RECOGNITION AND PROGRESSION CREATING A POSITIVE WORK …

RECOGNITION AND PROGRESSION CREATING A POSITIVE WORK CULTUREWhat Nurses Want Report 2017

hays.co.uk/healthcare-recruitment

2 | What Nurses Want Report 2017

CONTENTS

Introduction 1

Key findings 2

Recommendations 3

Offering the full package 4

About us 8

MethodologyWe carried out a survey in June 2017, which secured nearly 500 responses. The survey was sent to nurses on the Hays database (not limited to current jobseekers) and allowed us to gain the perspective of both employees and employers.

The survey was completed by nurses across the UK, from across public and private sector organisations, and includes responses from both nurses working in the NHS and agency workers.

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This report provides insight into the priorities of nurses today and the factors that influence their career-related decisions and workplace satisfaction. Employers can use this report to assist in building effective recruitment and retention strategies for nursing professionals.

The nursing profession continues to deliver care in an ever challenging environment. It is well documented that nurse pay has been subject to public sector pay restraint, and according to the Royal College of Nursing this has resulted in nursing salaries being cut by 14% in real terms since 2010. In addition, unprecedented demand on services is contributing to a highly pressurised work environment and nurses are facing new problems day after day.

Record numbers are leaving the profession, and our report also shows that 45% of nurses in a permanent role are currently actively looking for a new job. Furthermore, with training bursaries being replaced by loans, this is expected to impact on the number of nurses joining the profession. All this has come to a head creating a perfect storm with fewer nurses now available to meet rising demand.

In spite of the challenges affecting the sector, nurses remain compassionate and committed to patients and their care, and are a critical part of healthcare organisations. Overall, when questioning both permanent and agency nurses, many feel satisfied with their job, with 66% saying they are satisfied with their current role. However, there are still areas for improvement for employers, especially around training and development and building the right workplace culture.

Nursing remains a stimulating profession in an evolving field where nurses continue to make a difference to people’s lives. It is up to employers to embrace and build upon the factors that nurses value and which contribute to their workplace satisfaction in order to find and retain talented nurses in a challenging environment.

This report provides invaluable insight into the factors that contribute most to job satisfaction and the decision to move role in the nursing profession. I hope you enjoy reading this report and find this information useful to help tailor your recruitment and retention strategies so you are best placed to find and retain the best nursing talent.

Simon Hudson Director of Hays Healthcare

WELCOME TO OUR WHAT NURSES WANT REPORT


KEY FINDINGS

This comprehensive report focuses on four factors that contribute to the job satisfaction of healthcare professionals – pay, training and development, culture, work-life balance.

By asking nurses to provide a weighting in terms of importance of these four factors when evaluating a new role, and then asking them to rate their satisfaction with these four areas in their current role, we gain a unique insight into what nurses want from their working life. In turn, this provides employers with a view of how best to tailor their recruitment and retention strategies in order to attract and keep the nursing talent they need in a time of ongoing skill shortages affecting the profession.

Overall, we highlight areas where dissatisfaction is highest and link this to the importance placed on these areas when considering a new role to identify key areas for improvement. Results show that healthcare professionals place value on the entirety of the job offering, with culture and professional development key areas of focus outside of pay.

Weighting of importance of four areas when evaluating a new job (%)

50

20

12

18

Pay Culture/fit

Career progression Benefits

Dissatisfied with or indifferent to the following aspects of their current role (%)

Pay

Training and development opportunities

Culture/fit

Flexible working and work-life balance

53

29

44

35

Importance of factors influencing career decisionsWhen it comes to evaluating a new role, respondents were asked to give a weighting to the main elements that nurses factor into their decision-making process – pay, culture, career progression (including training and development), and benefits (including work-life balance).

Pay was the most important factor, being attributed a weighting of half of the decision to accept a new role. However, pay is not the only factor that has an influence on whether a nurse moves role. Fitting in well with the culture of an organisation accounts for a fifth of the decision, followed closely by career progression (18%). Lastly, the benefits on offer, which can include flexible working options and others which contribute to a positive work-life balance, make up 12% of the decision to move role.

When asked their level of satisfaction in four key areas, there is a clear correlation between the factors that are important when considering a new role and the areas where dissatisfaction is highest in their current role. Over half (53%) of healthcare professionals were dissatisfied with or indifferent to their pay in their current role, followed by the training and development opportunities on offer (44%), their cultural fit in the organisation (35%) and their work-life balance (29%).

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Using the information gleaned from this report, we have outlined some key recommendations for employers to consider. Following these will help employers better retain and attract the skilled professionals they need, and help them build their talent pipelines for the future.

RECOMMENDATIONS

1

2

3

4

5

Key areas to focus on

Promote the total offering Although pay is an important consideration to nurses, employers must contend with the tight restrictions and salary bandings currently in force in the profession. With half of the decision to move role based on other factors outside of pay, employers can promote their entire offering, from development opportunities to additional benefits, to differentiate their organisation and overcome restrictions on pay. Ensure these are clearly communicated both internally and externally to assist with attraction and retention.

Build a strong and positive workplace culture A good fit with the workplace culture has a big impact on the decision to move role in the nursing profession. Help professionals to assess their fit before joining your organisation through meetings with the team and managers, as well as proactively discussing the culture during interviews. Finding those who will fit well with your organisational culture from the offset can help with the retention of staff in the long-run.

Invest in a range of training options Nurses value training and the opportunity to develop professionally. Don’t feel constrained to offering only financial support for training, there are also a number of non-financial training and development opportunities available to nurses. Invest in a blend of these to nurture career progression, ensure your nursing team continues to develop their skills and expertise, and remains motivated.

Offer recognition and positive feedbackThose in the nursing profession place high priority on feeling valued in their role. Feedback from patients is a particularly important form of recognition, so ensure channels are open for patients to easily feedback any positive comments they may have. Organise regular one-to-one meetings with nursing staff and communicate any positive feedback received as part of these meetings to foster the feeling of being valued.

Continue to develop and improve flexible working policiesThe ability to provide flexible working policies is a key benefit for those in the nursing profession. Maintaining current satisfaction in this area is key, and those employers that can go above and beyond with the flexible working policies they can provide can stand out from other organisations when seeking talented nurses.

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Creating a workplace culture which is supportive and caters to the needs of healthcare professionals is an important contributor to developing and influencing loyalty and ambition amongst staff.

Pay is a key considerationPay came out as the most important factor to nurses when considering a new role. Looking at differences in generation, pay was given a higher weighting of 51% by Baby Boomers and Generation X than the younger Generations Y and Z, who gave pay a weighting of 45%.

Ongoing pay caps in the public sector may be contributing to pay being the top factor nurses were most dissatisfied with or indifferent to in their current job, with over half (53%) saying they are unhappy with or indifferent to their current salary. With NHS nursing salaries set by Agenda for Change according to band, NHS employers must look to other factors to improve job satisfaction in their team and differentiate themselves as an employer of choice.

It is important to note that other factors outside of pay make up half of the decision when considering a new role. This provides an opportunity to employers to get these right and make these competitive enough to attract skilled nurses.

Getting the culture right is a mustThe nursing profession, by its very nature, is a highly pressurised environment. Creating a workplace culture which is supportive and caters to the needs of the healthcare professionals working in that environment is therefore essential as it is an important contributor to developing and influencing loyalty and ambition amongst staff.

The workplace culture of a new role is the second most important factor for nurses evaluating a new job, making up a fifth of the decision with a weighting of 20%. However, over a third (35%) of nurses say they are dissatisfied with or indifferent to the culture in their current job.

Healthcare professionals are willing to make sacrifices to find an ideal workplace fit. Over a third (36%) of respondents have left a role due to not having the right working environment, and a further 36% have considered doing so, adding up to nearly three-quarters (72%) of respondents.

53% nurses are unhappy with or indifferent to their current salary

OFFERING THE FULL PACKAGE

Have you ever quit a job due to not having the right environment or cultural fit? (%)

36

36

28

Yes No, but have considered this No, have never considered this


Supporting career progressionThe opportunity to progress further in their career is given almost the same weighting as culture when nurses are assessing a new role at 18%. However, outside of pay, training and development is highlighted as the area where dissatisfaction is highest. Over two-fifths (44%) of nurses say they are dissatisfied with or indifferent to the training and development opportunities they are offered in their current role. This is important for employers to consider as this is an area where organisations are most likely to be able to differentiate their organisation by providing more development opportunities.

Career progression in the nursing profession is typically highly structured, with set pathways and experience needed to move up salary bandings. However, whilst not every employee wishes to move up through the different bandings, providing support for continued professional development is still essential to not only support those who wish to progress to more senior positions, but to also keep the skills of the entire nursing team up-to-date and maintained to provide the highest possible levels of care.

When it comes to those actively seeking a new role, 34% hope a new job would offer improved training and continued professional development opportunities. Improved training is more highly sought after by those working in the NHS (33%) than those working in private healthcare (23%). In addition, 31% of nurses hope a new job would offer a more challenging role, demonstrating the appetite for continued professional development.

Opportunities for improved training and development also play an important role in attracting nurses who are not actively looking for a new job, with 28% saying they would be tempted to move role if an organisation offered this.

Offering training and development opportunities to nurses can also influence perceptions of the workplace culture, which is especially pertinent given the importance professionals place on culture. In building an environment that promises the opportunity for professional development and also delivers on this promise, employers can positively impact employee perceptions of the workplace culture, and in turn help organisations become an employer of choice.

Professionalism

Respectfulness

Good communication

Honesty and trustworthiness

Responsible and accountable

Top attributes colleagues and managers must possess that contribute to workplace happiness (%)

Managers Colleagues

70

36

23

27

26

66

38

30

32

20

Embracing organisational valuesA lack of culture and organisational values was the top cited aspect lacking in their organisation by 29% of nurses. This ranked higher than issues with senior leadership or the team and colleagues, which were a cause for concern for 22% of professionals. To overcome this, employers can make sure their organisation’s values are not only clearly described and outlined at interview and during staff briefings, but are consistently and effectively communicated to all team members through team meetings and reviews. Fostering an environment that embraces the organisation’s values can build a cohesive and supportive culture for healthcare professionals.

Members of the wider team also have an important influence on the culture of a workplace, especially in the nursing profession. 84% say that their manager is important to their overall workplace happiness, of whom nearly half (46%) say they are very important. However, the main impact comes from other members of the team. 90% say that their colleagues are important to their overall workplace happiness, of whom nearly three-fifths (58%) say they are very important.

Professionalism is the top attribute that nurses believe managers or colleagues must possess to contribute to their workplace happiness. Other key attributes include being respectful, honesty and trustworthiness, good communication and being responsible and accountable.

When it comes to assessing if a job is the right fit, outside of reviewing the job description of the role, almost half (48%) of healthcare professionals say they meet their new team and managers in the workplace to help judge whether they will fit in well with the organisation. In addition, 41% of respondents base their likely fit with the organisation on interviews and meetings with multiple people, highlighting the importance of embedding clear cultural values throughout the organisation.


Focus on training opportunitiesContinuing professional development is an essential aspect of the nursing profession, and can take many forms, such as third party or on-the-job training, through to mentoring of staff. However, despite these forms of training making up a large portion of support and development for nursing professionals, nearly a fifth (17%) say they do not receive any of these forms of training from their current employer. Given that 44% of professionals are dissatisfied with or indifferent to the training and development opportunities available to them, the importance of professional development cannot be underestimated.

Of those nurses who do currently receive training, on-the-job training features most prominently, with 63% saying they currently receive this from their employer. Third party training is the second most common form of training offered, with a third receiving this. Mentoring follows closely behind, with 28% of professionals receiving this form of development support.

However, when it comes to the forms of training nurses would like to receive, there are stark differences between what they get and what they want. On-the-job training features at the top of the list, with three-quarters (75%) saying they would like to receive this from a new employer. Level with this is third party training, with three-quarters (75%) wanting to receive this form of training from a future employer, a difference of 42% from those who currently receive this. Finally, over half (55%) would like to see mentoring opportunities on offer to them in a future role, higher than the 28% who currently receive this.

There are numerous opportunities for training support available, including encouraging attendance to conferences, learning events and workshops. There are also many other areas where non-financial support can be offered, such as coaching and mentoring in specific skills or introducing shadowing opportunities. Supporting nurses in expanding their medical knowledge not only benefits an employee’s ability to progress their career, but also helps to improve the level of care given to patients.

Recognition can go a long way Employees in the healthcare profession want to feel valued. Recognition for achievements and positive feedback is an important part of this and can come from managers, colleagues or the patients that nurses care for.

Just over a fifth (21%) of nursing professionals feel they are not valued by their employer. This has an important influence on a nurse’s decision to move role, with just over a third (34%) of active jobseekers hoping they will feel more valued by a new employer. A similar percentage (31%) of those not actively looking for a role say they would be tempted to move job if they were to feel valued by a future employer.

Almost half (45%) of nurses say they feel most valued in their job when they receive recognition from their patients. Colleague feedback is also an important way of making nurses feel valued in their role for 22% of professionals. This is followed by feedback from their direct manager (16%).

Training and development support within organisations (%)

Received from a current employer Desirable from a new employer

On-the-job training (from colleagues/managers)

Third party training (i.e. towards formal qualifications)

Mentoring

None of the above

75

75

55

2

63

33

28

17

Who do you most value recognition from (%)

1

22

45

4

12

16

Patients Team/colleague Direct manager

Senior management Recruitment agency Other


WHAT DO NURSES WANT FROM THEIR CAREER?The full packageAlthough pay makes up half of the decision for a nurse to change role, it is important to note the other key factors that influence the other half of this decision – culture, career progression opportunities and benefits. A combination of these factors can enable employers to create a positive career experience for nurses and help with their talent attraction and retention strategies.

Nurses have highlighted their dissatisfaction with the training and development opportunities available to them in their current role, as well as the need for a good cultural

fit in order to want to stay with an organisation. These are therefore critical areas for employers to focus on. Benefits such as flexible working are also a key consideration for nurses, and employers need to ensure they maintain or even improve upon the current high levels of satisfaction with this aspect of the role.

Careful consideration of the total package is therefore important to help employers improve their offering to nursing professionals, in order to attract and retain talented healthcare professionals.

Communicating positive feedback When it comes to receiving positive feedback and recognition, the majority (86%) of nurses would prefer to receive this privately in a one-to-one situation. This is to a much greater extent than in front of their team (24%), in front of their patients (15%) or in front of the organisation (10%).

Regular one-to-one meetings with nurses are therefore an excellent opportunity to give positive feedback to help build positivity in the workforce. Most nurses would expect to receive feedback from their manager (51%) or recruitment agency (44%) on a monthly basis, so ensure these meetings are in place so that nurses regularly receive any positive feedback they are due as well as supporting them with any concerns. This can help with employee retention as well as building a more positive atmosphere.

Work-life balance is an expectation The benefits on offer, including those which contribute to a positive work-life balance, make up 12% of the decision to move role for healthcare professionals. This lower weighting is perhaps reflective of the fact that nearly three-quarters (71%) of nurses say they are satisfied with the work-life balance and flexible working opportunities available in their current role. Of these, nearly a third (31%) say they are very satisfied.

Whilst this is positive news and shows that many employers have an effective offering already in place in this area, organisations need to strive to maintain this high level of satisfaction, and perhaps improve this even further, to attract and retain talented healthcare professionals.

Despite positivity in this area, employers should not be complacent. Flexible working and work-life balance are key considerations when it comes to considering a new role. 40% would hope a new job would offer flexible working and a further 37% hope for an improved work-life balance. Of those not actively seeking a new role, almost half (45%) would be tempted to move role if a new organisation had good flexible working policies, and 33% would consider moving role for an improved work-life balance.

Employers should therefore ensure flexible working policies remain high on the recruitment agenda to ensure their organisation appeals to nursing professionals. Flexible working options can include part-time working and flexi-time, compressed hours or job sharing. By carefully considering the breadth of flexible working options your organisation can offer, and ensuring these are communicated to nursing teams, this can assist in attracting and retaining talented individuals.

Satisfaction with current work-life balance and flexible working policies (%)

31

40

8

4

17

Very satisfied Quite satisfied Neither satisfied/dissatisfied

Quite dissatisfied Very dissatisfied


ABOUT US

Our passion lies in helping people to develop their careers, and employers to grow their organisations with the right people.

Hays Healthcare is a leading healthcare recruitment agency, and a key provider of nursing staff to some of the largest trusts and healthcare providers across the UK. We recruit for roles ranging from daily shifts to full time permanent roles, working with a number of organisations including the NHS, MOD, NHS 111, trusts and healthcare providers.

We work closely with you to understand your unique recruitment needs before carrying out targeted candidate sourcing to find the right fit for your organisation. Nursing staff recruited through Hays receive competitive pay rates, DBS checks, ongoing training and access to CPD events, helping to ensure those who work for your organisation continue to develop their expertise and deliver high levels of care.

For further information, speak to your local Hays Healthcare consultant, visit hays.co.uk/offices

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