Practical tools for flex: Doncaster and Bassetlaw's flexible working toolkit

When Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals (DBTH) introduced their new People Enabling Plan for 2023–2027, they decided that a key part of the plan would be to embed a flexible working culture across the Trust. We caught up with Laura Fawcett, Senior People Business Partner at DBTH, who told us about the work they’re doing to shift the dial and support colleagues to balance their home and work lives, whilst delivering high quality services:

To kick start our journey towards embedding a flexible working culture, we held events to find out what people wanted, and what they felt the barriers were to embedding flexibility. The sessions led to the development of five pillars of focus: policy and data, a flexible working toolkit, systems, comms and stories, and flexible retirement. The development of the flexible working toolkit pulled together lots of information, including clear processes, conversation guides, and manager-focused resources.

The toolkit has proved to be really popular, helping people to confidently translate policy into practice. The tools, guides, and factsheets turn our policies into clear, actionable steps, providing colleagues with support at each step.

Start with a ‘yes’

What’s been really important for us, is to help ensure that everyone has a consistent experience, while still managing the nuances of individual requests. We’re aiming for all flexible working requests to be met with a willingness to accommodate as much as possible – for conversations to ‘start with a yes’. We’re also making sure that we’ve got the right balance where individuals’ needs are considered alongside three key organisational needs:

• Providing the best experience for patients/service users, their families and carers
• Maintaining safe, high quality, efficient services that are appropriately staffed
• Maintaining the work-life balance of colleagues

Within an acute trust, there is the significant operational challenge of having to deliver services 24/7, which can sometimes make enabling flexibility more difficult. Across the NHS, acute trusts typically score lower in relation to the People Promise on flexible working compared to other types of NHS organisation (with the exception of the ambulance service). So if we can find creative, role-appropriate ways to offer flexibility – even in small ways – we can make a big difference.

While it’s early days in terms of measuring significant change, we’ve seen an improvement in our overall feedback about flexibility, especially in relation to colleagues feeling able to approach management to discuss flexible working.

A toolkit to embed a flexible working culture

Below is a short summary of what our toolkit includes. Please feel free to drop me a line if you want to find out more!

1. Process flowcharts

We’ve included clear process flowcharts outlining our flexible working policy and the considerations at each stage. Making the processes clear and easy to follow reduces confusion, ensures compliance, and builds confidence for both colleagues and managers. We’ve also included guides for managers and individuals to ensure all flexible working requests are captured on our ESR. This means that we can capture data and build a Trust-wide picture, helping us to identify what’s working well, and where more focus may be needed. We do have some more work to do with regards recording and reporting, to ensure we have good data quality and maintain this, and a sub-group has been set up for focused attention in this area.

2. Templates

A key part of our toolkit has been template letters across the range of different outcomes and stages in the process. We encourage applications to be made on our ESR system to support central monitoring, however we have also included application and appeal forms to support with accessibility. Templates help to make the whole process more efficient by making sure that the right information is captured at the right stage and to ensure all parties have clear agreements and expectations.

3. Highlighting informal flex

We’re keen to promote informal flexible working, as well as the formal opportunities. Flexibility doesn’t always have to be about long-standing arrangements, it can include swapping shifts around to accommodate other commitments, time off in lieu (TOIL) or flexi-time. We find that encouraging this level of flexibility helps to improve morale. To help both managers and staff actively consider informal flexible options as well as formal, we created this factsheet as part of our toolkit. One of our measures is growth in the range and accessibility of formal flexible working opportunities – informal working opportunities are also really important, and inherently much harder to measure!

4. FAQs

Our comprehensive frequently asked questions address common queries from both managers and colleagues. This helps to provide clear and consistent information, supporting a consistent approach to flex requests, no matter which department or role you work in.

5. Conversation prompts

Our practical factsheets have received positive feedback, as they include prompts for colleagues and managers to structure flexible working discussions and support productive conversations. Conversation prompts offer practical support to get started and manage discussions step by step, fostering open communication and reducing barriers.

6. Guides for line managers to manage change

We used the NHS England guide for line managers to produce guidance for our managers on leading flexible working change. This guide provides advice on creating a team culture that supports flexibility, helping managers to create a culture where flexibility is not just permitted, it’s actively championed. It includes approaches that managers can adopt to champion flexibility, as well as practical support in the form of templates for team conversation sessions.

7. Encouraging early conversations

Other guidance for managers includes a factsheet on discussing flexible working during recruitment. We encourage people to talk about flex as early in the employment relationship as possible – including during the recruitment phase. Having conversations about flexible working early helps managers to understand what may work for the colleague, and how this may fit with the service and its delivery. It’s also important for candidates to consider their options and make an informed decision, and sets the tone for starting conversations of flexibility early.

DBTH is proud of the progress made to date, while recognising that adoption has varied across services and teams. This has provided valuable learning to inform the next phase of work. The Trust’s focus is now on sharing what works well, strengthening consistency, and continuing to embed flexible working as a normal, everyday part of how DBTH supports its people and delivers high quality care.