New report sheds light on how the NHS can improve performance through their people

October 2007

How can people management and development help NHS organisations achieve their goals? This is the issue addressed by a report on research undertaken by Manchester Business School and funded by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), Healthcare People Management Association and the Department of Health.

The summary of research - Improving health through HR management - launched today highlights the importance of meeting employees' expectations and the impact this can have on individual performance. This research was conducted in six case study organisations from the NHS acute, mental health and primary care sector during 2006.

It shows that good people management and development influences performance through a process involving individuals, which is more effective if aligned with organisational goals. For this to be a success it must come from the top.

Linda Holbeche, CIPD Research and Policy Director says: "HR professionals in the NHS need to develop relationships with a range of stakeholders, including other managers and colleagues, to enable improvements in performance. Only when HR professionals understand the difficulties that their different stakeholder groups face in achieving individual objectives, will they really be able to work with them to improve performance and achieve organisational goals.

"Many CIPD members work in the NHS: they are looking for advice and help about how to deliver maximum value to their employer and to the wider NHS. This report provides some invaluable insights into the things that help deliver and those things that hinder high performance. HR cannot deliver on their own, they have a key role to play in engaging and supporting senior management."

How should HR professionals support organisational performance in the NHS?

CIPD research repeatedly underlines the positive impact of people management practices on organisational performance. But in order to help deliver real performance improvements the message needs to be customised to reflect the circumstances of individual sectors and organisations.

Deborah O'Dea, President of the HPMA, says: "The report findings match the experience of many HPMA members working in the NHS. The key message from the report is that HR strategy is critical to organisational strategy and must be clearly aligned to it. Managers are the key enablers of organisational change, working with and through people, but HR Directors have a key role at board level and in driving organisation success. While there are many HR Directors that are already extremely skilled strategic influencers and shapers we need to ensure that through career development we are enabling other HR professionals to drive organisation success."

Flora Goldhill, Director, Workforce Capacity, Analysis and HR, Department of Health adds, "The NHS workforce is a major enabler for the delivery of excellent patient care and good quality services. This work helpfully adds to the body of evidence which tells us good people management practice and staff engagement are important elements in the work of the NHS. We hope that its findings will be useful to the HR community."

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