Making improvements with evidence-based programme Affina Team Journey 

Would you class yourself and your colleagues as operating as a ‘team’? The Organisational Development (OD) team are harnessing the work of Professor Michael West to bring you a course – Affina Team Journey - that aims to help teams work in a more unified and effective manner.  

Research defines ‘real’ teams as those where team members have clear objectives, operate with role interdependence, are adaptable to ensure success and have regular meetings to review their performance. Any team who cannot answer yes to all these requirements is known as a ‘pseudo’ team. 

The well researched benefits of effective team-based working are wide ranging, from increased effectiveness, innovation and staff engagement to increased well-being of team members, through to reducing error rates, turnover and sickness absence. 

The NHS National Staff Survey (NSS) provides data for any team wanting to know how they compare to the requirements of evidence-based programme, Affina Team Journey (ATJ), taking into consideration what staff say about ‘team working’ and ‘line management’. 

Teams across the organisation, who should all now have seen their survey results, who are interested in Affina Team Journey (ATJ) are encouraged to have a conversation with their line manager prior to engagement with their Human Resource Business Partner. 

A team should consist of between 3 – 15 people and may include people who operate together in a management or project / programme function type capacity. The ATJ programme should take between 6 – 9 months to complete and provides a great opportunity for people to conduct meaningful and impactful improvement. The course is usually £100, but at present, free of charge.  

Anyone wishing to know more about ATJ can visit our staff survey intranet site: Staff survey If you have any queries regarding ATJ or any aspect of people related improvement, email: fhft.nationalstaffsurveys@nhs.net