National WorkLife Balance Week: Flexible Working via Staff Banks

With National Work-Life week upon us, it is important to reinforce the important role Staff Banks have to play in promoting flexible working.

The healthcare industry has a reputation for demanding long hours. The knowledge-intensive and emotionally stressful work typically undertaken by front line NHS staff is also well known to take a high toll on employee well-being.

In the face of severe staffing shortages and falling retention, it is no surprise that the need for more flexible working and well-being initiatives are a prominent feature of the NHS Long Term Plan.

The NHSI’s ‘bank first’ mandate is relevant here too as it’s not just about driving cost savings. It is no coincidence that the new CCS Staff Bank framework and the 2018 DOHSC pilot talk about ‘Flexible Resource Pools’, as one of the key goals is to provide healthcare staff with more flexible working options, and improve employee engagement with trusts and health boards.

It is crucial that healthcare staff can easily choose when and where they want to work, rather than simply working around the clock – or registering with multiple locum agencies.

The integration of new mobile technology to support Staff Banks is a key part of this, since mobile apps facilitate better engagement and provide bank workers with easier ways to manage and get paid for the additional shifts they work, without the burden of paper-based admin and compliance.

Our approach to managed Staff Bank delivers an unparalleled level of on-site support for internal teams, as we know that the more we can lean on our own resources and recruitment expertise, the more valuable time we can free up for our front-line NHS colleagues, so they can focus more on supporting and caring for the staff they need so much. The Litmus approach is also proven to significantly improve workforce utilisation, reducing the number of gaps left unfilled and helping to balance staffing levels.

National Work-Life Week is an opportunity for healthcare employers to focus on well-being at work and showcase their flexible working policies and practices.

Is your Staff Bank really facilitating flexible working and driving better workforce utilisation? Are your bank staff engaged and advocating the benefits of joining to others?

If not, talk to the Litmus team about our managed suite of Staff Bank solutions, and find out more about how we can support your organisation to deliver better flexible working options for your staff – and drive significant cost savings.