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Who will see my responses? Will my responses be disclosed to my line manager?

Your personal responses will only be accessible to Webropol, who are the company providing the IT system that iMatter data sits on and processing any paper questionnaires. No one in your Board, including your line manager, will see anything other than aggregated and anonymised team results

As a member of a team, I don't want my non-participation in the survey to be known to anyone. Will my manager or anyone in my team know that I haven’t undertaken the survey?

Team Managers and team members will know how many people have completed the questionnaire, but will not be able to identify individuals who have/have not participated. There are lots of good reasons to complete the questionnaire, but if you don't then unless everyone in the team fails to participate there will be no way of knowing that you didn't.

 When eESS is up and running, is it expected that everyday changes in reporting as people leave/change roles will automatically be updated in the iMatter system?

 The iMatter system will have the capability to link with other systems. It is anticipated that this will include e:ESS (the electronic employee self-service system for NHS Scotland) when it is fully operational. However, no specific plans or timescales are in place for this yet.

How does my data get on to the IT system and how is it maintained?

Initially, data is being uploaded to the system by the IT provider Webropol using spreadsheets populated by the Board iMatter Lead and their team. Over time, this data will need to be maintained to reflect changes in team membership and organisational structures. Until such time as any link with the e:ESS system is possible (see below), this will be coordinated by the Board iMatter Lead with Team Managers also responsible for making amendments to team membership on the system as and when this changes. See support for managers for further detail.

How will those without PC access who are completing a paper questionnaire return this?

 Pre-paid addressed envelopes will be supplied via Health Board iMatter Leads and their teams to Team Managers to distribute with copies of the paper questionnaire where colleagues are not able to complete the questionnaire online. These envelopes should be posted by individuals and will go directly to Webropol, the iMatter system provider.

How will completion be monitored - will there be something in place to stop people completing multiple returns

The IT System records the data as it is submitted, and a barcode for your team is included in the paper questionnaire to allow your responses to be scanned in to the system by the IT provider, Webropol, where necessary. A number of safeguards are in place to combat fraudulent completions. These include Webropol being able to see who has completed duplicate questionnaires. Additionally, any returns of over 100% for a team will be rendered null and void.

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Who has access to/receives a copy of the EEI ?

The Employee Engagement Index (EEI) Score for a team is contained within the Team Report. It is the only element of the report that will be made available via the IT system to the Director of the department the team is part of. This is to ensure that a more senior manager than the Team Manager has oversight of how staff experience is rated in teams, enabling them to take an informed view across a Directorate. For similar reasons, the Chief Executive and Chair will have access to the EEI (but not the aggregated or individual Director's team report) for a Directorate. The Board iMatter Lead will be able to view all Team and Directorate EEI scores across the organisation to help identify areas where more or less support may be required to help improve staff experience.

Who gets to know each Health Board's EEI scores and how is this information used?

All of the Employee Engagement Index (EEI) scores generated for teams in a Health Board will contribute towards an overall EEI score for the Health Board. This will only be generated once all staff have had the chance to participate in iMatter. As well as the staff in a Health Board, with whom it is expected to be shared, the Scottish Government will see a Health Board's EEI score via the iMatter system. It will also be provided annually via the Staff Governance Monitoring return. This data is an important means of helping to ensure Health Boards work to continually improve staff experience over time and can be held accountable for this by Scottish Government.

Who signs off the action plan and can the team see it?

The Team Action Plan is to be developed by the team and the Team Manager, who are jointly responsible for signing it off. It is entered on the iMatter system by the Team Manager and will be visible to the team via the team Storyboard.

Who has access to/receives a copy of the Team Report?

Central to iMatter is the concept that the data generated through your team's completion of the questionnaire is your teams to own and use in order to support your continuous improvement of your working practice.  Team Managers are required to share the report with their team as part of a facilitated feedback discussion.

Who has access to/receives a copy of the Team Action Plan?

As with the Team Report, the iMatter Action Plan is the team's to own and should not be shared more widely by anyone without the express consent of the team. In the interests of supporting learning the Board iMatter Lead will be able to identify themes emerging across Directorates or the Health Board as a whole. There may be circumstances where the team feel it is advisable for the Team Manager to share the report with a more senior colleague, for example if encountering difficulties implementing a specific improvement. In such cases, teams are not discouraged from agreeing to do so.

As a manager of a team, can the iMatter tool tell me how many of my staff have completed their questionnaire?

Team Managers are responsible for encouraging participation in iMatter, and to support them the IT system will provide a live indication of the number of team members who have completed the questionnaire. To preserve anonymity this will not include the names of those who have/have not completed the questionnaire. As paper questionnaires are received by Webropol, the IT system provider, they will be scanned and the response added to the team's completion rate.

How much detail will the IT system be populated with about individuals? How does this sit with Information Governance?

In order to issue questionnaires and appropriately sort and report results, the iMatter system requires details of team member names, E Mail addresses, as well as the department and Directorate. This presents no Information Governance issues, and as the data is stored on a secure server by Webropol, the IT provider, it is not felt by e:Health leads to represent a Data Protection risk.

How will more senior managers know that I am using the questionnaire outputs appropriately with my team?

If team members are happy for them to do so, Team Managers are encouraged to share their team’s report and action plan with their line manager or a more senior colleague. It is hoped that all Team Managers will provide an indication of how the process is going when meeting with their line manager. In the long term, the development and publication of a Team Storyboard will provide insight for others as to how the team has used the data to support improvements in its staff experience.

As a Team Manager, will I receive an EEI score if I have a very small team?

As long as 100% of team members complete the questionnaire in the 3 week window, you will receive an EEI score.

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Who is responsible for monitoring action plans?

The line manager of a team has this responsibility, although all team members have a role to play in supporting delivery of agreed improvement actions. The Director of the area concerned, even if they have not seen the actual team report, may also seek assurance that an action plan has been put in place and that this is being progressed. The Board iMatter Lead will be able to identify themes that are emerging and/or provide additional advice as requested.

How does my team's data get on to the IT system and how is it maintained?

 Initially, data is being uploaded to the system by the IT provider Webropol using spreadsheets populated by the Board iMatter Lead and their team. Over time, this data will need to be maintained to reflect changes in team membership and organisational structures. Until such time as any link with the e:ESS system is possible (see below), this will be coordinated by the Board iMatter Lead at their team with Team Managers also responsible for making amendments to team membership on the system as and when this changes. Full instructions will be provided on the IT system when the Team Manager first logs in and during further use.

As a Director of a large service, I am keen to identify areas where staff are not engaged so that I can offer support to those teams. Can the report I receive help me to do this?

As a Director, as well as your own team report you will receive an aggregate report that reflects the data from all teams in your Directorate. In addition, you will be able to view the EEI score for each team in your Directorate. In the course of your supervision of managers across the Directorate you will have the opportunity to ask Team Managers how they are progressing with their action planning and will be able to seek assurances that this is in hand for any whose EEI scores are of specific interest.

As a Director of a large service, I am keen to identify common development themes across my departments. This will help me put in place common support / development activities to help improvement. Can the report I receive help me to do this?

 Yes, the aggregated Directorate Report will be structured in the same way as your individual Team Report. Therefore, you will be able to see how ratings were distributed across each of the 28 staff experience components, plus the 5 strands of the Staff Governance Standard. Combined with your access to data on individual team EEI scores, this should enable you to identify areas where further development support may be helpful, supporting a discussion with Team Managers about this.

I think some staff might use the iMatter tool as a way to get at the organisation. If this happens, my team scores will be detrimentally affected. How can this be prevented?

The staff experience framework around which the iMatter questionnaire is built includes components that relate to the views of staff on the organisation as a whole. It is unlikely that a team EEI score will be significantly adversely impacted by these components alone. More importantly, as with the other components, it is the discussion about the different aspects of staff experience in your team rather than the report data itself that is potentially the most valuable output from the process.

What will happen if my team's Employee Engagement Index score suggests there are problems?

Where an EEI score is either red or amber, the Board iMatter Lead, a member of their team or their nominated Directorate representative will arrange to have a confidential discussion with the Team Manager concerned before any steps are taken to feed back the report to the team. This is to enable a discussion around the support that can be provided to the Team Manager, for example through the external facilitation of the team feedback session. In order to inform this initial discussion, it is expected that the Team Manager will make a copy of the Team Report available to the individual having this confidential conversation with them. The report will not normally be shared further without the agreement of the Team Manager, although it may be recommended that their line manager is included in subsequent discussions to ensure that the Team Manager and the team are appropriately supported moving forward.

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What if managers are not committed to addressing issues that iMatter data highlights?

If issues identified through iMatter reports are not addressed, then over time the iMatter Employee Engagement Index score for the team and line manager concerned will reflect this. The EEI score will be visible to Directors, who in turn will have an EEI score for their Directorate that is visible to the Chief Executive and Staff Governance Committee. It is expected that this will promote action where it is still required to address issues.

What do I do if there are mixed but strong views in my team about participating in iMatter?

There are a number of good reasons to participate in iMatter, but ultimately a team will only get a report if at least 60% of members participate. Importantly, the better the response rate, the more accurate the data will be as a reflection of your team's experience at work. This will better inform a discussion around what is good and what could be improved than a low response rate. If you are genuinely concerned that the response rate will be low in your team, you could consider combining with another team of similar function in your Directorate.

I have heard that the Team Manager for iMatter in my area is not my direct line manager. If so, how do I complete the questionnaire?

In some cases, teams for the purposes of matter are made up of more than one team from a department's structure. This is to ensure anonymity and the provision of reliable data. If this is the case, it may mean that the person named as the Team Manager is not your direct line manager. However, within the questionnaire, only 3 of 29 questions relate to your direct line manager, and you should answer these based on your experience of them. When the report is produced, it will be for the names Team Manager plus any other line managers to consider the data in relation to these questions and discuss anything that is unclear with those participating in the team feedback session.

This is just another survey isn't it, why should I spend more time completing this one?

iMatter is more than just a 10 minute questionnaire. It is a model for supporting continuous improvement based around data that relates directly to your team. It is beneficial for you and your team to participate as this can enable change at a local and therefore a more personal level than the national Staff Survey can support.

How will we cope with the launch of iMatter at the same time as the staff survey is coming out?

The roll out of iMatter is following a tailored approach agreed individually with each Health Board. This is typically a phased approach throughout the year which means that only a only a small number of staff will be affected by the need to complete iMatter and the national Staff Survey at the same time.

Is the EEI score reliant upon all team members completing the questionnaire?

No, but the Employee Engagement Index Score for a team will only be generated if at least 60% of team members participate by completing the survey on time. This is to help protect the anonymity of respondents and ensure that the Team Manager has a report that is an accurate reflection of the team's views. If a team does not achieve a 60% response rate this will be drawn to the attention of the relevant Director and Board iMatter Lead or their nominated Directorate representative who will agree with the Team Manager the steps required to secure a minimum 60% response.

How will this work for bank and agency staff?

Bank and agency staff will not be included at this time. Discussions will take place in 2015 around the possible inclusion of these groups in future.

In integrated health and social care teams, will iMatter apply to all staff? If not, how will it help these teams?

Participation in iMatter at this time is only for NHS staff given that it is based on the 5 strands of NHSScotland Staff Governance which currently are not applicable to social care staff.  Discussions are currently taking place about the possible applicability of Staff Governance and hence iMatter to social care staff going forward, and updates on this issue will be provided when available.

How are we defining line manager?

The line manager referred to in iMatter is the person who is responsible for you in your department's structure. This may be different from the Team Manager for iMatter, for the reasons explained above.

If teams are given a deadline to return forms back to the IT Company, how will we know what has been returned?

Teams have a standard 3 week window in which to complete the questionnaire, whether doing so online or on paper. The Team Manager will be able to see response rates on a daily basis and the final response rate will be recorded in a report. For paper responses, Webropol have built in 5 working days after the online questionnaire closes for returns to be received. Any not received by this point will not be included in the final response rate for the team.