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184 Administration 2020 | NMH Annual Rep t David Fitzgerald Chief Pharmacist who appeared on the Late Late Show in relation to the introduction of Vaccines to Ireland. 2023: "Being the employer of choice and recognising that our staff are our greatest asset" HR provide a quarterly performance report to the Finance Committee and the highlights of the key metrics for 2020 are as follows: Recruitment competitions: 110 Staff wholetime equivalent (December 2020): 916.25 Average absence: 3.9% (COVID-19 related absence recorded separately) Retirements: 15 It is evident that the biggest challenge for HR professionals continues to be recruitment and retention of talent. Monitoring and analysing employee turnover will help identify areas for improvement. HR will position itself within the Hospital to take the lead to examine how best to enhance the hospital employee value proposition and ensure it is well communicated. In terms of staffing levels, numbers have increased by 36 WTE and this is due to a phased recruitment of development posts and COVID-19 pandemic related posts. The average absence rate increased slightly in 2020 with an absenteeism rate of 3.9%. The HSE target for absenteeism with all organisations was at 3.5% for 2020 but this was acerbated by COVID-19. In general, overall sick leave figure continues to come in line with the HSE average and this is due to our dedicated staff and management of attendance. Employee/Industrial Relations Nationally, Industrial Relations (IR) activity was suspended for approximately 6 months in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the necessity to respond to the pandemic which led to a backlog of IR activity later in the year. Due to social distancing guidelines and some staff working remotely or cocooning, communications was challenging. However, a Communication's Group was established and a newsletter was produced on a weekly basis to update staff on COVID-19 and other matters and the Hospital had various competitions to engage staff. HR is part of this Communication group. During the COVID-19 pandemic, staff showed great flexibility and collaboration and adapted quickly as required by patient needs. The Partnership Committee continue to meet monthly with various stakeholders represented to promote communications and work together. The National Maternity Hospital continue to explore all avenues to inform and consult with staff on a daily basis in conjunction with the Hospital Information and Consultation Agreement. Training All training was transferred online in 2020 due to social distancing guidelines. Mandatory Training is managed locally by Department Heads to ensure that at a minimum, staff comply with mandatory training requirements. Online training in 'QQ1 Level 6 Leadership Training', 'Train the Trainer' and 'Project Management' were offered during the year. A working group of relevant stakeholders with HR are developing the e-learning platform 'Totara' and this project will continue into 2021. Service Developments A number of service development posts were approved. A key focus for the future will be planning for the proposed co-location to St Vincent's University Hospital on the Elm Park Campus. The National Maternity Hospital strategic plan for 2019 to 2023 is under way. HR is leading Goal 2 which is to "be the employer of choice and recognising that our staff are our greatest asset". This goal has 4 objectives which will involve our staff and will be people driven.