central workforce and rostering support team

CENTRAL WORKFORCE AND ROSTERING SUPPORT TEAM

Rostering Improvement and Innovation Toolkit

CENTRAL WORKFORCE AND ROSTERING SUPPORT TEAM – IMPROVEMENT AND INNOVATION TOOLKIT

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Contents ROSTER OPTIMISATION ......................................................................................................... 4

WHY ROSTERING OUTCOMES MATTER .......................................................................................... 4

WHAT IS ROSTER OPTIMISATION? ................................................................................................. 4

THE BENEFITS OF ROSTER OPTIMISATION ...................................................................................... 4

ROSTERING AND WELLBEING ......................................................................................................... 4

CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT & INNOVATION ..................................................................... 5 CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT ....................................................................................................... 5

INNOVATION ................................................................................................................................. 5

GROWTH MINDSET ........................................................................................................................ 5

HOW THIS WILL BE ACHIEVED ........................................................................................................ 5

TOWARD A COMMON GOAL ................................................................................................. 6 THE ROLE OF CENTRAL WORKFORCE TEAM ........................................................................... 7

GAIN SENIOR MANAGEMENT AND STAKEHOLDER SUPPORT ...................................................... 8

ANALYSE DATA TO IDENTIFY OPPORTUNITIES ............................................................................ 9

PROACTIVELY ENGAGE WITH ROSTERING TEAMS DIRECTLY ..................................................... 10

ESTABLISH AND MAINTAIN LOCAL COMMUNICATION PLAN .................................................... 11

MONITOR PERFORMANCE TOWARD KEY WORKFORCE AND ROSTERING METRICS ................... 12

REPORT ON PERFORMANCE ..................................................................................................... 13

RECOGNISE EFFORT AND ACHIEVEMENT.................................................................................. 14

SUPPORT CAPABILITY DEVELOPMENT ...................................................................................... 15

KEEP SENIOR MANAGEMENT AND STAKEHOLDERS INFORMED ON PROGRESS ......................... 16

DATA ANALYSIS/Measures of Success ................................................................................. 17 COACHING GUIDE ............................................................................................................... 19

THE PURPOSE OF A COACHING SESSION ...................................................................................... 19

YOUR ROLE AS A COACH .............................................................................................................. 19

THE ROLE OF THE STAFF MEMBER ............................................................................................... 19

THE COACHING ENVIRONMENT ................................................................................................... 20

WHAT IS A LIMITING BELIEF ......................................................................................................... 20

ACTIVE LISTENING TECHNIQUES .................................................................................................. 20

THE GROW COACHING MODEL .................................................................................................... 21

STRUCTURE OF A COACHING SESSION .............................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.

ACTION PLANNING .............................................................................................................. 24 AIM STATEMENTS ........................................................................................................................ 24

LIMITING BELIEFS ........................................................................................................................ 24


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ROSTER OPTIMISATION

WHY ROSTERING OUTCOMES MATTER In NSW Health, approximately two thirds of our total budget is allocated to staffing expenditure. Ensuring these funds are allocated efficiently and effectively will enable us to deliver a high quality service for our patients.

Rostering is one mechanism which enables us to achieve this.

WHAT IS ROSTER OPTIMISATION? Roster optimisation means we have the right people, with the right skills, in the right place at the right time.

Put simply, it means we are making the best possible use of our workforce.

THE BENEFITS OF ROSTER OPTIMISATION Rostering is complex and there are an infinite range of possible combinations in the way shifts can be allocated.

Optimised rostering will help us all to:

• deliver a high quality service for patients • support staff wellbeing and culture • achieve organisational productivity and performance.

ROSTERING AND WELLBEING A roster has a major impact on the health and wellbeing of rostered staff.

The times and locations staff work will affect their eating and sleeping patterns and their ability to benefit from their leisure time.

We know that staff wellbeing is a major determinant of their ability to perform at their best, so rostering with staff wellbeing in mind will again support us to deliver a high quality service and achieve organisational efficiencies.

HOW WILL WE OPTIMISE ROSTERING?

Optimising rostering requires the combined and ongoing commitment of all staff within NSW Health.

We must work together toward a common goal and support each other so we are able to achieve the far reaching benefits of optimised rosters.

This will be achieved through a structured and dedicated approach to continuous improvement and innovation.

Depending on the focus of the organization, we can select goals that are important to our strategic plans and LHD climate. Measuring baselines and at checkpoints clearly communicates the value and findings following engagement.


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CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT & INNOVATION

CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT Continuous improvement is a sustained process to identify and implement ways tasks could be performed differently to do what we currently do…better.

It may be:

• more efficient, making better use of limited resources, or • more effective, performing at a higher standard.

It is about looking at what exists and striving to redesigning it for improved outcomes.

The Clinical Redesign modules available through MyHealth Learning can provide further direction.

INNOVATION Innovation is doing something new or better that makes a positive difference. It requires creative thinking and initiative. Innovation comes from identifying a pain point or an undesirable outcome, analysing at the drivers and process, design alternate solutions and implement processes with change management activities across a district.

GROWTH MINDSET Achieving continuous improvement and innovation requires commitment from a team working toward a common goal. The best outcomes will occur when individuals adopt a growth mindset where they believe they are able to develop their capability to perform better.

Individuals with a growth mindset will:

• apply effort to develop new capabilities to improve their performance • try new things and reflect on the outcomes • seek feedback to improve their performance • see failure as an opportunity to grow

HOW THIS WILL BE ACHIEVED Achieving roster optimisation requires a commitment to both continuous improvement and innovation.

It will be achieved by analysing current practice and outcomes to identify better ways of completing tasks, to improve our outcomes.

It requires generation of ideas that are tested to determine if they will lead to improved performance.

Testing our ideas may involve discussing them with others, or actually putting them into practice and reflecting on the outcome. Pilots or proof of concepts can be useful.


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TOWARD A COMMON GOAL

All staff within NSW Health have a responsibility for optimising rostering outcomes.


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THE ROLE OF CENTRAL WORKFORCE TEAM Central workforce teams are integral in performing transactional activities as a central conduit to support staff throughout the employment lifecycle.

In addition to management of transactional activities to support health employees and manage payroll, central LHD workforce teams are well placed to support roster optimisation by:

• gaining senior management support • analysing data to identify opportunities • proactively engaging with rostering teams1 directly • establishing and maintaining communication plan • monitoring performance toward key workforce and rostering metrics • track and report on performance • recognising effort and achievement • supporting capability development • keeping senior management informed on progress

1 The ‘rostering team’ for the purpose of this document, includes those involved in managing any individual roster and may include a Roster Creator, Roster Manager, Roster Approver, Business Manager, ???.


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GAIN SENIOR MANAGEMENT AND STAKEHOLDER SUPPORT

Why

As rostering optimisation requires the combined efforts of all staff, it is essential to gain support from senior management and key stakeholders who will be able to demonstrate their support.

By gaining support you can be more confident that your efforts are contributing the organisation’s strategic direction and will be reinforced by them, so you are not alone in your efforts to optimise rostering in your Health Agency.

Who

• Your Manager • Senior Management • Business Managers • Rostering Improvement Leads • Workforce or HR representatives

How

To achieve this you may:

Speak to your manager to gain an understanding of the current state of rostering in your Health Agency and identify the key stakeholders who should be involved

Review key documents outlining the organisation’s strategic direction Confirm the appropriate lines of communication for interacting with senior management and

key stakeholders (ie: this may be through your current manager) Develop a high level plan of how you will support roster optimisation to achieve strategic

goals Prepare communication to inform senior management and stakeholders: Your plan to support roster optimisation How your plan aligns to the strategic direction What you require from them to ensure the success of your plan Agree on your plan and how/when you will report back on progress.


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ANALYSE DATA TO IDENTIFY OPPORTUNITIES

Why

Analysing data can provide an understanding of historical trends and can support identification of opportunities for continuous improvement and innovation.

Data by itself is relatively unhelpful in the beginning of a project. It is the analysis of data that will provide insights that can facilitate informed decision making. Data analysis may involve looking at historical trends to identify patterns and relationships. For example, you may see a reduction in overtime when you fill a vacancy which may provide feedback to reinforce this action.

In NSW Health, we have an abundance of data. This can be problematic if we are unsure how to use the data effectively.

Who

• Key stakeholders • eHealth HealthRoster Team

How


Determine your purpose for analysing data Investigate the data that is available to you in your role, this may be available from: HealthRoster SMRS SIA RosterPerform Other systems

Speak to key stakeholders to determine the key metrics they would like to improve Analyse relevant data to identify opportunities for improvement and set baselines and targets

that are time bound Apply the MoSCoW2 method to prioritise opportunities.

2 Must have, Should have, Could have, Won’t have this time


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PROACTIVELY ENGAGE WITH ROSTERING TEAMS DIRECTLY

Why

As there are potentially many people involved in managing a roster, you are able to add value by supporting each individual, and support a group/specialty for a consistent message to establish and maintain the appropriate governance required to manage the roster as efficiently and effectively as possible.

It may be necessary to identify rosters with the greatest opportunity for improvement and provide intensive support over a short period of time to a select few, to ensure they have the required processes, systems and capability to continuously improve and innovate to optimise their roster.

Once you are satisfied this can be sustained for the selected rostering teams, you can move to support other rostering teams in the same way.

Who

• Roster Approvers • Roster Managers • Roster Creators • Business Manager • Recruitment Teams

How


Determine who you will be engaging with and get in contact to: Explain the benefits of optimised rosters for patients, staff and the organisation Explain how you can support roster optimisation Evaluate their perception of their ability to influence rostering outcomes Reinforce the need for all players to contribute to the common goal Inquire into the existing governance structures and how they are currently operating Share insights from data analysis Set realistic expectations of what is to be achieved

Review processes to ensure they align to Rostering Best Practice Guidelines Encourage, test, review and share ideas for improvement and innovation Work with individuals to ensure system functionality is being maximised Refer to Rostering Capability Framework3 and establish learning plans to develop capability Provide support to develop action plans to ensure targets are achieved within timeframes Demonstrate how data can be accessed and analysed Communicate targets to key stakeholders.

3 The Rostering Portal is the single access point for all rostering information for staff within NSW Health. The Rostering Capability Matrix links users to a range of resources and tools to support capability development to ensure they are able to perform this function effectively.

https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/rostering/Pages/default.aspx

https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/Rostering/Documents/framework.pdf


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ESTABLISH AND MAINTAIN LOCAL COMMUNICATION PLAN

Why

When supporting rostering teams, you may benefit from establishing and maintaining a communication plan that contains the necessary information staff require from time to time.

You will be a conduit between senior management, stakeholders and rostering teams and are in a powerful position to channel consistent communication so it achieves its intended objective.

You may hear or identify issues that are hindering roster optimisation and will need to take care in communicating these issues to the appropriate people so consideration can be given to how they may be addressed.

You may then need to feed this information back to ensure all are kept informed and will need to ensure you follow the correct channels to do this. Communication can occur through existing or new forums where rostering or workforce issues are the focus.

You will need to be empathetic toward your audience and tailor your approach to increase the likelihood your message is received and understood. Audiences have multiple frames of reference to what motivates them, therefore it is important to know your audience and tailor communication to this.

Please remember, simply sending a message, does not mean it is received and understood as you intended it! Communication is an art and extreme care must be taken.

Who

• Senior Management • Key stakeholders • Rostering Teams • Local Communications Team

How

To establish a communication plan, you will need to:

Collaborate with your Manager on the purpose of your communication Develop a communications plan including: Goals Strategy Action plan Potential challenges Evaluation plan

For each communication you will need to: determine who the recipients of the communication will be determine who the sender of the communication will be determine the appropriate communication channels for the messages to be sent through agree on when the communication will be sent draft communication and obtain the required approval for it to be sent send the communication to the identified recipients establish a district wide rostering forum/community of practice.


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MONITOR PERFORMANCE TOWARD KEY WORKFORCE AND ROSTERING METRICS

Why

The initial data analysis will provide a clearer picture of the current state. As improvement initiatives are implemented, it will be important to monitor progress on a regular basis to:

• evaluate the impact of action plans on performance • enable comparisons between periods • intervene early to adjust plans as required.

The Data Analysis Table below lists some of the metrics that may be worth monitoring. This list is not exhaustive and you may have other metrics you would like to add.

Who

• Roster Approvers • Roster Managers • Roster Creators • Business Manager • Recruitment Teams • Key stakeholders • eHealth HealthRoster Team

How

To monitor data for improvement and innovation, you should:

Have a discussion with your Manager and agree on: the metrics to be monitored the frequency of monitoring acceptable ranges actions if outside range

Set reminders for yourself to follow up on these metrics at the agreed intervals.


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REPORT ON PERFORMANCE

Why

You are central to the initiatives being implemented and will need to report to stakeholders on performance over time.

Your reports should focus on the metrics you agreed were most important in your data analysis step and may include additional explanations to provide stakeholders with sufficient information to understand what is occurring.

You may reinforce in these reports, the importance of having all involved working toward a common goal and thank them for their continued support.

You will need to consider transfer of continuous improvement activities into BAU to ensure the results are sustained.

Who

• Key stakeholders • Roster Approvers • Roster Managers • Roster Creators • Business Managers

How

To report on performance, you should:

Liaise with relevant individuals to explain what reports you are able to provide Agree on the reports to be generated and the regularity of these reports Define the information to be included in the reports Generate and send reports as agreed, including relevant analysis and recommendations for

improvement and innovation.


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RECOGNISE EFFORT AND ACHIEVEMENT

Why

Throughout this process, you should aim to identify rostering teams who are moving toward roster optimisation and recognise their efforts and achievements in public forums. This will provide positive reinforcement and allow other teams insight into what they are aiming to achieve.

Who

• Key stakeholders • Roster Approvers • Roster Managers • Roster Creators • Business Managers

How

To recognise effort and achievement you may:

Identify teams and individuals who are demonstrating effort and achievement toward rostering continuous improvement and innovation

Communicate effort and achievement in relevant forums. Ask specialties or facilities to recognise achievements in forums by sponsors


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SUPPORT CAPABILITY DEVELOPMENT

Why

Developing rostering capability will support individuals to achieve their intended goals.

When supporting continuous improvement and innovation for roster optimization, you will need to identify opportunities where individuals could develop capability and support them to integrate development activities into their action plans.

Who

• Roster Approvers • Roster Managers • Roster Creators

How

To support capability develop you may:

Regularly access and interact with the Rostering Portal to familiarize yourself with the resources and tools available

Complete the Rostering Capability Framework modules available through MyHealth Learning by searching ‘rcf’

Identify gaps between current and required capability and recommend resources to for capability development

Refer individuals to relevant modules, resources and/or tools to address identified capability gaps

Liaise with individuals to establish a training plan and timeframes for completion Facilitate Rostering Best Practice Workshops Provide coaching support Connect staff who are able to support each other to develop rostering capability as peer

reinforcement Participate in the NSW Health Innovative Rosterers’ Community on LinkedIn to continue to

develop your own capability for continuous improvement and innovation in rostering.

https://www.linkedin.com/groups/13668097/


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KEEP SENIOR MANAGEMENT AND STAKEHOLDERS INFORMED ON PROGRESS

Why

As you have gained support from senior management and key stakeholders to achieve continuous improvement and innovation for roster optimisation, it is important you keep them informed of progress.

You should ensure you follow the correct communication channels to do this.

Who

• Your Manager • Senior Management • Key stakeholders

How

You should keep senior management informed by:

Regularly providing succinct and relevant updates communicating achievement toward agreed goals

Raising issues that may be impacting on a rostering teams’ ability to optimise rostering Provide recommendations for how senior managers and stakeholders can continue to support

roster optimisation.


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DATA ANALYSIS/Measures of Success

Metric Frequency (W,F,M,Q,AdH)

Sourced from Acceptable range

Action if outside range

Demand template review

Unfilled duties

Skill and grade warnings

Publication in HealthRoster

Unused contracted hours (pre-post?)

Additional duties

Shifts without charge cover

Wrong grade types

Duties with warnings (pre-post?)

Annual leave liability

Planned annual leave 12 months in advance

ADO accruals

Overtime


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Metric Frequency (W,F,M,Q,AdH)

Sourced from Acceptable range

Action if outside range

Casual utilisation

Filled

Unfilled

Lead time

availability

Agency utilisation

Force finalised (also those that needed to be prompted)

Pay period confirmation

Agreed

Disagreed

Retrospective adjustments

Priority payments

Overpayments

Underpayments

Training completions

User account set up

Inflight check of benefits data

Create and Review tickets and IDEAS raised to improve rostering tools


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COACHING GUIDE

Below are some tips to guide you to structure your coaching to ensure both parties achieve their goals.

THE PURPOSE OF A COACHING SESSION Coaching is a method to support others to achieve more than they may be capable of alone. The purpose of coaching is to empower others to explore situations and develop solutions to improve them.

YOUR ROLE AS A COACH Your role as a coach is simply to ask questions so the staff member is able to gain a better understanding of what is occurring for them. With this awareness, you, as the coach, can then facilitate a discussion to support the staff member to identify potential solutions, consider possible outcomes and develop an action plan.

You can share your knowledge and experiences where you feel this would support the staff member to better understand their situation, but you should refrain from telling the staff member what to do. It is important the staff member arrives at these conclusions themselves.

As a coach you must ensure the staff member is not threatened in any way as this will prohibit their ability to fully explore possibilities. Above all else, please, never judge a staff member you are coaching.

THE ROLE OF THE STAFF MEMBER It is important the staff member prepares for the session as per any instructions in the meeting invite.

The staff member’s role is to be open to exploring their current situation and to considering opportunities to implement actions and continuously improve.

The staff member is encouraged to be honest and willing to consider alternate ways of working so they can achieve their goal.

The staff member is required to participate in the coaching discussions, complete the assigned workbook and follow up on agreed action plans prior to the follow up session/s.


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THE COACHING ENVIRONMENT It is important the coaching environment is familiar to the staff member and that they have access to resources they may need to interact with throughout the session. Scenario based discussions can be useful to contextualize and prompt thinking.

Effective coaching requires a psychologically safe environment where both parties feel free to speak openly and honestly without fear of negative repercussions.

It would be inappropriate and counterproductive for any comment that was made as part of a coaching session to be reported back for any reason other than to support the staff member’s continued development and/or continuous improvement.

If however you become aware of issues that are impacting rostering outcomes, you should follow the relevant process to address these whilst protecting the staff member’s privacy.

The only exception to this would be if any comment was ill intended or posed a threat to either party or other staff members.

WHAT IS A LIMITING BELIEF A limiting belief is a belief that prevents or inhibits performance. We may or may not be aware of them. The good news is, that by identifying limiting beliefs, we are able to address and overcome them to improve performance. The bad news is, that accepting a limiting belief will make it true. The difficulty is, often we are not even aware we have them.

Common limiting beliefs are:

• I don’t have enough time • My staff won’t like it if I … • I already do my best, I can’t try any harder • I can’t change it, so there’s not really much point in trying • I tried to change in the past and it didn’t work, so that will probably happen again • The way I do this works so there’s no need to change it • This is how I have always done it and it works fine.

When coaching, ask the staff member to consider what their limiting beliefs might be and to challenge each one by asking ‘is this reality or could this be a limiting belief?

ACTIVE LISTENING TECHNIQUES Active listening is about understanding. It is not simply hearing. It is not simply gathering information.

To listen actively, it is important you:

• Face the staff member and maintain eye contact • Begin by asking open questions (eg what, why, when, who, how) • Pay attention • Take notice of non-verbal cues to aid understanding • Allow the staff member to finish what they are saying without interruption • Probe responses to gain more specific understanding when required • Paraphrase what you have heard to clarify your understanding


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• Recognise positive rostering practices.

THE GROW COACHING MODEL The GROW coaching model is a simple approach to coaching that allows both parties to gain greater awareness and develop creative solutions to achieve continuous improvement. You can learn more about the GROW model by selecting the link here.

https://www.performanceconsultants.com/grow-model




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STRUCTURE OF A COACHING SESSION Below is a guide to how to structure a coaching session using the GROW model.

SESSION ONE Set up

• Build rapport • Encourage open participation • Explain the purpose of the coaching session • Outline the role of both the coach and the staff member • Ask the staff member what they hope to gain from participating in the coaching

sessions (G)

Coaching

• Explain what an aim statement is • Support the staff member to come up with their own aim statement and record it in

their Action Plan (see below) (G) • Ask the staff member to explain what is occurring with their rostering practice at the

moment (R) • Examine key metrics referring to the summary (R) • Ask the staff member to explain their understanding of the data (R) • Explore the rostering process flowchart and ask the staff member to identify up to

three potential areas for improvement (R) • Ask the staff member to develop an Action Plan of up to three actions they will

complete prior to the next session (see below) (W) • Ask the staff member to identify how they will know if they have achieved their goal

and record this in their action plan with any metrics to be reviewed.


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SUBSEQUENT SESSIONS Coaching

• Review the Aim Statement in the Action Plan and ask the staff member to report back on their progress

• Support the staff member to review their Aim statement in their Action Plan (see below) and update if required Action Plan (G)

• Ask the staff member to explain what , if anything, has changed with their rostering practice (R)

• Examine key metrics referring listed in the Action Plan previously (R) • Ask the staff member to explain their understanding of the data (R) • Explore the rostering process flowchart and ask the staff member to identify up to

three potential areas for improvement (these may be a continuation from the previous session) (R)

• Ask the staff member to update their Action Plan (see below) to reflect the three actions they will complete prior to the next session (W)

Ask the staff member to identify how they will know if they have achieved their goal and record this in their action plan with any metrics to be reviewed.


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ACTION PLANNING Here are some tips on how continuous improvement and innovation can be achieved and sustained, whether you’re new to the concept or have taken part in similar activities in the past.

AIM STATEMENTS Develop your own Aim statement to be clear about your goals.

When developing your Aim statement, check to see if it:

• provides an explicit summary of what success looks like • is unambiguous…clear, specific, numerical and measurable • drills down to an outcome (where possible).

To begin this, first consider if you have any limiting beliefs.

LIMITING BELIEFS A limiting belief is one that prevents or inhibits us from achieving our goals. By identifying our limiting beliefs, we can address and overcome them to improve performance. The difficulty is that we often don’t realise we have them.

Common limiting beliefs are:

• I don’t have enough time • My staff won’t like it if I … • I already do my best, I can’t try any harder • I can’t change it, so there’s not really much point in trying • I tried to change in the past and it didn’t work, so that will probably happen again • The way I do this works so there’s no need to change it • This is how I have always done it and it works fine

Accepting a limiting belief will make it true for you, so try to identify any you may have before you develop your aim statement. If you have a goal you would like to achieve, but find a barrier preventing you from achieving the goal, ask yourself ‘is this reality or could this be a limiting belief?’


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Here’s an example of an AIM statement:

Our unit will have reduced our excessive annual leave liability by 15% in three months from today’s date.

Record your own Aim statement for your roster here.

Now fill out your own action plan using the template below.

Plan-What will happen if we try something different?

P: What is our objective in this cycle? Date:

P: What questions do we want to ask and what are our predictions? Date:

P: Who will carry this out? (Who? When? How? Where?) Date:


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Do-Let’s try it!

D: Carry out your plan Date:

D: Document any problems Date:

D: Begin data analysis Date:


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Study-Did it work?

S: Complete data analysis Date:

S: Compare results to your predictions Date:

S: Summarise your results Date:


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Act-What’s Next?

A: Ready to implement? Date:

A: Try something else? Date:

A: Next cycle? Date:


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Be the change you seek.

Please visit the Rostering Portal for all you need to optimise rostering.

Feel free to get in contact so we can explore ways we can work together.

email [email protected].

mailto:[email protected]