NHSSCOTLAND STAFF SURVEY 2014 National Report

8 Appropriately trained and developed

Effective staff appraisal or review is good employment practice. It contributes to enhanced staff satisfaction and performance, which ultimately leads to improved patient outcomes. NHS staff employed under Agenda for Change (AfC) Terms and Conditions participate in the NHS Knowledge and Skills Framework (KSF) development review process. Staff employed on other contract types (e.g. doctors, dentists and some senior managers) have separate development review arrangements. This section of the survey asked staff about their experience of the development review process applicable to them.

Figure 5 shows that, in the last 12 months, three out of four staff who responded to the survey (75%) had undertaken a Knowledge and Skills Framework (KSF) development review, performance review, appraisal, Personal Development Plan meeting or equivalent. This was an increase of two percentage points on 2013 and five percentage points on the 2010 survey (see details in Appendix F).

Across NHS Boards, the percentage of respondents who had taken part in a review in the last 12 months ranged from 50% to 93% - see details in Appendix C. Salaried General Dental Practitioners who responded to the survey were the most likely to have taken part in a review (91%) and Personal and Social Care staff who responded to the survey were the least likely to have done so (48%), see details in Appendix D.

Figure 5 shows that the majority of respondents who had a review in the last 12 months replied positively to three of the four statements in this section relating to their review:

• Q2-4 Did you agree a Personal Development Plan (PDP) or equivalent? (84% positive responses)
• Q2-5 Have you received, or expect to receive, the training that was identified in that plan? (77% of those who had agreed a PDP or equivalent)
• Q2-3 Did it help you agree clear objectives for your work? (67%).

In each case, the percentage positive response was higher than in 2013. Across the 22 Boards, positive responses for Q2-4 Did you agree a Personal Development Plan (PDP) or equivalent? ranged from 56% to 95%. Ambulance staff were the least likely to say they had agreed a PDP.

A minority of staff who had had a review felt that it helped them to improve how they do their job (43%); this was an increase from 39% in 2013. Across the Boards, positive responses ranged between 29% and 50%. Doctors in Training were the staff group most likely to respond positively to this question (77%).

In summary, a higher proportion of respondents reported that they had taken part in a review in the last 12 months than in any of NHSScotland's previous surveys. Of these, a large majority (84%) had agreed a PDP or equivalent and had received/expected to receive the training identified in this plan (77%). Just over two-thirds of respondents (67%) felt that the review helped them to agree clear objectives for their work. A lower proportion (43%) felt it helped them to improve how they did their job. For all the questions in this strand there was an increase in percentage positive responses in 2014 when compared to 2013.

Figure 5 ‐ Appropriately Trained and Developed

[Note: The sum of the total responses throughout this report may not be exactly equal to 100% due to rounding.]