Using value-based interviewing to deliver high-quality health care and improve patient experience

Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust

Led by Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust, in partnership with the NSPCC and the Oxfordshire Adult Safeguarding Board.
Working across the trust, which covers four hospitals.
Increasing staff engagement and improving patient experience by absorbing the core values of the trust into the recruitment process.
Using value-based interviewing (VBI) to help the trust recruit the most suitable people to work within their organisational values.

Like many other NHS organisations, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust experiences challenges around the recruitment and retention of high-performing employees to deliver high-quality patient care.

Staff values and attitudes can have a major impact on the quality of care and patient experience. When recruiting new staff, incorporating information on the values, motives and attitudes of applicants, alongside their experience, skills and competencies, helps to gain a wider and more comprehensive view of the applicant.

Value-based interviewing is a way of helping organisations recruit the most suitable people to work within their organisational values. It focuses on how and why the applicant has made certain choices in their work.

This project involved designing and delivering a value-based interviewing system tailored to Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust, based on the priorities of the organisation and its patients. It aimed to increase staff engagement and improve patient experience by absorbing the core values of the trust into the recruitment process in order to recruit staff who share these values and are dedicated to delivering excellent care.

Since the project began, over 300 employees have been trained in VBI technique, with a further 144 booked onto training. VBI is now being used across all six divisions within the trust, and for recruiting to many different roles.

Feedback from staff on the training shows that the introduction of VBI has led to improvement in the quality and effectiveness of the overall interview process at the trust.