Yes, the National Quarterly Pulse Survey needs to be run in April for quarter 1, July for quarter 2, January for quarter 4.

Although the National Quarterly Pulse Survey needs to be rolled out in these months, the survey does not have to run throughout the full month. Albeit all staff working within the organisation must have the opportunity to respond on a quarterly basis (excluding Q3). A two-week roll out period is recommended as a minimum.

Each staff member will need to be offered an opportunity to participate in the survey on quarterly basis.

It is complex to determine what an organisation would consider a ‘successful’ sample size. We’d recommend utilising margin of error calculators to establish a reliable sample size and using participation numbers from the previous Staff Friends and Family Test as a guide. As for representativeness, it differs between organisations as each will be made up of different demographic groups. We’d recommend promoting the survey through staff networks and other channels in order to increase awareness and participation from under-represented groups.

A communications toolkit has been created to support local promotion of the National Quarterly Pulse Survey. All of the communications assets can be found on our National Quarterly Pulse Survey webpage. Some assets are more suitable to those working on site and others for digital/online settings.

Trusts should continue to utilise the Strategic Data Collection Service (via Unify) to submit the quarterly data, just as was done for Staff Friends and Family Test. If the trust is using the People Pulse method for data collection, there is no requirement to submit the data as this will be actioned centrally.

Although the results of the National Quarterly Pulse Survey will inform decisions on employee experience and engagement at a local level, there will be no formal requirement for action planning.

Organisations must publish their National Quarterly Pulse Survey data locally, for instance through internal communications channels within a trust, to promote transparency. When publishing this data, it must be at least the same level of data that is submitted via SDCS. It is recommended that organisations develop a plan to publish the results at a local level, working in partnership with local staff side representatives.

From September 2022, the national results for National Quarterly Pulse Survey, down to organisational and system , will be published on the NHS England website (inclusive of engagement theme score, and three sub-component scores – motivation, advocacy, and involvement). Publication of this data ensures transparency around employee engagement in the NHS. In addition, the national results for the survey are also available on Model Health System at trust level for the Engagement theme score, and three sub-components – Motivation, advocacy, and involvement.