‘Working with the NHS - Improving behaviours and changing cultures’
At Enact we use really powerful, experiential drama to hold up a mirror to organisations to reflect and subsequently explore topics that effect that workplace environment and the staff that work within them.
We facilitate to create spaces where delegates can have open, honest and insightful conversations. They can share thoughts and experiences to come to shared learning moments.
We use a diverse pool of fantastic, professional actors to bring to life scenes of poor practice and inappropriate workplace behaviours that perpetuate within a working environment.
Some of our products…
Equity, Diversity & Inclusion
Harness diversity and inclusion to build better teams and practise the skill of challenging non-inclusive behaviour
Bullying, Harassment & Incivility
Improve interpersonal behaviour and reduce bullying, harassment and incivility in the workplace
Microaggressions
Exploring the impact of microaggressions and everyday incivilities
Inclusive Recruitment
Improve recruitment practices and reduce bias in the process
Productive Conversations
Help managers learn and practise the essential ‘soft’ skills needed to hold high impact, productive conversations with team members, peers, and superiors
Inclusive Leadership
Focuses on exactly what’s needed to bring the best out of individuals and teams
Our clients in the Healthcare sector…
- NHS England
- NHS Employers
- Royal College of Nursing
- Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust
- East Riding of Yorkshire CCG
- King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
- Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust
- Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
- Bridgewater Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
- Kettering General Hospital
- North Central London CCG
- Kingston Hospital NHS Trust
- Dorset ICS
- South East London ICB
- University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust
- Black Country ICS
- Wakefield CCG
- East Midlands Academic Health Science Network
- North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare NHS Trust
- Staffordshire & Stoke ICS
- Dartford & Gravesham NHS Trust
- South East London CCG
- East Cheshire NHS Trust
- City Health Care Partnership CIC
- Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust
- South Yorkshire & Bassetlaw ICS
- Kent & Medway ICS
- The Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospitals NHS Trust
- North Middlesex University Hospitals NHS
- Maidstone & Tunbridge Wells NHS
- Queen Victoria Hospital NHS
Case studies within the healthcare sector…
De-biasing & Value-based Recruitment
The NHS Kent and Medway Culture and Inclusion Programme was established to address issues of inequality, diversity and inclusion across the Kent and Medway Health and Care system. This programme forms part of a wider strategy to create a happy and motivated health and care workforce, enriched by diversity of perspectives, cultures and backgrounds.
The ICS identified particular challenges regarding recruitment practices and the career progression opportunities for staff with protected characteristics. As experiential learning specialists, Enact were contracted to deliver a De-biasing & Value-based recruitment programme of workshops for hiring managers and those with recruitment responsibilities across the system.
A key outcome for this Culture and Inclusion programme will be a more diverse workforce with career progression, equity and an equal likelihood of white staff and staff from ethnically diverse backgrounds being appointed from shortlisting by 2025 as measured by WRES data.
This was the most professional on-line training I have had, a real example of what good virtual training should be
It was really great to take the time to reflect on the way I currently recruit and to see how my actions in the past might have been biased. It has made me think careful about how I approach recruitment in the future
Follow Up Survey Results (8 weeks post workshop delivery) :
Speak Up, Speak Out & Take Action
Dartford & Gravesham NHS Trust required an experiential approach as one of their positive interventions for managing incivility in the workplace. Their WRES report highlighted some of the challenges and where action was needed to address adverse levels of perception on harassment and bullying.
The session was used as a way to illuminate the Trusts values and affirm a commitment to getting to the root of bullying, incivility and harassment. The intention of the sessions was to operationalise kindness and compassion, which sits at the heart of the culture change, education and learning that’s required to establish clear and consistent understanding of the behaviour standards, expectations and also the consequences.
Our Approach…
Using experiential acting to demonstrate how easy it is for us all to engage in incivility – encouraging a more compassionate approach to both role modelling and responding, rather than reacting to the behaviours. The sessions explore the following aims and objectives:
Understand incivility and microaggressions and the difference
Specifically, how microaggressions may be seen as a step up from incivilities and therefore experienced more deeply and require swifter action from the organisation.
Provide skills for achieving civility
Sharing some common themes around civility and seeking to operationalise kindness. Recognising civility may be better achieved by increasing emotional communication and being more accepting of others, patient, tolerant and kind. Using the values to affirm this.
Emotional connection to the Trust values such as care and compassion, respect and dignity
Appreciating the subtle and sensitive nature of civility, specifically that often stress is at the root of increased incivility. There is no manual, we want a call to action to sensitively encourage civility – rather than punish others for what can be a subjective expression, using emotional communication to express our needs.
Highlight impact of bullying and the bystander effect
This drama-based experiential module is intended to highlight how banter can be a gateway to some darker behaviours. The audience sees how what appears to be a joke can trigger some quite deep-seated feelings in others and mask some concerning attitudes. They also see how to intervene in the moment when microaggressions show up as banter. Theory is provided on the bystander effect and understanding impact vs intent.
Provide a model of allyship – provide basic skills for challenging
With the help of forum theatre the participants explore behaviours that needs to be challenged whilst exploring the benefits of allyship for protected groups but for all employees; setting the culture.
Inclusive Board, Inclusive Culture
Board members participated in an ‘away day’ session focused on inclusivity, diversity and equality within the trust. The purpose of the sessions was to start an ongoing, honest, and productive conversation about increasing inclusivity, diversity, and equality throughout Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS FT, and the role of board members in achieving that.
High profile questions of inclusion, diversity and equality dominate the headlines right now. Lots of the time, our heads jump to current events or issues related to what in legislation are called the ‘protected characteristics.’ But what does it mean to us personally? The session provided an experiential learning opportunity to broaden understanding, what it means and why it matters. This was supported with the key findings, research and evidence of how an inclusive approach benefits individuals and organisational performance. To be a truly inclusive healthcare environment what steps can we take to make it happen.
100% of board members agreed the session really got them thinking about increasing inclusivity, diversity, and equality throughout the Trust.
“Enact provided an open and safe space for our Board to explore what an inclusive culture means and how our leadership and action can help to promote an inclusive culture. Using actors as part of the session created a powerful message and helped a wider understanding of the issues some of our staff and patients face on a daily basis. I would strongly recommend using this approach to have those difficult and deep conversations at your Board meeting, where trust and openness is paramount to making meaningful progress within this important agenda.”
Beyond Difference
Working in partnership with Mitzi Wyman & Associates, Enact Solutions delivered an engaging programme called ‘Beyond Difference’ for aspiring leaders from ethnically diverse backgrounds.
The experiential learning programme explored the following topics:
Leadership Awareness
Using SDI tool to understand Core motivations, strengths and conflict triggers
Re-defining Leadership
An introduction into the Thinking Environment (Kline) – a way of thinking that is inherently inclusive
Planning & Decision Making
Explore the complexity of decision making in the real world. Including a review of current NHS structures
Authentic Leader
Identify qualities & behaviours that define you as a leader & becoming confident to express this
Personal Presence & Impact
Explore psychological reframing that can help to form positive self belief and overcome stigma
Influencing & Negotiating
Exploration of practical skills and human dynamics at play in any negotiation
Celebration & Next Steps
Create a vision of our designed future that reflects your career aspirations
