NHSScotland Staff Survey 2015 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, nearly three out of four staff who responded to the survey (74%) had undertaken a Knowledge and Skills Framework (KSF) development review, performance review, appraisal, Personal Development Plan meeting or equivalent. This was a decrease of one percentage point on 2014.

Across NHS Boards, the percentage of respondents who had taken part in a review in the last 12 months ranged from 50% to 97% ‐ see details in Appendix C. Doctors in Training who responded to the survey were the most likely to have taken part in a review (91%) and Ambulance Staff who responded to the survey were the least likely to have done so (51%), 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? (76% of those who had agreed a PDP or equivalent)
• Q2‐3 Did it help you agree clear objectives for your work? (66% positive responses).

In each case, the percentage positive response was equal to, or one percentage point lower than in 2014. Across the 22 Boards, positive responses for Q2‐4 Did you agree a Personal Development Plan (PDP) or equivalent? ranged from 55% to 93%. Ambulance Staff were least likely to say they agreed a PDP.

A large minority of staff who had had a review felt it helped them improve how they do their job (43%); this was no change from 2014. Across the Boards, positive responses ranged between 25% and 55%. Doctors in Training were the staff group most likely to respond positively to this question (76%).

In summary, there has been a ‐1 percentage point change in respondents who reported that they had taken part in a review in the last 12 months from the 2014 survey. Although, a large majority of those who had a review (84%), had agreed a Personal Development Plan or equivalent and had received/expected to receive the training identified in this plan (76%). Two thirds of respondents (66%) felt that it helped them to agree clear objectives for their work. A lower proportion (43%) felt it helped them improve how they do their job.

Figure 5 ‐ Appropriately Trained and Developed

[Note: There may be variation up to 1% when compared to the Frequency Data due to rounding.]