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The NHS Staff Survey is now live

NHS Staff Survey

This year’s NHS staff survey is now live and available for you to complete, and in return you will receive a £5 Costa voucher as a thank you for your time.

You should have received an email from Picker this morning, containing your own unique link to complete the survey. If it hasn’t arrived in your inbox yet then please check your junk mail folder.

This is your chance to have your say and share your views on what life is like at EEAST, what’s working well for you, what the challenges are, and what are things you’d like to see done differently. The feedback the survey provides helps us to draft our future road map and your input is key to making sure that we’re heading in the right direction. So tell us about the big stuff and the small stuff, because all of it is important in shaping the future of our organisation.

The survey should take no more than 15 minutes to complete. It is distributed by Picker, and they will also coordinate all the responses. The survey is completely anonymous and the feedback Picker provides us with is at a local level, so no-one can be identified from their answers.

Picker will also be distributing the Costa vouchers to you via email, typically within seven days of receiving your responses. The vouchers are once again funded by our East of England Ambulance Service Charity.

Thank you all for your support and enjoy your free coffee. You have until 24th November 2023 to respond and claim your voucher.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is taking part mandatory?
Everyone is encouraged to take part, but the survey is not mandatory. You will receive regular reminders up until the deadline of 24 November 2023, unless you complete the survey or opt out. To opt out, you can submit a blank survey or contact Picker at PickerNSS22@picker.org.

Is the survey confidential?
Yes. EEAST will have no access to individual responses and Picker will not supply any identifiable data. As Picker is an accredited survey contractor, they comply with ISO 20252, ISO 270001 and the UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 and the Market Research Society's (MRS) Code of Conduct.

Why does the survey need a personalised login / identification number / bar code / QR code?
Picker use the personalised logins / ID numbers to ensure that reminder emails or letters are only sent to staff who have not already completed the survey.

As staff send their responses directly to an external survey contractor, there is no way that anyone in EEAST will be able to link data with a particular individual. Organisations will only receive reports of the summary survey findings.

The Costa voucher incentive will be sent to those who have completed a survey. An email will be sent to you from Picker with the voucher code and link.

How does Picker monitor incomplete surveys?
All returned surveys are registered ‘complete’ via their QR code or unique link. This allows reminders to be sent for uncompleted surveys. EEAST will not have access to these codes. We will also not be able to see if you personally have completed the survey.

Can I forward the email to the rest of my team?
No. Each survey link is unique to its recipient, and once it has been used to complete a survey it cannot be used again. If anyone in your team hasn’t received a survey, please contact internalcommunications@eastamb.nhs.uk

How will the results be used?
Picker reports the results in anonymised reports for groups of 11 or more. National results will be published online in 2023, also anonymised and confidential.

When will I receive the Costa voucher?
The vouchers will be sent out in batches on a weekly basis by Picker. This means once you’ve completed the survey you may have to wait up to seven days to receive your voucher. It will be emailed to you directly.

If you’re able to email us a voucher you must also be able to see our answers to the survey. I thought it was anonymous?
The survey is anonymous and is managed by an external organisation, Picker. Picker emails the survey directly to your inbox and when you send your response back they then send you the Costa voucher. The Trust is not involved in any aspect of this process and has no access to individual responses. 0nce the survey process is closed we are given the results and they are broken down at a local level, but we cannot identify any individual from the responses they have given. 

I’ve checked my inbox folders and my junk mail and I can’t see the survey anywhere. Are there some people who don’t receive it?
Yes. Although the survey goes to most staff there is a list of eligibility criteria so this means that not all staff will receive it. The eligibility criteria include:

  • All full time and part-time staff who are directly employed by the organisation on 1 September 2023(even if the sample is drawn after this date);
  • Staff on fixed term contracts;
  • Student nurses, as long as they are employed by the organisation on 1 September 2023;
  • Staff on secondment to a different organisation, but only if they are still being paid by the participating organisation andhave been out on secondment for less than one year;
  • Hosted staff (staff seconded to the participating organisation from elsewhere, e.g., social care staff seconded from the local authority) who have a substantive contract with the organisation, and are currently being paid by the participating organisation;
  • Staff seconded to the participating organisation from another NHS organisation who do not have a substantive contract with the participating organisation and/or are not on the organisation’s payroll BUT have been seconded to the organisation for at least 12 months. If the organisation does not hold ESR records for these staff then they should look to identify them by other means. Organisations should notify their contractor if they are unsure how to identify and include any staff who meet these criteria.
  • Any staff meeting the above criteria who are on sickness leave of up to 12 months on 1 September 2023.
  • Any staff member meeting the above criteria who is on parental leave (maternity or paternity leave)
  • Any staff member meeting the above criteria who is suspended.
  • Any bank only workers who, in the 6 months between 1 March 2023 and 1 September 2023, have been paid for any work or training at the organisation, either by that organisation or by a collaborative bank of which the organisation is part.

Published 2 October 2023