The North West approach to ESR user engagement

In the North West the approach to organising the ESR Special Interest Groups has evolved over time to create what is known locally as the “Big SIG”. This approach facilitates an efficient way for all the Special Interest Groups in the region to meet in one place at the same time.

Health Education England North West (HEE NW) sponsor the event which regularly features updates from the ESR Central Team and national SIG leads. The morning session brings the large group of SIG members together and provides national updates and highlights discussion topics. In the afternoon session, the groups are split up by the national SIG subject areas of Payroll; Oracle Learning Management (OLM) & Self Service; Reporting, HR & Finance in order to meet separately for more focused discussions. The afternoon sessions are particularly useful in providing organisational leads with the opportunity to participate in a more relaxed environment for learning and sharing information.

The Big SIG is chaired by a Director of HR; which in itself demonstrates the perceived value of ESR as a business critical tool in the region.  This approach gives a supportive focus and helps strengthen links to the Exec sponsors in the region. The current Chair, Mike Gibney, Director of Workforce at the Walton Centre believes the Big SIG is fundamental to ensuring the right amount of focus and input into ESR from users continues; “ESR is actually a fantastic system that is the most accurate across the public sector, principally due to its link to payroll.  Delivering change is impossible without clear workforce data that is recognised as fundamentally reliable.  The Big SIG brings together data analysists and workforce planners from across the whole of the North West and is often their only source of practical support, sense checking and networking”. 

The facilitation of the Big SIG by HEE NW helps retain continuity, but their support goes further than that; they survey members and capture invaluable feedback that helps to ensure the Big SIG meetings provide the members with the right kind of regional support;

• Networking
  

  The networking opportunities before and during the Big SIG, at coffee breaks and over lunch is quoted as an extremely important and valuable factor for those attending, as it gives them the opportunity to share issues, trade best practice, overcome hurdles and build and maintain effective engagement . Members have said that these large regional meetings create a sense of NHS Workforce community, it also allows easy access to the NHS ESR Account Manager & Functional Advisor and the IBM Client Relationship Manager who are all on hand to help provide guidance and support with any ESR related issues.

• Raise Awareness
  

  Issues that are not formally captured in notes or minutes are shared and discussed during both the formal and informal sessions. The back-and-forth dialogue creates awareness of risks and issues otherwise not defined.

• Collaborate
  

  The Big SIG is an excellent opportunity for the ESR Central Team to gain valuable user feedback with a view to implementing changes and improvements to the solution. It also supports the NHS ESR Account Manager in maintaining strong engagement across the region and the North West Streamlining Programme (also linked to ESR data) has used the Big SIG meetings as part of its work.  
  
  In the North West the Big SIG is the forum where ESR developments proposals are agreed by users in the Region. Commenting on how important this is Alison Terry, HR SIG Chair said “It is invaluable in having so many users attend one event. This gives me assurance at national meetings that when I am reporting on behalf of the North West Region it is a representative view of the North West”.

• Development to Upskill
  

  Professional development is an added benefit of the Big SIG.  Individuals are encouraged to speak up, to deliver case studies or other presentations, to discuss issues with their peers and people from varying backgrounds in the NHS across many levels; and so build confidence and develop improved communication skills along with better functional and technical knowledge and a broader political strategic awareness.
  
  Throughout the NHS tough challenges across all areas of patient delivery means that every organisation is looking at ways to improve, be more efficient and maintain patient safety.  The Big SIG approach in the North West creates an environment where organisations can learn and share experiences to understand how the functionality within ESR can support local and regional strategies.