Talent Management case study: Mid & South Essex NHS FT

One of our strategic objectives as a department is;

“To develop a united and progressive finance function that invests in the development and wellbeing of its staff”.

Key Areas of Focus specifically linked with Talent Management have included;

Staff development

Succession planning and performance/talent flagging with each member of staff

Update and circulation of accountancy training policy

Mentoring/coaching

Secondments

  • To hit the Trust target of 90% or more members of staff to have an appraisal completed within the last 12 months.
  • Monthly appraisal reports shared with leadership team for cascade to the wider team to encourage improved performance through scheduling and submission of appraisal documentation.
  • Improved appraisal compliance rate from 60% at Mar’22 to 82% at Mar’23.
  • Provided guidance and training, chased line managers, shared reports with CFO and Finance Leadership Team, liaised with iLearn system team, offering workshops/support for individuals.
  • Every staff member to have a Personal Development Plan refreshed within the last 12 months.
  • Provided guidance and training, ensuring this is done in parallel with appraisals.
  • Individual staff all tracking/recording their development on Kallidus iLearn system which then helps them and their line manager with their PDP and appraisal
  • Mandatory training is also reviewed via iLearn to ensure staff up to date, with check ins ongoing and at appraisals and PDP
  • iLearn has a wide range of internal courses that staff can sign up to, to build their skills (e.g. management skills, line management, admin/IT, & wellbeing skills)
  • Shared ONF, HFMA and SDN courses and conferences with all staff
  • Obtained figures from the above organisations demonstrating progress and take up.
  • Set up internal MSE ‘lunch and learns’ to train/inform staff on wider teams work e.g. on eFin, on mentoring, on Power BI.
  • Every staff member plotted onto the Skills Matrix, refreshed as appropriate.
  • This is staff led – summarised at team level, with individual staff assessing their existing skillset and also where gaps lay.
  • Useful to support PDPs, ongoing development discussions, and to support career planning.
  • This is a work in progress, begun by a handful of teams so far.
  • Each Finance Team to have succession planning in place and staff identified for Talent Management.
  • We’ve held succession planning meetings as a Finance Leadership Team, and have begun discussions about upcoming roles, to ensure that we can retain and grow talent internally.
  • Review MSE Group Finance Professional Training Policy
  • We completed a skills audit of everyone’s finance qualifications.
  • 130 staff: 42 staff (32%) CCAB qualified and 25 staff (19%) part qualified CCAB. (7 staff AAT only qualified, 9 staff studying AAT, and further 16 staff have AAT and are studying for or have qualified for CCAB)
  • Reviewed and republished the MSE Group Finance Professional Training Policy once refreshed to be fit for purpose.
  • Finance Staff Training and Development Group established to formalise funding and study leave requests for support for professional qualifications.
  • All Staff to be offered the opportunity to have a mentor or coach.
  • Training session for all staff, hosted by our POD (MSE’s People and Organisational Development) Team, explaining the difference between mentor/coaching, and the process etc.
  • 27 responses to utilise the opportunity. Followed up individually with each person, which led to a mixture of needs (mentoring, coaching, training/PDP).
  • Shared the external resource from the SDN mentor register, and mentor net (another external resource), to get further engagement/take up with staff.
  • All staff to be supported in their career planning, with networking opportunities offered twice-annually. 
  • Events (e.g. HFMA Annual and Student Conferences) shared with all staff, via weekly email
  • Set up a log of attendance for Finance staff who attend any training event
  • Secondments available as a development opportunity where appropriate
  • A secondment etiquette document has been drafted outlining best practice for all parties
  • Other Areas of Focus 
  • All line managers to complete a training package covering topics such as how to develop existing teams, supporting & uplifting staff in continuous improvement; there are a list of ‘managing better’ courses on our iLearn system. All line managers have been asked to select 3 courses to complete.
  • There is a rotation plan available for apprentices, graduates, new starters, and other interested staff, to give access to experience across the Finance department.

Blog File(s):

MSE-FT-Talent-Mgt.pdf