The walls have ears for our Barnsley allied health professionals

Date:

A team of allied health professionals in Barnsley have been motivating each other and helping to make improvements using simple flipcharts known as the ‘wonderwall’ and the ‘why wall’.

Introduced to the group by specialist dietitian Sarah Armer, the ‘wonderwall’ is a board for staff to note down compliments and praise for each other, while the ‘why wall’ is a safe space to ask questions and create debate. 

Sarah explained: “I thought it would be a good idea to use a wonderwall as a little thank you can go a long way. We use it to thank each other for everything from picking up work at the last minute to sharing lunch when someone had forgotten theirs. It’s created a better culture of helping each other out as we know these acts, no matter how big or small, are valued and appreciated.

“The why wall has been very thought-provoking. People have asked questions as simple as ‘Why don’t we get together more?’ – so we’ve introduced regular team lunch breaks which has been great for our wellbeing. The board has also been used to ask questions such as ‘Why do we use so much paper?’ so we’ve been making an effort to do things more digitally. Both walls have helped to improve productivity, efficiency and morale.

“Every month we collate the responses from our wonderwall and why wall and send them on to senior managers so that they can see the work we’ve done and recognised each other for, and the improvements we’ve made through questioning our processes. It’s been really nice to have a place to formally show our support and appreciation for each other.”

Follow the work of the team on Twitter at @BarnsleyAHPs.

The walls have ears for our Barnsley allied health professionals

time to read: 1 min