Understanding the human stories behind the workforce
At a Healthcare People Management Association (HPMA) webinar, Naeem Younis, Founder and CEO of Strasys, spoke alongside Alder Hey Children’s and Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trusts. In many NHS organisations, the workforce is extraordinarily diverse. One in four staff members comes from an ethnic minority background, representing over 200 nationalities. Despite this, workforce planning often reduces people to job titles and disciplines, overlooking the personal factors driving performance and productivity. The answer lies in Workforce Decision Intelligence.
Naeem Younis
Founder and CEO, Strasys
The role of people planning in workforce management
Workforce planning has traditionally been conducted in isolation, focusing on solving immediate operational challenges such as staff shortages, high turnover rates, and sickness levels. Effective people planning should be more dynamic. It involves asking better questions and connecting diverse sets of data: staff, finance, performance, quality and patient outcomes. The key is to move beyond linear, one-size-fits-all approaches and focus on the human stories behind the workforce. This is the core of Workforce Decision Intelligence.
Melissa Swindell
Chief People Officer, Alder Hey Children’s NHS FT
Workforce segmentation in action at Alder Hey
Melissa Swindell, Chief People Officer at Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, explained how data analytics helped the organisation develop a deeper understanding of its workforce, including the knowledge that one in three employees are on the move at any one time. Strasys segmented the workforce into different cohorts, each with distinct characteristics and needs. For example, long-serving employees who had been with the organisation for eight years or more were highly experienced and committed but often felt disconnected from the vision. The result? A 1% reduction in sickness rates, a 5% improvement in retention, and £70 million in financial savings. This work was recognised as a finalist in the HPMA Excellence in People awards.
Heather Barnett
Chief People Officer, Liverpool University Hospitals NHS FT
Extending the approach at scale: Liverpool University Hospitals
Heather Barnett, Chief People Officer at Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, shared her experience implementing workforce segmentation in a much larger, more complex organisation. With over 15,000 staff spread across multiple sites within the wider Cheshire and Merseyside ICB system, UHLG faced significant challenges in wellbeing, retention, and productivity. The segmentation identified a £350m productivity opportunity over five years, now embedded in the trust’s transformation programme. Heather emphasised using data to connect agendas from the front line to the boardroom. This was later recognised as a finalist in the HSJ Partnership Awards 2025.
1 in 3
employees at Alder Hey are on the move at any one time
£70m
in financial savings from workforce segmentation at Alder Hey
£350m
productivity opportunity identified at UHLG over five years
Key takeaways
The future lies in data-driven decision-making. By investing in the right tools and strategies, organisations can unlock the full potential of their workforce, improve productivity, and deliver better outcomes for both staff and patients. Start by understanding the human stories your data already contains.
If your board is still planning the workforce by headcount and pay band, a short conversation can clarify what a segmentation-led approach could significantly improve planning, productivity and quality of care. No pitch. Just a practical starting point.
Further reading: Alder Hey WDI case study. HPMA Excellence in People awards.
Questions leaders ask about workforce analytics
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Workforce segmentation uses qualitative and quantitative data to group staff by needs, behaviours, and motivations rather than by role or pay band. This enables targeted interventions that improve retention, productivity, and wellbeing. Workforce Decision Intelligence pioneered this approach in the NHS.
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At Alder Hey, workforce segmentation delivered a 1% reduction in sickness, 5% improvement in retention, and £70m in financial savings. At Liverpool University Hospitals, it identified a £350m productivity opportunity over five years. Both received national recognition through the HSJ Partnership Awards and HPMA Excellence in People awards.
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Prof Sir Muir Gray identifies four types: waste left after a job has been done; waste due to low productivity; waste when interventions fail to achieve outcomes that matter; and waste due to opportunity costs where resources would produce more value elsewhere.
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Building capability means investing in tools, skills, and capacity to gather, analyse, and interpret workforce data. It means fostering a culture of continuous learning where organisations ask better questions and adapt. The Strasys Academy works with leadership teams to build this capability.