NHS Property Services is proud to announce its HR team has been named best HR/L&D & OD team of the year.
The CIPD People Management Awards 2025 took place last Thursday (25 September) and heard judges praise NHS Property Services for the introduction of a “revolutionary new philosophy and a comprehensive model; [the Colleague Relations team] truly exemplifies the power of HR in driving cultural and organisational change”.
NHS Property Services was set up in 2013 to manage and optimise the NHS estate. Our “customer-led culture” is to “get grow, keep great colleagues” and, as part of this, in March 2024, we launched the Colleague Relations team. While the team has the traditional function of an employee relations team, the word ‘colleague’ is used instead as a ‘reminder that everyone is equal’.
Before the launch of this team CR cases were managed by the people services shared service model, members of which were not skilled in CR and only managed general HR queries.
The introduction of the new CR team resulted in 12 new policies and guides and an updated colleague handbook; 26 face-to-face ‘Bringing CR To Life’ sessions upskilling managers across the organisation; an accessible in-house elearning module; and the introduction of clear processes to safeguard the wellbeing of colleagues, customers, and patients.
The January 2025 Peakon survey saw an overall engagement score of 8.4 (+0.6 above the Peakon benchmark) and the participation rate increased to 71 per cent.
Case durations reduced by 72 per cent as of March 2025 to 25 days, and absences have also declined, resulting in an overall saving for the NHS of more than £300,000.
The judges added: “The NHS demonstrated how HR can be innovative, agile and socially intelligent, ensuring that people are at the heart of their strategies.”
Chief People Officer at NHSPS, Rina Pandya, said: “We are proud to receive this award for best HR/L&D & OD team of the year for the public sector. This demonstrates that ensuring colleagues feel listened to and equally treated reduces absences resulting in savings for the NHS.”
