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The support of the Innovation Hub was critical in enabling prioritisation of the agile working project within wider workforce strategy and investment . The project could not have been delivered in the timescales without the support of the Innovation Hub team .”
Ben Chico , South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw Workforce Transformation Lead greater system-wide capabilities . When the pandemic took hold however , many of these activities needed to be paused to address the urgent challenges that were rapidly emerging .
The Agile Workforce Project
One of the projects taken forward was the agile workforce programme . Two months before the pandemic hit , we were in discussions with the ICS partners to encourage Trusts to adopt more agile and flexible working practices . Many Trusts were still not using digital platforms like Microsoft Teams and colleagues were not set up to work from home . The prospect of remote working raised questions and concerns around staff productivity and monitoring performance and there was significant reluctance to change in some areas . However , when the pandemic hit , suddenly everything changed overnight , and organisations had no choice but to adapt and work flexibly , with remote working becoming the norm .
The workforce project also adapted and changed to analyse what the learning opportunities were in this new age of working 100 % digitally . Throughout the pandemic , we conducted interviews , surveys and nine focus groups at two provider sites ( Doncaster & Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals and Doncaster Clinical Commissioning Group ) to capture staff experiences . The findings provided significant evidence of the benefits of remote working , with 56 % of respondents reporting it had a ‘ Positive ’ or ‘ Incredibly positive ’ impact on their mental health . A reduction in sickness absence was also recognised , and participants selfreported increased focus and productivity whilst working from home . These learnings helped build a business case for sustaining agile working post-COVID .
Fit Fans
Another of the Hub ’ s projects , under the theme of Population Health Management , that had to adapt due to COVID-19 was Fit Fans : a 12-week weight loss and healthy lifestyle programme incentivised through a love of Football . This project supported one of the main Population Health priorities of the ICS , which was to find innovative ways to prevent cardiovascular disease and to help people self-manage risk factors around the condition .
The programme ’ s aim is to help participants to be more active , help them lose weight through group-based exercise sessions and provide advice around maintaining a healthy diet . The first cohort of Fit Fans started in January 2020 at Sheffield Wednesday Football Club ( SWFC ).
Face-to-face delivery of the course was interrupted following the first COVID-19 lockdown , but participants had already managed to lose weight , improve their physical activity levels and their diet . Over 60 % of participants completed the
Impact Report 2020-21 45