Published on 5 June 2023
Thank you to everyone who had their say in the People Matter Survey 2022.
Almost one third of Western Health staff provided feedback, which was higher than our health service peers and an increase on the previous year’s response rate.
Today I’d like to share some feedback with you from an organisational level. Senior leaders received feedback that is relevant to their teams.
As you may be aware, I read all of the free text comments from our staff— this year there were 3,158 individual comments.
It was fantastic to read about the things that we are doing well. Overall, our staff are engaged and motivated to provide Best Care to our community. Our supportive and inclusive culture and willingness to find ways to innovate and improve is valued.
I also appreciated understanding the areas we can improve. We continue to face high demand for our services and some staff are fatigued and seeking further supports. Other people told us that they would like more flexibility in their roles. There were also remarks about IT challenges people faced.
Based on your feedback, Western Health has identified two key focus areas: fatigue management and flexible work opportunities.
I am passionate about ensuring we are doing everything we can to support our people, which is why People and Culture are collaborating with staff to develop a fatigue management plan for staff health and wellbeing.
Strategies to support managers by enhancing their understanding of mental wellbeing in the workplace will be rolled out shortly.
Work is also underway to find ways to increase flexibility in the way we work in clinical and non-clinical roles.
I look forward to sharing more about how we are responding to your feedback later this year.
I’d also like to take this opportunity to remind all staff and volunteers that there is free and confidential psychological support via the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) available to you and your immediate family. There is also our EMPOWiR program, which allows staff to confidentially report concerning behaviours. You can find more information on the staff intranet.
The number of staff using EAP nearly doubled over the past two years and employee satisfaction with the survey remains high at 93.5 per cent.
Here is a summary of some of the feedback we received.
Finally, I’d like to share with you the cartoon of the Allied Health team, who won the great race for the highest response rate. Acclaimed artist and former Melbournian Will Baker has done a terrific job turning the team into caricatures. Recognise any familiar faces?
Find more staff feedback on the Westerly.
Or read the full report on the Victorian Public Sector website.
If you’d like to discuss the survey results for your division, please speak to your manager, or contact People and Culture’s Survey Coordinator Scott Peterson: Scott.Peterson@wh.org.au
Russell Harrison
Chief Executive