34. Listen to, value, involve and enthuse Staff
Do you have interesting and effective ways of letting staff know what is going on?
Do their views and ideas really get taken on board by those higher up in the organisation?
Do your consultation mechanisms work?
Are staff given time to reflect on proposals?
Is everyone's point of view seen as valid, really?
Do you feel really valued? Does everyone?
Rationale
Help staff to feel, and be, involved in service development both within the team and in the larger system. Watch that it is not just lip service to this. Sometimes organisations consider they are involving and valuing staff, but ask on the ground and it is a different story! Is your service open enough for people to say how they feel? Are they energised, creative and able to take risks?
Ideas for Action
These are key points for managers...
- Really aim to build a working relationship with staff over any planned changes
- Make sure staff know what is going on by feeding back in some form of management meetings.
- Ensure their ideas are fed back up the management system.
- Consult over policy and service changes.
36. Encourage team relationships
How do you gel as a team?
How do you get to know each other?
How do you resolve conflict?
Do you know each other outside working relationships?
Do you all understand your team culture?
Are the doors in the corridor open or shut?
Rationale
A team that has a strong and positive set of personal relationships with each other work more effectively by providing emotional support, informal consultation and are motivated to be at work and to work effectively as a group. Issues are owned by the team, which reduces professional splitting and ensures more coherent clinical work.
Ideas for Action
- Encourage a culture of having lunch together.
- This can be anything from meeting for half an hour in someone’s room to going out for lunch