guidance for the nhs staff survey 2014 nhs staff survey …

ST14_Guidance Notes_FINAL MW/CK 13/08/2014 UNCLASSIFIED

GUIDANCE FOR THE NHS STAFF SURVEY 2014

NHS STAFF SURVEY CO-ORDINATION CENTRE

Contacts NHS Staff Survey Co-ordination Centre Picker Institute Europe Buxton Court 3 West Way Oxford OX2 0JB Tel: 01865 208141 (9.30am – 4.30pm, Monday to Friday) Fax: 01865 208101 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.nhsstaffsurveys.com Key personnel Chris Graham (Director of Survey Development) Caroline Killpack Hannah Atherton Jenny King Kelsey Flott Maria Bogdanovskya Mark Waters Rachel Hayward Steve Sizmur Susanne Käsbauer Susie Stevenson

ROCR - The ROCR licence number is: ROCR/OR/2111/002VOLU.

UK Data Archive SN 7776 - National Health Service National Staff Survey, 2014

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.nhsstaffsurveys.com/


Contents

NHS Staff Survey 2014 Introduction ....................................................................................... 3

Changes to the 2014 NHS Staff Survey ................................................................................. 3

Mixed Mode ........................................................................................................................... 3

Question Changes ................................................................................................................. 3

Pre-approach, Covering and Reminder Letters ...................................................................... 3

1.1. Summary of minimum survey requirements .................................................................. 4

1.2. Staff Survey 2014: Online Eligibility Criteria .................................................................. 4

1.2.1. Staff Survey 2014: Survey modes .............................................................................. 5

1.3. Immediate preparation for the 2014 survey ................................................................... 6

1.4. Survey timetable ........................................................................................................... 6

1.5. Approved Survey Contractors ....................................................................................... 8

1.6. The Questionnaire ........................................................................................................ 9

1.6.1. Core questions ........................................................................................................... 9

1.6.2. Additional Question Modules .................................................................................... 10

1.7. Breakdown of results by directorate / department / site ............................................... 10

1.8. Preparation of Staff Lists ............................................................................................. 11

1.8.1. Selecting the Staff Sample ....................................................................................... 12

1.8.2. Determining the size of the Basic Sample ................................................................ 13

1.8.3. Selecting a random sample of staff .......................................................................... 13

1.9. Final sampling inspection by the Co-ordination Centre ............................................... 16

1.10. Questionnaires .......................................................................................................... 17

1.11. Covering and reminder cards / letters ....................................................................... 18

1.12. Recycled paper requirements ................................................................................... 20

1.13. Distribution and receipt of questionnaires, and prompting non-respondents .............. 20

1.13.1 Taking receipt of completed questionnaires ............................................................ 21

1.13.2. Informing the Co-ordination Centre of ongoing response rates and advice line queries ............................................................................................................................... 22

1.14. Data entry and data transfer to the Co-ordination Centre .......................................... 22

1.14.1. Questionnaire Data ................................................................................................ 24

1.14.2. Transferring the data .............................................................................................. 26

1.15. Reports of the survey findings ................................................................................... 26

Appendix 1 ........................................................................................................................... 27

Appendix 2 ........................................................................................................................... 28

Appendix 3 ........................................................................................................................... 30

Appendix 4 ........................................................................................................................... 31

Appendix 5 ........................................................................................................................... 32

Appendix 6 ........................................................................................................................... 34

Appendix 7 ........................................................................................................................... 35



NHS Staff Survey 2014 Introduction The NHS Staff Survey provides an opportunity for organisations to survey their staff in a consistent and systematic way. This makes it possible to build up a picture of staff experience and, with care, to compare and monitor change over time and to identify variations between different staff groups. Obtaining feedback from staff, and taking account of their views and priorities, is vital for driving real service improvements in the NHS. Changes to the 2014 NHS Staff Survey

Mixed Mode In 2013, online surveys were introduced to allow staff to respond to the survey electronically, however many organisations could not meet the criteria to use them due to poor coverage of staff email addresses. To combat this issue, for the 2014 survey it is possible to implement a mixed mode survey whereby those staff with e-mail addresses complete the survey online and paper questionnaires are sent to the remaining staff who do not have an active email address. Participating organisations will be required to have at least 65% of staff with active email addresses to run a mixed mode survey. Electronic surveys will be set up by Approved Contractors and can be used by organisations who meet the online criteria list (see Section 1.2). The online survey will include the same questions as the paper core questionnaire and email reminders will be sent out alongside paper reminder letters. Please note that additional guidelines to increase response rates for online / mixed mode surveys will be released on the Staff Survey website before Friday 15th of August. As was the case last year, extended samples and census data will continue to be accepted for use in the benchmark reports from paper, online or mixed mode surveys. Therefore, any extra data collected from staff using the core questionnaire (which follows the guidelines for online and paper surveys outlined in this document) can be included in the benchmark reports. Question Changes from 2013 to 2014 Q13 “Hot water, soap and paper towels, or alcohol rubs, are available when they are needed by…” has been removed and replaced by a question relating to patient / service user feedback. Q19 has been amended and is now focussed on “unsafe clinical practice” rather than “fraud, malpractice or wrongdoing”. A new question has been added to the “Leadership and Career Development” additional question module. This module is still in development and will be released on the website no later than the week commencing 18th August. Pre-approach, Covering and Reminder Letters A “pre-approach” letter is now available and can be used in the run up to the first mailing. This informs staff that the questionnaire will be arriving; the letter can also include information about the previous year’s results and inform staff of any incentive schemes being implemented. The covering and reminder letters have been amended so there is space to include information on current response rates and incentive schemes active in the organisation. Organisations should make use of these to help boost response rates within the organisation.



Eligibility Women on maternity should now be included in the sample file and are eligible to take part in the survey. These women should be identified at the sample checking stage (See section 1.8). 1.1. Summary of minimum survey requirements All participating organisations must follow a standard methodology, as described in these guidance notes, and must fulfil the following minimum requirements:

A self-completion questionnaire. Online / mixed mode and paper questionnaires must contain the full set of core questions (see section 1.6 for more details on the questionnaire).

As a minimum, all participating organisations are required to survey a random sample of staff (see section 1.8 for more details on sampling).

Questionnaires (each labelled with a unique staff ID number) must be distributed to selected staff with two reminders being sent to non-responding staff (see section 1.13 for more details on the questionnaire distribution process).

An external organisation must be appointed to act as a survey contractor. As a minimum, this organisation should be responsible for receipt of completed questionnaires, data entry and editing, and delivery of this data to the Co-ordination Centre. The use of one of the Approved Survey Contractors is strongly recommended (see section 1.5 for details of the Approved Contractors).

There are a number of additional ways in which the survey can be adapted to local needs. Organisations may:

Conduct a survey with a larger staff sample or a census. (Section 1.8.2)

Select and add ‘Additional Question Modules’. (Section 1.6.2)

Include their own local questions on other topical issues.

1.2. Staff Survey 2014: Online / Mixed Mode Eligibility Criteria Criteria for organisations that want to run the Staff Survey 2014 online / mixed mode This document lists the eligibility criteria for organisations who wish to run the survey online / mixed mode. Organisations must meet all the criteria seen in the table below to be allowed to run the online / mixed mode option and have their data included in national reporting. The Co-ordination Centre and NHS England will have the final decision on whether an organisation is permitted to run the online /mixed mode option for 2014. If an organisation does not meet all the criteria, then they will be required to run the survey using a paper-based approach, as in previous years.

Criteria Responsibility

The organisation must have accurate, up-to-date and active email addresses for all staff groups they intend to administer the online /mixed mode survey to.

Organisation



The organisation must have accurate, up-to-date and active email addresses for at least 65% of staff.

Organisation

The organisation must be confident that all staff access these email addresses on a regular basis and therefore it is feasible to expect to get responses to the survey from these email addresses.

Organisation

The organisation must be able to extract e-mail addresses from their electronic staff record (ESR) system with ease. If the organisation has to cross-reference records or enter email addresses manually then they should not run the online /mixed mode option.

Organisation

The organisation must be confident that they can extract their staff list, with accurate up-to-date email addresses, as of the 1st September 2014 and provide this information to contractors by w/c 23rd September.

Organisation

Staff must be allowed time to complete the survey in work time and must be able to complete the survey on a work computer, if they wish to do so.

Organisation

The organisation must be able to implement a communications plan to ensure that staff are aware that they will be receiving a link to the survey by email.

Organisation

Personal email addresses must only be used if unavoidable, work email addresses should be used where possible.

Organisation

The organisation must send confirmation to their approved contractor that they meet all eligibility criteria.

Organisation

The approved contractor will check details with each organisation. The approved contractor will then inform the Co-ordination Centre that the organisation meets the eligibility criteria.

Approved contractor

If the organisation is running the survey online /mixed mode for the first time the Co-ordination Centre will follow up with the organisation to ensure that all criteria have been met.

Co-ordination Centre

Note: The Co-ordination Centre will only accept data from organisations that issue two reminders to non-responding staff as per the survey guidance. The co-ordination centre will not accept data from organisations that adopt a different approach to fieldwork.

1.2.1. Staff Survey 2014: Survey modes For the 2014 NHS Staff Survey, participating organisations are able to conduct a paper survey, an online survey or a mixed mode survey combining paper and online options. If your organisation has at least 65% of its staff with active email addresses, then your organisation will be eligible (but not obliged) to run the survey online. Those with active email addresses should be sent an online questionnaire and staff without active email addresses should be sent a paper questionnaire. In effect, the mixed mode approach is suitable for organisations that wish to run the survey online but don’t have email addresses for all staff. Please note that if the organisation does not have at least 65% of staff with email addresses then they must run a complete paper survey. If all of the staff at the organisation have active email addresses then all staff should receive the survey online. Surveys must still conform to the minimum sample requirements (see section 1.8.2), extended samples and census data will be accepted by the Co-ordination Centre providing a



consistent approach is adopted and the guidance is adhered to. The Co-ordination Centre reserves the right to reject additional data which follows a different methodology to the basic sample. 1.3. Immediate preparation for the 2014 survey There are a number of key tasks that should be started as soon as possible to ensure that organisations are ready to conduct the survey:

At the start of the process, it is important to identify two people within the organisation who will take responsibility for the survey and communication with the Co-ordination Centre/Survey Contractor. If you have not already informed the Co-ordination Centre of the names and contact details of these individuals, please do so immediately.

Update the staff database, ensuring the accuracy of work address information in preparation for selecting the staff sample (see section 1.8.1). If an online /mixed mode survey is being administered staff email addresses should be updated and validated.

Organisations wanting to run an online /mixed mode survey must send confirmation to their approved contractor that they meet all eligibility criteria. This will then be followed up by the Co-ordination Centre.

Organisations have the option of TWO internal breakdowns (e.g. directorate and location) to be included within the Co-ordination Centre feedback reports (see section 1.7). Details of the internal breakdowns should be included in the staff database supplied to contractors.

Decide which (if any) Additional Question Modules will be used in the survey. The questions which make up the additional modules can be seen on the staff survey website www.nhsstaffsurveys.com.

1.4. Survey timetable

Date Step of Survey Implementation By whom? Section in Guidance

By mid-August Identify two individuals within the organisation who will take responsibility for the survey and inform the Co-ordination Centre of their contact details.

organisation or contractor

n/a

By August 29th Appoint a survey contractor to administer the survey and notify the Co-ordination Centre.

organisation 1.5

w/c 18th August

Ensure staff lists are comprehensive and up to date. If the online /mixed mode option is being used, please ensure staff email addresses are valid and up to date.

organisation 1.8

By w/c 1st September

Decide on the precise content of the questionnaire and communicate this to contractor (all organisations must include the core questions).

organisation 1.6 – 1.6.2


Decide on what internal breakdown (e.g. directorate, department or location) should be used, and ensure that this information is included in the staff list.

organisation 1.7





Decide whether an online /mixed mode survey is to be used and seek approval from the contractor and the Co-ordination Centre.

organisation and Co-

ordination Centre

1.2

By w/c 8th September

Inform the post room(s) of the forthcoming questionnaire distribution and reminders, ensuring that they are aware of the importance of the survey and the likely volume of post.

organisation 1.13

By w/c 22nd September

Organisations running an online /mixed mode survey should inform staff that online surveys will be delivered to staff email addresses.

organisation 1.13

By w/c 22nd September

Organisations using pre-approach letters should mail these to staff one to two weeks before the first mailing.

organisation and contractor

1.13

w/c 22nd September1

Arrange distribution of questionnaires to the selected sample.


1.13

Weekly during survey period

Monitor response rates to the survey, and use the unique ID numbers on returned/completed questionnaires to record which members of staff have not yet responded.

contractor 1.13.2

Weekly during survey period

Inform Co-ordination Centre of ongoing response rates and the number and nature of helpline queries received.

contractor 1.13.2

w/c 13th October

Three weeks after the initial mailing, arrange distribution of a reminder letter/email to all staff who have not yet returned a questionnaire or completed the survey online.


1.13

w/c 3rd November

Three weeks after the first reminder letter, arrange distribution of a 2nd copy of the paper questionnaire to non-responding staff together with a reminder letter and another reply-paid envelope. Staff selected for the online survey should be sent a reminder email with a link to the survey.


1.13

5th December

Arrange for keyed or scanned data from the completed questionnaires to be transferred to the Co-ordination Centre along with any data captured online.

contractor 1.14 – 1.14.2

1 Or earlier date.



1.5. Approved Survey Contractors We strongly recommend that organisations appoint an Approved Survey Contractor to support them. These contractors were chosen by the Care Quality Commission in 2010 having demonstrated that they are able to provide a high quality service, whilst offering value for money. When using an Approved Contractor, organisations can select from a range of services, including:

Providing advice and support in selecting the staff sample.

Printing and packing up survey materials ready for internal distribution by the organisation.

Handling receipt of completed questionnaires, and the distribution of reminders*.

Data entry and transferring the cleaned data to the Co-ordination Centre*.

Set up, distribution and data collection for online surveys.

Analysis and reporting of findings

* It is mandatory that these elements are handled by an external contractor for confidentiality reasons.* The following contractors have approved status for work on the staff survey programme: CAPITA Surveys and Research Contact: Cheryl Kershaw and Aimi Blueman Telephone: 01423 818712 / 01423 818730 E-mail: [email protected] / [email protected] Picker Institute Europe Contact: Grace Baker and Jaana Kosunen Telephone: 01865 208139 / 01865 208153 E-mail: [email protected] / [email protected] Quality Health Contact: Reg Race, Mandy Moore and Kerry Hibberd Telephone: 01246 856263 E-mail: [email protected] / [email protected]/ [email protected] Although we strongly recommend using an Approved Contractor, it is recognised that some organisations may choose to use a non-approved contractor. If this is the case, it is essential that the instructions are followed very carefully as we need to ensure all organisations are producing data that is comparable. It is also important that non-approved contractors provide the Co-ordination Centre with their details so updates etc can be sent if necessary and so data may be passed between the contractor and Co-ordination Centre without compromising respondent confidentiality.



1.6. The Questionnaire

Please note that the following points apply to both paper and online /mixed mode surveys. The questionnaire has three components, one of which is compulsory:

A set of core (compulsory) questions, which must be asked in all organisations.

Additional question modules (optional).

Local questions (optional). If further optional additional or local questions are added, the questionnaire must be limited to a maximum of 16 A4 sides. A questionnaire that is longer than this will have an adverse effect on response rates. The same logic should be applied to online /mixed mode surveys; introducing too many questions may adversely affect the response rate. All participating organisations must include the full set of core questions in their questionnaire, but also have the option of selecting the additional question modules. These can be put together using the Questionnaire Compilation Tool available on the Co-ordination Centre website (www.nhsstaffsurveys.com). Typically, creating a questionnaire, including adding any optional bank questions, would be done by the Approved Contractor appointed by the Trust. 1.6.1. Core Questions The core questionnaire is broken down into the following categories:

YOUR PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT o Questions about the type and quality of the training, learning and development

respondents have received and the type and quality of appraisals respondents have received.

YOUR JOB o Questions about the respondent’s experiences of working at their organisation and in

the NHS, including: team working, involvement in decision making, job satisfaction and how engaged staff are in their jobs.

YOUR MANAGERS o Questions relating to immediate managers, senior managers, feedback from

management, communication and support from management.

YOUR ORGANISATION o Questions relating to the organisation as a whole, including whether training is

encouraged, whether staff would recommend treatment to their friends and family, and whether soap and paper towels are available when they are needed.

YOUR HEALTH, WELL-BEING AND SAFETY AT WORK o Questions about the impact of job role on health, pressure to come to work when

feeling ill, witnessing incidents and errors, raising concerns at work, physical violence, and harassment/discrimination.




BACKGROUND INFORMATION o Questions about the respondent’s age, gender, ethnic background, sexual orientation /

identity, religious cultural beliefs, occupational group, how long they have worked at their organisation, whether they have contact with patients, and line management responsibilities. This information is used to help understand whether different groups of people have different experiences of working in the NHS.

1.6.2. Additional Question Modules The Additional Question Modules can be added to the questionnaire and are approximately 1 page in length per module. The additional question modules cover:

LEADERSHIP AND CAREER DEVELOPMENT

This module focuses on a number of the principles found in the NHS Leadership Framework. This framework has been designed by the National Leadership Council to help NHS organisations develop the leadership skills of their healthcare staff, with the primary objective of improving patient care and outcomes. Questions relate to career progression, becoming a leader, and feeling part of the organisation’s vision for the future. The module has been expanded in 2014 to include questions on “potential and development”.

HEALTH AND SAFETY

Promoting a healthy and safe work environment is an important domain in the NHS Outcomes Framework: ‘treating and caring for people in a safe environment and protecting them from avoidable harm’ (Domain 5). Questions relate to respondents’ working environment, safety culture, and the implementation of safety processes.

PATIENT EXPERIENCE

This module provides a different approach to looking at staff and patient experience. Instead of exploring links between survey data sets, this module takes questions from the NHS patient survey programme and adapts them for use with NHS staff. Questions look at whether respondents believe patients are treated with respect and dignity, have confidence in the staff treating them, and are included in decisions.

1.7. Breakdown of results by directorate / department / site The feedback report produced by the Co-ordination Centre can include up to two breakdowns by directorate, department or location. In order to achieve this, sufficient information needs to be included on the staff lists supplied to the contractor. Section 1.8 outlines how to prepare a staff list for the survey. Each breakdown should have mutually exclusive and comprehensive categories: i.e. each member of staff should be included in one, and only one, of the categories in each breakdown. These categories may be directorates, departments, locations, or any similar type of breakdown.

If such breakdowns are required in the Co-ordination Centre report, then careful thought needs to be given to the design of the categories to ensure that a large enough number of staff are contained in each category.

The Co-ordination Centre will not provide feedback on any group from which there are 10 or fewer responses. In general, we would recommend a limit of 12 categories to a breakdown



(e.g. 12 directorates, 12 locations). If there are substantially more than this, we would recommend combining some of the smaller categories.

1.8. Preparation of Staff Lists One of the first steps in conducting the Staff Survey is to compile a list of all staff that are eligible to participate. If an online /mixed mode survey is being administered a valid staff email address will be required for each member of staff. Preparation of the staff list needs to be carried out by a staff member who is familiar with both the structure of staff records and the computer programme Microsoft Excel. Please note that preparation of this staff list is the responsibility of the organisation, not of the contractor. We advise that organisations ensure that staff lists are comprehensive and up to date by w/c 18th August. This list should include:

All full time and part-time staff who are directly employed by the organisation on September 1st 2014.

Employees on all types of contract o Permanent, fixed period, locum, or temporary. o Seconded staff (e.g. social care staff seconded from the local authority), but only if

they are on the organisation payroll. o Hosted staff who have a substantive contract with the organisation.

The list should exclude:

Staff who are on long-term sick leave2 on September 1st.

All staff employed by sub-contracted organisations or outside contractors.

Bank staff (unless they also have substantive organisation contracts).

Seconded staff who are on the payroll of another organisation (e.g. social care staff who are on the payroll of the local authority).

Student nurses.

Non-executive directors. Care should be taken to ensure that:

No eligible staff members have been omitted from the list. This could potentially happen if, for example, staff records are kept separately for different departments or sites within the organisation.

The list does not contain duplicate or redundant names and email addresses.

All ineligible staff have been excluded from the list.

It should be noted that in previous years, a surprisingly large number of surveys have been sent to staff no longer working for or not known at the organisation and to those on long-term sick leave. These surveys can upset the staff who receive them and will cost the organisation both time and money. We urge you to ensure that staff lists are accurate and up-to-date before sampling. If HR provision is shared between multiple organisations, then it is important that staff lists are separated in such a way that a separate sample can be drawn for each organisation, not one overall sample for the provision. The staff list for each organisation should be consistent with the instructions above.

2 Usually defined as at least 90 days.



Format of the Staff list Spreadsheet The staff list should be in Excel spreadsheet format, with one employee per row. The first row should be used for column headings (Name, Staff Group, Address etc.) and there should be no blank rows. Each employee should appear only once on the spreadsheet with the following information:

Organisation ID (NHS trust code).

Staff ID (generated from organisation records or assigned by contractor).

Full name.

Sufficient address details - This needs to be sufficiently detailed to enable a questionnaire to be sent to each individual via the internal mail. As in previous years, it is permissible to send questionnaires to home addresses of staff who do not have a permanent work address.

Email address (online only) – for delivery of the online /mixed mode survey.

Directorate, department or division (or whatever breakdown or breakdowns are required for the report). This information is not mandatory.

Location (if the questionnaires are to be separated into batches for different post rooms).

Ethnic background – as in previous years, this information is collected so responses from different ethnic groups can be monitored.

Job title and staff group – information on job title and staff group will not be included in the standard Co-ordination Centre report but will be used for sample checking and will be valuable in monitoring response rates.

For further details on how staff lists should be formatted within Excel, see the instructions in section 1.8.3. 1.8.1. Selecting the Staff Sample

Please Note: Extended samples and census data can be included in benchmark reports providing the same fieldwork methodology is used as the Basic Sample. Basic and Extended Samples It is important that random sampling is used to select the basic sample. Random sampling provides a statistically valid way to gather data from a manageable portion of the population. It allows us to take results obtained in the sample and use them as a reliable estimate of what is true for the relevant population. Organisations wanting to survey an extended sample (that is the basic sample plus extra staff) must select the extra staff using random sampling. Once the staff list has been compiled in Excel, it will need to be passed to the contractor or the person in your organisation responsible for sampling, who will then take responsibility for drawing the staff sample. The random sample of employees must be selected in accordance with the following detailed instructions. The minimum sample size is referred to as the Basic Sample throughout these instructions. The size of this Basic Sample will depend on the size of the organisation, as outlined below.



1.8.2. Determining the size of the Basic Sample The size of the Basic Sample is determined by the number of employees in the organisation eligible to receive a questionnaire (i.e. the number of people on the staff list identified in section 1.8), this is the minimum number of staff to be sampled. This varies in order to guarantee a similar degree of accuracy in the results for all organisations. The Basic Sample sizes are as follows:

Staff eligible to receive questionnaire

Basic Sample size

Up to 600 Census (all staff) 601-1000 600

1001-1500 700 1501-2000 750 2001-3000 800 Over 3000 850

The minimum sample sizes have been designed to ensure that the survey findings will give a statistically representative picture of the views of all staff in the organisation. 1.8.3. Selecting a random sample of staff The following steps give detailed instructions of how to draw a random sample using Excel. *Please note that organisations with fewer than 600 eligible employees should conduct a census: all staff members should be included in the survey. Consequently there is no need for such organisations to draw a random sample. Organisations with fewer than 600 eligible employees should therefore skip steps d-h inclusive below, larger organisations opting to conduct a Census can also skip steps d-h.* a) Row 1 to be used for column headings The first row should be for column headings, such as “Name”, “Address”, “Site” etc. b) One employee per row Each subsequent row (beginning with row 2) should contain the details of one employee. Any blank rows, or rows containing other information (e.g. sub-headings) should be deleted. c) Remove any irrelevant data Delete any columns containing data irrelevant to the survey, which will not be used later in the process (e.g. pay scale). However, please keep any information about job title or staff group, as this will be very useful in analysing the survey findings, and will also enable organisations to detect any problems with the response rates of particular staff groups during the survey period. Also, information on directorate / department / division / location (as discussed in section 1.7) should be retained throughout. d) Insert a random number generator column Go to the first blank column. Give it the heading “Random” by inserting this in the first row. This column will be the random number generator, necessary to do the sampling.



e) Generate first random number In the second cell of the “Random” column (i.e. the row containing the details of the first employee) enter the text “= rand()” (without the quotation marks). Press ‘Enter’ and this should generate a random number between 0 and 1.

f) Repeat this random number generation for all cells in that column The simplest way to do this is to click on the first random number cell, then click on the small black square at the bottom-right corner of the cell. Then drag this down to the last row containing employee details. When the mouse is released, a random number between 0 and 1 is generated for each cell. Press F9 to ensure that a set of random numbers is properly calculated. g) Finalise the list of random numbers Select the column of random numbers and copy them (either by pressing Ctrl + C or by using the ‘copy’ button in Excel), this column will then need to be pasted as values into a new column to remove the ‘random’ formula. Use the ‘paste special’ command and select ‘values’ to do this: the original column of random numbers can then be deleted. Doing this will ensure that the random numbers do not change when you sort the data, and this may prove useful if you later need to check that the sample was drawn correctly.

h) Sort the data from lowest to highest random number Return to the top of the list. Highlight all columns by clicking and dragging across the column headers (either letters – A, B, C etc. – or numbers – 1, 2, 3 etc.). Then click on “Data” > “Sort”. Ensure “Header row” is selected. Then use the first drop down menu under “Sort by” to choose the row entitled “Random”. Click OK.



i) Select the staff to participate in the survey

The data should now be sorted into a random order. The next stage is to select your staff sample. If there are to be x employees in the survey, select the first x + 1 rows (including the column heading row), by dragging over rows 1 to x + 1.

Please note here:

If you have more than 600 staff the Basic Sample required will be between 600 and 850 staff, x will be the minimum sample size as stipulated in section 1.7.2.

If a census is conducted, you should select all rows. Copy and paste this information (as appropriate) into a new worksheet.

j) Each selected employee to be allocated a unique identification number In the new worksheet containing only the selected employees, you now need to add ID numbers to the data. Choose the first blank column in the new worksheet. Give it the title “ID Number”. In the first cell of this column (beneath the column heading cell), enter the value “1”. Make a note of the location of this cell: for instance, if it is column G, row, 2, the location is G2. k) Allocate consecutive ID numbers to each selected employee In the cell below this, enter the text “= G2 + 1” (without the quotation marks), substituting for G2 if appropriate. This should generate the value “2” when you press enter. Click back on this cell, and click on the small black square at the bottom-right corner of the cell. When released, a sequence of ID numbers from 1 to x should be generated. l) Fix the ID number values, by replicating them in the next column This stage is very important to ensure that each selected employee is permanently linked to a unique ID number. Highlight (select) all the ID numbers, along with the column heading. Click on “Edit” > “Copy”. Then click on the first cell to the right of this column (in the first row), and click “Edit” > “Paste Special”. Click on “Values” and “OK”. This will replicate the ID numbers. Delete the original column of ID numbers; these are liable to change if the file is re-sorted.



m) Specify the Basic Sample The Basic Sample should consist of employees beginning with ID number 1. For instance, if the Basic Sample size is 750, the Basic Sample should comprise ID numbers 1 to 750. As it will be necessary to feed back an anonymised version of the Basic Sample file to the Co-ordination Centre, it is necessary (either at this stage or later) to separate these individuals into a new worksheet. n) Quality checks on sampling procedure Before questionnaires are distributed, it is necessary to double-check that the Basic Sample has been selected and identified correctly. Please conduct the following checks on the sample:

Each member of the Basic Sample has an allocated ID number.

No ID numbers are duplicated.

The Basic Sample does not include any staff on long-term sick leave, student nurses, bank staff, staff working for external contractors, non-payroll staff or non-executive directors.

The sample is in a random order (i.e. it is not structured so that all occupational groups are together, or is in alphabetical order).

The proportion of staff in different staff groups or departments (where this information is available) appears appropriate for the organisation – for example, if 50% of an organisation’s employees are nurses, then approximately 50% of the sample should be nurses as well.

If you are running the survey online /mixed mode you should have a valid email address for each member of staff and be certain that they are accessed on a regular basis, emails should also be screened for duplicates.

1.9. Final sampling inspection by the Co-ordination Centre An anonymised sample file must be submitted to the Co-ordination Centre prior to the first mailing. This is to allow us to make final quality control checks. Your contractor will submit the sample file on behalf of your organisation. The Co-ordination Centre will address any issues arising from these final checks. Please note it is not possible to identify all sampling errors from an anonymised file and therefore it remains the responsibility of the organisation to ensure that sampling is undertaken in accordance with the guidance manual. Please contact the Co-ordination Centre if any assistance is required.



All items detailed below must be submitted, but name, postal and email address details must be removed. Details to submit for sample checking are:

OrganisationID

Staff record number

Ethnic background

Job title

Staff group

Maternity leave (new for 2014 – please identify women on maternity leave in the sample)

You are also asked to supply the Co-ordination Centre with details of the total number of staff eligible to receive the survey and the size of the sample selected (or if it is a Census). Samples should reach the Co-ordination Centre by September 26th. Please contact the Co-ordination Centre if you have problems meeting this date. If they do not, there is a risk your organisation will not have enough time to correct any problems in the sample and complete the survey with an acceptable response rate. Organisations, which have not submitted their sample for checking by September 27th will be contacted by the Co-ordination Centre to discuss any problems they are having and how we can help with the process. *Please note - checked samples must match the information included in the final data, if a census is being conducted then we must receive a census at the sample checking stage.* 1.10. Questionnaires Paper

The questionnaire compilation tool described in section 1.6 should be used to create a PDF document containing the core and any additional question modules for a particular organisation. Any local questions should be designed on separate pages, and added to the end of the pages of the PDF document before printing to form a single document. The questionnaire has been designed in black, white and NHS Light Blue, and should therefore be printed in colour. Experience has shown that the overall look of a questionnaire, including the use of colour, helps to raise survey response rates. The NHS Light Blue colour used in the questionnaire is Pantone 300, or R:0 G:114 B:198. The light blue used for the bands at the top of each question is a 25% tint of the same colour (Pantone 290 R:196 G:216 B:226). Questionnaires should be printed as A4 booklets (i.e. an 8-side questionnaire would be 2 folded A3 sheets, stapled in the centre). All selected staff within a Trust should receive an identical questionnaire, in terms of content and format. The only difference between questionnaires distributed to different individuals should be in the ID number assigned during the sampling procedure (see section 1.8.3).



Online / mixed mode Online questionnaire templates will be set up by contractors for organisations running the online survey. The templates will contain the questions from the core questionnaire along with any additional question modules and local questions that the trust have requested. The NHS Light Blue colour used in the online questionnaire is Pantone 300, or R:0 G:114 B:198. The light blue used for the bands at the top of each question is a 25% tint of the same colour (Pantone 290 R:196 G:216 B:226). All selected staff within a trust should receive an identical online questionnaire, these will be distributed using staff email addresses at the organisation. Each member of staff will be able to login and complete the survey from the workplace. 1.11. Covering and reminder cards / letters Paper There are four different types of letter, designed for use in the survey:

A Pre-approach letter (optional), this should be sent out one to two weeks before the first mailing to inform people that the will be taking part in the survey.

A covering letter, which will accompany the questionnaires and a reply-paid envelope (which should be printed with the return address) in the first mailing.

A first reminder card to be sent to non-respondents three weeks later.

A second reminder letter, which will accompany a second copy of the questionnaire and another reply-paid envelope sent to non-respondents a further three weeks later.

The text for these three letters has been prepared by the Co-ordination Centre and is downloadable from the Co-ordination Centre website (www.nhsstaffsurveys.com). The text is also given in Appendices 1 to 3. The text allows the insertion of a return address, telephone number and inclusion or exclusion of a sentence about use of home addresses for questionnaire distribution, where appropriate. The text also includes a sentence giving a number for visually impaired staff to complete their questionnaire verbally over the telephone. All Approved Contractors have agreed to this; if non-approved contractors are able to provide this service then they should insert their own helpline number here, or insert the Co-ordination Centre number. In addition it is possible to:

Use personal salutations in covering letters - i.e. addressing staff by name (‘Dear Dr Smith’). Please note that the decision to use personal salutations should only be made if the trust is certain that ESR records are complete and allow for the use of staff names without error.

Add a short paragraph to explain how the organisation has used results from previous surveys. It is very important you publicise the action you have taken; otherwise staff cannot appreciate how the survey can improve working conditions.

Response rates (from previous and current surveys) and information about incentives can be included in the letters.



All letters should be printed on paper headed with the NHS logo. On the basis of feedback from previous surveys, it is recommended that organisation logos are also added to letters/emails – this both assures staff that the organisation is supporting the survey, and provides clarity for any staff working in multiple organisations about which organisation they should be answering questions about. It should also be noted that a first class reply-paid envelope will be needed for each paper questionnaire that is printed. These envelopes should be printed with the address to which questionnaires are to be returned (i.e. that of the survey contractor). Online /mixed mode Four email templates have been created for use with the online survey.

A pre-approach email (optional), this should be sent out one to two weeks before the first mailing to inform people that the will be taking part in the survey.

An initial email, which will be sent out with a survey link.

A first reminder email to be sent with a survey link to non-respondents three weeks later.

A second reminder email, which will be sent out with a survey link to non-respondents a further three weeks after the first reminder.

The text for these emails has been prepared by the Co-ordination Centre and is downloadable from the Co-ordination Centre website (www.nhsstaffsurveys.com). The text is also given in Appendices 5 to 7. The email text requires the inclusion of a technical support phone number so that technical queries are not directed towards the Co-ordination Centre. The text also includes a sentence giving a number for visually impaired staff to complete their questionnaire verbally over the telephone. All Approved Contractors have agreed to this; if non-approved contractors are able to provide this service then they should insert their own helpline number here, or insert the Co-ordination Centre number. In addition it is possible to:

Use personal salutations in emails - i.e. addressing staff by name (‘Dear Dr Smith’). Please note that the decision to use personal salutations should only be made if the trust is certain that ESR records are complete and allow for the use of staff names without error.

Add a short paragraph to explain how the organisation has used results from previous surveys. It is very important you publicise the action you have taken; otherwise staff cannot appreciate how the survey can improve working conditions.

Response rates and information about incentives can be included in the emails.



1.12. Recycled paper requirements It is a requirement that all paper used in the publication of the NHS Staff Surveys, including questionnaires and corresponding letters, must conform to government requirements for the use of 100% recycled paper with a minimum post-consumer waste content of 80%. It is further recommended that the paper used is uncoated and of standard A4 size. 1.13. Distribution and receipt of questionnaires, and prompting non-respondents Paper Survey documents should be distributed to employees with permanent work addresses using the internal post (or other internal distribution mechanisms). Where staff members do not have permanent work addresses, documents may be distributed to home addresses. It is recognised that many organisations are based in multiple locations, each with its own post room, and in these cases it is preferable that survey packs be arranged into separate batches for the separate locations. It is the responsibility of organisations to ensure the contractor has sufficient information (provided with the staff list) to enable them to do this. The three survey distribution stages are summarised below:

Pre-approach letters sent out to staff before the week commencing 22nd September.

Week commencing 22nd September - Staff Survey packs containing a paper questionnaire, covering letter and reply-paid envelope, to be distributed to all selected staff (each questionnaire marked with a unique identification number, in order to monitor response and target reminders).

Week commencing 13th October - reminder letters to be distributed to selected staff who have not yet returned a questionnaire.

Week commencing 3rd November - a second reminder letter, accompanied by a second copy of the questionnaire and pre-paid return envelope, to be distributed to selected staff who have still not yet returned a questionnaire.

As mentioned earlier, the Post Room(s) will play a crucial part in the internal distribution of paper questionnaires and reminders. It is important therefore to inform the Post Room(s) that their work-load will increase over the survey period. In particular, the Post Room(s) should be warned in advance of the three distribution stages outlined above. In previous years, the organisations with the best response rates had survey leads within the organisations who took ownership of the distribution process themselves, and kept in close contact with the Post Room staff, to ensure that distribution went smoothly and according to timetable. Online /mixed mode

Pre-approach emails sent out to staff before the week commencing 22nd September.

Week commencing 22nd September – An online survey link will be emailed to selected staff with unique login details accompanied by an introductory email.



Week commencing 13th October - Reminder emails will be sent to those yet to complete the online survey.

Week commencing 3rd November - A second reminder email will be sent to those who have not yet completed the online survey.

*Please Note: For online /mixed mode surveys staff email addresses should be used where possible, non-work email addresses should only be used in exceptional cases. * 1.13.1 Taking receipt of completed questionnaires Paper Each paper questionnaire should be marked with a return address to which staff should send their completed questionnaires. As mentioned earlier, this should be the address of the external survey contractor. The contractor should log the return of each paper-based and online questionnaire received according to its unique ID number and the date when it was received. If the ID number has been removed or made illegible, this questionnaire should not be included in the data transferred to the Co-ordination Centre. * Please note - It is acknowledged that sometimes it may be unclear whether reminder letters had been received before the questionnaire was returned. As a rule of thumb, assume that questionnaires returned up to and including a day after reminder letters have been sent out, were returned before the recipient received the reminder.* Online /mixed mode Data from online surveys should be automatically logged; the contractor should keep a record of the date the questionnaire has been completed according to its unique ID number. Recording Responses At the end of the sampling process, an Excel file containing the names and ID numbers of the sample should have been saved. When a completed questionnaire for a particular ID number is returned, this should be noted on the Excel file by typing “C1”, “C2” or “C3” in the cell immediately to the right of the ID number. Please use the following codes to record the different types of staff response, against the appropriate ID numbers: Response code Type of response

C1*

Completed questionnaire returned before the respondent received a reminder letter

C2*

Completed questionnaire returned after the respondent received the first reminder letter, but before the second reminder letter

C3*

Completed questionnaire returned after the respondent received the second reminder letter

B Blank questionnaire returned



REF

Staff member explicitly opted out / refused to take part

INEL

Staff member ineligible for survey

N Questionnaire not returned (reason not known)

For staff members who explicitly opt out of the survey, or turn out to be ineligible for the survey, no more reminders should be sent. 1.13.2. Informing the Co-ordination Centre of ongoing response rates and advice line queries The Co-ordination Centre requires weekly submissions of outcome data and advice line calls for each organisation taking part in the 2014 staff survey. First submission of data should be made on the 25th September, and every Thursday thereafter until the final date of submission. An Excel spreadsheet which must be used to return this information to the Co-ordination Centre will be provided to contractors. Information submitted should contain the following data:

Dates that questionnaires and reminders were sent out, so that the effect of the reminders can be monitored.

The total number of staff in your sample or Census – i.e. the total number of all those included in the first mailing.

The number of staff in each outcome field (e.g. questionnaires completed, blank questionnaires returned, opt outs, ineligibles).

The types of queries received by the advice line.

The number of each type of query received. 1.14. Data entry and data transfer to the Co-ordination Centre This section gives information for contractors about how sample data and data from returned questionnaires should be entered and transferred to the Co-ordination Centre. The deadline for transfer of data to the Co-ordination Centre is Friday 5th December. Templates for data entry will shortly be available on the Survey Documents page on the Co-ordination Centre website at (www.nhsstaffsurveys.com). These templates are Microsoft Excel worksheets, containing column headings for each question on the questionnaire – there is one version for the core questionnaire plus one version for additional questions. Table 1 shows the information that must be provided for each member of staff in the survey.

Table 1 - Data fields to be included in file submitted to Co-ordination Centre

Field Data codes Comments

TrustID The three character code of your organisation (e.g. RNH), maintained by NHS Connecting for Health.

ID number The unique serial number




allocated to each patient by the trust or approved contractor administering the survey.

Paper-based or online 1 = Paper-based 2 = Online

This details the mode of data collection used by your organisation (paper-based questionnaire or online survey).

Mixed mode 1 = Yes 2 = No

Indicator of whether the organisation has conducted a mixed mode survey.

Day of receiving questionnaire

This is the day you received a returned questionnaire from a respondent, or are notified that the staff member will not be participating in the survey (opt out, ineligible)

For example, if the questionnaire was received on 15th October 2014, this column should read ‘15’.

Month of receiving questionnaire

This is the month you received a returned questionnaire from a respondent, or are notified that the staff member will not be participating in the survey (opt out, ineligible)


Year of receiving questionnaire

This is the year you received a returned questionnaire from a respondent, or are notified that the staff member will not be participating in the survey (opt out, ineligible)


Outcome C1= Completed questionnaire returned before the respondent received a reminder letter C2= Completed questionnaire returned after the respondent received the first reminder letter, but before the second reminder letter C3= Completed questionnaire returned after the respondent received the second reminder letter B= Blank questionnaire returned REF= Opt out INEL= Ineligible N= Questionnaire not returned (reason not known)

Directorate 1 Breakdown being used for the standard feedback report.

Directorate 2 Breakdown being used for the standard feedback report.

Ethnic group National Codes:

Ethnic category should be included if the information is




White A British B Irish C Any other White background Mixed D White and Black Caribbean E White and Black African F White and Asian G Any other mixed background Asian or Asian British H Indian J Pakistani K Bangladeshi L Any other Asian background Black or Black British M Caribbean N African P Any other Black background Other Ethnic Groups R Chinese S Any other ethnic group Z Not stated

available.

Job title This information may be used for refining occupational group categories in future surveys.

Staff group Respondents staff group.

Questionnaire data Containing data for core questions, and optional Bank questions, if included.

1.14.1. Questionnaire Data

It is important that the data are entered exactly as indicated in these instructions; if there are discrepancies then it may lead to mistakes in the data analysis. The data from each questionnaire should be entered into a single row on the worksheet. Data should mostly be entered as numbers rather than text. Codes to be entered for the different question options are printed in small type on the questionnaire, adjacent to the relevant tick-boxes. The only exceptions to this are:

Questions where respondents have the option to write in an answer – a separate column is provided within the Excel file for this information to be entered (see also later section on data cleaning).

The general comments box at the end, which should be entered into the final column as text, and in normal sentence case. These should be entered verbatim, except that names of individuals should be removed, and obscenities deleted (or asterisked out). If any



other information is given that could lead to identification of the respondent, then these comments should be withheld and not entered.

There are some scenarios when questionnaires do not contain data in the expected format:

Any questions left unanswered should be left blank in the Excel file.

For most questions requiring a single tick only, if respondents have ticked more than one response at those questions, the data should be treated as missing (i.e. left blank).

There are a few exceptions to this general rule, and these rules are covered in the section on data cleaning below.

Data checking It is important that the following checks are carried out on the data in each Trust:

Has the data been entered accurately? (This can be done by double-entering the data from a proportion of questionnaires, or directly comparing the hard-copies of the questionnaires to the entered data)

Has the data been entered in the right columns in the data entry worksheet? (It can be easy to enter the correct data, but in an incorrect column).

For each question, have valid values been entered? (e.g. for a question with answer category values 1-5, check that there are no entered values outside this range.)

Data cleaning There are a number of filtered questions in the core questionnaire. In order to maintain absolute consistency contractors should supply raw data to the Co-ordination Centre on the routed questions. The Co-ordination Centre will then apply a common set of editing instructions. As mentioned earlier, for most questions requiring a single tick only, if respondents have ticked more than one response for these questions, the data should be treated as missing (i.e. left blank). However, there are a few exceptions to this rule: For the occupational group question in the core questionnaire (question 32), priority coding should be applied to multiple responses:

Within the Registered Nurses and Midwives section, prioritise Midwife, Health Visitor or District/Community over Adult/General, Mental Health, Learning Disabilities or Children.

For other types of multiple responses in the Nurses (Registered) section, re-code as “Other registered nurses”.

If two occupational groups are ticked, including General Management, prioritise the other occupational group.

For the questions on the reporting of physical violence (question 20c), the reporting of harassment, bullying and abuse (question 21c) and the reporting of errors, near misses and incidents that could hurt staff or patients / service users (question 17c) then the following should be applied to multiple responses:



If the respondent ticks BOTH “Yes, I reported it” and ‘Yes, a colleague reported it” then this should be re-coded as 6.

If the respondent ticks either “Yes, I reported it” OR ‘Yes, a colleague reported it” and also “Don’t know” then prioritise the “Yes, I reported it” OR ‘Yes, a colleague reported it”.

If the respondent ticks either “Yes, I reported it” OR ‘Yes, a colleague reported it” and also “No” then this should be coded as missing.

1.14.2. Transferring the data Data should be returned to the Co-ordination Centre using secure data transfer. All files must also be password protected, with the password being assigned by the contractor and sent to the Co-ordination Centre in a separate e-mail. The Co-ordination Centre will contact each contractor in week commencing 24th November 2014 to confirm how the data files should be transferred. *Please note - final data must match the information included in the samples at the sample checking stage, e.g. if a census is being conducted then we must receive a census at the sample checking stage.* 1.15. Reports of the survey findings The Co-ordination Centre will provide a feedback report on the survey results for each organisation. This will include analysis of the survey results on a number of key findings where scores are benchmarked against data collected from other organisations of a similar type. The reports will include several breakdowns of the results on these key areas within organisations (on a range of demographic factors such as occupational group, age, gender, ethnic background and organisational tenure etc.) and also a detailed breakdown of responses to all of the questions included in the core questionnaire. The feedback reports will be made available via ‘early view’ in February, and then published on the NHS Staff Survey website (www.nhsstaffsurveys.com) in late February 2014. We should stress that until the results are published on the NHS Staff Survey website, there is an embargo on the publication of any 2014 survey results which use the benchmarked analysis included in the feedback reports. Some organisations may want to commission additional analysis of their own data (which could include directorate breakdowns), before the Co-ordination Centre feedback reports are published. This must be negotiated separately with their survey contractors. Organisations can use data supplied by their approved contractor to start developing action plans or for internal purposes. However, the feedback reports produced by the Co-ordination Centre are benchmarked against other organisations of a similar type – accordingly, in order to make fair comparison in the feedback reports, the data from each organisation will be weighted. This means that it is possible that results given in the feedback reports produced by the Co-ordination Centre could differ slightly from those given in any earlier reports produced by survey contractors, even if only the Basic Sample was analysed in those cases. Hence, we ask that organisations do not release staff survey findings externally (e.g. to local media) until the results are published on the NHS Staff Survey website.



Appendix 1

Text of pre-approach letter/email sent before the first mailing

[Organisation name/logo] [Sections in blue are to be altered according to each trust’s/contractor’s needs] (date) Dear Colleague, NHS Staff Survey 2014 – Notification of selection We are informing you that [you have been selected / you have been randomly selected] to participate in the NHS Staff Survey 2014, which asks for your views on your job and the organisation where you work. All responses to the survey are completely confidential and will handled by [INSERT CONTRACTOR NAME], only aggregated and anonymised data will be passed on to your organisation. [A SHORT PARAGRAPH MAY BE ADDED HERE TO SHOW HOW RESULTS FROM PREVIOUS SURVEYS HAVE BEEN USED IN THIS TRUST.] [INCLUDE ANY INFORMATION ABOUT INCENTIVE SCHEMES IN THE ORGANISATION] Responses to this survey are strictly confidential. Nobody from your organisation will see your completed questionnaire, or be able to identify individual responses. Your personal data will be held in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998, and the principles of the NHS Confidentiality Code of Practice. All personal information relating to this survey will be destroyed within three months of its completion. The survey fieldwork period is active from September to late November 2014; please check for your [questionnaire / email link] which will be sent out the week commencing [INSERT DATE]. Last year [organisation/trust name] achieved a response rate of [INSERT RESPONSE RATE], this year’s target is [INSERT TARGET RESPONSE RATE]. If you have not received a questionnaire in the two weeks after the date specified, please contact the number below. If you have any questions or comments about this survey, you can find out more at www.nhsstaffsurveys.com or by calling [Contractor name and number] or the helpline on 01865 208141. Yours sincerely,

Chris Graham Director of Survey Development NHS Staff Survey Co-ordination Centre [TRUST CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S SIGNATURE MAY ALSO BE ADDED



Appendix 2

Text of covering letter sent with first questionnaire

[Organisation name/logo] [Sections in blue are to be altered according to each trust’s/contractor’s needs] (date) Dear Colleague, NHS Staff Survey We are writing to ask you to take part in the 2014 NHS Staff Survey, which asks for your views on your job and the organisation where you work. [Trust/Organisation name] will be able to use the survey findings to improve working conditions and staff experiences. We are conducting this survey across the NHS in England, as it is an important way of ensuring that the views of staff working in the NHS inform local improvements and support national assessments of quality and safety, and delivery of the NHS Constitution. The survey is being administered by [contractor name] on behalf of your organisation under the guidance of the NHS Staff Survey Co-ordination Centre. [Your name was selected at random from a list of all staff working for your trust/organisation. / All eligible staff at your organisation have been selected to take part in the survey.] [Please note that some staff who do not frequently report to a permanent work address may have received a questionnaire at their home address.] [A SHORT PARAGRAPH MAY BE ADDED HERE TO SHOW HOW RESULTS FROM PREVIOUS SURVEYS HAVE BEEN USED IN THIS TRUST.] Last year [organisation/trust name] achieved a response rate of [INSERT RESPONSE RATE], this year’s target is [INSERT TARGET RESPONSE RATE]. [ADD ADDITIONAL INFO ABOUT RESPONSE RATES IF REQUIRED] [ADD ADDITIONAL INFO ABOUT INCENTIVE SCHEMES IF REQUIRED] Responses to this survey are strictly confidential. Nobody from your organisation will see your completed questionnaire, or be able to identify individual responses. Your personal data will be held in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998, and the principles of the NHS Confidentiality Code of Practice. All personal information relating to this survey will be destroyed within three months of its completion. [Contractor] and the NHS Staff Survey Co-ordination Centre will produce anonymous statistics, from which no individual's responses can be identified, for each organisation in the NHS taking part in the survey. We would be grateful if you could return your completed questionnaire to [insert return address]. If you are blind or visually impaired, you may complete the questionnaire over the telephone, by calling the [Contractor name and number] or the helpline on 01865 208141. If you have any questions or comments about this survey, you can find out more at www.nhsstaffsurveys.com or by calling the helpline number above. Thank you for your help with this important survey. Yours sincerely,



Chris Graham Director of Survey Development NHS Staff Survey Co-ordination Centre [TRUST CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S SIGNATURE MAY ALSO BE ADDED]



Appendix 3

Text of first reminder card/letter

[Organisation name/logo] [Sections in blue are to be altered according to each trust’s/contractor’s needs] (date) Dear Colleague, NHS Staff Survey We recently invited you to take part in a survey about working in the NHS. [Your name was selected at random from a list of all staff working for your trust/organisation. / All eligible staff at your organisation have been selected to take part in the survey.] If you have not yet completed the questionnaire, please do so today and return it to [contractor name and address here]. We can only help the NHS to improve as an employer or provide assurances over quality and safety by gathering the views of as many staff as possible and monitoring their experiences over time. The current response rate for your [organisation/team/department] is [INSERT RESPONSE RATE] and the target response rate is [INSERT TARGET RESPONSE RATE]. [ADD ADDITIONAL INFO ABOUT RESPONSE RATES IF REQUIRED – E.G. CURRENT RESPONSE RATES] If you have already completed and returned the questionnaire, we thank you and apologise for this reminder. If you have not received a copy of the questionnaire, or have any queries, please contact [Contractor name] on [Contractor number]. Thank you for participating in this important survey. Yours sincerely,




Appendix 4

Text of second reminder letter

[Organisation name/logo] [Sections in blue are to be altered according to each trust’s/contractor’s needs] (date) Dear Colleague, NHS Staff Survey [In late September / early October], we invited you to take part in a survey about your experience of working in the NHS. Many people/colleagues have already completed and returned this questionnaire, and we thank you if you have already done so. The annual NHS staff survey is an important way of ensuring that the views and experiences of staff working in the NHS can help shape local improvements. It is also an essential way of supporting local and national assessments of quality, safety and delivery of the NHS Constitution. If you have not yet returned your survey, we urge you to do so. We can only be sure that results are representative of the NHS as a whole if we hear from a large proportion of those asked to participate. [A SHORT PARAGRAPH MAY BE ADDED HERE TO SHOW HOW RESULTS FROM PREVIOUS SURVEYS HAVE BEEN USED IN THIS TRUST/ORGANISATION.] Last year [organisation/trust name] achieved a response rate of [INSERT RESPONSE RATE], this year’s target is [INSERT TARGET RESPONSE RATE]. [ADD ADDITIONAL INFO ABOUT RESPONSE RATES IF REQUIRED – E.G. CURRENT RESPONSE RATES] [ADD ADDITIONAL INFO ABOUT INCENTIVE SCHEMES IF REQUIRED] We would like to reassure you that reports of the survey data will include summary information only from which no individual’s data can be identified. We have enclosed another questionnaire for your convenience and hope that you will complete and return it. Responses to this survey are strictly confidential. Nobody from your organisation will see your completed questionnaire, or be able to identify individual responses. Your personal data will be held in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998, and the principles of the NHS Confidentiality Code of Practice. All personal information relating to this survey will be destroyed within three months of its completion. Thank you for your help. Yours sincerely,




Appendix 5

Text of email sent with first questionnaire link

[Organisation name/logo] [Sections in blue are to be altered according to each trust’s/contractor’s needs] (date) Dear Colleague, NHS Staff Survey We are writing to ask you to take part in the 2014 NHS Staff Survey, which asks for your views on your job and the organisation where you work. [Trust/Organisation name] will be able to use the survey findings to improve working conditions and staff experiences. We are conducting this survey across the NHS in England, as it is an important way of ensuring that the views of staff working in the NHS inform local improvements and support national assessments of quality and safety, and delivery of the NHS Constitution. The survey is being administered by [contractor name] on behalf of your organisation under the guidance of the NHS Staff Survey Co-ordination Centre. [Your name was selected at random from a list of all staff working for your trust/organisation. / All eligible staff at your organisation have been selected to take part in the survey.] [A SHORT PARAGRAPH MAY BE ADDED HERE TO SHOW HOW RESULTS FROM PREVIOUS SURVEYS HAVE BEEN USED IN THIS TRUST.] Last year [organisation/trust name] achieved a response rate of [INSERT RESPONSE RATE], this year’s target is [INSERT TARGET RESPONSE RATE]. [ADD ADDITIONAL INFO ABOUT RESPONSE RATES IF REQUIRED] [ADD ADDITIONAL INFO ABOUT INCENTIVE SCHEMES IF REQUIRED] Responses to this survey are strictly confidential. Nobody from your organisation will see your completed questionnaire, or be able to identify individual responses. Your personal data will be held in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998, and the principles of the NHS Confidentiality Code of Practice. All personal information relating to this survey will be destroyed within three months of its completion. [Contractor] and the NHS Staff Survey Co-ordination Centre will produce anonymous statistics, from which no individual's responses can be identified, for each organisation in the NHS taking part in the survey. If you cannot access the survey using the link below or have any other technical issues please contact [contractor technical support number] for assistance. If you are blind or visually impaired, you may complete the questionnaire over the telephone, by calling the [Contractor name and number] or the helpline on 01865 208141. If you have any questions or comments about this survey, you can find out more at www.nhsstaffsurveys.com or by calling the helpline number above. Thank you for your help with this important survey.

[INSERT SURVEY LINK / MESSAGE / USER LOGIN DETAILS]



Yours sincerely,




Appendix 6

Text of first reminder email

[Organisation name/logo] [Sections in blue are to be altered according to each trust’s/contractor’s needs] (date) Dear Colleague, NHS Staff Survey We recently invited you to take part in a survey about working in the NHS. [Your name was selected at random from a list of all staff working for your trust/organisation. / All eligible staff at your organisation have been selected to take part in the survey.] If you have not yet completed the online questionnaire, please do so today. We can only help the NHS to improve as an employer or provide assurances over quality and safety by gathering the views of as many staff as possible and monitoring their experiences over time. The current response rate for your [organisation/team/department] is [INSERT RESPONSE RATE] and the target response rate is [INSERT TARGET RESPONSE RATE]. [ADD ADDITIONAL INFO ABOUT RESPONSE RATES IF REQUIRED - E.G. CURRENT RESPONSE RATES] If you have already completed the questionnaire online, we thank you and apologise for this reminder. If you have any queries, please contact [Contractor name] on [Contractor number]. Thank you for participating in this important survey.

[INSERT SURVEY LINK / MESSAGE / USER LOGIN DETAILS] Yours sincerely,




Appendix 7

Text of second reminder email

[Organisation name/logo] [Sections in blue are to be altered according to each trust’s/contractor’s needs] (date) Dear Colleague, NHS Staff Survey [In late September / early October], we invited you to take part in a survey about your experience of working in the NHS. Many people/colleagues have already completed the questionnaire online, and we thank you if you have already done so. The annual NHS staff survey is an important way of ensuring that the views and experiences of staff working in the NHS can help shape local improvements. It is also an essential way of supporting local and national assessments of quality, safety and delivery of the NHS Constitution. If you have not yet completed the survey, we urge you to do so. We can only be sure that results are representative of the NHS as a whole if we hear from a large proportion of those asked to participate. [A SHORT PARAGRAPH MAY BE ADDED HERE TO SHOW HOW RESULTS FROM PREVIOUS SURVEYS HAVE BEEN USED IN THIS TRUST/ORGANISATION.] Last year [organisation/trust name] achieved a response rate of [INSERT RESPONSE RATE], this year’s target is [INSERT TARGET RESPONSE RATE]. [ADD ADDITIONAL INFO ABOUT RESPONSE RATES IF REQUIRED – E.G. CURRENT RESPONSE RATES] [ADD ADDITIONAL INFO ABOUT INCENTIVE SCHEMES IF REQUIRED] We would like to reassure you that reports of the survey data will include summary information only from which no individual’s data can be identified. Responses to this survey are strictly confidential. Nobody from your organisation will see your completed questionnaire, or be able to identify individual responses. Your personal data will be held in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998, and the principles of the NHS Confidentiality Code of Practice. All personal information relating to this survey will be destroyed within three months of its completion. If you cannot access the survey using the link below or have any other technical issues please contact [contractor technical support number] for assistance. If you are blind or visually impaired, you may complete the questionnaire over the telephone, by calling the [Contractor name and number] or the helpline on 01865 208141. Thank you for your help.

[INSERT SURVEY LINK / MESSAGE / USER LOGIN DETAILS] Yours sincerely,

Chris Graham



Director of Survey Development NHS Staff Survey Co-ordination Centre [TRUST CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S SIGNATURE MAY ALSO BE ADDED]
