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ESR Learning Management and Reporting – Our Journey

A Case Study by the North East Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust                  

Background

The North East Ambulance Service employs over 2,500 staff based at headquarters, ambulance stations and support offices across 65 sites in the North East of England. 

The Project

In April 2017 an ESR Assessment highlighted possible improvements and efficiencies in the way we used Oracle Learning Management. This Assessment demonstrated that we were only using OLM for 40% of its potential usage. The Assessment recommended that we looked to utilise the available functionality to help us improve the recording and reporting of statutory and mandatory training and appraisal compliance. Implementing this would improve our overall data quality and give us the ability to provide detailed reports to the workforce based on these performance metrics.

Following the Assessment we developed a proposal for the Head of Workforce and Organisation Development which - was subsequently approved - and we began our project based programme of work to deliver the following:

1. A data quality review and cleanse of the OLM course catalogue to ensure the correct information and availability of training was accurate and accessible for completions and reporting purposes;
2. Replacement of the appraisal recording process from a spreadsheet based system to the ESR Appraisal functionality to improve the recording and reporting process and data quality;
3. Introduction of training competencies including the Core Skills Training Framework (CSTF), National and Local frameworks to be able to set requirements and compliance by subject and level e.g. Safeguarding Adults – Level 1;
4. Implementation of e-Learning by replacing face to face sessions and workbooks where applicable, and link to the relevant training competencies to support the delivery and completions of induction and statutory and mandatory training requirements;
5. Migration to the new ESR Portal to support the rollout of Employee Self Service to enable staff to update their own information, view online payslips and complete e-Learning;
6. Share appraisal and statutory and mandatory training information available to managers and leads across the Trust to monitor compliance and help achieve the Trust target of 95%. This was setup by creating local dashboards using the OLM Business Intelligence Reporting tool.

Prior to the recent developments that have been made to OLM, there was minimal knowledge, experience, and use of ESR OLM across the Organisation.  Multiple different systems and processes were being used to record and report information about employees including:

• A local spreadsheet to record appraisal information and manually update from ESR employee records;
• A local spreadsheet maintained by the Training Admin Team to monitor training attendance and completions;
• A local spreadsheet used to create a report on the training subjects and levels based on the type of course completed by staff group, as there was no competencies in use during this time;
• Training Subject Experts kept their own records of training course completions for their expertise;
• Limited reporting capability with only course completions recorded and not the detail.

Our project now captures all of the above into ESR OLM, thereby improving the usage, accuracy of data and reputation as the Trust’s single system for recording appraisal and training information.  With the improved usage and functionality of the system, Personal Assistants, Managers and Leads have access to reporting capabilities for their Directorates. 

Key Benefits

• In September 2018 our use of OLM had increased from 40% to 70%.
• ESR OLM data quality has improved for appraisal and training information.
• Improved levels of monitoring and reporting from individual up to Trust level for appraisal, induction and statutory and mandatory training compliance. 

MyESR Go Live

• The use of competencies and e-Learning has helped us breakdown the detail to subject, level and compliance at various levels from organisation to individual levels. This evidence provides a greater assurance for safe patient care through achieving the required compliance of our workforce.
• A range of individual user guides have been developed for common functionality in MyESR and e-Learning. This information is available via a local Intranet page along with details of local help and support for staff.

OLM and E-Learning Implementation

• ESR BI is used for reporting Trust-wide appraisal and training compliance using national and local dashboards.
• Training competencies are linked to courses or e-Learning and automatically update an employee’s record when training is completed. Competences can be transferred once reviewed as part of the Inter Authority Transfer (IAT) process from the ESR Streamlining objectives and completion to reduce training time and costs.
• Competencies are used to set the subject and level inherited by Business Group (all staff) and Position (role specific) to define staff groups and type of training required vs achieved which generates training compliance.
• Employees can view their training compliance using the ESR Portal Compliance Matrix. They can then enrol on an available class, or play e-Learning directly from their Matrix and the Portal.
• The internal NEAS IT Skills Team have created custom Directorate and Department reports to help managers and leads monitor appraisal and training compliance for their areas until Manager Self Service is implemented across the Trust.
• We are changing the way we work enabling our employees to book directly onto OLM courses. This uses real-time booking information, which aids compliance reporting and reduces the administration time, resources and effort.
• Internet access has empowered our employees to access and complete e-Learning functionality regardless of the location or mobile device they are using.

Reporting Users

'I am delighted with the progress that we have made in the use of OLM, the support that it gives us in the management of continued professional development and the quality of information that we are now able to access.'

Caroline Thurlbeck, Director of Strategy, Transformation and Workforce

'Since introducing the appraisal and statutory and mandatory dashboard we are able to monitor appraisal and training compliance on a regular basis within the Emergency Operation Centre (EOC) which is really beneficial.  A weekly report is sent out to team leaders and managers for each department within the EOC so they can see due dates and what modules are outstanding for each member of staff.  The workforce management team monitor the service level agreements (SLA) on the day and if there is any capacity to release staff to complete their appraisal or e-Learning modules they can now facilitate this.  This way we can keep on top of compliance and utilise time appropriately to achieve our compliance targets.'

Sarah Crichton, Operation Centre Training Lead

'Since using the appraisal and statutory and mandatory dashboards I have been able to monitor staff compliance for the Medical, Quality and Safety Directorates.  I provide monthly reports for the two directorates senior team meetings so that they can see where staff are non-compliant.  I also send an email to staff within the directorates to make them aware of their outstanding training and from doing this staff compliancy has increased each month.'

Andrea Ward, Personal Assistant for Medical, Quality and Safety Directorates

Next Steps

Our objective to further utilise ESR functionality will continue, and we have plans to:

• Continue development of OLM class administration to other training teams reducing centralised administration and reporting;
• Rollout OLM class instructor to trainers to be able to monitor and update class attendances in real time;
• Explore system interfaces between ESR OLM and other systems to share data;
• Online Appraisals via Manager Self Service – this is planned for April 2019;
• Align to Trust behaviours and values by using and embedding within OLM;
• Develop and maintain support and usage guides to promote best practice to administrators and users;
• Continuously engage and increase awareness across the Trust;
• Keep up to date with key OLM and e-Learning changes;
• Promote ESR OLM as the single learning and management system for our employees;
• Share our experiences and best practice with other NHS organisations;
• Continue to be an active member of the regional and national OLM Specialist Interest Groups (SIG’s) so that we can continue to learn and share.

For more information

For more information about our ESR journey please contact Liam Marshall, OLM and e-Learning Training Lead at Liam.Marshall@neas.nhs.uk

ESR Employee Self Service Implementation

A Case Study by North Tees & Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust

Background

North Tees & Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust is a an integrated hospital and community services healthcare organisation serving around 400,000 people in Hartlepool, Stockton and parts of County Durham. The Trust also provides bowel and breast screening services as well as community dental services and other community based services to a wider population in Teesside and Durham. The Trust’s turnover is around £275m and we have 5,500 medical, nursing, clinical and non-clinical support staff.

The Project

In early 2017, as part of the launch of the new ESR Portal one of our key objectives was to implement ESR Employee Self Service. This would enable the Trust to move to online only payslips and withdraw paper payslips. Not only would this support our organisational plans for ESR but it would support the wider North East Streamlining Project.

As part of the North East Streamlining Project, we needed to align to the Core Skills Training Frame (CSTF) for statutory and mandatory training and utilise the range of e-Learning courses within ESR Employee Self Service

Before the roll out of ESR Employee Self Service commenced, the ESR Project Team, along with colleagues from the Education department spent some time reviewing the training needs analysis of the Trust and mapping over the CSTF competencies. Once this mapping exercise was complete, ESR was updated with both the new competencies and local e-learning packages and local competencies.

'Before we began implementation of ESR Employee Self Service, we wanted to make sure that employees would get the most out of the system, therefore it was important to configure the system for the use of e-Learning, in line with the objectives of the regional Streamlining project.'

Daniel Evans, Workforce Project Manager.

The configuration of ESR Employee Self Service for the use of e-Learning coincided with the launch of the new ESR Portal; therefore for us it was an opportune moment for full implementation.  The roll out of ESR Employee Self Service began with a pilot within corporate functions, including Human Resources, Education & OD and Finance. This pilot allowed us to test out access, functionality and some of the support guidance we had developed. An important part of the pilot was to gain feedback from our users, which we did using an online survey. The survey was really useful and helped us inform future implementation plans.  Once our pilot was complete, we then focused on clinical areas for further pilots, which again provided valuable insight.

Upon completion of the pilots, the project team worked closely with our internal Communications department to promote the use of the system. This was done using electronic screen savers, banners which were strategically placed around the Trust, through word of mouth and we worked with a local digital media student who helped us produce a short promotional video.  Quite quickly ESR Employee Self Service became well known in the Trust and staff were keen to get access to the system.

The project team supported the uptake of ESR Employee Self Service with a full implementation plan, which, along with using reports through ESR Business Intelligence, allowed implementation to be monitored closely.  The project team also held training sessions and drop-in sessions, which proved popular, especially with some of the Trust’s Estates & Facilities workforce.

By monitoring the access to the system through ESR Business Intelligence, the project team were able to report how many staff are actively accessing ESR Employee Self Service.  Once 50% of the workforce had accessed the system, we would set a date for the withdrawal of paper payslips.  In June 2018, we reached over 50% of the Trust  accessing ESR Employee Self Service, and, the project team gave three months’ notice that the Trust would move to online only payslips from September onwards. A robust communication plan was developed, which was initiated by a letter to all staff from our Director of Workforce and Director of Finance, outlining the benefits of moving to online payslips.  Between June and September, the uptake and utilisation of ESR Employee Self Service accelerated and by September 2018, we had switched paper payslips off for all staff.

Whilst promoting the benefits of online payslips, the project group, along with colleagues in the Education department also promoted the use of e-Learning through ESR Employee Self Service. ‘One Stop’ workshops and drop-in sessions were organised, which covered everything that related to ESR Employee Self Service, ranging from access, viewing payslips and completing mandatory training.

By June 2018, almost all e-Learning activity in the Trust was being completed using ESR Employee Self Service and the Trust’s local e-Learning platform was switched off.

Key Benefits

• The ESR Portal has been a valuable way of communicating Trust wide messages to all staff.

'The ESR Portal has proved to be a useful tool in communicating key messages across the organisation, for example promoting the NHS Staff Survey and the Trust’s Flu Vaccination campaign.'

Gary Wright, Deputy Director of Workforce.

• By providing staff with access to their own personal details, we have seen an increase in the accuracy of employee personal details, such as addresses and phone numbers.
• Using e-Learning through ESR Employee Self Service has allowed staff to complete national e-Learning aligned to the CSTF, which has enabled competencies to be transferred outside of the organisation for starters and leavers.
• Staff can see their online payslip up to 2 days before pay day using ESR Employee Self Service, accessing from home or work.

'I found the ability to access my own personal information and complete e-Learning very useful, especially being able to access my payslip before pay day and being able to access it from home.'

Kelly Brook, Dietetic Assistant  

Lessons Learned

• A variety of support mechanisms are essential, including drop-in sessions, classroom training sessions, electronic guides and videos.
• Engagement with all stakeholders is vital, ranging from staff and line managers to support services, such as ICT and Communications.
• Promoting the full range of benefits available through ESR Employee Self Service is key; promote all benefits such as online payslips and e-Learning; it is worth investing the time to configure the system to ensure users get the most out of the system.
• Using ESR Business Intelligence to monitor Self Service uptake is really useful.

Further Information

For further information about our Employee Self Service implementation please contact Daniel Evans, Workforce Project Manager at daniel.evans@nth.nhs.uk

 

 

Streamlining and improving the quality of Trust Induction

A Case Study by Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust 

Background

Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust provides local general hospital and community services to around 260,000 people in Walsall and the surrounding areas. We are the only provider of NHS acute care in Walsall, providing inpatient and outpatient services at the Manor Hospital, as well as a wide range of services in the community.

The Trust employs approximately 4,500 staff who all access ESR Self Service.

Previous Induction Process

Our previous induction process required new starters to undertake the mandatory e-Learning modules such as Information Governance, Conflict, Equality and Diversity, Safeguarding etc., (8 modules in total) prior to their induction day, as part of the broader one day induction programme. 

This was achieved by giving them access to a third party e-Learning system that hosted our local e-Learning,  but this incurred a cost for the stand alone system, and it also required additional resources in order to add the competencies into ESR following course completion.

Often applicants would encounter technical issues which prevented them from completing the training and resulted in them having to stay behind after their Trust Induction to complete paper assessments.

Whilst this ensured they were compliant on day one, we felt it didn’t give new employees a good introduction to our Trust or a good induction experience. There was too much emphasis on completing training and not on the organisation’s core values, and it became more of a ‘tick box exercise’. In addition, this required the training team to undertake dual entry into both the third party system and ESR.

The Solution

During an on-site IAT workshop with our Regional NHS ESR Account Manager we learned that ESR Employee Self Service functionality enabled applicants to have access directly to their e-Learning prior to their start date. We saw this as a great opportunity to replace our current process using the third party system with ESR, as it would enable our future employees to:

• Undertake their e-Learning at their own pace prior to induction;
• Refocus the Trust Induction on core values;

The New Process

Since March 2018 we have been rolling out and finessing a new induction process that involves giving all successful applicants access to their ESR Self Service account and asking them to complete the mandatory e-Learning modules before their start date.

The process is defined as follows:

Step 1: Recruitment team downloads the successful applicant at the offer accepted stage into ESR from the e-recruitment system

Step 2: ESR generates a user name and password under the Auto Create Account process that have implemented. The ESR team are assigned the Auto Create role and receive the Auto Create account notifications detailing the login details for new starters and applicants.

Step 3: The ESR team copy and pastes the generated usernames/passwords into an internal spreadsheet and add the ESR position number.  This spreadsheet is accessible to all those in the Recruitment and Learning and Development teams.   This enables the Learning and Development team to ensure that the training/competency requirements for the position are set up.

Step 4: The Learning and Development team take the position number information from the spreadsheet and subscribe and enrol the applicants to the relevant learning certifications in ESR.  This means that the only step the applicants have to do when they log into their Employee Self Service account is press the ‘Play’ button on the e-Learning portlet.

Step 5: The Recruitment team issue the final offer letter by email to the applicant (following completion of employment checks), which includes details about their induction day and how they can access their e-Learning modules via ESR. The process varies depending on whether they are current NHS employees or not, and also provides them with their ESR username and password. 

For applicants coming from non NHS organisations we ask them to come in and meet with our ESR team.  We then assist them to log onto ESR and also explain how ESS works and also show them the My ESR App and how to activate remote log in etc.  Historically this would have been done when they collected their Smartcard after starting in the Trust. With employees no longer needing to have an N3 connection for their first log in, we typically only meet with employees if they are experiencing problems accessing from home.

Step 6: Inter Authority Transfer (IAT) – When the  Recruitment team update the applicant’s recruitment status to ‘offer accepted’ in ESR, they then initiate the pre hire IAT process to transfer across any existing valid competencies, which then determines their e-Learning needs prior to their start date.

If applicants have already undertaken relevant training and we have proof, either through IAT or a certificate brought in (where competencies have not been implemented in their previous Trust), then we don’t expect them to repeat this again, therefore streamlining the time to hire process and avoiding duplication of training.  We also subscribe them to all training so that they can then renew in the future at the appropriate time.

Step 7: The Learning and Development team undertakes weekly checks to ensure that the applicant has completed their required e-Learning, and if e-Learning is showing as incomplete they send a reminder email with a deadline date. If e-Learning isn’t completed they may not be allowed to attend the induction and this may delay their start date.

We introduced this new aspect in June and so it’s in the early stages, however we have seen a significant increase in completion rates.

Step 8: Induction Day – We run the applicant competencies report in ESR Business Intelligence (BI) to check what learning has been completed by the applicant. This would include competencies transferred via IAT and what they have done prior to their start date.

New employees are compliant and ready to commence their job roles without the need to be released from wards and departments to complete these mandatory e-learning courses.

Pictured above Halima Begum, Recruitment Team, Joel Marriott, ESR Team and Linda Nicholls, Learning and Development Team

Benefits

As a result of this new process we have realised a range of cost and efficiency benefits for our Trust.

Costs:

• An annual saving of £4,500 per annum achieved by removing the third party local system provider that hosted all local e-Learning, and removing associated admin costs;
• Removal of duplication of work by staff that previously had to input competencies and data into both the third party system and ESR.

Efficiency:

• Improved Induction experience for our new employees;
• Freeing up our L&D team to focus on more values based training for all our staff;
• Enabling our managers to proactively engage with their successful applicants to undertake the e-Learning before they commence employment, ensuring no delays to on-boarding.

'The new process means that Recruitment, ESR and Learning and Development Teams work more closely together to ensure a smooth end to end process is achieved. We are still finessing the process but seeing good outputs and results so far,'

Karen Bendall, Workforce Training Manager

'Although some additional process steps have been introduced to all teams involved, this provides overall, a more streamlined process for the applicant, the department and the organisation.'

Reece Hodgen, Recruitment Team Leader

Since the requirement for an N3 network has been removed, we have switched on the auto create internet access option. This means applicants are automatically given internet access to their account and do not need to come on site, they can log into ESR as soon as they receive their offer letter with their login details.

We have improved the timing of the IAT process to ensure that we can receive competencies already in place for an applicant in good time to avoid any repeat training.

The content of the induction has moved from a paper exercise to e-Learning being undertaken in advance, which enables us to deliver a better quality induction programme with more time spent discussing the values of the organisation.

Key Considerations

As with any project, you learn what works and what you would do differently in the future.  Our recommendations for key considerations to ensure success when undertaking a project like this are:

• Set up a project team and involve key departments e.g. Recruitment, Learning and Development and the ESR/Workforce teams;
• Undertake a process mapping exercise to understand and agree the full end to end process and the responsibilities of each team;
• Ensure that your senior management team support the project. Our chief executive was very supportive of this project.

For More Information

For more information about our project please contact Karen.Bendall1@walsallhealthare.nhs.uk

Data Tells a Story – Recording and Reporting Apprenticeship Details in ESR

Within the NHS, apprenticeships are offered in many different areas of work.  They are designed around the needs of the employer and can help transform businesses by up-skilling the current workforce with the skills needed to sustain the NHS workforce of the future.   

In April 2017, the apprenticeship levy of 0.5% of the total annual pay bill was introduced.  It is therefore essential that organisations can easily identify the number of apprenticeship training opportunities accessed against this levy.  In NHS Wales, the levy for 2017/18 was c£18 million.

Background

The June 2018 edition of ESR News highlighted the development of the new Apprenticeship Details Extra Information Tab, (Recording Apprenticeships in ESR).

Hywel Dda University Health Board has piloted the new Apprenticeship Details functionality.  The Health Board provides multidisciplinary healthcare services in west Wales, employing 9,900 staff.  Apprenticeships are a key enabler in the organisation’s engagement, staff retention and workforce strategy.  In 2017/18, the Health Board’s Apprenticeship Levy contribution was £1.9m.

Before the ESR functionality was made available, the Health Board used a spreadsheet to record Apprenticeship data.  Figure 1 outlines the old process, which was difficult to maintain and analyse and was labour intensive and inconsistent, involving multiple users to collect key information.

Figure 1 – Old Process to manage Apprenticeships

The new process for recording apprenticeship data in ESR

In July 2018, Amanda Glanville, the Apprentice Lead for Hywel Dda UHB, populated Apprenticeship Details for over 250 employees using data previously held on the Apprenticeship spreadsheet.  Recording apprenticeship data in ESR has transformed the old process, reducing it to five steps that are actioned online, streamlined and low maintenance, outlined in figure 2.

Figure 2 – New process to manage Apprenticeships

Reporting apprenticeship data using ESR Business Intelligence

NHS Wales, working alongside the NHS ESR Central Team, developed BI Dashboard tabs in both the Education and Learning and Staff in Post Dashboards.  These enable NHS organisations to report key data including: Apprenticeship Level, Framework, Status, Main Training Provider and Apprenticeship Type by standard data including AfC Band, Age, Department, Staff Group, Job Role, and Occupation Code etc.  Further developments for summary data and access via Manager Self Service to the Staff in Post Apprenticeship data for their team are currently being progressed.

Apprenticeship data is also available in the ESR Data Warehouse, which enables NHS Wales to report key data that enables a much wider a picture of Apprenticeships across NHS Wales.

Shining a Light on Apprenticeships in Hywel Dda UHB

Accessing robust, high quality data easily from ESR BI has enabled Hywel Dda UHB to have greater insight into employees undertaking Apprenticeships:

• The majority of staff undertaking Apprenticeships are existing staff
• Half of staff undertaking Apprenticeships are age 41 or more
• Two thirds of Apprenticeships are undertaken by Bands 1-4
• ESR BI has enabled the Health Board to accurately identify the saving for NI contributions for staff aged under 25 undertaking Apprenticeships

 

'Since Apprenticeships have been recorded on ESR, the Health Board has gained greater insight into the types and levels of Apprenticeships accessed, by whom.  This enables us to easily identify employees who successfully complete Apprenticeships and start to quantify the value for money against the annual Apprenticeship levy and the Retention Strategy.  ESR is now the only place to record and report Apprenticeship data for the Health Board.'

Angie Oliver, Assistant Director of Organisational Development, Hywel Dda UHB

Key Benefits

• Business Intelligence
  • ESR enables a ‘single source of truth’ for employees undertaking Apprenticeships
  • Apprenticeship data can be easily monitored in the Education and Learning dashboard
  • Managers can see Apprenticeship data for their staff using Staff in Post dashboard
  • ESR Data Warehouse enables an overview of Apprenticeships undertaken across NHS Wales
• Underpins Workforce Planning
  • Enables vocational innovation and best practice development
  • Supports engagement and retention strategies
  • Increased capacity and capability for a sustainable and future proofed workforce
• Financially Prudent
  • Enables Payroll to ensure the correct NI contribution for staff undertaking Apprenticeships
  • Enables organisations to maximise the value claimed of the apprenticeship levy in line with the Framework agreement on the reform of Agenda for Change

Next Steps for NHS Wales

• Health Boards and Trusts in NHS Wales are collecting and validating Apprenticeship data to record on ESR by 31 January 2019.
• In partnership with NHS ESR Central team, to further enhance ESR BI reports.
• ESR positions to better reflect the job undertaken and close Apprentice Job Roles.
• Payroll to streamline the process to ensure the correct payment of NI contributions.

 

For further information, please contact Amanda Glanville @ Amanda.Glanville@wales.nhs.uk

Debra Lewis,Digital Workforce Solutions Programme Manager, NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership @ debra.lewis@wales.nhs.uk