2022 saw the publication of NHS England’s first ever Estates & Facilities Management (EFM) Workforce Action Plan. The importance of developing a diverse, resilient workforce, building the next generation of EFM staff was highlighted but how prepared are NHS departments to deliver against this ambitious plan and to meet their strategic objectives?

Following an ‘inadequate’ rating of some services by the CQC in 2020, Sheffield Health & Social Care NHS Foundation Trust (SHSC) launched a new Strategic Plan which included a programme to review and develop the estate and facilities team. It was critical for the Estates & Facilities (E&F) Directorate to ensure staff had the right capabilities and support in place for the new plan to have a chance of success; however, it was unclear if some the challenges they faced were due to issues with competency or a lack of capacity in staff.

The E&F leadership worked closely with organisation development specialist Hatching Ideas to engage staff, producing a detailed capability review of the department which informed the Trust leadership of actions and additional support required. The report was subsequently endorsed by NHS England as an example of how Trusts should be looking to grow, develop and retain their workforces.

Capability Reviews are likely to form a key starting point of any department’s response to the NHSE EFM Workforce Action Plan – understanding the starting point for change, whether staff feel engaged and equipped for the change ahead and if the leadership has the capability to deliver the strategic objectives of the Trust.

This talk will be co-presented by Pat Keeling, Director of Strategy at SHSC, and Rebecca Bridger, CEO of Hatching Ideas, and will cover their experiences of an engagement programme that resonated with staff and helped to safeguard the Trust’s ability to deliver exceptional EFM services.