IMPLEMENTING THE… NHS KNOWLEDGE & SKILLS FRAMEWORK ‘NHS KSF’

Agenda for Change and the KSF "The HR Challenge for 2005 is in implementing Agenda for Change - the new integrated pay and learning system for all staff. My wish is that this should be successful, to the benefit of staff and patients alike.“ Andrew Foster quoted in ‘People Management’ Now we have looked at the design of the KSF, we move onto how it is put into practice. The first stage is to develop a KSF outline for a post. As it says the focus of this stage is the post and not an individual. It involves identifying the dimensions, levels and areas of application for the post concerned. The second stage is matching an individual post holder to the KSF post outline - this shows the individual’s strengths and where there are areas for development within the post. An Personal Development Plan - PDP - is then developed for the individual - this is a joint process between the individual and his/her manager. The individual is then supported to learn through different learning opportunities - this learning could take place in a variety of ways such as learning on the job, shadowing, mentoring, formal training courses etc. The final stage is the evaluation of learning and how it has been applied to the individual’s work.

Learning & Development The NHS KSF……. Foundation Sub-sets Dimensions KSF Post Outlines PDPs Development Reviews Levels Gateways E-KSF Learning & Development Partnership Agenda for Change

The Vision Six of the highest ranking employee needs*: Understanding what is expected in the job Opportunities to ‘do what I do best’ Encouragement of development Regular reviews of progress Co-workers committed to quality Opportunities to learn & grow * Gallup 1997

Understand what is expected in the job The KSF gives clear information about how each post fits into the wider NHS structure and about the knowledge and skills required from new recruits and experienced staff members in each role – with specific examples of how these should be applied.

Opportunities to ‘do what I do best’ The KSF offers the opportunity to demonstrate and discuss personal strengths and aspirations and to explore how these talents can be unlocked and developed within current or future roles

Encouragement of development: The KSF creates universal recognition that all staff are entitled to development opportunities either within their current posts or to help them achieve career development - and that managers and organisations have a duty to support this principle

Regular reviews of progress The KSF provides structured feedback using an objective framework for all staff to enable any difficulties to be identified and resolved before they become major problems. A safe environment for staff to highlight their own development needs

Co-workers committed to quality The KSF means that everyone will be expected to fulfil the requirements of their post, including the core dimensions and that action will be taken to ensure that this happens

Opportunities to learn & grow The KSF promotes a culture which allows people to develop flexibly as individuals, recognising that there are many alternative career pathways and timescales, and that skills and knowledge can be acquired in many ways and are often transferable

What will it mean for staff? A KSF Outline for every post A Development Review at least once a year A Personal Development Plan Support in fulfilling the PDP Access to KSF Outlines at recruitment and in career planning Focussed Development for Everyone

Purpose of the NHS KSF - Development, Equity To provide an NHS-wide framework that can be used consistently across the service to support: - personal development in post, - career development - service development Key Principles: - NHS-wide, Partnership - Development, Equity

Development of the NHS KSF Developed by joint management and staff side group working in partnership Used existing competences to inform development Early versions tested with different staff groups to refine and further develop NHS KSF agreed in October 2004

Personal & People Development Health, Safety & Security 6 Core Dimensions NHS KSF Equality & Diversity Personal & People Development Quality Service Improvement Communication Health, Safety & Security

Estates & Facilities EF 1-3 Information & Knowledge 24 Specific Dimensions NHS KSF Health & Well-being HWB 1-10 Estates & Facilities EF 1-3 Information & Knowledge IK 1-3 General G 1-8

Development Review Process Joint review of individual’s work against the NHS KSF outline for the post Joint evaluation of applied learning and development Jointly produce Personal Development Plan - identify needs & agree goals Individuals undertake supported learning & development

What is a KSF Post Outline? Identifies the KSF dimensions and levels that apply to a post in the NHS – a broad outline Puts the outline in context through identifying the specific areas/activities to which the dimensions and levels are applied

How Do You Create KSF Post Outlines? Need to use all of the core dimensions Identify the specific dimensions likely to apply to the main aspects of the post Identify the level at which the dimensions apply – will need to look at the detail Finally put the post outline in context – by adding the specific areas/activities that apply to that post

Example KSF Outline Y CORE SPECIFIC DIMENSIONS Required for post? Level for post CORE 1 2 3 4 Communication Y Personal and People Development Health, safety and security Service Improvement Quality Equality and diversity SPECIFIC DIMENSIONS HWB10 Products to meet health and well-being needs

Example KSF Outline Y x CORE SPECIFIC DIMENSIONS Required for post? Level for post CORE 1 2 3 4 Communication Y x Personal and People Development Health, safety and security Service Improvement Quality Equality and diversity SPECIFIC DIMENSIONS HWB10 Products to meet health and well-being needs

Y x Title of Post : Catering Assistant CORE SPECIFIC DIMENSIONS Required for post? Level for post CORE 1 2 3 4 Communication Y x Personal and People Development Health, safety and security Service Improvement Quality Equality and diversity SPECIFIC DIMENSIONS HWB10 Products to meet health and well-being needs

e-KSF – the KSF on-line tool A single, internet-accessible website Supports all of the KSF development processes Secure and unique log-ins, and users only see the information they need Allows central updates to the framework Linked to National Occupational Standards Backed up by on-line help and dedicated email support

e-KSF supports the key KSF processes Select outline from template libraries Individual can collect feedback on-line Same format as paper-based approach Create KSF post outline Assign post to an individual Review individual’s work (and learning) Agree development plan Capture learning activities Create from scratch and submit to HR for approval Repeat Face to face meetings are still required! Simple, expandable learning database included

Implementation The NHS KSF must be fully implemented for all staff by October 2006, with all gateways fully operational Outlines and Development Review should therefore be in place by October 2005 All Trusts should have staff and management KSF leads, and a KSF Implementation Plan KSF Outlines are being developed and shared via the National Library 43% of AfC staff in (English) Trusts had KSF outlines for their posts by the end of August 2005

Implementation in Wales 35% of AFC staff in Wales had KSF outlines for their posts by November 2005 3 organisations in Wales have completed 80% of their Post Outlines in January 06 No Post Outlines exist in the national library from Wales – please submit 88% of the post outlines in Wales are on e-ksf.

The KSF is the tip of the iceberg! Skills Policies & Infrastructure Behaviours and Culture The KSF provides a structure for development… …but users need skills to have PDP discussions and identify learning needs and plans…. …the organisation needs policies about how to implement and embed the KSF and e-KSF… …and the organisational culture needs to embrace change and value learning and development

Resources: Pay Modernisation Unit Wales: www.wales.nhs.uk/paymodernisation Employers Organisation www.nhsemployers.org Department of Health www.dh.gov.uk Modernisation Agency www.modern.nhs.uk E-KSF www.e-ksf.org E-KSF support www.e-ksfnow.org

The NHS KSF