About Digital SEF
About the Digital Staff Engagement Form
The Digital Staff Engagement Form (SEF) process, which has been paused for the past few months, is now being reinstated!
To support a smooth reintroduction, we will run a short pilot within the Nursing and Midwifery job family before rolling out the process across NHS Lanarkshire. The pilot will commence on Monday 2 November 2026.
The digital form enables new employees, and existing employees taking on an additional post, to complete their SEF in advance of their start date. This supports smoother onboarding and allows services to roster the employee up to six weeks in advance.
Digital Staff Engagement Form
The Digital Staff Engagement Form (SEF) process, which has been paused for the past few months, is now being reinstated!
To support a smooth reintroduction, we will run a short pilot within the Nursing and Midwifery job family before rolling out the process across NHS Lanarkshire. The pilot will commence on Monday 2 November 2026.
The digital form enables new employees, and existing employees taking on an additional post, to complete their SEF in advance of their start date. This supports smoother onboarding and allows services to roster the employee up to six weeks in advance.
Manager Responsibilities – At a glance
1. Employee fills out their part of the SEF
- The employee receives a link from Recruitment
- They complete their part of the SEF and select their Line Manager
- This action automatically sends an email to the manager
2. Line Manager Completes the rest of the SEF
- You will receive an email from HR Communications
- Click the link to open the form
- Complete Section 2 in full
- Select the correct 2nd Line Manager as the Authorised Signatory
- Submit the form
3. Authorised Signatory Approval
- The 2nd Line Manager receives an automated email and Teams approval request
- They review the form and Approve or Decline
4. Workforce Processing
- Once approved, the form is automatically sent to the Workforce Team
- The Workforce Team will process the form and complete on eESS and load employee into Optima (eRostering)
Future start dates
If the start date is in the future, the 1st Line Manager will receive an email to confirm the employee has started, and the start date held is correct – there will be an option to update if start date requires amendment
Reminder Emails
Automated reminder emails are sent if:
- Section 2 has not been completed
- The form has not been approved by the 2nd Line Manager
Manager Responsibilities – At a glance
1. Employee fills out their part of the SEF
- The employee receives a link from Recruitment
- They complete their part of the SEF and select their Line Manager
- This action automatically sends an email to the manager
2. Line Manager Completes the rest of the SEF
- You will receive an email from HR Communications
- Click the link to open the form
- Complete Section 2 in full
- Select the correct 2nd Line Manager as the Authorised Signatory
- Submit the form
3. Authorised Signatory Approval
- The 2nd Line Manager receives an automated email and Teams approval request
- They review the form and Approve or Decline
4. Workforce Processing
- Once approved, the form is automatically sent to the Workforce Team
- The Workforce Team will process the form and complete on eESS and load employee into Optima (eRostering)
Future start dates
If the start date is in the future, the 1st Line Manager will receive an email to confirm the employee has started, and the start date held is correct – there will be an option to update if start date requires amendment.
Reminder Emails
Automated reminder emails are sent if:
- Section 2 has not been completed
- The form has not been approved by the 2nd Line Manager