Can You Audit “Workforce Capability”?

Making Workforce Capability Tangible

Workforce capability is one of any healthcare organisation's most essential focus areas. Everyone is talking about it. We see it everywhere. But it can feel intangible. What is it? How do you build it? If an auditor showed up tomorrow, how would we show it?

In a recent webinar, we set out to make this concept more tangible. We looked at how you can build workforce capability – and demonstrate it during an audit. We explored how organisations can turn this essential concept into tangible, actionable outcomes by breaking it into clear evidence types and linking capability to everyday practice.

What Auditors Will Look For

Building workforce capability can feel like an abstract concept. Auditors are looking for both intent and impact—not just what you say you do but what actually happens on the floor.

They want to understand:

Is there evidence that the workforce has the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and competencies that enable staff to perform effectively?

Workforce capability needs to appear across multiple types of evidence. You’ll likely already have many of these pieces; these items are things you are already doing. The task now is to link them clearly and prepare your organisation to explain how they all fit together.

Importantly, auditors will triangulate evidence. They want to connect documents, feedback, and observations to ensure the story aligns at every level, from executives to frontline staff to individuals receiving care.

Evidence Type	Examples
Documents and records	Workforce strategy. Risk mitigation and psychological safety strategies. Worker supervision policies. Performance review processes. Induction and training processes. Your training matrix. Evidence of system improvements. Sample of worker performance reviews.
Governing Body Feedback	How is your Board involved in workforce planning? How do they know your strategy is working? How is your governing body overseeing and assuring quality in recruitment, training, and supervision systems? Provide examples of recent strategies implemented.
Management Feedback	Can you describe your workforce strategy? How do you mitigate the risk of workforce shortages? How do you manage skill mix? How do you maintain a psychologically safe workplace? How do you train the workforce? How do you make sure workers have time to complete training? How are performance reviews conducted?
Individual Feedback	Auditors want to hear directly from your staff — especially agency and subcontractors, and individuals (clients/residents): Do they feel supported, trained, and able to provide care? Do they know where to get help? Do they feel psychologically safe and believe there are enough skilled colleagues on a shift? Are there any areas where you would like more training? Do individuals think staff are well-trained? Are people getting the care they want, when they want it?
Observations and Care Outcomes	Do observations in the environment support your feedback? Are there sufficient workers to provide safe, quality care? Observation of agency staff or students to confirm adequate supervision. What is your percentage of turnover (mandatory quality indicator data)?

Watch the full webinar to hear how to prepare for your first audit under the new Standards and what evidence items relating to workforce capability may be requested.

Ensure your organisation is prepared for your first audit under the strengthened Standards.

Request your free Audit Readiness Tool

Enabling Workforce Capability: Psychological Safety and Trauma-Informed Practice

Two key enablers in the new Standards are psychological safety and trauma-informed practice. These concepts are critical — they are the “glue” that supports capability by enabling people to: