North East Ambulance Service
NHS Foundation Trust
At a Glance
Sector: Healthcare / NHS
Organisation: North East Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust
People: Around 3,500 employees
Customer since: 2020
Key Outcomes
+ 300% increase in daily update readership following employee platform implementation
+ 58% increase in intranet page views
+ Six national internal communications awards won in 2021
+ Long-term partnership spanning workforce technology, leadership, middle-manager engagement and organisational change
North East Ambulance Service
From workforce technology to long-term transformation partnership
Overview
Work Networks has partnered with North East Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (NEAS) since 2020, supporting a dispersed frontline workforce through employee communications technology, platform selection, leadership engagement and organisational change. What began as a digital employee engagement programme has developed into a long-term transformation partnership, most recently helping NEAS engage more than 200 colleagues to inform its future strategy, vision and values.
The Challenge: connecting a dispersed NHS workforce
North East Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (NEAS) has a highly varied and dispersed workforce. Road crews work across a large geographical area and around the clock, alongside Emergency Operations Centre colleagues, Patient Transport Services, managers, corporate and support functions and senior leaders.
When Work Networks first began working with NEAS in 2020, the immediate challenge was communication. Frontline employees were constantly moving, working 24-hour shift patterns in a high-pressure environment and could sometimes see their managers only once a week.
The need became particularly acute during the COVID-19 pandemic, when keeping employees safe, connected and informed became critical.
But the needs of the organisation have continued to change. What began as a workforce technology programme has developed into a much broader relationship, with Work Networks supporting NEAS as new technology, communication and organisational challenges have emerged.
“Work Networks have been a genuine partner in this project - guiding, teaching, mentoring and advising on how to launch and grow a digital employee experience platform. In my 20 years working in the NHS I have not come across a supplier before who has genuinely had an equal stake in our success.”
Mark Cotton, Assistant Director of Communications and Engagement
The Solution: from employee communications technology to strategic support
Work Networks initially supported NEAS to introduce a new employee communications and engagement platform.
This created new ways for colleagues and leaders to communicate. For the first time, senior leaders could respond conversationally to questions, challenges and concerns from employees as they arose, while frontline teams had faster access to information and expertise.
During the pandemic, NEAS used the platform to coordinate fast-track access for ambulance crews to vaccine stocks at North East hospitals that would otherwise have gone out of date. A dedicated clinical group also gave frontline paramedics direct access to senior medical directors and peer expertise for rapid feedback and issue resolution.
The programme delivered measurable results. Daily update readership increased by 300%, intranet page views rose by 58%, and the work went on to win six national internal communications awards in 2021.
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Selecting what came next
When the existing platform was subsequently being withdrawn from the market, NEAS returned to Work Networks to help determine what should replace it. Rather than assuming the previous solution should simply be replicated using different technology, we went back to NEAS's organisational and workforce requirements.
Existing knowledge was supplemented by employee and stakeholder engagement, with requirements developed and validated alongside the Task & Finish Group. Potential technologies were assessed against agreed criteria and shortlisted suppliers taken through structured, use-case-led demonstrations.
Work Networks facilitated the evaluation and decision-making process and supported NEAS through the subsequent procurement, information security and contracting considerations. This gave NEAS a structured, evidence-based way to select technology against its own organisational, technical and workforce requirements, rather than simply choosing the product that demonstrated best.
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The Impact: better communication, stronger engagement and a long-term partnership
As NEAS's internal capability and priorities have evolved, so has our work together. The relationship has extended beyond workforce technology into leadership and specific middle-manager work supporting organisational change.
Most recently, NEAS commissioned Work Networks to support a significant programme around its future strategy, vision and values. We designed and facilitated 19 engagement sessions involving more than 200 colleagues, deliberately reaching across road crews, Emergency Operations Centre teams, Patient Transport Services, managers, corporate and support colleagues and leadership. Digital engagement supplemented the sessions to broaden participation further.
The evidence was then thematically analysed and translated into strategic recommendations, helping NEAS ensure its organisational direction reflected the lived experience of employees working across very different parts of the Trust.
" Involving our middle managers early in the process and securing their buy-in with a focused launch event, has helped the whole organisation embrace the change. I’m thrilled to see such an immediate and positive reduction in WhatsApp work messages, returning the popular app to personal use.”
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Michelle Hendry, Internal Communications and Engagement Manage
What's Next: a partnership that evolves with the organisation
The relationship between NEAS and Work Networks has now spanned more than six years.
The value isn't that NEAS has remained dependent on Work Networks to operate the technology we initially helped introduce. Quite the opposite. As internal capability has grown and organisational priorities have changed, the work has moved into new areas where independent expertise, employee insight and external challenge can add value.
From frontline communications and technology selection to leadership, organisational change and strategy, the relationship has evolved alongside the organisation itself.
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