"HR used to be a purely administrative function," said NHS Confederation head of human resources Andrew Foster. "You would recruit people, pay them, fill in their P45 and deal with disciplinary procedures. What is happening now in the NHS is the realisation that organisations that think about their staff and try to get the best out of their staff are more successful. So the NHS is expanding its HR function."
This change has been strongly encouraged - demanded, even - by the Labour government. Since coming to power, Labour has introduced the first ever HR strategy for the NHS, and made the way staff are treated a core measure of an organisation's performance, linked to the funding it receives. As a result, HR directors are gaining equal status with other board level "heavy hitters" such as finance directors. They are planning the future of their organisations as well as looking after staff. According to Mr Foster, the increase in responsibilities and status is overdue: "We spend 70% of NHS money on staff. HR managers should be involved in everything."
Until recently, the most an NHS HR manager could expect to earn was in the mid-£40,000s. Now it is not unusual for senior managers to earn £60,000 plus, with a few working in large, acute trusts, topping the £70,000 mark. A junior manager entering HR can expect a starting salary of just under £20,000, while a middle grade manager is likely to be on £30,000 plus.
To get ahead in HR in the health service it is increasingly necessary to hold the right qualifications. The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) is the key training body in the field, offering a range of courses at graduate and non-graduate level. "You would certainly need a CIPD qualification and then marry that up with one of the health-specific qualifications provided by several universities," said Mr Foster.
That said, there is no fixed career path in HR. Many managers have private sector backgrounds or come from other public sectors, moving in and out of the NHS at different stages in their careers. "It's rare to bring someone from the outside into a senior general management role in the NHS, but in HR it's quite common. There is a flexible set of opportunities," said Mr Foster.
The key to success in HR, according to Jim McCaffery, director of personnel and development, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, is the ability to get the basics right - and the imagination and drive to do something different. "It's being able to get things done," he said. "The people who don't do well are those who don't push for change."
