Future-ready workforce engagement
We provide tailored people solutions to enhance patient outcomes by enabling NHS staff to do their best. Our approach integrates data-driven insights, inclusive leadership development, and digital transformation to support the NHS in attracting, retaining, and motivating skilled staff while optimising productivity, driving effective change, and prioritising patient safety.
Current State
The NHS is experiencing significant workforce pressures driven by high vacancy rates, staff shortages and rising turnover, with factors including pay competitiveness, burnout, and workplace stress. Sickness absence has increased from 4.2% in July 2019 (pre‑COVID) to 5.6% in November 2025, much of which is attributable to stress, anxiety and depression linked to sustained high workloads and the pandemic’s legacy.
The 2025 NHS Staff Survey shows around 29% of respondents often consider leaving the organisation, and there are reports of experienced nurses moving into lower‑paid roles - a “trap door” effect that can erode expertise and destabilise teams.
Issues of bullying, harassment and discrimination continue to be reported across the workforce and at all organisational levels. Rigid career structures and systemic inequalities can further constrain progression, contributing to dissatisfaction and retention challenges.
Moments that matter for the NHS
Attraction
Become an employer of choice by offering a fulfilling benefits package and supporting workload and work–life balance to attract and retain key clinical and non-clinical talent.
Career Progression
Expand access to development, grow strong leaders, and remove structural barriers to promote internal talent and ensure the right people advance at the right time.
Daily experience
Foster inclusive, supportive cultures with zero tolerance for bullying, streamline work to increase patient-facing time, and reduce burnout through targeted support interventions.
Engagement & wellbeing
Drive meaning and fulfilment through strong recognition, build sustainable workforce resilience with accessible health support, and create psychological safety where colleagues feel valued and empowered.
Retention
Close critical talent gaps, provide clear and fulfilling career pathways, and strengthen staff commitment to ensure continuity of safe, effective care
Three critical missions
Empowering the workforce of tomorrow
Secure and grow a skilled, sustainable workforce to meet current and future NHS needs
NHS organisations are currently facing significant workforce shortages that stand to threaten both patient safety and service quality. This approach reduces reliance on costly agency staff, drives recruitment of the right staff at the right time, and supports retention through engaging growth and development. To build a resilient, committed NHS workforce, employers must adopt strong talent processes that target skill development and personalised, fulfilling employee journeys.
How we can help you
Workforce Analytics Build your workforce strategy, grounded in robust patient and staff centred internal data, and external labour market insights. Strategic Workforce Planning (SWP) Proactively anticipate your future workforce needs, aligning skills and jobs with NHS priorities to drive strategic success. Career Framework Design Empower your workforce to drive their own career within the NHS, encouraging the growth and retention that matters most for patients.
Workforce Analytics for the NHS
Driving smarter workforce decisions
What is Workforce Analytics?
Workforce Analytics is the use of data-driven insights and advanced analytics to understand, predict, and optimise workforce dynamics, enabling NHS organisations to make informed decisions about staffing, retention, and workforce planning without compromising staff inclusion, safety or patient care.
How can this support the NHS?
NHS leaders can leverage Workforce Analytics to gain a comprehensive, data-driven understanding of workforce challenges by combining internal staff data with external labour market insights, including representation and equity metrics. By analysing employee turnover, redefining workforce roles, and applying AI-powered analytics, NHS organisations can optimise staffing, reduce costly churn, and plan proactively for future workforce demands whilst identifying and addressing DEI gaps. This approach enables simulation of staffing scenarios, identification of risks, and informed decision-making to enhance retention, diversity, and operational efficiency. Tailored insights and predictive modelling help NHS trusts align workforce strategies with patient care needs, improve staff wellbeing, promote inclusive practices, and ensure the right people are in the right roles at the right time.
What value will this realise?
Patient outcomes Align staffing levels and skills precisely to patient demand, reducing risks associated with understaffing or skill gaps. Employee experience) Use predictive insights to optimise workloads, supporting staff wellbeing, fostering a more engaged, resilient and diverse workforce, and closing equity gaps. Cost optimisation Identify drivers of workforce churn per workforce demographic and implement targeted retention strategies to lower costly agency reliance and recruitment expenses. Simulate staffing scenarios and anticipate future workforce needs to ensure sustainable, cost-efficient NHS service delivery.
Strategic Workforce Planning for the NHS
Aligning people with patient care goals
What is Strategic Workforce Planning?
Strategic Workforce Planning (SWP) is a proactive approach that enables NHS organisations to anticipate future workforce needs by aligning skills and roles with strategic priorities. In conjunction with our innovative demand & capacity models, it uses data-driven insights and innovative demand and capacity models to reshape work and workforce flows, ensuring patient needs are met efficiently, equitably, and sustainably.
How can this support the NHS?
Gain insights through executive interviews and data analysis to understand current workforce gaps and future demand scenarios Prioritise recruitment and retention by assessing critical roles and external talent availability Develop agile strategies to close workforce gaps through building, buying, or borrowing talent Implement targeted actions with clear metrics to optimise workforce capacity and improve staff experience Supported by our tools and market insights, this methodology enables NHS trusts to make informed decisions on talent deployment, redesign roles, and create a sustainable workforce that delivers high-quality patient care
What value will this realise?
Patient outcomes Ensure the right skills and roles are in place to meet evolving patient care demands, improving quality and safety Employee experience Enhance staff engagement and retention by creating clear career pathways and optimising workforce capacity Cost optimisation Reduce recruitment and agency costs through strategic talent management and efficient workforce utilisation, supporting sustainable NHS service delivery
Career Frameworks
Empowering NHS Careers for success
What are Career Frameworks?
Career frameworks provide a clear and consistent structure defining expectations around skills, roles, and experiences. They create transparency and clarity essential for understanding current and future NHS capabilities. A sound job and skills architecture enables NHS trusts to improve role clarity, align skills with patient care needs, and enable fair pay and progression. By outlining relatable and inspirational career pathways alongside this, Career Frameworks empower employees to drive their own careers, fostering a sense of being understood, valued, and invested in, and empowering managers and employees to actively manage both lateral and vertical career development.
How can this support the NHS?
Enables strategic cost efficiency through succession planning and integrated workforce planning Enhances pay equity and transparency Provides employees with clear role expectations, career opportunities, and guidance on critical skills Drives higher retention, with evidence showing a 41% increase when internal talent development is prioritised Supports staff engagement, with 94% of employees more likely to stay if invested in training and development Helps the NHS to reduce costly attrition, improve workforce stability, and build a future-ready, motivated workforce
What value will this realise?
Patient outcomes Improve workforce stability and capability alignment to ensure continuity and consistency in high-quality patient care. Employee experience) Provide clear role expectations, career opportunities, critical skills guidance, and fair and transparent pay and progression, driving higher retention, trust and engagement. Cost optimisation Reduce costly attrition and reliance on agency staff by improving workforce stability, building a future-ready, motivated and agile NHS workforce, all whilst enhancing pay equity and transparency.
Inspiring leaders, enabling teams
Develop confident, inclusive leaders who empower teams to deliver outstanding care
Context
The NHS faces critical talent shortages, rising productivity challenges and financial pressures, with many Integrated Care Boards forecasting significant workforce deficits. Strengthening leadership and staff engagement within this context is essential to sustaining productivity, reducing burnout, and retaining vital clinical and non-clinical staff. Leaders play a key role in creating psychologically safe workplaces, ultimately supporting patient safety, care quality, and staff wellbeing by fostering open communication, learning from mistakes, and encouraging innovation.
How we can help you
Employee listening Capture real-time workforce insights using advanced cultural diagnostics and pulse surveys focused on employee experience. Inclusive leadership Develop inclusive leadership capabilities through targeted assessments and tailored development programmes. Reward Design strategic reward and recognition programmes that attract, motivate, and retain your most valued NHS talent.
Employee Listening
Capturing Real-Time Insights to Drive Engagement
What is Employee Listening?
Employee Listening is a tailored approach that combines surveys and digital tools to gather meaningful workforce feedback unique to each organisation. Mercer’s approach ensures that listening initiatives address stakeholder needs, provide actionable insights for decision-making, and equip leaders and managers to understand and act on results, fostering continuous improvement in employee experience.
How can this support the NHS?
All-Employee Surveys Comprehensive surveys identifying positive experiences and areas needing attention across locations, roles, and demographics, enabling targeted action to improve engagement and performance Pulse Surveys Frequent, focused surveys to track progress on strategic priorities and workforce wellbeing, allowing rapid response to emerging issues Lifecycle Surveys Targeted surveys at critical employee journey moments (e.g., onboarding, exit) to understand and improve experience at key touchpoints Preference Surveys Capture employee work expectations and values to support personalised engagement strategies Digital Focus Groups Live, cost-effective conversations across multiple locations to explore employee views in depth and foster cultural change Existing Survey Data Analysis We can also analyse existing data sources, including the NHS Staff Survey, to deliver meaningful insights and support evidence-based decision-making
What value will this realise?
Patient outcomes Improved staff engagement and wellbeing lead to higher quality, safer patient care through a more motivated and attentive workforce Employee experience Real-time insights enable targeted interventions that enhance job satisfaction, reduce burnout, and foster a culture of open communication and continuous learning Cost optimisation Early identification and resolution of workforce issues reduce turnover and absenteeism, lowering recruitment and operational costs while improving retention
We can support NHS leaders with best practice guidance, training, and behavioural tips to translate survey results into effective interventions, enhancing leadership capability and employee experience. Our tech-agnostic approach means we can work with existing NHS tools or recommend best-fit listening technologies.
Inclusive Leadership
Developing Leaders Aligned with NHS Strategy and Culture
What is Inclusive Leadership?
Inclusive Leadership is a strategic, evidence-based approach to developing NHS leaders who embody the organisation’s priorities, culture, and values. It fosters leadership behaviours that promote equity, psychological safety, and collaboration, enabling leaders at all levels to drive meaningful, lasting change aligned with NHS goals.
How can this support the NHS?
Ground leadership development in NHS strategy and culture through strategic interviews to ensure learning reflects real organisational needs Design experience-based, impact-oriented programs that encourage reflection, experimentation, and lasting behavioural change Customise learning to different leadership levels, from senior leaders to emerging managers, using diverse formats such as masterclasses, workshops, networking events, and modular programmes Deliver flexible sessions led by Mercer experts or internal trainers, combining thought leadership, practical skills training, and peer learning to build resilience, strategic capability, and emotional intelligence Integrate personalised, insight-driven learning with psychometric assessments to enhance self-awareness and tailor development. Use targeted workshops to support guided group coaching, self-reflection, and peer learning, empowering NHS leaders to identify actionable goals and drive inclusive leadership behaviours
What value will this realise?
Patient outcomes Inclusive leadership drives safer, higher-quality care by fostering open communication, diverse perspectives, and collaborative decision-making Employee experience Enhance staff engagement, psychological safety, and wellbeing by promoting equitable leadership practices and supportive workplace cultures Cost optimisation Improve retention and reduce turnover costs by building resilient, capable leaders who effectively manage teams and drive sustainable organisational performance
Reward
Strategic Support for Fair, Competitive, and Compliant NHS Pay and Benefits
What do we mean by ‘Reward’?
Reward encompasses the design and implementation of pay and benefits strategies that comply with legislation, reflect employee value, and support organisational goals. It includes total reward programmes balancing base pay, variable pay, and non-pay benefits to attract, motivate, and retain NHS talent while promoting fairness and equity. As a global leader in reward consultancy, we offer deep expertise to help NHS organisations design and implement transparent, fair, and motivating reward frameworks that support retention, career progression, diversity and inclusion, and workforce sustainability.
How can this support the NHS?
Our approach includes
Reviewing total reward programmes and employee value propositions Providing benchmarking reports and market insights tailored to NHS needs Supporting job architecture development using proven methodologies like International Position Evaluation (IPE) Delivering scalable, data-driven solutions for pay and total rewards aligned with NHS workforce strategy Performing pay equity analysis to calculate unexplainable pay differences
Key services include
Co-creating future-focused reward strategies based on workforce segmentation and employee personas Designing reward structures that balance base pay, variable pay, and benefits Implementing total reward strategies with clear communication and change management plans Leveraging Mercer’s proprietary tools and data platforms (e.g., TAAP+, Comptryx, Mercer WIN, Job Library) for market analysis, job evaluation, and skills mapping Providing comprehensive benchmarking against local, regional, and industry-specific data to ensure competitive and equitable compensation.
What value will this realise?
Patient outcomes Fair and motivating reward frameworks contribute to workforce stability, ensuring consistent staffing levels that support high-quality, safe patient care Employee experience Transparent and equitable pay and benefits enhance employee satisfaction, support career progression, and foster an inclusive workplace culture Cost optimisation Strategic reward design reduces turnover and agency reliance, optimises total reward spend, and supports sustainable workforce planning aligned with NHS priorities
Revolutionising care
Innovate and transform services and roles to create a resilient, patient-centred NHS
Context
The NHS faces intense workforce pressures, operational inefficiencies, and urgent demands to improve patient care outcomes. Widespread staff burnout and role overload are undermining morale and productivity, whilst outdated systems and fragmented processes hinder timely decision-making and access to care. Trusts are undergoing rapid technological change, which, though essential, can create uncertainty and resistance. To meet rising targets with tight budgets, the NHS must rapidly adapt by empowering its workforce, streamlining processes, and embracing innovation to deliver high-quality healthcare.
How we can help you
Work Design Optimise productivity by redesigning tasks, workflows, and talent alignment to protect both staff and patient wellbeing HR Digital Transformation Harness new technologies to streamline HR operations, driving standardisation, efficiency, and alignment with strategic NHS goals Change Management Embed lasting change by aligning leadership, fostering organisation-wide understanding, and creating a culture that supports continuous improvement
Work Design
Creating Agile, Patient-Centred Workflows
What is Work Design?
Our Work Design methodology aligns tasks, technology and people to put patient care first. Built with the nuances of primary and secondary care in mind, our tools and approach work to free up the right people to deliver the right tasks for strong patient outcomes.
Key steps include
Deconstructing Jobs Where clinically appropriate, shifting focus from “who does this job?” to “what work needs to be done?” by breaking patient processes into tasks to tackle inefficiencies, ensuring the necessary skills are in place for effective patient care, and identifying opportunities to improve patient experience Redeploying Tasks Thoughtfully assessing which tasks can be automated, augmented by AI, outsourced, or reassigned to nontraditional talent pools to support efficient, care-driven patient experience, with careful consideration of quality, oversight, and patient safety Reconstructing Work Strategically reassembling tasks into new workflows aligned with NHS priorities and patient outcomes, fostering adaptive, scalable, and flexible ways of working that maintain high standards of care
How can this support the NHS?
Our approach includes
Reviewing total reward programmes and employee value propositions Providing benchmarking reports and market insights tailored to NHS needs Supporting job architecture development using proven methodologies like International Position Evaluation (IPE) Delivering scalable, data-driven solutions for pay and total rewards aligned with NHS workforce strategy Performing pay equity analysis to calculate unexplainable pay differences
What value will this realise?
Patient outcomes Fair and motivating reward frameworks contribute to workforce stability, ensuring consistent staffing levels that support high-quality, safe patient care Employee experience Transparent and equitable pay and benefits enhance employee satisfaction, support career progression, and foster an inclusive workplace culture Cost optimisation Strategic reward design reduces turnover and agency reliance, optimises total reward spend, and supports sustainable workforce planning aligned with NHS priorities
Digital Transformation
Enabling HR Innovation and Efficiency in the NHS
What is Digital Transformation?
Digital Transformation is a structured, phased approach to modernising HR functions by leveraging AI, automation, and advanced technologies. It involves redesigning HR roles, implementing new systems, and embedding continuous improvement to enhance workforce management and organisational agility. Mercer’s Digital Transformation methodology guides
How can this support the NHS?
Tools and Frameworks: Mercer maintains a vendor-neutral, up-to-date knowledge base of HR technology solutions, advising on platforms like Workday, SAP SuccessFactors, and ServiceNow. We integrate generative AI capabilities to enhance insights, automate processes, and improve workforce productivity. Mercer’s comprehensive, research-driven approach ensures NHS organisations not only meet immediate HR transformation needs but also build long-term capability to thrive in a rapidly evolving healthcare environment
NHS organisations through a structured, four-phase approach to successfully modernise HR functions:
Strategy Development Establish governance, align stakeholders, redesign HR roles leveraging AI and automation, and set up change management structures Activation Finalise policies, plan transitions, and launch change initiatives with training and communication programs Go-Begin Pilot new ways of working, assess readiness, implement HR technologies (e.g., Workday, ServiceNow), and gather feedback to refine solutions Betterment Focus on continuous improvement by measuring performance, optimising employee experience, and embedding governance for ongoing innovation
What value will this realise?
Patient outcomes Streamlined HR processes ensure the right staff are recruited, retained, and deployed efficiently, supporting consistent, high-quality patient care Employee experience Modernised HR systems improve staff engagement by simplifying administrative tasks, enabling faster responses, and supporting career development Cost optimisation Automation and AI reduce HR operational costs, minimise errors, and enable data-driven workforce planning for sustainable NHS service delivery.
Change Management
Embedding Sustainable Change in the NHS
What is Change Management?
We view change not just as a process but as a strategic driver essential to successful People & HR transformation programmes. Our approach focuses on empowering your people as active agents of change from the outset, ensuring lasting impact beyond project delivery. Our flexible, end-to-end support can include strategy development, planning, tactical execution, or a combination, tailored to your NHS context and needs
How can this support the NHS?
We begin with a facilitated Change & Communication Strategy Workshop to:
Understand your change programme goals and milestones Identify target audiences, their concerns, barriers, and benefits of change Determine preferred communication channels and engagement methods Assess risks requiring mitigation through communication, education, and enablement
From these insights, we develop a detailed Change & Communication Strategy Framework that includes:
A strategic approach tailored to audience needs, with 3-4 change journey maps A clear, compelling change narrative Segmented messaging and communication roadmaps aligned to audience groups Visual identity and branding for programme communications (where appropriate)
Crucially, we emphasise change impact assessment and targeted interventions such as operational model adaptations, activation of change networks, and learning initiatives, layered on top of clear, consistent communications. This ensures deeper understanding, acceptance, and sustainable adoption. Recognising that change is emotional, our strategy links the cognitive (“think”), emotional (“feel”), and behavioural (“do”) drivers to your organisation’s goals, delivering relevant, meaningful messaging that resonates with different groups.
What value will this realise?
Patient outcomes Ensures smooth transitions and adoption of new processes, reducing disruptions and safeguarding quality and safety of patient care Employee experience Builds trust, reduces resistance, and supports staff wellbeing by fostering clear communication, psychological safety, and engagement throughout change Cost optimisation Minimises costly rework and delays by increasing first-time adoption, improving operational efficiency, and sustaining long-term benefits of transformation programmes
Future State
By implementing integrated workforce analytics, strategic planning, and career frameworks, NHS organisations will gain clear, data-driven insights to optimise talent attraction, retention, and development. This will enable more effective workforce planning aligned with patient care priorities and the evolving demands of modern healthcare.
Enhanced employee listening and inclusive leadership development will foster a culture of psychological safety, where staff feel valued, heard, and empowered. Leaders at all levels will be equipped to support diverse teams, drive engagement, and nurture wellbeing, reducing burnout and elevating morale.
Strategic reward and recognition programmes will motivate and retain key talent by aligning pay and benefits with employee needs and market realities, reinforcing a compelling NHS employer value proposition.
Reimagining work design, accelerating digital transformation, and embedding effective change management will unlock critical time for patient care by reducing unnecessary administrative burdens and fostering sustainable change. Leveraging AI and innovative technologies will enable smarter, more flexible ways of working that enhance productivity and support staff wellbeing.
© 2026 Marsh LTD. All Rights Reserved. Designed & built by the Impact team.