Drivers for change

The drivers for change provide a rationale for setting up a talent management support network. Examples of drivers for change include new policies, workforce data on staff turnover, the outcomes of staff surveys and the strategy and vision of the organisation(s) setting up the network.

In the London TMSN, the main drivers for change were the challenges faced by nurses and midwives from minority ethnic backgrounds in London, as captured in staff surveys and Workforce Race Equality Standard (WRES) data. Launched in 2015, the WRES quantifies the experience of staff from minority ethnic backgrounds in the NHS (NHS England 2023). The annual mandatory submission of data by NHS trusts allows the WRES team to determine the extent of discrimination, bullying and lack of career progression based on ethnicity or race according to geographical area, employer and clinical grade. Since the first WRES report (NHS England 2016), data for London have shown that staff from minority ethnic backgrounds are more likely to experience bullying and discrimination and less likely to progress in their careers than their colleagues from non-minority ethnic backgrounds. There have been improvements over the years, but further work is required in London across the nine WRES indicators.

Network partners

Collaboration and partnerships are crucial to the success of a talent management support network. Before developing a new network, it is important to identify the stakeholders with whom the network will need to be co-developed and run. This will ensure that it is well supported and fit for purpose for those who have a stake in it – for example, managers who will be giving staff study time to participate in its activities. Partners can be found within the organisations involved and further afield. Partners’ roles and responsibilities should be clearly defined from the outset.

The London TMSN team met chief nurses, nurses and midwives across London to elicit their ideas and feedback, which informed the design of the network. When working on the activity programme for dental nurses, the team partnered with nurse leaders in dental nursing. When working on the activity programme for Brazilian healthcare workers, the team partnered with a local community charity in Porto Alegre to ensure Brazil’s specificities, in terms of its culture and healthcare system, would be taken into account.

Training and supporting facilitators

The London TMSN team calculated the number of facilitators it would need according to the desired number of participants. The desired number of participants for one cohort was 50. The maximum group size in an ALS is eight people and every ALS needs one facilitator, so for 50 participants 6.25 facilitators were required. To allow for attrition and unplanned absences, the team aimed to source eight facilitators. It approached its partners and NHS trusts in the area to find people willing to take on that role. Some facilitators were NHS staff who took on the role as part of their day job while others, for example retired nurses, volunteered for the role. Where the London TMSN team had more applicants than expected, additional facilitators had to be sourced from surrounding NHS trusts.

In the experience of the London TMSN team, well trained facilitators are crucial to the effectiveness of ALSs. A trained and experienced facilitator can support the group, intervene when necessary and ensure ground rules are adhered to, therefore maintaining trust and integrity. To train its facilitators, the London TMSN team used an external education provider. If an external training provider is needed, sourcing training will require an awareness of the procurement process in the organisation.

Facilitating ALSs can be emotionally demanding, so it is important that facilitators are supported and have a mechanism through which to escalate concerns. The London TMSN team put in place monthly meetings lasting one hour where facilitators could share feedback and concerns. These meetings also gave facilitators an opportunity to share the findings from each ALS, which were then used to develop webinars. Further support for facilitators included easy access to the London TMSN team members in case of administrative issues or queries as well as coaching or mentoring if required.

It is important to make facilitators aware of the time commitment their involvement will require. In the London TMSN, facilitators had to set aside two days for initial training, one day per month over six months for the ALS group meetings, one hour per month for meetings with the team, plus additional time to prepare each ALS and undertake follow-up actions. If facilitators are not remunerated – which was the case in the London TMSN – it is important to find ways of incentivising them. Incentives may be the opportunity to enhance their knowledge and skills, inform personal reflection for their professional revalidation, develop their career and/or strengthen their own professional network.

Organising and running the network

A team will need to be set up to organise and run the network. This team can include partners and must include people with project management skills and administrative skills. The network will also need a project lead and a senior responsible officer who will act as its champion. Furthermore, to ensure the network is run on time and on budget, governance arrangements will be needed; for example, there could be one committee that regularly monitors progress and an overarching committee that would hold the team to account should there be slippage in the schedule and/or budget.

The cost of a talent management support network should be kept low by using internal skills, expertise and systems whenever possible. In the London TMSN, the main expenditure was on training ALS facilitators and hiring venues for welcome and closing events. A potential hidden cost is the time commitment of facilitators. The London TMSN facilitators who were in employment were able to factor their time into their working week with agreement from their respective employers, but this may not always be possible.

The London TMSN team obtained free use of a venue for in-person meetings and sessions by negotiating with its partners. If such an arrangement is not possible, seminar rooms or offices will need to be hired. Online activities may be less costly than in-person activities, but the cost of using an online communication platform, including technical support, needs to be taken into account. Another cost to consider is that of promoting the network.

These practical aspects of organising and running a talent management support network are outlined in Table 1.

Promoting the network

The network will need to be promoted so that the targeted staff groups are aware of its existence and can apply for its activity programme. There are several ways of promoting the network including adverts, roadshows and social media posts. For designing adverts, it is advisable to work with the network’s partners as well as with the organisation’s communications team. The London TMSN team worked closely with its partners in dental nursing to ensure the advert for the dental nurses’ programme was appropriate. The advert for the Brazilian cohort was co-designed with the Brazilian partner to ensure it was culturally sensitive and was checked by translators to ensure its wording reflected the intended meaning.

The following materials will be useful for promotion:

The advert and application form will be useful to recruit participants, while the programme summary will be useful for external communication via press releases and social media posts. Once the promotional materials have been agreed by the organisation – which needs to ensure they align with its values and mission statement – they will need to be circulated to the targeted staff groups. This can be done through a variety of methods including: emails to senior leaders with responsibilities for the targeted staff groups; internal communication with human resources teams and departmental managers; external communication with partner organisations; and wider networking via email and social media. Here again it is advisable to work with the organisation’s communications team. Adverts may need to be circulated more than once to reach the desired number of applications.

Once the first cohort had gone through its activity programme, the London TMSN team used video testimonials from participants to promote the benefits of the programme. To incentivise applications, it is recommended that attendance certificates are offered to participants and that attendance is made to count towards CPD hours for professional revalidation.

Managing applications and participants

A system needs to be in place to process the applications of staff wishing to enrol in the network’s activity programme. A database capturing each applicant’s name, role and contact details will be required as well as a secure place for storing their data and application form, whether this is digital or paper-based. In all cases, personal data will need to be handled according to the Data Protection Act 2018, the UK’s implementation of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). It is important that the application process includes a way of checking that the applicant has secured the agreement of their line manager for taking time off work and that a record of that agreement is retained. Occasionally, staff who had applied to the London TMSN programme were denied study time so the London TMSN team had to show their manager’s agreement.

The ALS groups will be formed using the database of applications, ensuring an appropriate mix of staff across organisations and departments. Based on the experience of the London TMSN team, it is good practice to avoid, as much as possible, placing two or more staff members from the same team or department in the same ALS group. Staff are more likely to feel comfortable and safe discussing potentially sensitive issues in a group where no one is from their team or department.

Once the groups have been formed, the next step will be to allocate an ALS facilitator to each one, taking into consideration the facilitators’ availability, level of experience and knowledge. Participants will be expected to attend all ALS group sessions and it is important that they are made aware of this. An attendance register will be kept and facilitators will raise non-justified absences with line managers.

Evaluating the network and ensuring its sustainability

Evaluation is important to measure the effectiveness of the initiative. An evaluation tool will need to be developed to assess participants’ levels of knowledge, confidence and skills before and after the ALSs. This could be achieved using a questionnaire survey, interviews and/or focus groups. An independent evaluation is strongly recommended as it will give credibility to the evaluation process and outcomes.

To evaluate its initiative, the London TMSN team used an online questionnaire and interviews. The evaluation showed increased levels of confidence among participants, for example in terms of leading a shift, challenging bullying or applying for promotion. Feedback from participants led to programme changes: for the first cohorts, ALS group sessions were scheduled to take place one full day per month over six months; for future cohorts, the sessions could be delivered as half days over a longer period of time, as agreed between the facilitator and the group. Furthermore, a workshop approach could be adopted for some of the sessions instead of the ALS format.

Sharing learning, for example through webinars, presentations at departmental meetings or a conference, is vital to ensure the sustainability of the initiative. Encouraging the members of each ALS group to stay in contact and continue to network, for example via social media, is crucial for long-term relationships and benefits. Sustainability can also be enhanced by maintaining close links with partners and facilitators and by giving participants the opportunity to become facilitators in future programmes. The London TMSN team found this to be an effective approach: three facilitators for its cohorts of dental nurses and Brazilian healthcare workers were previous programme participants.