“Using compassion to create engagement” – how compassionate leadership has improved Staff Engagement

Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust

A diverse group of people dressed in formal and cultural attire stands on a stage in front of a screen that reads "Whittaker day unit." at the Pennine Care Staff Awards. Two women in the front hold an award and certificate, while the group smiles and poses proudly for the camera.
Pennine Care People Awards 2024

Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust is a mental health, learning disability and autism trust based in the North West. It serves medium-sized, but densely populated areas, across 88 locations, both rural and urban. It employs approximately 4.5k employees, plus bank and voluntary workers.

Making staff engagement core practice

The executive team wanted to centre staff engagement as a core part of their business. They understood the need to lead with compassion from the top, role modelling this throughout the organisation.

Leading for change

Pennine Care took an approach, rather than a specific set of actions, led heavily by the CEO and executive team. They openly placed significant focus on values and behaviours. They wanted to be visible and communicate with staff in a human, compassionate way. The CEO is highly visible. He:

  • Sends an update to all staff every week.
  • Delivers an online team brief to around 120 leaders/managers every month with an opportunity for everyone to comment/ask questions.
  • Regularly visits clinical teams.
  • Runs face-to-face ‘listening sessions’ in each borough for all staff every quarter.
  • Has a popular ‘Ask Anthony’ email address and responds to every query, comment or issue raised.
  • Holds leadership development events every quarter, with an open Q&A with the CEO and executive directors at the end.
  • Attends the start of team and professional group development days and events to say and few words and thank staff.
Selfie photograph by Anthony Hassell, Chief Executive of Pennine Care Foundation Trust. In the background new leaders and mangers at Pennine Care Foundation Trust are sat around a table for a group induction.
Anthony Hassell, Chief Executive of Pennine Care Foundation Trust, attending a new leaders and managers induction.

In addition to the CEO’s input, the trust has implemented a number of other cultural improvements:

  • The communications team ensures that all corporate communications are written in a warm, engaging, open and human style, with plain English and a focus on storytelling. An internal insight group and ongoing evaluation is built into all their communications.
  • A focus on flexible working and encouraging managers to think differently about this.
  • Health and wellbeing activities and access to psychological wellbeing support
  • Specific engagement with equality, diversity and inclusion networks to raise profile and reach.
  • Building ‘Civility Saves Lives’ into induction and using the principles to help call out poor behaviours.
Three women dressed in NHS uniforms pose playfully in front of a colourful, backdrop with rainbow lights. They wear flower garlands and perform the "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil" gesture, smiling and having fun.
Pennine Care LGBTQ+ staff network supporting a local pride event.

They have also driven team ownership of local culture, which they believe has been crucial to their success. Local leaders are held to account for staff survey plans through quarterly governance meetings. They have also invested in the TED Tool to support local team development.

Becoming most improved 2024

Pennine Care was one of the most improved organisations in terms of the staff survey 2024 for most themes. This was compared to both 2023 and 2021, which is when the current question set was created for the staff survey.

In the 2024 staff survey results, Pennine Care was the top mental health trust in the North West for: staff engagement, being compassionate and inclusive, morale, staff having a voice that counts, feeling recognised and rewarded and always learning.

The trust saw an improvement in turnover over 2024 from 10.2% to 9%.

Two Pennine Care Nurses holding a sign that reads "Proud to be a Nurse in Tameside because of the inspiring colleagues we work with."
“Proud to be a Nurse in Tameside because of the inspiring colleagues we work with.”

Key learnings

If you want a compassionate and engaging culture, it needs to become “the way you do things” with clear messaging and role modelling from the Board.

Work with and through your local leaders; they are the ones who drive culture. Also, hold them to account for people and culture in their area; it’s their role to manage this.

Make your decisions on system, process and change “people-centric”, rather than as an afterthought.

Next Steps

Pennine Care intends to continue with its current approach and double down on it in the difficult financial climate ahead.

They are working closely with the North West Leadership Academy to utilise their expertise and resources. A big programme for the next three years is their leadership and management development, ideally for leaders at all levels.

They want to do more to protect their people from violence and aggression, especially cognisant of their global majority workforce, who are more at risk of this.

A large group of Pennine Trust hikers poses at the summit of a hill or mountain on a clear sunny day, with expansive views of the countryside in the background, after a charity sponsored mental health hike. They are gathered around a stone marker, wearing outdoor gear and smiling at the camera.
Staff on the Pennine Care Charity Yorkshire Three Peaks challenge, raising money for Mental Health Awareness Week.

Contact Information

Nicola Littler,

Director of Workforce,

Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust

[email protected]