The Process

Stage 1 – Registration

Registration should be endorsed by the Chief Executive, General Manager, Director of Nursing, Chief Nurse, Director of Human Resources OR the individual whose job title most closely corresponds to any of the above. Details of the person who should be used as the main contact for the organisation throughout the judging process should also be provided.

Deadline for completion of Registration Form:  30 November 2007

Stage 2 – Employer survey and staff questionnaires

On receipt of the Registration form, Nursing Times will send to the main contact person a Top 100 pack containing:

• Full instructions on the Top 100 process

• The Employer Survey – to be completed and returned to the FREEPOST address provided as soon as possible and by 14 January 2008 at the latest

• A set of Staff Questionnaires - to be distributed by the employer to a representative sample of the nursing workforce. Questionnaires should be returned by staff directly to Nursing Times, to the Freepost address provided, as soon as possible and by 14 January 2008 at the latest.

Stage 3 – Telephone interviews

Analysis of the questionnaires may be followed up by validatory telephone interviews with a small number of employees.

Stage 4 – Judging Round 1

The first round of judging will select the Top 100 organisations for nurses to work for. Organisations will be notified if they are included in the Top 100 list by the end of February 2008.

Stage 5 – Judging Round 2

The second round of judging will select:

• The Top 10 organisations for nurses to work for, in ranked order

• The Top Small Employer

• The Top Mental Health Employer

• The Top Acute/Hospital Services Employer

• The Top Primary Care Employer

• The Top Independent Employer

• The Top Family-Friendly Employer

• The Top Healthy Workplace Employer

The results will be announced in April 2008 and celebrated at a special Nursing Times Top 100 lunch in central London.

Conditions of Entry

1.  The initiative is open to any healthcare organisation (NHS or independent) which employs nurses. This includes NHS acute trusts, NHS mental health trusts, NHS primary care trusts, government agencies, independent hospitals, nursing and residential care homes, hospices and charitable organisations and the armed forces.

2.  The organisation must employ at least 20 qualified nurses in order to be eligible for entry.

3.  Organisations may enter separately or, if owned by a parent company or organisation, as a group employer, according to individual circumstances.

4.  The word ‘nurse’ applies to any nurse, midwife or health visitor whose professional qualification is registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Council. Student/unqualified nurses, healthcare assistants, nursing assistants, nursing auxiliaries and nursery nurses are not included.

5.  The employer’s survey must be completed by one of the following: Chief Executive, General Manager, Director of Nursing, Director of Human Resources, Chief Nurse or the nearest corresponding title.

6.  The employer is required to distribute the staff questionnaires to the requested number of the nursing workforce.  The questionnaires must be returned by the staff directly to Nursing Times.

7.  The cohort surveyed must, where appropriate, include representatives from:

• Each band/grade of nurses employed

• Full and part-time staff

• As wide an age range as possible

• Male and female staff

8.  We aim for a 40% response rate (minimum of 10 responses) to the staff questionnaire for inclusion in the ‘Top 100’ scoring.  Nursing Times will inform employers if the response rate is not considered high enough for inclusion in the scoring, to allow employers to undertake their own reminder activity if appropriate.

9.  Nursing Times guarantees that all information contained in the staff questionnaires will be treated with strict confidentiality. Only the overall scores will be released, on request, to the employer.

10.  Nursing Times guarantees that the scores of individual organisations will only be released, on request, to the organisation concerned and will not be made public under any circumstances. The names of organisations which enter but are not included in the final Top 100 will not be publicised or released to any outside organisation under any circumstances.

Click here to register for the NT Top 100 2008