THE NHS trust that runs Leigh Infirmary and Wigan’s Royal Albert Edward Infirmary has scooped a national award.

The Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust picked up the CIPD People Management Award for Best Digital Initiative in HR in an awards ceremony at London’s Grosvenor House.

It follows the trust’s innovative work in developing and establishing its own Go Engage staff engagement model, which led to the development of a staff survey and organisational culture analytics IT system called Xopa.

Nicole Ferguson, head of staff engagement at the trust, said: “We are absolutely delighted to have received such a prestigious award from the CIPD for our digital initiative to improve employee engagement and are overwhelmed by the impression our entry has made on the judges.

“We believe passionately in our IT platform Xopa and our employee engagement programme Go Engage and have seen the positive impact they have made to organisational culture.

“We are proud that the IT platform we developed is now helping to make a positive difference to many more workplaces across the country.”

Alison Balson, director of workforce, added: “I am delighted that Go Engage and our Xopa system have been recognised by the CIPD as the national award winner for digital innovation.

“The system has given us real insight about how our staff are feeling in a way that is easy to understand, enabling us to target our actions where they are really needed.”

In their feedback, CIPD judges noted that the Go Engage team were ‘a committed and highly articulate team who described in great detail the strategic challenges facing the trust’.

They added: “That other trusts are now interested in the model and the digital solution is testament to the significance this well designed and deployed technology solution has delivered.”

The CIPD (Chartered Institute for Personnel Development) is the professional body for human resources and people development.

Its People Management Awards seek to recognise outstanding achievement in people management and learning development and acknowledge the critical importance that both have towards the overall success of an organisation.