Workforce development initiatives 
This page gives an overview of the Waikato DHB's workforce plans objectives and their associated initiatives.
Each initiative is worked into a 'product description' (a document that summarises the initiative's purpose, what and who is involved, and how it will be done). This document goes through a short checking process with the Waikato DHB's Maori Health Service (Te Punga Oranga), the DHB's Pacific peoples project manager, and the combined unions forum, before being approved by the Waikato DHB Workforce Programme Board.
Just click on the approved product/project in the list of objectives below for a PDF file that gives a formal description of the project. As we make progress on each initiative, we will add more details.
An initiative or project may contribute to more than one objective - and will show up more than once in the lists below.
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Below you will find short outlines of the objectives and initiatives in the Waikato sector workforce plan and Waikato DHB workforce plan.
Sector-wide plan - objectives and initiatives
Strategic objective 1: Care and support workforce
To develop a care and support workforce that is knowledgeable and is used effectively across the sector.
The care and support workforce has the potential to undertake an expanding variety of roles in local communities and in health facilities. A knowledgeable, skilled and experienced care and support workforce across the district provides the opportunity to reshape how other health workforces (particularly those that are forecast to become scarcer) will operate in the future.
Increasing the knowledge base of the care and support workforce will have positive flow-on health effects in their family/whanau and friends.
Some aspects of this workstream are:
- identify current and potential workforce
- identify the geographic areas and patient pathways where care and support workforce could add value in future
- develop a referral process to the care and support workforce roles within the sector (secondary and primary)
- establish training and development needs and link to transferable national standards and training and education pathways.
Initiatives proposed by end of 2010: Aligning training; Implementing training within DHB workforce; Pilot for START discharge for rehabilitation (provisional on funding approval).
Products/projects approved:
Strategic objective 2: DHB as corporate citizen
To share Waikato DHB resources that can be readily 'scaled up' at marginal cost to benefit funded health providers in the Waikato DHB district.
As a large 'player' in the Waikato health sector, the DHB has a role as a responsible corporate citizen. This is different from its funder/provider roles, and focuses more on collaboration and support. It can scale up some of its corporate and support resources (functions or consumables) to the benefit of the whole sector.
The aim is to reduce duplicated effort and costs, as well as increase the sharing of knowledge and information across the sector.
Waikato DHB does not necessarily 'lead the field' in corporate support best practice; resources that are 'scaled up' need to be appropriate and useful to the sector and meet an identified need.
Examples may include:
- sharing learning opportunities such as training opportunities, library access and leadership development
- sharing workforce development information
- working collaboratively on sector-wide promotion of the health sector and health careers
- investigating the potential for some recruitment facilities and processes to be shared
- leading the rebranding and marketing of the Waikato aged care sector in response to sector request.
Initiatives proposed by end of 2010: Working collaboratively on promoting health careers sector-wide; Branding and marketing the Waikato aged care sector; Sharing workforce development information.
Products/projects approved:
Strategic objective 3: Maori health workforce
To address the development of the Maori health workforce in the Waikato, including:
- increasing the numbers of Maori in the health workforce (with Te Puna Oranga - Waikato DHB's Maori Health Service)
- improving retention of Maori in the health workforce (with Te Puna Oranga - Waikato DHB's Maori Health Service)
- supporting the spread of knowledge about tikanga through the health workforce.
All the objectives in the sector workforce plan include elements that will support the development of the Maori health workforce. However there are some approaches that are specific such as strengthening cultural competence and establishing a Maori health workers cultural supervision programme.
Initiatives proposed by end of 2010: Strengthening cultural competence within the health workforce.
Products/projects approved:
Strategic objective 4: Pacific health workforce
Support implementation of the Pacific health workforce development plan currently being prepared by the Waikato DHB.
Initiatives proposed by end of 2010: TBA
Products/projects approved:
Strategic objective 5: Business and employment models
To review and develop alternative, sustainable business and employment models for the health and disability sector that may better position the Waikato to meet future needs by:
- identifying employment, business and funding models
- supporting national projects that reduce overall labour costs and sustain a more flexible and reliable supply of labour
- investigating training funding models that can support employment needs.
What might be more effective, more efficient and more flexible ways of working in the future? Current ways of operating may not be the best fit for some future needs taking into account such things as rurality, changing demographics, devolution of some secondary care components, legal requirements, training models, facilities for training and internships, and exit strategies for some providers.
Note: At this stage, this objective will only look at employment models within aged care sector because of the government's stated intent to establish integrated family care centres in the primary sector.
This objective also supports the national RMO locums project for both the primary and private sectors.
Initiatives proposed by end of 2010: Employment models within the aged care sector.
Products/projects approved:
Strategic objective 6: Health careers
To increase the attractiveness of health careers for New Zealanders; increase number of Waikato young people who become interested in and take up health for a career ("grow your own" approach) by:
- expanding the future pool of potential local recruits by strengthening and coordinating the promotion of careers in health to school children
- encouraging localised provision of health and disability training and education where practicable, including space for trainees in DHB and provider facilities
- supporting a health generalist approach, especially in rural areas
- working with tertiary training providers to ensure they are producing graduates who are fit for purpose in about the right numbers (links to Health Workforce NZ initiative)
- working with iwi to support the aspirations of Maori.
The health sector must increase its proficiency at attracting young people to health careers so that it can compete in the future.
Initiatives proposed by end of 2010: Engaging student interest in the use of science and technology in health; Coordinated careers promotion.
Products/projects approved:
Waikato DHB plan - objectives and initiatives
This plan relates to community and hospital services provided directly by the Waikato DHB
Strategic objective 1: Ageing workforce
The age profile of Waikato DHB's workforce is changing. The mean age of employees was 44.52 in 2008. In some areas 70 per cent of the workforce is aged over 46 years. In New Zealand overall, 87 per cent of the health care workforce is aged over 35 years compared with 52 per cent of other workforces.
Waikato DHB needs to implement strategies for an ageing workforce and for maintaining the wellness and fitness for work of all employees, including:
- valuing older employees
- assessing the work ability of all employees
- structuring work appropriately
- working differently and more flexibly.
Initiatives proposed by end of 2010: Responsive safety systems; disability management; ageing workers in employment.
Products/projects approved:
Strategic objective 2: Working more effectively
Waikato DHB is employing increasing numbers of staff each year - but these increases are potentially unsustainable because the overall health labour market cannot meet the demand, and the health budget cannot afford continuous expansion in staff numbers and facilities to house them.
The DHB needs to increase the effectiveness of positions that have a high impact on the productivity of the DHB such as senior medical staff, experienced nursing and allied health staff, and some key corporate areas.
Some aspects of this workstream are:
- improved data that helps managers link productivity, workforce and patient outcomes and complexity
- reducing the amount of non-core work carried out by high impact positions, and structuring work more efficiently
- establishing better management accountability and responsibility for defined resources
- matching workforce structure and resources with patient acuity, complexity and staff skill sets to achieve the required production.
Initiatives proposed by end of 2010: Reliable data production; Data modelling.
Products/projects approved:
Strategic objective 3: Attraction and recruitment
The DHB plays an important role in attracting people to careers in the health sector and providing training environments for a number of health professions.
Recruitment of staff takes time and resources, and the time difference between when staff resign and when replacement staff take up their positions increases the load on remaining staff and affects productivity and costs.
Some aspects of this workstream are:
- using a 'lean thinking' approach to internal recruitment processes
- employing people who are suited to the position and therefore more likely to become productive quickly and to stay longer (links to pre-employment initiative in objective 1)
- reducing the time to fill high impact positions and occupations (links to data modelling in objective 2)
- maximising the DHB's potential to provide training
- attracting school age children to consider health careers ('grow your own') - (links to sector plan Health Careers objective)
Initiatives proposed by end of 2010: Pre-employment screening; Data modelling; Science and technology in schools; Coordinated careers promotion; Establishing nursing and midwifery recruitment strategy.
Products/projects approved:
Strategic objective 4: Staff retention
The DHB needs to implement strategies to increase staff retention to reduce the impact of turnover with the organisation and to encourage good staff to stay. The DHB is committed to developing a constructive, supportive and professionally challenging workplace so staff choose to stay and the DHB is a health sector employer of choice.
Effective leaders and managers are critical to staff retention.
Some aspects of this workstream are:
- implementing leadership/leader-manager competencies across all organisational levels
- benchmarking using a staff satisfaction survey so progress can be monitored and issues identified
- managing absenteeism
- providing ongoing professional competence and skills development
- aligning policies that are relevant to retention
- review and improve a range of staff support and recognition initiatives including welcoming and orientation, support for staff with disabilities, developing a culture that celebrates achievement, cultural recognition and support for staff who identify as Maori or of Pacific descent.
Initiatives proposed by end of 2010: Staff satisfaction survey; Implement leader-manager competencies.
Products/projects approved:
Strategic objective 5: Planning integration
An integrated planning approach (combining service and workforce planning) is necessary to support 'business as usual' management and any planned changes. It is a key to implementing models of care and service delivery in the future.
Initiatives proposed by end of 2010: No initiatives proposed until next planning round for 2011/2012.
Products/projects approved: None
