This page has been created to help colleagues across University Hospitals of Liverpool Group understand the NHS National Quarterly Pulse Survey (NQPS), how it differs from the annual NHS National Staff Survey, and how to make the most of the results within your teams.
Regular staff feedback is essential to building a positive, inclusive, and supportive workplace culture. By listening to your team’s experiences and acting on their input, you can help create an environment where colleagues feel valued and engaged.
- Click here to view the full NQPS Support and Communications Pack
- Click here to complete the National Quarterly Pulse Survey
The NHS National Quarterly Pulse Survey is a regular staff feedback tool designed to capture the experiences of our colleagues across a range of key areas, such as workload, wellbeing, leadership, and team morale.
The Pulse Survey acts as a regular ‘temperature check’, providing timely insights into staff wellbeing and workplace culture between the annual National Staff Surveys.
How does the Quarterly Pulse Survey differ from the National Staff Survey?
The NHS Pulse Survey and the National Staff Survey both play important roles in understanding staff experience, but they differ in key ways:
The Quarterly Pulse Survey is closely linked to both patient care and staff retention because colleagues’ experiences directly impact the quality of care they provide and their decision to stay within the organisation.
When colleagues feel supported, engaged, and valued, they are more likely to be motivated, and able to deliver compassionate, high-quality care to patients. By using Pulse Survey insights to improve the working environment, UHLG can create a healthier, more positive culture that not only benefits colleagues but also leads to better patient outcomes and stronger staff retention.
Your role as a People Manager:
To help you raise awareness and encourage participation in the Quarterly Pulse Survey within your team, a range of ready made promotional materials to share in staff areas (please do not display these in patient-facing areas):
Making the most of your survey results is essential to driving positive change within your team. It is important to understand how to read and interpret the data accurately so you can carry out an effective temperature check, identify key issues, and engage your team in meaningful conversations about their experiences and priorities.
To help you with this, we have developed a ‘Post Survey Support Guide’ that guides you through understanding, analysing, and using your survey feedback effectively.
Within the Post Survey Support Guide you will find:
- Introduction to the Quarterly Pulse Survey and our provider
- Understanding and analysing your results
- Engaging with your team
- Setting actions together
- A team engagement session example
- Further support available.
We recommend reviewing this toolkit before team meetings or action planning sessions. It is designed to support you in turning feedback into meaningful improvements and fostering open, constructive conversations within your team.
Once the survey window closes, results will be analysed by our independent survey provider. You will receive a summary report that includes anonymised, combined feedback for your team, directorate, or department (depending on response rates).
This information is intended to support open conversations, guide team engagement, and help shape local action plans.
