Social work recruitment and retention
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Strategic<br />
Briefing<br />
<strong>Social</strong> <strong>work</strong> <strong>recruitment</strong><br />
<strong>and</strong> <strong>retention</strong><br />
www.rip.org.uk
The nature of the issue<br />
The provision of high quality social <strong>work</strong> services relies<br />
upon a well-trained, supported <strong>and</strong> motivated <strong>work</strong>force.<br />
However, a shortage of experienced child <strong>and</strong> family social<br />
<strong>work</strong>ers is evident - both in Engl<strong>and</strong> <strong>and</strong> in the USA, Canada<br />
<strong>and</strong> Australia.<br />
Heavy caseloads, burnout, poor pay <strong>and</strong> conditions,<br />
dysfunctional organisations, <strong>and</strong> low levels of training<br />
<strong>and</strong> support have all been found to explain this<br />
exodus... it is how these combine <strong>and</strong> interact… that<br />
result not only in the departure of weaker <strong>work</strong>ers but<br />
also committed <strong>and</strong> excellent practitioners.<br />
(Baginsky, 2013)<br />
Child <strong>and</strong> family social <strong>work</strong> is challenged by high turnover<br />
<strong>and</strong> vacancy rates <strong>and</strong> a heavy reliance on agency staff (Collins,<br />
2008; Tham, 2007) <strong>and</strong> dem<strong>and</strong> for permanent, experienced<br />
<strong>work</strong>ers significantly outstrips supply (with children’s social<br />
<strong>work</strong> now on the national occupational shortage list).<br />
Experimental statistics published by the Department for<br />
Education (DfE) for the year ending 30th September 2014<br />
- see www.gov.uk/government/statistics/childrens-social<strong>work</strong>-<strong>work</strong>force-2013-to-2014<br />
- show the regional averages<br />
for vacancy, agency <strong>work</strong>er <strong>and</strong> turnover rates (see below) with<br />
individual local authority rates ranging between 0 <strong>and</strong> 56 per<br />
cent. Turnover (the frequency at which <strong>work</strong>ers are leaving) is<br />
the more accurate indicator of the stability of a <strong>work</strong>force <strong>and</strong><br />
hence of <strong>retention</strong> (Baginsky, 2013).<br />
Number of CiN 1<br />
per social <strong>work</strong>er<br />
Vacancy rate<br />
(%)<br />
Agency <strong>work</strong>er<br />
rate (%)<br />
Turnover rate<br />
(%)<br />
Absence 2 rate<br />
(%)<br />
Engl<strong>and</strong><br />
North East<br />
North West<br />
Yorkshire <strong>and</strong> the Humber<br />
East Midl<strong>and</strong>s<br />
West Midl<strong>and</strong>s<br />
East of Engl<strong>and</strong><br />
London<br />
Inner London<br />
Outer London<br />
South East<br />
South West<br />
16 15 15 17 4<br />
15 6 8 12 5<br />
16 11 12 15 5<br />
13 8 8 14 4<br />
20 15 13 15 4<br />
18 17 18 16 5<br />
17 18 17 16 3<br />
16 22 22 21 3<br />
14 16 18 21 3<br />
17 27 26 22 2<br />
16 18 16 19 3<br />
16 11 12 15 4<br />
1<br />
Children in need (CiN)<br />
2<br />
Absence rate includes long-term sickness<br />
(Department for Education, 2015)<br />
2 Research in Practice <strong>Social</strong> <strong>work</strong> <strong>recruitment</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>retention</strong>
Despite well-documented pressures, there are positive<br />
developments in child <strong>and</strong> family social <strong>work</strong> in Engl<strong>and</strong>. The<br />
current refocusing of professional practice on direct <strong>work</strong> with<br />
children <strong>and</strong> families has been widely welcomed, is endorsed<br />
by research <strong>and</strong> (for reasons explored below) is likely to impact<br />
positively on staff <strong>retention</strong>. Professional structures generated<br />
through social <strong>work</strong> reform are widely felt to be contributing<br />
to a higher quality of newly qualified staff entering the<br />
profession. If these <strong>work</strong>ers are to develop into the experienced<br />
practitioners that are currently in such short supply, employers<br />
need to build the organisational cultures required to support,<br />
retain <strong>and</strong> reward <strong>work</strong>ers to stay in this emotionally <strong>and</strong><br />
intellectually challenging profession.<br />
The sustained rise in referral rates <strong>and</strong> reduction in public<br />
sector resources since 2009 create huge <strong>work</strong>load issues<br />
for children’s social care. We know that <strong>recruitment</strong> <strong>and</strong><br />
<strong>retention</strong> are strongly influenced by organisational practice.<br />
In a competitive market there is a good deal that managers<br />
can do to maximise their chances of recruiting <strong>and</strong><br />
maintaining a stable <strong>and</strong> healthy <strong>work</strong>force.<br />
This briefing aims to:<br />
Provide an overview of pertinent research about the factors<br />
that influence <strong>work</strong>ers’ decisions to leave or to remain<br />
within an organisation.<br />
Introduce tools to assess <strong>and</strong> monitor ‘<strong>work</strong>force health’<br />
- an essential step in underst<strong>and</strong>ing where an organisation<br />
needs to focus its <strong>recruitment</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>retention</strong> efforts.<br />
Provide examples of national <strong>and</strong> local initiatives in<br />
<strong>work</strong>force development <strong>and</strong> planning.<br />
Research on staff <strong>retention</strong><br />
The average <strong>work</strong>ing life for social <strong>work</strong>ers is under eight<br />
years, compared to 16 for a nurse <strong>and</strong> 25 for a doctor<br />
(Curtis et al, 2010). Data from other countries show average<br />
length of employment for child welfare <strong>work</strong>ers of one to<br />
three years (Baginsky, 2013) 3 . Clearly this represents a low<br />
return on the investment in training <strong>and</strong> real challenges for<br />
building <strong>and</strong> retaining professional expertise.<br />
The strongest single predictor of actual turnover is intention<br />
to leave. The most accurate predictors of intention to leave<br />
are: organisational commitment, professional commitment,<br />
burnout <strong>and</strong> job satisfaction (Mor Barak et al, 2001; cited in<br />
Baginsky, 2013).<br />
Experienced social <strong>work</strong>ers leaving the profession impacts<br />
on the quality of services since it is through experience that<br />
<strong>work</strong>ers develop the expert knowledge <strong>and</strong> analytical skills<br />
that are vital elements of complex child protection <strong>work</strong><br />
(Ericsson et al, 1993). Definitions of ‘experience’ are not<br />
about years of service per se. In Baginsky’s (2013) research<br />
for the DfE, informants identified the following qualities:<br />
depth <strong>and</strong> breadth of experience; an excellent underst<strong>and</strong>ing<br />
of social <strong>work</strong> theory <strong>and</strong> messages from research; personal<br />
<strong>and</strong> interpersonal skills, <strong>and</strong> professional humility based on<br />
deeper feelings of competence <strong>and</strong> confidence.<br />
Since new practitioners learn through interaction <strong>and</strong><br />
peer support, a shortage of experienced staff reduces the<br />
quality of the ‘community of practice’ for those entering the<br />
profession. A lack of skilled <strong>work</strong>ers reduces service users’<br />
<strong>and</strong> other agencies’ confidence in social <strong>work</strong>ers (Buckley,<br />
2008; cited in Baginsky, 2013) <strong>and</strong> the gaps left by those who<br />
leave cause additional pressure for remaining <strong>work</strong>ers.<br />
Continuity of relationships for service-users is<br />
compromised by high staff turnover. This instability cuts<br />
through the core of relationship-based practice <strong>and</strong> is<br />
likely to exacerbate the issues children <strong>and</strong> young people<br />
face. Research shows qualitative differences between the<br />
case <strong>work</strong> carried out by experienced <strong>and</strong> novice <strong>work</strong>ers<br />
(Forrester, 2000) <strong>and</strong> there is a strong correlation between<br />
children achieving permanency <strong>and</strong> turnover rates amongst<br />
their case<strong>work</strong>ers (Baginsky, 2013).<br />
High thresholds for referral mean that the nature of social<br />
<strong>work</strong> with children <strong>and</strong> young people is increasingly<br />
complex <strong>and</strong> focused on the most complex child protection,<br />
often with children <strong>and</strong> young people who have experienced<br />
trauma from their earliest years (Caw <strong>and</strong> Sebba, 2014).<br />
Inducting NQSWs into this context requires mentoring,<br />
supervision <strong>and</strong> collaborative <strong>and</strong> co-<strong>work</strong>ing approaches.<br />
Use of agency staff is hard to avoid when trying to recruit<br />
experienced staff but can further destabilise teams, since<br />
agency <strong>work</strong>ers have the apparent flexibility to leave difficult<br />
situations. Those <strong>work</strong>ers who remain can become more<br />
unsettled <strong>and</strong> may look to leave themselves, sometimes then<br />
reappearing as either agency <strong>work</strong>ers or as self-employed<br />
with the commensurate risk to employers of breach of HMRC<br />
IR35 compliance. Recent research into why social <strong>work</strong>ers in<br />
adult services ‘go agency’ found flexibility to be a key issue,<br />
alongside ‘the debilitating effect of office politics <strong>and</strong> the<br />
influence <strong>and</strong> perceptions of inadequate managers <strong>and</strong> to<br />
restricted opportunities [for direct <strong>work</strong>] (Cornes et al, 2013;<br />
cited in Baginsky, 2013).<br />
3<br />
The DfE’s Children’s <strong>Social</strong> Work Workforce statistical return commenced in<br />
2013 <strong>and</strong> will start to provide sector specific data on turnover <strong>and</strong> vacancy<br />
rates not currently available.<br />
www.rip.org.uk<br />
3
Research on staff <strong>retention</strong> continued<br />
Agency <strong>work</strong>ers’ peripatetic career paths may undermine<br />
the development of experience. As one London Principal<br />
<strong>Social</strong> Worker noted in commenting on this briefing: ‘In<br />
recruiting for child protection Chairs I see increasing<br />
numbers of <strong>work</strong>ers who have had twelve jobs in the last<br />
two or three years. This raises concerns for me in assuring<br />
the quality of practice I need in a CP Chair’.<br />
While agency take home pay rates are higher than local<br />
authorities’, authorities could do more to make explicit the<br />
many benefits included in permanent staff contracts which<br />
agency <strong>work</strong>ers do not access.<br />
Practitioners start by following the rule book, <strong>and</strong><br />
need coaching <strong>and</strong> encouragement to reflect on<br />
practice. Yet it is this reflective practice that we are<br />
expecting from even newly qualified social <strong>work</strong>ers,<br />
some of whom are in teams with those who have<br />
little more experience than they do.<br />
(Baginsky, 2013)<br />
There are a range of factors that contribute to decisions to<br />
stay or leave an employer or the profession itself. These are<br />
categorised as ‘push’ or ‘pull’ factors.<br />
4 Research in Practice <strong>Social</strong> <strong>work</strong> <strong>recruitment</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>retention</strong>
Push factors (factors that can result<br />
in <strong>work</strong>ers leaving their current<br />
role/profession)<br />
A culture of blame<br />
Negative media representations of social <strong>work</strong> with children<br />
<strong>and</strong> families increase anxiety in a profession where holding<br />
risk is a constant <strong>and</strong> difficult reality to manage. Where<br />
there is perceived to be a negative organisational culture - a<br />
comm<strong>and</strong> <strong>and</strong> control ethos where fear <strong>and</strong> blame are rife<br />
– <strong>work</strong>ers experience feeling vulnerable <strong>and</strong> lacking trust<br />
in management (Healy et al, 2009; Baginsky, 2013). Leaders<br />
need to actively counter this by building systems to support<br />
collective accountability; developing shared commitment<br />
to supervision <strong>and</strong> support, <strong>and</strong> promoting a culture of<br />
continuous learning <strong>and</strong> development.<br />
Lack of clarity about roles<br />
A risk-averse culture often inadvertently results in case<br />
decision-making being pushed upwards. Managers take on<br />
tasks that should rightly sit with frontline practitioners, leaving<br />
practitioners disempowered to exercise their own professional<br />
judgement. This kind of micro-management leads to low job<br />
satisfaction but cannot be instantly reversed (Searle <strong>and</strong> Patent,<br />
2013). Returning decision-making to the appropriate level<br />
needs to go h<strong>and</strong>-in-h<strong>and</strong> with professional development to<br />
improve the confidence <strong>and</strong> skills of individual <strong>work</strong>ers, as<br />
social <strong>work</strong>ers’ decisions must be informed by a breadth of<br />
knowledge if they are to be consistently reliable (Ward, 2014).<br />
High levels of stress/burnout<br />
<strong>Social</strong> <strong>work</strong>ers tend to report higher levels of <strong>work</strong>-related<br />
stress than most other professions (Collins, 2008; Johnson<br />
et al, 2005). Organisational factors contribute significantly<br />
to burnout. When vacancy <strong>and</strong> turnover rates are high,<br />
caseloads rise <strong>and</strong> inexperienced <strong>work</strong>ers may be required<br />
to take too much responsibility at an early stage. Where this<br />
continues over an extended time period, emotional burnout is<br />
likely (Gibbs, 2009; Martin <strong>and</strong> Healy, 2010).<br />
Overly bureaucratic systems<br />
Direct <strong>work</strong> with children <strong>and</strong> families is the core reason social<br />
<strong>work</strong>ers enter the profession <strong>and</strong> is central to job satisfaction<br />
(Eborall <strong>and</strong> Garmeson, 2001; Stalker et al, 2007). Inefficient<br />
<strong>and</strong> overly bureaucratic systems reduce the amount of time<br />
practitioners are able to spend in direct <strong>work</strong>. Layers of<br />
bureaucracy can accrete over time as repeated responses to the<br />
management of risk, while lack of administrative support leads<br />
to inappropriate use of qualified professionals’ capacity on<br />
administrative <strong>work</strong>. Unwieldy electronic recording systems are<br />
a major irritant <strong>and</strong> are often cited as a precipitating factor in<br />
a <strong>work</strong>er’s decision to leave. Service leaders need to challenge<br />
local practices – simplifying <strong>and</strong> integrating procedures where<br />
possible or investing smartly in administrative support to free<br />
up practitioner time <strong>and</strong> expertise.<br />
A negative Ofsted judgement<br />
Staff turnover <strong>and</strong> interim appointments to management <strong>and</strong><br />
leadership roles can increase following a negative inspection<br />
judgement, exacerbating organisational instability. A single<br />
word judgement of ‘Inadequate’ generates anxiety <strong>and</strong><br />
is often the only information retained about the complex<br />
picture of achievements <strong>and</strong> challenges of local services. A<br />
poor Ofsted outcome may then trigger increased <strong>work</strong>loads<br />
<strong>and</strong> staff turnover as well as a reduction in consistency for<br />
children <strong>and</strong> families (Kelly, 2015). Service leaders are thus<br />
required to strike a careful balance between acknowledging<br />
<strong>and</strong> challenging practice shortcomings, whilst recognising<br />
that feeling over-criticised may compel staff to leave at the<br />
very time they are most needed.<br />
There is a growing body of literature that explores how stress<br />
impacts on judgement <strong>and</strong> an ability to perform tasks in<br />
general (Hammond, 1995; Blaug et al, 2007; cited in Baginsky,<br />
2013). Organisations need to be proactive in their attempts<br />
to promote <strong>and</strong> protect the well-being of staff. There may<br />
also be a valuable role for national bodies representing<br />
social <strong>work</strong>ers (such as BASW <strong>and</strong> TCSW) to advocate with<br />
employers on <strong>work</strong>load/caseload issues.<br />
www.rip.org.uk<br />
5
Pull factors (factors that encourage<br />
<strong>work</strong>ers to stay)<br />
The ability to ‘make a difference’<br />
Most social <strong>work</strong>ers have a high level of commitment to<br />
their <strong>work</strong>. They are motivated by contact with families <strong>and</strong><br />
the difference they can make to the lives of young people by<br />
providing high quality services (Stalker et al, 2007; Faulkner<br />
<strong>and</strong> Borah, 2008). Loss of job satisfaction is one of the major<br />
reasons why social <strong>work</strong>ers leave the profession. There is also a<br />
strong link between the motivation of a <strong>work</strong>force <strong>and</strong> levels of<br />
productivity (The Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health, 2000).<br />
Services structured to maximise <strong>work</strong>er time with families<br />
are therefore likely to be more productive <strong>and</strong> more attractive<br />
places to <strong>work</strong>. Research has shown the linkages between<br />
the positive organisational culture <strong>and</strong> lower staff turnover,<br />
improved quality of service <strong>and</strong> outcomes for service users<br />
(Hemmelgarn et al, 2006), as well as with increased job<br />
satisfaction (Ellet et al, 2007; Johnson <strong>and</strong> Mcintyre, 1998).<br />
High quality supervision <strong>and</strong> opportunities for<br />
staff development<br />
Where <strong>work</strong>ers feel supported by both their supervisor <strong>and</strong><br />
peers this is a strong predictor of an intention to remain<br />
within an organisation; it follows that low support is related<br />
to the intention to leave (Dickinson <strong>and</strong> Perry, 2002; Nissley<br />
et al, 2005). High quality supervision <strong>and</strong> opportunities for<br />
development are highly valued <strong>and</strong> help to mitigate the<br />
stresses <strong>and</strong> pressures of the <strong>work</strong>. There is a strong link<br />
between the quality of management <strong>and</strong> good organisational<br />
outcomes, including the service users’ quality of experience.<br />
(Glisson, 2007).<br />
The key components of effective supervision are set out in<br />
a briefing by the <strong>Social</strong> Care Institute of Excellence - www.<br />
scie.org.uk/publications/guides/guide50/files/guide50.pdf<br />
Also look out for the new resources on reflective supervision,<br />
forthcoming from Research in Practice in 2015.<br />
Peer support<br />
Further reading<br />
Support from colleagues <strong>and</strong> a sense of ‘team’ appear to play<br />
a vital role in the well-being of social <strong>work</strong>ers who express a<br />
preference for <strong>work</strong>ing as part of a team of like-minded <strong>and</strong><br />
skilled individuals, sharing knowledge <strong>and</strong> support (King et<br />
al, 2010; Collins, 2008). Attention to the team unit, changes<br />
to organisational structure (see below) <strong>and</strong> a variety of peer<br />
support initiatives can help to achieve this end.<br />
Opportunities for career progression<br />
Recognition <strong>and</strong> career development pathways are an<br />
effective means of retaining experienced practitioners (Burns,<br />
2010). The Professional Capabilities Frame<strong>work</strong> <strong>and</strong> the<br />
three levels of child <strong>and</strong> family social <strong>work</strong> professionals <strong>and</strong><br />
accompanying Knowledge <strong>and</strong> Skills Statement announced by<br />
the DfE in November 2014 both provide structures to support<br />
career development. Progression pathways should include<br />
opportunities for management as well as case-holding senior/<br />
advanced practitioner type roles <strong>and</strong> ‘practice educator’ posts<br />
supporting students or NQSWs.<br />
Further reading<br />
The Professional Capabilities Frame<strong>work</strong> - www.tcsw.org.<br />
uk/ProfessionalCapabilitiesFrame<strong>work</strong><br />
Knowledge <strong>and</strong> Skills Statement - www.gov.uk/<br />
government/consultations/knowledge-<strong>and</strong>-skills-for-child<strong>and</strong>-family-social-<strong>work</strong><br />
Organisational support for emotional well-being<br />
At an individual level, there are approaches that appear to<br />
support social <strong>work</strong>ers to develop greater resilience <strong>and</strong> to<br />
manage the emotional aspects of their <strong>work</strong>. Mindfulness is<br />
one approach with a growing body of research evidence to<br />
support its efficacy. If offered in isolation such strategies may<br />
be seen as placing responsibility for coping with stress with the<br />
individual rather than addressing organisational factors <strong>and</strong><br />
should therefore be one part of a programme of organisational<br />
commitment to promoting staff well-being (Russ et al, 2009).<br />
Further reading<br />
Guardian newspaper article Self care for social <strong>work</strong>ers:<br />
how mindfulness can help - www.theguardian.com/<br />
social-care-net<strong>work</strong>/2015/may/11/self-care-social<strong>work</strong>ers-mindfulness<br />
6 Research in Practice <strong>Social</strong> <strong>work</strong> <strong>recruitment</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>retention</strong>
The Mental Elf, a summary review of mindfulness research<br />
- www.nationalelfservice.net/treatment/mindfulness/<br />
the-evidence-for-mindfulness-mental-health-awarenessweek-mhaw15<br />
Feeling valued<br />
The need to feel valued is a strong theme in research on<br />
social <strong>work</strong> <strong>retention</strong> <strong>and</strong> is cited as a significant factor in the<br />
decision to leave or stay by public sector staff more widely. Pay<br />
may be one aspect of this but is actually rarely cited by social<br />
<strong>work</strong>ers as a reason for leaving a job. <strong>Social</strong> <strong>work</strong>ers generally<br />
speak about value in broader terms, citing the way in which<br />
they are treated <strong>and</strong> spoken of by managers as well as wider<br />
stakeholders including the government <strong>and</strong> the general public<br />
(Audit Commission, 2002).<br />
Although some aspects of this are outside the control of any<br />
employer, services that are proactive in managing internal<br />
<strong>and</strong> local media <strong>and</strong> communications are likely to engender a<br />
greater sense of loyalty amongst their staff. Positive campaigns,<br />
like The College of <strong>Social</strong> Work’s (TCSW) Real <strong>Social</strong> Work<br />
or Community Care’s St<strong>and</strong> up for <strong>Social</strong> Work, <strong>and</strong> robust<br />
advocacy by senior leaders <strong>and</strong> professional bodies can<br />
support <strong>work</strong>ers to feel valued <strong>and</strong> challenge negative<br />
media representations.<br />
Further reading<br />
www.tcsw.org.uk/get-involved/Real<strong>Social</strong>Work<br />
www.communitycare.co.uk/st<strong>and</strong>-social-<strong>work</strong>-2015<br />
Research on staff <strong>recruitment</strong><br />
Recruitment of experienced <strong>work</strong>ers is a significant problem<br />
which is likely to be exacerbated if more NQSWs choose<br />
an early career as a peripatetic agency <strong>work</strong>er. Overseas<br />
<strong>work</strong>ers meet some dem<strong>and</strong> in the immediate term but<br />
many are likely to return home in the longer term, taking<br />
their experience with them.<br />
One outcome of high turnover rates is that social <strong>work</strong><br />
is delivered by a significant proportion of NQSWs <strong>and</strong><br />
<strong>work</strong>ers with less than five years’ experience. High<br />
numbers of graduate social <strong>work</strong>ers in recent years have<br />
allowed employers to be discriminating <strong>and</strong>, with the<br />
right support in place, retaining <strong>and</strong> developing these<br />
high quality NQSWs will build excellence <strong>and</strong> experience.<br />
Newly qualified <strong>work</strong>ers require learning <strong>and</strong> mentoring<br />
investment on the part of employers (Holmes et al, 2013)<br />
<strong>and</strong> the frame<strong>work</strong>s introduced in recent years built<br />
positive structures for this support.<br />
One of the key determinants of whether a newly qualified<br />
<strong>work</strong>er is deemed ‘ready to practise’ is the quality of their<br />
practice placements, yet placements in statutory services are<br />
in short supply <strong>and</strong> employers <strong>and</strong> universities must <strong>work</strong><br />
together to improve the provision of statutory placements.<br />
Where students have a positive experience in their<br />
placements (particularly final placements) they often stay on<br />
to <strong>work</strong> for that authority. However, their decision to do so<br />
is based not just on the placement itself but on experiencing<br />
a positive <strong>work</strong>ing environment <strong>and</strong> good support from<br />
colleagues (Horner et al, 2002; Dinn, 2003).<br />
Employers are developing <strong>recruitment</strong> processes to test<br />
c<strong>and</strong>idates’ skills <strong>and</strong> knowledge in the complex range of<br />
activities required for high quality direct <strong>work</strong> with children<br />
<strong>and</strong> families – including writing <strong>and</strong> analytical skills;<br />
critical reasoning; empathy (Baginsky, 2013). Psychological<br />
screening for emotional resilience may also be appropriate<br />
(Kinman <strong>and</strong> Grant, 2011). There are some early indications<br />
that high scores on measures such as emotional intelligence,<br />
emphatic concern <strong>and</strong> reflective ability are predictors of<br />
resilience, serving as protective factors in a social care role.<br />
The Step up to <strong>Social</strong> Work programme provides an example<br />
of how the investment of employers <strong>and</strong> strong links<br />
with education providers can yield positive results. The<br />
programme places emphasis on c<strong>and</strong>idate selection <strong>and</strong><br />
education providers <strong>and</strong> employers <strong>work</strong> together to design<br />
a curriculum that balances practice <strong>and</strong> academic learning.<br />
An evaluation of the programme demonstrated good<br />
outcomes in terms of completion rates, levels of achievement<br />
<strong>and</strong> the skills <strong>and</strong> knowledge of <strong>work</strong>ers (Holmes et al, 2013).<br />
As part of the Government’s broader strategy on practice<br />
learning <strong>and</strong> CPD for social <strong>work</strong>ers, from September 2015<br />
the DfE <strong>Social</strong> Work Reform Unit will launch new teaching<br />
partnerships intended to become ‘the key delivery vehicle<br />
to address the recommendations made by the 2014 Narey<br />
<strong>and</strong> Croisdale-Appleby reviews of social <strong>work</strong> education’.<br />
Teaching partnerships are defined as: ‘an accredited<br />
collaboration between higher education institutes (HEIs)<br />
<strong>and</strong> employers which deliver high quality training for social<br />
<strong>work</strong> students <strong>and</strong> qualified practitioners <strong>and</strong> equip them to<br />
practise to specified st<strong>and</strong>ards in statutory settings’ (DfE DoH<br />
invitation of expressions of interest, accessed 22 May 2015).<br />
www.rip.org.uk<br />
7
Research on staff <strong>recruitment</strong> continued<br />
Further reading<br />
British Association of <strong>Social</strong> Workers, information<br />
regarding teaching partnerships - www.basw.co.uk/<br />
news/article/?id=871<br />
Some local authorities have improved <strong>recruitment</strong> by<br />
giving high-profile publicity to their flexibility as an<br />
employer (Eborall <strong>and</strong> Garmeson, 2001) <strong>and</strong> promote<br />
‘family-friendly practices’ such as part-time, job share<br />
<strong>and</strong> term-time <strong>work</strong>ing. These opportunities require<br />
attentive management to ensure the needs of service user<br />
families are not compromised. Offering opportunities<br />
for secondment appears to be a positive factor in both<br />
<strong>recruitment</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>retention</strong>; moving role within an<br />
organisation can be a positive means of preventing<br />
emotional burnout (Chiller <strong>and</strong> Crisp, 2012).<br />
Whilst pay is very rarely cited by social <strong>work</strong>ers as a reason<br />
for leaving a job, it is inevitably a factor when experienced<br />
<strong>work</strong>ers move between employers (Local Government<br />
Association, 2015). <strong>Social</strong> <strong>work</strong>ers (like most other<br />
employees) want ‘fair pay’ - a level of pay that accurately<br />
reflects their responsibilities <strong>and</strong> demonstrates the value<br />
attached to their <strong>work</strong>.<br />
Assessing the health of an organisation or service<br />
As we have seen, there is no single answer to <strong>recruitment</strong> <strong>and</strong><br />
<strong>retention</strong> issues - a whole systems approach is required. The<br />
most successful organisations appear to be those who engage<br />
their staff in an open <strong>and</strong> honest dialogue <strong>and</strong> involve them<br />
in helping to explore solutions. There are a variety of selfassessment<br />
tools <strong>and</strong> approaches that will support this <strong>work</strong>.<br />
The Local Government Association (LGA) St<strong>and</strong>ards<br />
for Employers<br />
Eight st<strong>and</strong>ards published by the <strong>Social</strong> Work Reform Board<br />
(SWRB) in 2009 <strong>and</strong> now hosted by LGA outline the support<br />
social <strong>work</strong>ers should expect from employers <strong>and</strong> managers:<br />
Clear <strong>Social</strong> Work Accountability Frame<strong>work</strong><br />
Effective Workforce Planning<br />
Safe Workloads <strong>and</strong> Case Allocation<br />
Managing Risks <strong>and</strong> Resources<br />
Effective <strong>and</strong> Appropriate Supervision<br />
Continuing Professional Development<br />
Professional Registration<br />
Effective Partnerships.<br />
Further reading<br />
www.local.gov.uk/<strong>work</strong>force/-/journal_<br />
content/56/10180/3511605/ARTICLE<br />
To underpin development towards these st<strong>and</strong>ards the SWRB<br />
developed a ‘health check’ process covering five areas:<br />
Effective Workload Management (managing <strong>work</strong>loads<br />
<strong>and</strong> vacancies)<br />
Proactive Workflow Management (strong processes <strong>and</strong><br />
effective tracking of cases)<br />
Right Tools (including IT, mobile <strong>work</strong>ing, access to research)<br />
Healthy Workplace (frequent <strong>and</strong> high quality supervision,<br />
accessibility of managers)<br />
Effective Service Delivery (effective feedback mechanisms).<br />
The health-check can be ‘an important barometer of<br />
<strong>work</strong>flow <strong>and</strong> barriers to effective practice…[<strong>and</strong>] an<br />
important part of an employer’s <strong>retention</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>recruitment</strong><br />
strategy. ‘The SWRB recommended that the tool is not a<br />
check-list, but a mechanism to promote debate to be used<br />
at team, service <strong>and</strong> organisation level as the basis for<br />
discussion at each of these levels, ‘with a requirement in<br />
place that staff have been involved in the response at each<br />
level <strong>and</strong> a mechanism for recording areas of disagreement’<br />
(LGA, 2014).<br />
Further reading<br />
LGA social <strong>work</strong> ‘health check’ - www.local.<br />
gov.uk/documents/10180/6188796/L14-<br />
697+<strong>Social</strong>+<strong>work</strong>+healthcheck_06.pdf<br />
8 Research in Practice <strong>Social</strong> <strong>work</strong> <strong>recruitment</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>retention</strong>
It’s important to look at the things you can do almost<br />
instantly, like an audit of printers <strong>and</strong> photocopiers; stuff<br />
that can make people’s lives much easier very quickly.<br />
You must not underestimate how important these things<br />
can be to people. We have to communicate what we can<br />
do or the reasons why we can’t do something.<br />
Early adopters of the SWRB Health check<br />
The Health <strong>and</strong> Safety Executive Tools on Stress<br />
The Health <strong>and</strong> Safety Executive (HSE) Management St<strong>and</strong>ards<br />
define the characteristics of an organisation where the risk<br />
of <strong>work</strong>-related stress is managed effectively. Each of the six<br />
st<strong>and</strong>ards focuses on a key source of <strong>work</strong>place stress. When<br />
poorly managed, each of these six aspects of <strong>work</strong> is associated<br />
with poor health <strong>and</strong> well-being, lowered productivity <strong>and</strong><br />
high levels of sickness. The st<strong>and</strong>ards therefore provide<br />
a model of good practice <strong>and</strong> an aspirational level of<br />
achievement for organisations or services seeking to manage<br />
stress effectively. There are strong links between the HSE<br />
st<strong>and</strong>ards <strong>and</strong> the push/pull factors already outlined.<br />
The six st<strong>and</strong>ards relate to the following aspects<br />
of <strong>work</strong>:<br />
1 Dem<strong>and</strong>: Feeling able to cope with your <strong>work</strong>load.<br />
2 Control: Having a say about the way in which you carry<br />
out your <strong>work</strong>.<br />
3 Support: Feeling supported by managers <strong>and</strong> colleagues.<br />
4 Relationships: Working in an environment free of bullying<br />
or intimidation.<br />
5 Role: Having clarity over your role.<br />
6 Change: Receiving sufficient information to manage<br />
necessary organisational change.<br />
The HSE Management St<strong>and</strong>ards provide a good starting<br />
point for discussion within an organisation seeking to<br />
manage stress more effectively. Forming an accurate local<br />
picture requires collating existing data (for example on<br />
staff sickness) <strong>and</strong> staff consultation. The HSE Management<br />
St<strong>and</strong>ards Indicator Tool is designed for this purpose.<br />
It comprises a set of 35 questions (based around the six<br />
st<strong>and</strong>ards) that can be distributed as a survey; there is also<br />
an analysis tool freely available on the HSE website.<br />
When survey responses are entered, the tool provides a<br />
summary of performance in each of the six areas <strong>and</strong> helps<br />
to identify aspects of concern. It can be used to inform <strong>and</strong><br />
develop action plans. The tool also allows trends to be<br />
analysed over a three year time frame for services committed<br />
to monitoring the longer term impact of any actions taken.<br />
The HSE suggest that survey results be discussed in staff focus<br />
groups where solutions to issues identified can be explored.<br />
Survey returns might usefully be analysed at the level of team or<br />
role type to help develop a clearer analysis of <strong>work</strong>force health.<br />
As support provided by managers is recognised to be a key<br />
aspect of preventing <strong>and</strong> managing stress, the HSE also<br />
produces a Line Manager Competency Indicator Tool which<br />
allows managers to reflect on their own behaviours <strong>and</strong> skills<br />
<strong>and</strong> how these have an impact on those they line manage.<br />
The tool is based around four aspects of behaviour that<br />
research indicates are important in preventing <strong>and</strong> reducing<br />
the stress of those being managed:<br />
1 Being respectful <strong>and</strong> responsible: Managing emotions<br />
<strong>and</strong> having integrity.<br />
2 Managing <strong>and</strong> communicating existing <strong>and</strong> future <strong>work</strong>.<br />
3 Managing the individual within the team.<br />
4 Reasoning/managing difficult situations.<br />
The competency indicator tool can be used as part of an<br />
online learning package which encourages managers to seek<br />
feedback from colleagues about their skills <strong>and</strong> behaviours,<br />
supports them to reflect on this feedback alongside their own<br />
responses <strong>and</strong> then takes them through material about the<br />
four key themes of manager behaviour.<br />
Further reading<br />
To access all the HSE st<strong>and</strong>ards/tools or for further<br />
information visit www.hse.gov.uk/stress<br />
www.rip.org.uk<br />
9
Organisational self-assessment against the<br />
push-pull factors<br />
The two columns below organise the influences on staff<br />
<strong>retention</strong> identified in the previous pages into ‘scales’<br />
against which a service may be rated. These scales might<br />
be incorporated into a staff survey as a means of assessing<br />
perceptions about the organisation. Using the scale annually<br />
may support benchmarking issues <strong>and</strong> progress over time,<br />
as well as the impact of organisational change.<br />
Organisational factors<br />
Negative indicators<br />
Positive indicators<br />
A strong <strong>and</strong> pervasive culture of blame.<br />
Roles very unclear. Micro-management.<br />
High <strong>work</strong>loads/caseloads.<br />
Highly bureaucratic/unnecessary form-filling.<br />
Poor resources <strong>and</strong> support.<br />
Low pay. Low perception of value by staff.<br />
Poor quality, infrequent supervision.<br />
Training <strong>and</strong> development opportunities few or cancelled.<br />
Little support from peers/professional isolation.<br />
Few development opportunities.<br />
Little attention paid to the well-being of staff.<br />
Little opportunity for direct <strong>work</strong> with families.<br />
A learning organisation: sense of collective responsibility.<br />
Clear Roles. Decisions taken at an appropriate level.<br />
Manageable <strong>work</strong>loads/caseloads.<br />
Proportionate <strong>and</strong> necessary level of administration.<br />
Resources provided to support the social <strong>work</strong> role.<br />
Competitive rewards, highly valued group of staff.<br />
High quality <strong>and</strong> frequent supervision.<br />
Training <strong>and</strong> development available <strong>and</strong> prioritised.<br />
Culture of peer support <strong>and</strong> team<strong>work</strong>ing.<br />
Good opportunities for career development.<br />
High level of commitment to physical <strong>and</strong> emotional well-being of staff.<br />
Adequate opportunity for direct <strong>work</strong> with families.<br />
Individual factors<br />
Negative indicators<br />
Positive indicators<br />
A low level of professional commitment to the role.<br />
Low levels of resilience.<br />
Very high level of commitment towards children <strong>and</strong> families.<br />
Emotionally resilient.<br />
10 Research in Practice <strong>Social</strong> <strong>work</strong> <strong>recruitment</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>retention</strong>
Innovative social <strong>work</strong> programmes <strong>and</strong> pilots<br />
Since the Munro review of child protection (2011) there has<br />
been a growing focus on ‘systems thinking’ in children’s<br />
services - the redesign of organisational culture <strong>and</strong> structure<br />
in order to facilitate direct <strong>work</strong> with children <strong>and</strong> families;<br />
build social <strong>work</strong>ers’ professional confidence <strong>and</strong> ownership<br />
of their practice <strong>and</strong> better manage bureaucratic <strong>and</strong><br />
administrative pressures.<br />
Evaluation data on this <strong>work</strong> is not extensive; nevertheless,<br />
a measured analysis of UK <strong>and</strong> international research <strong>and</strong><br />
evaluation identifies elements <strong>and</strong> principles (such as multidisciplinary<br />
units, shared decision-making, greater opportunity<br />
for reflection <strong>and</strong> stronger administrative support) that support<br />
improved local practice. There are a number of large scale<br />
projects funded by the DfE Innovations Programme which will<br />
be of interest as evaluation findings emerge. Some key themes<br />
relating to staff <strong>retention</strong> are outlined below.<br />
There is no formula, practice model or system that will<br />
provide a ‘magic bullet’ for social <strong>work</strong> <strong>and</strong> blindly following<br />
a trend in adopting new models with insufficient planning for<br />
implementation leads to significant difficulties.<br />
Baginsky records an informant in her 2013 research<br />
who had left her previous post:<br />
Staff had been overwhelmed by the pressures that<br />
resulted when a pod structure had been adopted<br />
too rapidly without due attention to the high volume<br />
of referrals they were receiving. In her opinion the<br />
transition process had not been thought through<br />
thoroughly, caseloads ‘went through the roof’ <strong>and</strong><br />
the old structures had to be partly reassembled.<br />
She felt that social <strong>work</strong>ers had been misled into<br />
thinking things could improve by distortion of facts<br />
<strong>and</strong> exaggerated promises which she described as<br />
‘smoke <strong>and</strong> mirror tactics’.<br />
(Baginsky, 2013)<br />
Further reading<br />
Spring Consortium: Delivering the children’s social care<br />
innovation programme – www.springconsortium.com/<br />
projects-being-funded<br />
Community Care: St<strong>and</strong> up for social <strong>work</strong><br />
- www.communitycare.co.uk/st<strong>and</strong>-social-<strong>work</strong>-2015<br />
<strong>Social</strong> Work Practices (SWP)<br />
The imperative to build <strong>work</strong>ers’ sense of ownership <strong>and</strong><br />
professionalism underpins the social <strong>work</strong> practice model (Le<br />
Gr<strong>and</strong>, 2007). A pilot of five SWPs in 2009-2010 moved statutory<br />
social <strong>work</strong> support for looked after children <strong>and</strong> young people<br />
from the public to the private or independent sector for the<br />
first time. Each SWP had a different status (private, community,<br />
etc) but all were small, autonomous organisations who were<br />
independent of (but had a contract with) a local authority. For<br />
the purposes of the evaluation, each pilot was ‘matched’ with<br />
a similar local authority-based service so that data <strong>and</strong> the<br />
experiences of staff/service users could be compared.<br />
The results of the pilots were mixed. SWP staff experienced<br />
many of the same stresses as social <strong>work</strong>ers in local authority<br />
teams (frustrations of IT systems, form filling) as well as a<br />
greater sense of job insecurity in the context of relying on one<br />
contract. However, there were some interesting findings in<br />
relation to staff morale:<br />
The teams benefitted from ring-fenced caseloads (individual<br />
staff caseloads of fewer than 18 in most SWPs). This, along<br />
with good administrative support <strong>and</strong> an exclusive focus<br />
on looked after children/care leavers, increased capacity for<br />
direct <strong>work</strong>. Workers in SWPs were more likely to report<br />
spending the right amount of time with young people <strong>and</strong><br />
families. This is obviously a positive for families but also<br />
gives staff a greater sense of accomplishment.<br />
Being part of a small team with a defined cohort of looked<br />
after children helped staff to feel recognised <strong>and</strong> valued.<br />
They reported greater peer <strong>and</strong> supervision support.<br />
Service-users also gave positive feedback about interacting<br />
with a small service where they were able to ‘know <strong>and</strong> be<br />
known’. What the report describes as ‘user-friendly spaces’<br />
(local, accessible venues where families felt able to drop-in)<br />
had a positive impact on family engagement.<br />
www.rip.org.uk<br />
11
Further reading<br />
<strong>Social</strong> <strong>work</strong> practices: report of the national evaluation<br />
- www.gov.uk/government/publications/social-<strong>work</strong>practices-report-of-the-national-evaluation<br />
‘Remodeling<br />
<strong>Social</strong> Work’<br />
‘Remodeling <strong>Social</strong> Work’<br />
This model for organisational redesign was initiated in Hackney<br />
in 2010 where it was led by Isabelle Trowler (then an AD at<br />
Hackney <strong>and</strong> now Chief <strong>Social</strong> Worker for children <strong>and</strong> families)<br />
<strong>and</strong> Steve Goodman (now Director at Morning Lane Associates).<br />
A ‘systemic practice’ model replaces traditional team structures<br />
with ‘social <strong>work</strong> units’, each headed up by a Consultant <strong>Social</strong><br />
Worker with administrative support from a unit coordinator.<br />
Families are known to all members of the unit <strong>and</strong> direct <strong>work</strong><br />
is undertaken by everyone, with the Consultant <strong>Social</strong> Worker<br />
holding overall case responsibility. The evaluation (by Eileen<br />
Munro) identified some significant positive changes:<br />
The shared approach to case management was found to<br />
support reflective learning <strong>and</strong> skill development.<br />
The burden of paper<strong>work</strong> for social <strong>work</strong>ers was reduced<br />
by much strengthened administrative support, allowing<br />
<strong>work</strong>ers to spend more time on direct <strong>work</strong>.<br />
Practice in the units was of a consistently higher st<strong>and</strong>ard<br />
than other areas of service in Hackney.<br />
There was a fall in the number of looked after children<br />
during the lifetime of the project which, in financial terms,<br />
equated to a 4.9 per cent reduction in costs.<br />
There was a 55 per cent reduction in staff sickness days.<br />
Workers in the units still suffered stress relating to high<br />
<strong>work</strong>loads but reported having greater structural <strong>and</strong><br />
emotional support at critical times.<br />
<strong>Social</strong> <strong>work</strong>ers in the units were more likely to report<br />
having the autonomy needed to carry out their role.<br />
12 Research in Practice <strong>Social</strong> <strong>work</strong> <strong>recruitment</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>retention</strong>
Organisational factors supporting staff<br />
<strong>retention</strong> in Innovation Programme<br />
(IP) projects<br />
Increased capacity<br />
A number of IP projects include funding for additional social<br />
<strong>work</strong> capacity during the period of organisational change the<br />
project entails, in recognition of the additional pressure on<br />
social <strong>work</strong>ers at this time. Additional capacity is planned to be<br />
temporary in light of predicted reductions in dem<strong>and</strong> over time<br />
due to the new ways of <strong>work</strong>ing (for example Stockport).<br />
Workforce development<br />
Supporting social <strong>work</strong>ers to develop skills <strong>and</strong> confidence<br />
using new approaches to <strong>work</strong>ing with children <strong>and</strong> families<br />
is a core component of a number of projects. Examples include<br />
training in restorative practice in Leeds <strong>and</strong> a net<strong>work</strong> of peer<br />
learning in projects implementing Signs of Safety. In North East<br />
Lincolnshire <strong>and</strong> Newcastle, partnerships with local universities<br />
will support ongoing training <strong>and</strong> skills development across<br />
the <strong>work</strong>force. In the Tri-borough authorities, among others,<br />
a system of observation, feedback <strong>and</strong> coaching is being<br />
established to support practice development.<br />
Shared caseloads <strong>and</strong> increased opportunities<br />
for reflection<br />
A number of authorities are seeking to implement structures<br />
similar to that used in the Remodeling <strong>Social</strong> Work project<br />
described above. As well as those authorities <strong>work</strong>ing with<br />
Morning Lane Associates to formally adopt the Hackney<br />
model, a number of authorities are introducing shared<br />
caseloads <strong>and</strong> team case discussions within their projects<br />
(for example Newcastle <strong>and</strong> Hertfordshire).<br />
Career progression<br />
The creation of senior practitioner roles to allow experienced<br />
social <strong>work</strong>ers to continue <strong>work</strong>ing directly with families<br />
while sharing their expertise with others is a feature in<br />
Stockport, Reclaiming <strong>Social</strong> Work <strong>and</strong> the Tri-borough<br />
authorities. In other projects, social <strong>work</strong>ers are being given<br />
opportunities to develop specialist skills by focusing on<br />
<strong>work</strong> with families with specific needs, including <strong>work</strong> with<br />
adults experiencing domestic violence <strong>and</strong> substance misuse<br />
(Hampshire <strong>and</strong> the Isle of Wight) <strong>and</strong> young people with<br />
mental health difficulties (Wigan).<br />
Reforming IT systems<br />
Some authorities are considering how recording processes<br />
might reduce the social <strong>work</strong> time required <strong>and</strong> increase<br />
the focus on outcomes in assessments <strong>and</strong> plans. The Signs<br />
of Safety IP is exploring how the frame<strong>work</strong> can be used to<br />
guide recording which is in line with Ofsted expectations.<br />
Other authorities (for example Hertfordshire) are developing<br />
electronic case management records that can be accessed<br />
remotely, reducing travel time <strong>and</strong> ensuring case notes are<br />
always up-to-date.<br />
www.rip.org.uk<br />
13
Examples of local practice<br />
Managing agency costs through regional<br />
agreements<br />
Directors of the 14 local authorities in the West Midl<strong>and</strong>s<br />
have joined forces in a regional initiative -<br />
www.wmadcs.org.uk/our-activities/social-<strong>work</strong>-agency<strong>work</strong>ers-project/<br />
- to gain greater control over spend on,<br />
<strong>and</strong> to improve the quality of, agency staff. The geography<br />
of the region means that agency <strong>work</strong>ers have considerable<br />
freedom to move between authorities. From January<br />
2015, all 14 local authorities in the region have signed an<br />
agreement that sets out:<br />
The maximum hourly rate they will pay for five different<br />
levels of agency <strong>work</strong>er. The impact of this salary ‘cap’ will<br />
be monitored, with a view to reducing rates over time.<br />
A new process for references. One of the local authorities<br />
will administer a regional registration process. A ‘Quality<br />
Record’ that sets out the employment history will be<br />
compiled for each agency <strong>work</strong>er. References for each<br />
placement will be stored alongside this record on a<br />
central database <strong>and</strong> will therefore only have to be<br />
supplied once by the placement manager.<br />
A regional commitment not to recruit NQSW agency<br />
staff routinely but to seek evidence of ASYE.<br />
The support that will be provided to agency <strong>work</strong>ers<br />
(induction, supervision <strong>and</strong> training) to ensure they have<br />
the knowledge <strong>and</strong> skills required to carry out their role.<br />
The authorities have engaged social <strong>work</strong> agencies in<br />
this process. Their reactions have been positive; agencies<br />
are enthusiastic about the ‘Quality Record’ as a means of<br />
improving their own reputation. Evaluation processes are<br />
in place but it is currently too early to assess the impact.<br />
11 local authorities in the Eastern Region have signed a<br />
similar ‘Memor<strong>and</strong>um of Cooperation’ which sets out<br />
common minimum st<strong>and</strong>ards of referencing as well as<br />
st<strong>and</strong>ard rates of pay for temporary staff. The authorities<br />
have also committed to <strong>work</strong>ing together in a regional<br />
approach to <strong>work</strong>force planning.<br />
Training NQSWs in Hertfordshire<br />
In 2009 Hertfordshire County Council implemented a ‘<strong>Social</strong><br />
Work Academy’ programme exclusively for Child Protection<br />
<strong>Social</strong> Workers. This has allowed them to recruit from<br />
the pool of NQSWs whilst maintaining a high st<strong>and</strong>ard<br />
of practice. Each team within the Academy consists of six<br />
NQSWs, a Team Manager <strong>and</strong> a Senior <strong>Social</strong> Worker. The<br />
NQSWs are linked with an Assessment Safeguarding Team<br />
<strong>and</strong> take cases from them. However, the Academy Manager<br />
has overall responsibility for these cases as well as the<br />
training <strong>and</strong> development of the new <strong>work</strong>ers.<br />
New recruits spend six months in the Academy Team,<br />
the first month of which is induction <strong>and</strong> basic training<br />
activity. For the next five months they undertake further<br />
training on one day a week <strong>and</strong> spend one day with their<br />
Assessment Team, shadowing more experienced <strong>work</strong>ers<br />
<strong>and</strong> being involved in more complex <strong>work</strong>. They <strong>work</strong><br />
their own caseload on the remaining three days.<br />
Action Learning Sets are m<strong>and</strong>atory in year one <strong>and</strong><br />
take place every six weeks.<br />
Work produced by those within the Academy is scrutinised<br />
to ensure good practice st<strong>and</strong>ards are upheld.<br />
If <strong>work</strong>ers successfully complete their six month<br />
probationary period they join one of the safeguarding<br />
teams, though continue with the Academy development<br />
programme.<br />
The selection process is rigorous <strong>and</strong> includes a personal<br />
interview, a competency interview, an interview with<br />
service-users <strong>and</strong> a written exercise.<br />
All NQSWs in Hertfordshire complete their ASYE during<br />
their first year of employment.<br />
The expectation for <strong>work</strong>ers who have been through the<br />
programme is that they will remain with Hertfordshire for<br />
two years <strong>and</strong> many have gone on to senior social <strong>work</strong><br />
posts within the authority. Managers are very positive<br />
about the st<strong>and</strong>ard of practice of these <strong>work</strong>ers <strong>and</strong> the<br />
subsequent impact this has on the wider team. For this<br />
reason, they are keen to appoint staff from the Academy<br />
after the six month probation. The programme has been<br />
greatly beneficial for <strong>recruitment</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>retention</strong>.<br />
14 Research in Practice <strong>Social</strong> <strong>work</strong> <strong>recruitment</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>retention</strong>
Ensuring career pathways for <strong>work</strong>ers in Surrey<br />
Recognising the advantages of the ‘grow your own’<br />
approach to recruiting social <strong>work</strong>ers, whereby <strong>work</strong>ers<br />
bring local <strong>and</strong> organisational knowledge <strong>and</strong> have<br />
established relationships with professionals <strong>and</strong><br />
communities, Surrey County Council offer five places a<br />
year for Family Support Workers (FSW) wanting to become<br />
social <strong>work</strong>ers. The successful applicants remain on their<br />
FSW salary <strong>and</strong> continue to do some <strong>work</strong> for their FSW<br />
team. Under this arrangement, the organisation finances<br />
their training via the Open University <strong>and</strong> provides <strong>work</strong>ers<br />
with sufficient time to undertake the study. Placements<br />
required as part of the training are undertaken in-house.<br />
Once qualified, the <strong>work</strong>ers are committed to <strong>work</strong> in<br />
Surrey for a further two years.<br />
Surrey also has clearly documented career pathways for<br />
social <strong>work</strong>ers. The pathways look at progression within<br />
a role through the development of skills <strong>and</strong> additional<br />
responsibilities, <strong>and</strong> at progression to management or<br />
advanced practitioner roles. The aspiration is to link these<br />
pathways with the appraisal process, the setting of targets<br />
<strong>and</strong> performance-related pay.<br />
Generating new initiatives in Walsall<br />
Walsall Council has a well-established <strong>work</strong>ing group on<br />
<strong>recruitment</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>retention</strong> that includes representation from<br />
frontline staff. A number of initiatives have emerged from<br />
this group. Some of these have been progressed <strong>and</strong> others<br />
are in the development process. They include:<br />
The creation of a pathway that allows a social <strong>work</strong>er<br />
within adult social care to move across to children’s<br />
services. This pathway consists of a tailored <strong>and</strong><br />
extended induction period as well as inclusion<br />
within the ASYE programme.<br />
A more creative approach to <strong>recruitment</strong>, raising<br />
the profile of the service by generating a following<br />
on social media (Twitter, Facebook, etc). The service<br />
also holds breakfast <strong>and</strong> evening drop-in sessions for<br />
those interested in finding out about <strong>work</strong>ing for the<br />
authority. These have been very well attended <strong>and</strong><br />
generated TV coverage.<br />
An attractive relocation package allows a payment of up to<br />
25 per cent of a starting salary. These payments come with<br />
a two year commitment to remain with the authority.<br />
Twilight development sessions for managers.<br />
Market supplements for specific ‘hard-to-recruit-to’<br />
areas of the service.<br />
www.rip.org.uk<br />
15
Offering new routes in to social <strong>work</strong> in Cornwall<br />
Cornwall Council has developed a successful trainee<br />
scheme for social <strong>work</strong>ers. Trainees are taken on at the<br />
grade of family support <strong>work</strong>er <strong>and</strong> start by undertaking<br />
this role for nine months, after which they go to university<br />
with their social <strong>work</strong> degree fees <strong>and</strong> expenses fully<br />
funded by the council. The trainees are full-time students<br />
during term time but return as family support <strong>work</strong>ers<br />
over the summer vacation.<br />
Trainees are committed to Cornwall for two years postqualification<br />
in the first two years, there were a few<br />
difficulties with trainees for whom relocation to Cornwall<br />
was challenging. This year Cornwall has therefore<br />
encouraged applicants from across the council <strong>and</strong><br />
appointed five trainees who were previously <strong>work</strong>ing as<br />
teaching assistants, children’s centre <strong>work</strong>ers <strong>and</strong> social<br />
<strong>work</strong> assistants. The council sees the scheme as a positive<br />
means of investing in the local <strong>work</strong>force.<br />
Back to basics in Central Bedfordshire<br />
In 2014 Central Bedfordshire embarked on a strategy<br />
to attract new permanent staff, with a strong focus on<br />
achieving high quality social <strong>work</strong>. The structure of the<br />
service has been redesigned, creating smaller teams <strong>and</strong><br />
smaller caseloads. The new teams have a manager, four<br />
or five <strong>work</strong>ers <strong>and</strong> a team clerk. There are also non-case<br />
holding consultant social <strong>work</strong>ers (each one <strong>work</strong>ing<br />
across about four teams) who provide advice, guidance <strong>and</strong><br />
challenge. At present, agency <strong>work</strong>ers are employed to help<br />
keep caseloads down; in the longer term, it is envisaged<br />
that the improved confidence <strong>and</strong> competence of <strong>work</strong>ers<br />
will reduce case numbers <strong>and</strong> that this reduction (as well<br />
as a reduced reliance on agency staff) will ease budget<br />
pressures. The restructure of teams has gone h<strong>and</strong>-in-h<strong>and</strong><br />
with the development of a <strong>Social</strong> Work Academy which<br />
provides a high level of support to NQSWs <strong>and</strong> continuous<br />
development <strong>and</strong> career progression opportunities.<br />
In the past year Central Bedfordshire has seen a significant<br />
shift in the ratio of permanent to agency staff (50/50 in April<br />
2013 to 70/30 in March 2015). Staff turnover has dramatically<br />
decreased <strong>and</strong> the percentage of cases graded as ‘Good’ or<br />
‘Outst<strong>and</strong>ing’ within the internal audit programme has risen<br />
from 30 per cent to 70 per cent. The number of looked after<br />
children <strong>and</strong> children subject to child protection plans has<br />
also decreased. A Staff Board was established to guide the<br />
developments <strong>and</strong> frontline <strong>work</strong>ers continue to be involved<br />
in overseeing <strong>and</strong> shaping change within the service.<br />
16 Research in Practice <strong>Social</strong> <strong>work</strong> <strong>recruitment</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>retention</strong>
Next steps<br />
By looking at research, examples of innovative practice <strong>and</strong> the<br />
findings of some nationally funded system redesign projects;<br />
this briefing provides some clear messages for managers of<br />
children’s services. In supporting some of the most vulnerable<br />
people in society, local authorities are committed to developing<br />
the social <strong>work</strong> <strong>work</strong>force. The health of a <strong>work</strong>force is a major<br />
determinant of the quality of <strong>work</strong> it produces <strong>and</strong>, therefore,<br />
the impact it has on children’s lives.<br />
Key points for managers <strong>and</strong> leaders of<br />
children’s services<br />
Workers make the decision to stay at or to leave<br />
an authority by weighing up a variety of factors. In<br />
<strong>recruitment</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>retention</strong> terms, these can be thought<br />
of as ‘push’ <strong>and</strong> ‘pull’ factors. These factors <strong>and</strong> the<br />
need for a ‘whole systems’ approach to <strong>work</strong>force<br />
development needs to be understood by the managers<br />
<strong>and</strong> leaders of an organisation.<br />
In order to maximise the chances of recruiting <strong>and</strong><br />
retaining high quality staff, organisations need to start<br />
with an honest appraisal of where they are in relation to<br />
these factors, underst<strong>and</strong> staff perceptions <strong>and</strong> plan to<br />
address areas of concern.<br />
Staff <strong>recruitment</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>retention</strong> strategies are most<br />
successful when frontline <strong>work</strong>ers are involved in their<br />
development <strong>and</strong> delivery. Engagement at all levels<br />
is critical in the context of <strong>work</strong>force development<br />
<strong>and</strong> planning.<br />
In order to build the pool of experienced <strong>work</strong>ers,<br />
organisations need to make a commitment to the<br />
training <strong>and</strong> development of newly qualified staff.<br />
<strong>Social</strong> Work Academies are providing promising<br />
results in this respect.<br />
Some authorities have radically reshaped their services<br />
to create different <strong>work</strong>ing conditions (maximising pull<br />
<strong>and</strong> minimising push factors). It may not be appropriate<br />
to implement these models across the board, as attention<br />
must be paid to local context. However, authorities will<br />
benefit from gathering learning points from service<br />
redesign activity elsewhere in order to inform their<br />
own discussions <strong>and</strong> planning.<br />
Although early in their development, regional<br />
agreements between authorities look to be a positive<br />
means of managing spiralling agency costs <strong>and</strong> ensuring<br />
high st<strong>and</strong>ards are maintained. Authorities should<br />
consider whether the development of collaborative<br />
agreements across their region would be beneficial.<br />
www.rip.org.uk<br />
17
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www.rip.org.uk<br />
19
Authors: Susannah Bowyer <strong>and</strong> Alison Roe<br />
With grateful thanks to: Diane Calverley,<br />
Ros Garrod-Mason, Rebecca Godar, Chris Hogan,<br />
Paula Jones, Polly Reed, Marion Russell,<br />
Anna Titmus, Rachael Wardell <strong>and</strong> Sue Woolmore.<br />
Photograph: Marcus Crouch<br />
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