Contribution is about people's need to experience being effective in their role and delivering outcomes that align with their values.
London Ambulance Service NHS Trust
The ambulance sector is working hard to deliver improvements in call response times, including working with hospital-based colleagues to reduce delays in transferring patients into a hospital setting. We know that delays are bad for patients, and contribute to a sense of frustration and ineffectiveness for ambulance staff who are prevented from responding to new calls while waiting to transfer patients to emergency departments.
Early progress has been made here, including improved call response times, reduced handover delays and improved partnership working with other providers – this will all help develop a sense of contribution to a team that is delivering an effective service.
There are additional steps trusts can take to embed that sense of contribution and provide staff with clear career development opportunities.
For example, LAS has invested substantially in management training. Working with their lead integrated care system for the region, the trust is putting 163 managers through NVQ level 6 training in healthcare management and provided every manager with a one day "masterclass" in leading with respect.
The self-managing teams that the trust is developing are also supporting a sense of contribution, as staff feel more embedded in a team working toward wider objectives. Self-managing teams are provided five days of team training per year.
East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust
Similarly, Tom's approach has seen the trust invest more in training and coaching.
The senior executive team at EEAST take part in a team coaching session every two months to help them reflect on how the team is working together and what is expected of them in terms of behaviours, values and approach to work. More widely, the trust is taking an assessment centre approach to developing new leadership roles, where they look at people's development needs and what they need to get to the next level.
This has helped the process of career progression in the trust become more transparent and equitable, as before it had been perceived as being a "boys' club".
Reflecting on the impact that coaching and the new approach to leadership had already had, Tom noted that one of the early benefits was improved relationships with partner organisations. This included other providers like local acute trusts, integrated care systems and local politicians. That in turn should translate to better performance, improved outcomes for patients and improved public perception of the trust.