people, our stakeholders and our patients via the Clever Together platform to gain feedback on the existing strategy and behavioural framework, and test an evolved framework built using that feedback. Nearly 1,000 people took part in these conversations, providing almost 8,000 contributions. Virtual workshops were held with external stakeholders along with an online conversation.

The resulting strategic framework and values were shared at the Leadership Days on 06 and 20 September 2024. The existing five values have evolved into three:

Accountable
Respectful
Excellent

This report covers the general approach to embedding the values and behaviours throughout the Trust.

Key Issues / Risks:

This paper provides an overview of our approach to embedding the evolved values and behaviours across EEAST. The following risks have been identified:

Part 1 – Embedding the values throughout EEAST

We will have a transitional period from December to April where documentation, processes and policies may refer to the old value set. We are trying to limit any confusion for staff by auditing these areas ahead of time and updating prior to the launch in February 2025. There is a risk, however, that we will have some transition as we move between value sets.

Part 2 – Turning values into action

A big proportion of this plan will require a long-term investment into a training programme, which is relevant for every employee. This will not only require budgetary support but also a commitment around staff abstraction. We will minimise the impacts of this proposal by considering internal resources (and connected partners such as TrainEEAST) and look at longer lead times for implementation (2-3 years) to minimise abstraction disruption for Operations. A full business case will be developed to expand on this further.

Options:

The Trust Board is asked to note the contents of this report and provide feedback.