People-powered healthcare support

A workplace that welcomes everyone

We prioritise building an inclusive, diverse and supportive working environment, and use our diversity and inclusion network to make sure our commitments reach every one of our team members. We want everyone to be able to be themselves at work and to feel safe and supported, so our network actively encourages our people to join groups that promote cultural diversity and inclusivity for all.

Protecting our people’s mental wellbeing in a challenging healthcare environment is important to us. We’ve worked hard to create a listening culture and developed our mental health ‘You Matter’ programme to support all our team members and signpost further help.   

We’ve signed up to the Social Mobility Pledge because we believe that everyone should be able to access opportunities, no matter where they are born or what their start in life. In practice, this means we put less focus on traditional qualifications and more emphasis on progression through our ranks as a way of creating a diverse workforce with a wider variety of skills. We also provide extra support for people who may struggle to find employment, such as after leaving the armed forces or care.

Building a healthcare workforce with heart

We believe in providing jobs for local people, so that our teams reflect the communities they serve. Our local recruitment strategy chooses people with the heart and smile for healthcare, then trains them with the skills they’ll need.

We recognise the importance of giving young people their first job opportunity and work with Springboard UK and the KICKSTART programme to support them into the workplace through work experience and apprenticeships.

The safety of our colleagues and sites is paramount, so all team members complete necessary security checks and occupational health assessments bespoke to their roles.

Find out more about joining our team of healthcare workers.

Fostering development

We employ over 10,000 healthcare heroes and see every role as an opportunity for someone to learn, acquire new skills and place a foot on the career ladder. We help people build career pathways with targeted development talent programmes to support career progression.

Our thriving apprenticeship programme supports colleagues of all ages to gain skills and qualifications up to degree level. For graduates, we offer a two-year programme with rotations to gain experience and a structured development and training plan. For colleagues at all career stages, we provide thorough, role-specific mandatory training, and a blend of ongoing classroom and e-learning that fits their individual needs.

Our trademarked patient experience framework focuses on key factors and touchpoints that make up an outstanding experience for the patient. Our approach to creating Positive Impressions™ goes beyond encouraging smiles, care and satisfaction. It fosters innovation across everything we do to improve engagement and service to all.

Recognising excellence

We empower our frontline staff to make a difference to your patients’ and professionals’ experience, and recognise those who give our service heart, life and personality through our Be a Star programme. We look for exceptional contributions in the working environment such as strong teamwork, integrity and a can-do approach. And we shine the spotlight on those who champion health, safety and the environment, sharing their achievements throughout our business and celebrating them at awards events. We’re proud that our people’s contributions are also frequently included by our NHS clients and trusts in their own recognition programmes.

During the pandemic, our frontline people have proved themselves healthcare heroes. Our leadership team have recognised the hard work and commitment of individuals nominated by their manager and colleagues with personal letters, award badges and cash rewards.

As a Real Living Wage accredited provider, we believe in fair pay, and we’re proud to have made some industry-leading moves on pay equality. To recognise the extraordinary efforts of our frontline healthcare workers during the pandemic we offered a pay premium that we’ve now extended to a permanent salary uplift.