Discovery phase tools and resources

We are currently reviewing our resources to reflect the revised cultural elements and associated structure. Please check back here from time to time to see the latest resources or follow us on social media for our latest news.

More tools and resources are available to support colleagues who are using these tools via the learning together area of these webpages.

Content guide

Culture and outcomes dashboard

Using national and local data can give you a snapshot overview of your organisation’s culture and related outcomes. We have now made your organisation-level data available through Model Health System within the Culture and Engagement compartment in the People area.

We have also made an empty dashboard available to you, so that you can populate this with data that is appropriate for your organisational structure. For example, if you wish to compare departments or directorates within your organisation, you can populate this with their data which is locally held.

Patient experience

Evidence shows that organisational culture has a significant impact on the quality of care and overall experience our patients received. Our patients, service users and carers can therefore provide you with a helpful insight to the culture of your organisation.

Patient experience templates

This Excel spreadsheet allows you to take your national adult inpatient survey scores, and see how they map to the cultural elements.

Board interviews

The Board or Senior Leaders have significant influence over an organisation. They are in a strong position to develop and improve the culture, leadership and performance of an organisation.

This series of 14 questions are provided to support semi-structured interviews lasting approximately 1 hour with each of your Board Members or Senior Leaders.

  • Board interviews record sheet: This template provides a structure to help you record the substance of your board interviews.
  • Key messages for board interviews: This document provides suggested examples and prompts for interviewers to use with board members. They are not intended as a ‘script’. You should modify them according to your needs
  • Board interviews report template: Once all of your board interviews are complete, this template shows how the data from the board interviews could be presented. It is not prescriptive, and you should adjust it depending on your needs.
  • Board interviews feedback forms: These are example feedback forms for the interviewee and interviewer. They are not prescriptive. You should amend them depending on your particular needs.
  • Board interviews training resource (word): This pack will enable an experienced learning and development practitioner to run internal training preparing members of the change team to run the board interviews. It contains a suggested training plan and a checklist for use during a practical exercise. These should be used in conjunction with the resource pack (below) designed for participants to use during the training session. The intention is that the participants should feel confident and competent in running the board interview process.
  • Board interviews training resource pack (powerpoint): This template PowerPoint slide deck has been created to support the delivery of training to your Change Teams alongside the training resource above. You should amend them depending on your particular needs.

Culture focus groups

Focus groups give staff a chance to explore collective leadership at different levels (individual, team, inter-team, organisation, system/ICS) as experienced throughout the organisation.  They also allow the change team a chance to explore and validate the results generated by the leadership behaviours survey and understand what is driving the results.

  • Focus group prompt questions: These prompt questions are designed to help facilitators initiate discussions with participants and ensure that they get enough data.
  • Focus groups consent template: Culture focus group consent form for those volunteering to participate in discussions.
  • Focus groups key messages: These are examples of messages for facilitators to use with participants if discussing the culture and leadership programme and the culture focus group diagnostic.
  • Focus groups report template: This template provides an example of how the data from the culture focus groups might be presented.
  • Focus groups feedback form: Feedback form for participants of the culture focus group.

Leadership behaviours survey

This electronic survey is in two parts and is administered by the Culture Transformation Team.

Part 1 is for internal use as a census survey across all of your staff and workers to understand how leaders (collectively) within your organisation are perceived by your staff.

Part 2 is for external use with partner organisations to understand what your organisation is like to work with.

If you would like to run these surveys in your organisation or system, please get in touch with the Culture Transformation Team: england.culture@nhs.net

  • Surveys information governance and data processing agreement: An agreement signed by the Trust/Organisation outlining the roles and responsibilities of both themselves and NHSEI when holding, processing and sharing any data captured by the Leadership Behaviours Survey; in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998.

Communication support:

To support you in your communication messages with colleagues, we have provided examples of messages you can use, and modify them according to your needs.

Leadership workforce analysis

This tool is used to understand the organisation’s needs of the future workforce and to collect information in order to develop the compassionate and inclusive leadership strategy.

This is done by focusing on:

  • Current and future state of ‘key leadership roles’
  • Covers the current state of your workforce as a whole
  • Gathers information on your organisational design
  • Looks at your organisations policies and procedures

This tool can be particularly helpful to support your organisations regular workforce planning activity and should be reviewed on a regular basis in any phase of the culture and leadership programme.

Read a short case study from Trauma and Orthopaedic Consultant, John Stammers about the Leadership Workforce Analysis in practice and how it has helped St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

Leadership workforce analysis tool

The Leadership Workforce Analysis Tool helps you to undertake a talent, skills and demographic review and gap analysis in leadership positions to support compassionate and inclusive leadership for the future. The tool has five parts which we would recommend are all completed:

  1. Current state of key leadership roles
  2. Future state of key leadership roles
  3. Identifying the gaps on key leadership roles
  4. Tool for considering whole workforce in relation to leadership workforce analysis
  5. Identifying strengths and weaknesses in workforce policies and procedures.