Our People Strategy 2023-2025

I am so excited to welcome you to our people strategy, one of our two critical enabling strategies underpinning the delivery of our clinical strategy. This is an exciting strategy that sets out our three-year plan of how we will support our people to deliver the best service for our patients and communities.

This strategy outlines our pledges (aligned to the NHS People Promise) and the improvement actions that will help us to achieve our strategic ambition to invest in our exceptional people, enabling them to be the best they can be, every day. This will be achieved through our promise to:

• prioritise the health and wellbeing of all our people
• create a great employee experience
• ensure inclusion and belonging for all
• support and develop the people profession
• harness the talents of all our people
• lead improvement, change and innovation
• embed digitally enabled solutions
• enable new ways of working and planning for the future.

Thank you so much to everyone who has contributed to the formation of this plan, whether by completion of staff surveys, contributing to focus groups or any ad hoc improvement suggestions. This strategy has been written by our people for our people and represents the changes and improvements you have told us you want to see. The actions within this strategy will help to shape the culture across our organisation.

Over the past few years, all our people have worked so incredibly hard to support the delivery of care to our patients under unprecedented conditions. This has been extremely challenging, and it is paramount that this strategy focuses on providing a great employee experience and support for our people, now and in the future.

As we progress with the delivery of actions over the next three years, we will continue to listen to our people and consider what is important to them so that we can adjust along the way. We will ensure that the Trust’s values remain at the heart of everything we do.

I look forward to working with you all to deliver this strategy.

Marika Stephenson, Director of People Service

Our people strategy sets out how we are improving the experience of our people at EEAST and ultimately to improve the service that we provide to our patients and communities in the east of England.

We are going to achieve this by investing in our people, and enabling and empowering them to be the best they can be every day. Our people strategy sets out the objectives we have set and the actions we are taking to do this. By 2025, we aim to be an employer of choice, being highly desirable to employees and jobseekers compared to other employers the region.

By delivering our people strategy, we are directly enabling the delivery of our clinical strategy. Our clinical strategy sets out specific defined programmes to support our people and our culture and this strategy sets out how these will be delivered.

This strategy is structured around the pillars set out in the NHS People Promise, which we are committed to delivering at EEAST. In this document, you will read about the actions we are taking to deliver on each of these pillars over the three years of this strategy.

The East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust was formed in 2006 and covers one of the largest regions of any UK ambulance service and includes Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire Hertfordshire, Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk. EEAST provides emergency care to the communities of the east of England region, covering approximately 7,500 square miles, as well transporting patients to routine hospital appointments. The geography is a mix of urban and rural areas, including much rural coastline. Providing effective coverage across this diverse geography can present logistical challenges for delivery of our service, especially in more remote areas.

We have a diverse workforce at EEAST currently employing approximately 6,300 people and over 1,000 volunteers. Our people are trained to handle a wide range of emergencies, including medical conditions, accidents and trauma cases. Patients are treated through different routes including, “hear and treat” where medical advice is provided over the phone, assessments – evaluating the patients condition and immediate care.

Our qualified call handlers listen to the needs of callers in our emergency operations centres (EOCs), our clinicians make clinical decisions about how best to respond to patients’ needs working alongside our system partners, and when an ambulance is dispatched by our qualified dispatch team, our skilled clinicians assess the patient, treat them on scene or convey them to hospital or another appropriate healthcare setting. Our admin and support staff play a vital role in handling logistics, ensuring a smooth operation for emergency medical services, providing practical support for patients and are responsible for the overall management.

Being part of team EEAST is a commitment that many of our people are passionate about. They provide a critical service to residents of the east of England, and to ensure we can continue to deliver this service effectively. We must look after our most important asset – our people.

Providing adequate support and resources to address the mental health and wellbeing of our people is crucial to ensure their overall wellbeing and our ability as a Trust to provide high quality care.

Our people, both clinical and non-clinical are faced with many daily challenges. Ambulance crews regularly encounter highly stressful and emotionally challenging situations. Our call handlers also encounter stressful and emotional calls, and some of our support staff are also exposed to trauma.

The health and wellbeing of our people was a key area of focus in the 2023/24 staff survey. 43% of our people reported that the organisation takes positive action on health and wellbeing and staff have reported that they are unable to take breaks on occasions which has led to them being exhausted. Only 30% of our people reported that they felt the organisation is committed to helping balance work and home life.

The development of our people was another area that was highlighted in the most recent staff survey. There has been an improvement in the development of our people, however 40% felt supported to develop their potential and only 46% were able to access the right learning and development opportunities, when needed.

We have identified the challenges we face, both internally and in our external operating environment. This strategy sets out how we will take action within each of the pillars of the NHS People Promise to ensure we are doing our best for our people.

Our ambition is clear – to be an employer of choice by 2026. The experience of our people is critical to this aim, and we must create an environment where people are passionate about working at EEAST and want to stay here. We believe this is about strengthening the opportunities we offer our workforce and enabling our people to reach their maximum potential.

Our clinical strategy sets out how we are delivering our service now and the changes we are making to improve how we operate over the coming years. Our people are at the heart of delivering our clinical strategy, whether our frontline staff, our support services or our volunteers – everyone has a vital role to play. The people strategy is a critical enabler to achieving the environment and the conditions we need as an organisation to deliver successfully our clinical strategy.

Ultimately, by structuring our actions around the NHS People Promise, we are confident that we have embedded those key commitments in how we are supporting, enabling and empowering our people.

• Recruit and retain the right people at the right time - our goal is to attract the most talented individuals, who reflect the diversity of our communities. We are adapting our recruitment processes to reach a wider pool of candidates through diverse channels. Lean recruitment, for example, will improve employee experience and contribute to the reduction of time to hire.

• Deliver the Time to Lead programme - a significant investment in our people to equip them with the structures, support, training and leadership they need to thrive. Time to Lead is a Trust-wide programme which aims to enable our leaders to effectively manage services on a day-to-day basis and to create a supportive leadership culture within EEAST. The Time to Lead programme was conceived in response to feedback from many of our leaders that they would welcome more support, less administrative burden, greater training, and capacity to be able to provide guidance, leadership, and a sense of team working to those that they manage. The Time to Lead programme is highlighted under pillar seven – new ways of working.

• Improve our culture – we are steadfast in our commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) at all levels and across all areas of the Trust. Recognising the positive impact of an inclusive and supportive culture on our people, patients and communities we serve, we will continue to cultivate a culture that prioritises safety, wellbeing, learning, professional conduct, growth and development at EEAST. Our inclusivity plan is central to this. We will equip our people to recognise and pursue development opportunities, identify their personal areas for growth, and proactively engage in interventions that enhance their skills, knowledge, and experience.

• Deliver our education offer – with outstanding learner experience rates – we are providing our people with comprehensive training tailored to the specific roles of our workforce, to build the skills, experience and knowledge necessary for our organisation now and in the future. We are prioritising continuous learning and development including reflective learning to support our people to acquire and develop new skills while reinforcing their existing knowledge. We adhere to the highest professional standards and incorporate innovative approaches to education, maintaining and building on excellence in providing care.

• Engage meaningfully with patients – nurturing a culture of open communication and collaboration. We will actively seek feedback and engage with patients to develop responsive services that meet their clinical needs. This also includes ongoing efforts to educate patients and communities and facilitate appropriate access to health and social care services.

1. Health and wellbeing We take a positive and proactive approach in supporting the health, safety and wellbeing of our people, ensuring that work has a positive impact.

2. Employee experience We understand the diverse needs, expectations and experience of our people and use that insight to tailor our people services. We aim to attract and retain people within EEAST, creating a positive impact on our communities and becoming a regional employer of choice.

3. Equality, diversity and inclusion We are steadfast in our commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) at all levels and across all areas of the Trust. Recognising the positive impact of an inclusive and supportive culture on our people, patients and communities we serve, we continue to cultivate a culture that prioritises safety, wellbeing, learning, professional conduct, growth and development at EEAST. We listen to each other and take action to ensure there is equity for everyone. Health and wellbeing Building through innovation Employee experience Transforming the people profession Equality, diversity and inclusion New ways of working Developing our people Making life better via digital solutions 9 People Strategy 2023-2025

4. Developing our people We aim to support everyone working at EEAST to be their very best and reach their full potential. We provide our people with training tailored to the specific roles of our workforce, to build the skills, experience and knowledge necessary for our organisation now and in the future.

5. Building through innovation We are productive, efficient, and responsive. Our operating model will deliver, transform and embed innovation across organisations and systems. We engage meaningfully with our patients and aim to nurture a culture of open communication and collaboration, actively seeking feedback and engaging to develop responsive services that meet clinical needs. We embrace new ideas and grow together.

6. Making life better via digital solutions We make the best use of technology and digital solutions to deliver great services, developing our digital capability to equip ourselves for the future.

7. New ways of working We enable the people of EEAST to work differently, to support new models of care. We anticipate the needs of the health and care system and aim to create a sustainable workforce which meets the needs of our patients now and in the future. This means recruiting the right people at the right time and ensuring we have an effective training plan in place. We will also deliver the Time to Lead programme – a significant investment in our people to equip them with the structures, support, training and leadership they need to thrive.

8. Transforming the people profession We will support everyone working in the people profession to be their very best and reach their full potential. Together, we will provide outstanding people practices. This will have a positive impact on our people and our patients.

Measuring success

Measuring success for our people strategy is not only integral to the retention and wellbeing of our employees, but is also closely linked to delivery of our clinical strategy and the NHS People Promise.

By effectively measuring success, we can ensure that our people strategy aligns with our organisational goals, vision and objectives, ultimately leading to improved quality patient care and outcomes.

Tracking key performance indicators such as employee engagement, retention rates, sickness rates, talent development, diversity and inclusion metrics allows us to assess the impact of our people strategy on both our workforce and the quality of care we provide at EEAST.

Additionally, measuring success enables us to continuously evaluate and enhance our efforts in meeting the commitments outlined in the NHS People Promise, ensuring that we deliver on our commitment to support and develop our exceptional healthcare professionals across the systems.

Challenge:

We know our people operate in a challenging environment every day and this takes its toll. Our people have reported poor levels of wellbeing/wellness in recent staff surveys, and we know this has a direct impact on sickness absence, turnover, staff experience, as well as ultimately the quality of care we provide to patients.

Aim:

We will take a positive and proactive approach in supporting the health, safety and wellbeing of our people, ensuring that work has a positive impact.

Areas of focus:

• Reduce stress and anxiety and improve the mental health of staff
• Support staff with mental health challenges
• Provide training and the tools needed to effectively support staff going through menopause
• A better work/life balance
• Provide access to vaccination programmes to protect our people, their families and our patients
• Provide access to short term, immediate support where staff are harmed through their work either physically or psychologically.

Year 1 activities:

• Publish new menopause guidance
• Launch wellbeing champions programme
• Promote health and wellbeing conversation as a daily rhythm
• Aim/aspire to finish on time/commit to rest breaks
• Increase praise and positive feedback
• Provide cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)/physiotherapy via our occupational health (OH) provider, with additional sessions if clinically appropriate
• Purchase and improve quality and access to food on our welfare wagons
• Increase number of trauma risk management (TRiM) and mental health first aiders
• Establish an internal oversight of OH by employment of an internal OH team.

Year 2 and 3 activities:

• Train all staff in mental health awareness
• Support integrated care system (ICS) initiatives to reduce handover delays
• Embed flexible working options.

Outcomes:

• Better work / life balance
• Meal breaks and reliable shift patterns are better managed
• Relief and handover delays have been reduced
• Access to mental and physical health restoration
• Safe sharing environment
• Flexible working opportunities.

Challenge:

We understand from our staff survey that our people experience low morale and as a result, they leave.

Aim:

We understand the diverse needs, expectations and experience of our people and use that insight to tailor our people services. We aim to attract and retain people in EEAST, creating a positive impact on our communities and become a regional employer of choice.

Areas of focus:

• Increased employee retention and decrease in regretted attrition
• Reduce the number of people experiencing bullying and harassment (measured through staff surveys)
• An overall more productive and healthier workforce.

Year 1 activities:

• Implement a retention improvement plan
• Produce an effective workforce plan
• Implement local action plans supported by HR business partners (HRBPs) to gain feedback and to also support targeted areas highlighted in pulse / staff survey
• Introduce a raising concerns forum which will include senior oversight on employee relations (ER) cases, which involve protected characteristics, in order to identify themes and trends
• Implement a leavers questionnaire and a first year at EEAST questionnaire to understand our employee experience and why people leave at a local level
• Introduce recognition programmes for teamwork.

Year 2 and 3 activities:

• Achieve disability confident employer status
• Train and develop our leaders with the introduction of Time to Lead
• Create equity for working payments between support and operational staff
• Create defined teams in directorates.

Outcomes:

• Improved pulse survey and national staff survey results
• Increased employee retention and decrease in regretted attrition
• A reduction in bullying and harassment employee relations cases
• Staff survey indicators in upper quartile of ambulance Trusts
• Overall healthier workforce.

Challenge:

Two of our major challenges include a need to increase inclusive recruitment and to improve the employee experience of our staff who may have protected characteristics, so that our overall workforce is more balanced and representative of the communities we serve.

Aim:

We are steadfast in our commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) at all levels and across all areas of the Trust. Recognising the positive impact of an inclusive and supportive culture on our people, patients and communities we serve, we continue to cultivate a culture that prioritises safety, wellbeing, learning, professional conduct, growth and development at EEAST.

Our ambition of developing an inclusive and representative workforce is underpinned by our inclusivity plan. This plan sets out the direction of travel over a rolling three-year period, for enabling a culture where everyone can succeed, our communities are engaged and we have equity throughout the entire organisation, ensuring that inclusion is by design, not an afterthought.

Measuring our success is integral to ensuring our inclusivity plan is fit for purpose and addressing the most prominent issues within EEAST. We have committed to running annual surveys for the next three years, for our colleagues who are LGBT+, disabled and/or from a BME background. These surveys not only provide a measure of success, but also give us critical input into the ongoing development of our inclusivity plan.

Areas of focus:

The inclusivity plan comprises of six key objectives, ranging from promoting diversity through our leadership structures, adopting diverse talent processes to building a well equipped, skilled workforce.

Year 1 activities:

• Establish a reasonable adjustments process
• Increase awareness of staff equality networks and expand to include the new Men’s Wellbeing Network
• Facilitate staff feedback and pulse survey actions through our staff equality networks
• Implement minority staff survey and action plans
• Introduce values and cultural awareness training for all staff
• Launch champions for our freedom to speak up, cultural inclusion agents, and health and wellbeing programmes
• Approve Workforce Race Equality Standard (WRES) and Workforce Disability Equality Standard (WDES) targets at all levels by the Trust Board.

Year 2 and 3 activities:

• Begin to work with system partners on community recruitment initiatives
• Develop and embed an EDI training plan for all staff, to align with the inclusivity plan over the next three years
• Implement annual staff surveys for colleagues from an LGBT+, disabled or neurodiverse and/ or BME background
• Produce and implement action plans based on our EDI staff surveys to drive change and improvement
• Provide colleagues with protected characteristics access to dedicated support networks
• Introduce reverse mentoring for all our people with protected characteristics
• Roll out enhanced ‘attraction’ initiatives to schools and colleges
• Produce diversity improvement plans for all directorates, accountable to an executive lead
• Begin to audit against agreed targets for EDI to attract, motivate retain our people.

Outcomes:

• Improved sense of belonging and equality for our people
• Increased opportunities for staff development, leading to more staff becoming champions and ambassadors
• Additional opportunities for our people to gain experience, skills, and knowledge
• Our people to have confidence, and assurance that proactive action is being taken to address inequalities.

Challenge:

EEAST has not traditionally had career pathways/ talent management/ succession planning (especially for support staff), which can be identified as a contributing factor to retention. In the 2022/23 staff survey, staff reported that they did not have enough time to complete training due to the demands of their role.

Aim:

We aim to support everyone working in EEAST to be their very best and reach their full potential. We aim to provide our people with training tailored to the specific roles of our workforce, to build the skills, experience and knowledge necessary for our organisation now and in the future.

Areas of focus:

• Provide more development and secondment opportunities for the development of our people
• Support our people in leadership development through training and programmes
• Implementing career pathways for all staff development.

Year 1 activities:

• Launch revised easy appraisal process
• Introduce a leadership development package
• Continuation of managers passport training and specialist workshops for managers
• Improve secondment and development opportunities
• Implement leadership learning circle sessions for leaders to learn from senior managers
• Ensure leadership programme is delivered for year one
• Increase access to career pathways for all staff
• Implement protected time for training and personal development – two days per year per whole time equivalent (WTE)
• Launch talent management /succession planning programmes
• Design and introduce an in-house coaching programme
• Introduce legacy mentors.

Year 2 and 3 activities:

• Introduce apprenticeships for support services
• Deliver a new leadership programme (year two and year three)
• Begin to introduce succession / talent planning processes
• Introduce special status on computer-aided dispatch (CAD) for newly qualified paramedics (NQPs) to work with experienced and qualified clinicians
• Continue to host leadership engagement events.

Outcomes:

• Well-led leadership team
• Good appraisals to develop our people successfully
• An effective workplan in place
• Significant improvement in retention
• More talent management and succession planning.

Challenge:

Building through innovation will enable our people related services to become more efficient and effective, and therefore help make us an employer of choice. Alongside all other innovation in the Trust, the challenge is to repeatedly test if any possible intervention will fulfil this challenge. We must take advantage of available and tested solutions, and where appropriate develop our own.

Aim:

We are productive, efficient, and responsive. Our operating model will deliver, transform and embed innovation all people services systems and processes.

Areas of focus:

• To deliver the people strategy
• To create internal efficiency
• For our people to have an overall positive experience from the embedded innovations across the Trust
• To enhance the Trust’s goal one and contribute to its delivery.

Year 1 activities:

• Start a full baseline analysis of what can be innovated in people services, leading to a programme of innovation over the following two to five years
• Work with internal and external partners to align with the lean systems project and map processes, identifying areas for opportunity linked to performance and resources
• Deliver improvement and quality initiatives in line with Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) and Care Quality Commission (CQC) requirements
• Establish the strategy, culture and education directorate
• Introduce a value based recruitment process to allow us to review roles and skill mix and take us back to the basics of the right person, right skills and right job
• Implement an employee relations tracker and TRAC system
• Establish the Fit for the Future programme to support delivery of the people strategy
• Deliver the business units programme
• Roll out and encourage the use of body worn cameras Trust-wide.
• Introduce the multiple languages system within our EOCs.

Year 2 and 3 activities:

• Refine our systems and processes to enable more efficiency
• Implement identified opportunities to innovate
• Undertake a system review of 999/111 capabilities
• Develop a remote diagnostician role
• Introduce more robust processes for quality improvement ideas put forward by our people
• Abstract subject matter experts (SMEs) in developing new ways of working
• Improve use of fleet and ambulance station walls as a tool for communication, as per the SEPSIS campaign
• Increase co-operation between clinical communities in practice.

Outcomes:

• The ability to make improvement, show initiative and become involved in change which positively impacts our work
• Improved partnership working with other blue light organisations
• Creating internal efficiency and increasing productivity
• Providing a better employee experience
• Becoming a sustainable organisation
• Demonstrable contribution to the achievement of goal one.

Challenge:

We need to upgrade a lot of our legacy systems, however this comes with a significant expense. When digital solutions are implemented correctly, this can save time and enable us to redirect focus, thereby enhancing performance. Nevertheless, it’s worth highlighting that these solutions can be costly, especially when accounting for training expenses. The current digital delivery and support teams require further investment in subject matter experts in the technology being implemented into the organisation.

Aim:

To make best use of technology and digital solutions to deliver great services, developing our digital capability to equip ourselves for the future. This will have a positive impact on our staff and patients.

Areas of focus:

• Implementing Electronic Staff Record (ESR) self-service and supervisor self-service to improve efficiency
• Replacing forms with electronic solutions to create seamless and more sustainable processes
• Implementation of digital payslips for all staff.

Year 1 activities:

• Scope ESR enhancements available
• Implement InPhase oversight module to demonstrate impact and monitor performances
• Scope the HALO IT ticketing system for the triage service for people services
• Understand and plan how we integrate all the systems we use for the optimum benefit of the Trust
• Enhance document management processes - replace paper forms with electronic solutions which will be delivered as part of the electronic document management (EDM) platform which is in the current procurement exercise
• Create a working group to share systems innovations/plans to remove silo working around the information we use; this is part of the IBM report to be agreed
• Rollout of GRS training for all relevant managers
• Relauch of ESR self service and review of ESR supervisor and manager self service functionality
• Implement paperless payslips
• Transition from Evolve to Oracle Learning Management (OLM) system within ESR
• Create a data directory to show the who, why and when of our reporting activity
• Deploy robotic process automation and BoT technology (software application) to enable faster and more accurate processing.

Year 2 and 3 activities:

• Introduce ESR supervisor self service functionality to managers
• Include corporate provided assets to staffs individual ESR record
• Triage telephony process in people services
• Transition to digital files for existing staff onto the new EDM platform
• Integrate an action plan based on the discussions held in year one on:
  • integrating information systems to ensure optimum benefit
  • shared systems innovation
  • data lake
  • update the data directory
  • ongoing development of ESR and progressing self-service in ESR
• Allow for digitally enabled decision making
• Deliver the leadership programme (year three)
• Introduce holistic, grade agnostic, development capability.

Outcomes:

• Quicker resolution to queries
• Reduction in payroll errors due to introduction of electronic HR forms
• Demonstrate impact and monitor performances efficiency via digital solutions
• ESR self service and supervisor self-service will create efficiency
• By digitising all the work in people services then estates and location efficiency will be obtained.

Challenge:

To be great at what we do, we need to make sure our people identify, change, and adapt to new ways of working. This means learning from good practice internally and being brave enough to challenge and change where it is not working. To do this, we need to effectively communicate with all staff across the Trust to identify what and where we can make positive changes, for our people and our patients and support the Trust’s goals and ambitions. The impact of new ways of working will require our people to be trained and adapt to additional systems/programmes.

Aim:

We enable the people of EEAST to work differently, to support new models of care. Key to this are programmes such as Time to Lead, a significant investment in our people to equip them with the structures, support, training and leadership they need to thrive. We anticipate the needs of the health and care system and aim to create a sustainable workforce which meets the needs of our patients now and in the future. This means recruiting the right people at the right time and ensuring we have an effective training plan in place.

Areas of focus:

• Supporting our leaders via the Time to Lead programme
• Publish strategic workforce plan and review actions
• Policy re-modelling

Year 1 activities:

• Commence Time to Lead programme
• Establish advanced paramedics programme
• Publish strategic workforce plan and review actions
• Implement policy re-modelling
• Identify role models and champions per directorate including volunteers
• Add emotional intelligence training to appraisal objectives
• Publish desired behaviours for career pathways
• Commence review of paramedic/technician competencies to identify training requirements to avoid A&E admission

Year 2 and 3 activities:

• Proactive recruitment programmes in place
• Planning and resourcing programme (year two)
• Finalise delivery of our Time to Lead programme to create the right balance of leader to employee
• Increase collaboration with external blue light services including fire services and armed forces
• Introduce reciprocal mentoring programme with our ICS partners
• Optimise delivery of training to have most effect depending on audience e.g. bitesize, onsite, virtual, app development.

Outcomes:

• Improved support for our leaders via Time to Lead programme
• Eliminate the use of contingent workforce and overtime for scheduled work.
• Reduced vacancy factor
• Estate transformation project can be delivered
• Created internal efficiency e.g., increasing productivity
• Created a better employee experience
• Become a sustainable organisation.

Challenge:

In previous years, there has been a lack of resources, programmes, and services available to effectively support our people. The lack of staff support and established process contributed to the increase of ER cases.

Aim:

We will support everyone working in the people profession to be their very best and reach their full potential. Together, we will provide outstanding people practises. This will have a positive impact on our staff and patients.

Areas of focus:

• Implementing a mediation service and early intervention initiatives to reduce formal ER cases
• Establish a triage team
• Establish HRBP service

Year 1 activities:

• Design target operating model for people services
• Introduce cultural inclusive agents with involvement in ER investigations, suspensions, hearings and recruitment processes recruit and establish a triage team within the people services directorate
• Scope technical solutions to support easy access to queries via the triage team
• Establish people services metrics and KPIs to measure success
• Establish a HRBP service
• Introduce a wellbeing champion programme
• Implement pre-action review meeting (pre-ARM) process
• Digital solution – lean working processes to improve the overall people experience. e.g. lean recruitment
• Reduction in employee tribunal (ET) cases and length of suspensions
• Implement a mediation service and early intervention initiatives to reduce formal ER cases.

Year 2 and 3 activities:

• Stabilise the people services delivery model
• Engage with community partners to deliver inclusive and skilled resources to EEAST
• Embed technical improvement within processes and systems
• Achieve people partner accreditation
• Implement ESR supervisor self-service for managers
• Introduce continuous professional development (CPD) for the people services team
• Ensure all people services teams are proficient in design and systems, and are on board with the aim to achieve national benchmark standards.

Outcomes:

• Enhanced support for our people through the introduction of mental health and wellbeing champions
• Inclusive culture at EEAST
• Increased digital solutions, creating seamless HR processes
• People service directorate regarded as a value-added service
• Good employee experience with early interventions and support for staff and managers.