Devon County Council

1. Recruitment and Retention

Recruit and retain people with the right qualifications or potential and develop recruitment strategies to address skill shortages.

Student Support Programme funded seven staff members to train as social workers.

Provision made for all managers to implement national induction standards for newly appointed staff. Materials made available via Devon Care Training Consortium for Resource Managers and the Independent Sector.

Worked with Health and the independent sector to develop joint recruitment initiatives e.g. Domiciliary Care partnerships.

Developed a recruitment and retention strategy for childcare social workers. Much of strategy is now in place.

• Increase bursary funding to 12 places for new Social Work degree and develop new social work traineeship schemes.
• Develop a Directorate wide approach and guidance to the implementation of induction standards.
• Ongoing identification of managers needing recruitment and retention training and accreditation.
• Develop a suite of information to assist managers in managing their staff / team performance.
• Implement human resources aspects of Best Value reviews.
• Develop and implement new types of post i.e. Senior Practitioner posts in fieldwork teams.
• Develop flexible work patterns as a retention aid.
• Implement exit interview process across Children's social work.
• Review of priorities for learning and development activity.
• Identify recruitment initiatives to target hard to recruit occupations.
• Ensure that the workforce reflects Devon's ethnic population, that BME groups are represented in management positions and monitor Black & Minority Ethnic (BME) promotions.

2. Communication and Consultation

Ensure clear and efficient staff consultation and communication mechanisms including the active engagement of the workforce and its representative Trades Union bodies.

Revised the Joint Consultative Committee (JCC) arrangements to streamline and improve consultation processes.

Used workshop style events to improve Trades Unions (TU) knowledge of the strategic and national framework requirements for service development.

Developed staff intranet pages for the Management re-organisation as an alternative method of communication and consultation.

• Contribute to the corporate review of consultative arrangements and Trades Union facilities.
• Undertake a review of funded Trades Union steward time within Social Services.
• Workforce change issues and use of events for TU stewards.
• Design, implement and monitor different methods of communicating with staff, in conjunction with Public Information & Communication Section and Performance Review.
• Evaluate the use of the staff intranet as a communication and consultation method.
• Assess impact of new legislation / directives concerning staff consultation processes against current practices.

3. A Healthy workplace

Create a healthy and effective workforce by a staff care policy which takes account of 'Securing Health Together', 'Revitalising Health and Safety' and National Task Force on Violence Against Social Care Workers.

Developed staff care as a core management competency with proposals for an integrated training and development package. Equipped managers to take responsibility for implementing staff care policies.

Preventative strategies in place to support two highest causes of absence - 'back to work' and 'stress - early intervention programme'.

Responded to the National Task Force by conducting a violence and aggression audit and amended and further developed policies, procedures and training as identified.

Reviewed policies on infection control and commissioned training as required.

Continued to ensure risk assessments and workplace checklists were completed as required and staff and managers trained to manage health and safety.

Set Directorate targets for service managers for the reduction of absence.

Publish national and local targets for use by operational managers.

Implement Management Development proposals. (2004 onwards.)

Promote Guidance and Policy pages (GAP) to improve managers' knowledge of HR policies and processes.

Evaluate and develop preventative strategies to tackle main causes of absence. Ongoing identification and provision of managing absence workshops for all managers in Social Services.

Appoint Project Co-ordinator for National Task Force Violence and Aggression - review and revise policies and guidance.

Implement revised Infection Control policy.

Review and revise risk assessment framework (annually).

4. Workforce planning and organisational development

Mapped existing workforce data to provide information about numbers, locations and occupational groupings.

Continued to work with NHS to support newly appointed managers in joint management arrangements. HR induction workshop completed for all joint managers.

First draft of a Directorate workforce plan developed and  piloted in Children’s Services.   

Worked jointly with other organisations to develop workforce plans that enable us to implement National Service Frameworks and initiatives for all groups.

Active involvement with TOPSS, NHS Workforce Development Confederations Local Workforce Development Groups, and the Devon Care Training Consortium to represent Social Services perspectives in workforce mapping and planning and the pooling of resources for development.

Registered with the General Social Care Council for the planned registration of all social care staff.

Joint staff development strategy produced for the Single Assessment Process that fits with the overall Project Plan and integrates with other training for person centred planning, including fairer access to care.

• Develop Directorate Leadership and Management Development programme.
• Develop and review HR processes and data validation to ensure management information is correct.
• Implement Directorate requirements for payroll / HR information system and General Learning and Development Information system (GLADIS).
• Develop workforce-planning programme linked to the business planning process for all client service divisions and work with other agencies. (To include rationalisation of workforce planning activities.)
• Introduce the General Social Care Council (GSCC) registration and subsequent renewal process across the whole of the social care workforce.
• Implement a review of existing Social Services and HR policies to support the GSCC standards.
• Support the development of joint agency / integration work.

5. Training and Development

Organisational competencies agreed for all staff and communicated. Management competencies agreed and used to underpin the development of a Directorate wide approach to management development. Competencies developed for Community Care Workers.

SMG endorsed a Learning and Development Strategy that sets out 7 key priority areas for the next 5 years.

Produced an Annual Learning & Development plan capturing priority-training needs for each service group.

Developed an induction and essential skills framework (template) for all Social Services staff.

Began the delivery of a joint induction approach with colleagues in the Health Service.

Delivery of NVQs to meet national occupational standards: Majority of residential unit managers achieved Registered Managers award.

Learning Disability Awards Framework delivery started.

Contributed to the development of the new Social Work degree course. Took part in the practice learning pilot.

Developed portfolio model. Rolled out to Occupational therapists.

Social Services supervision policy agreed and implemented.

Agreed continuous professional development strategy to implement national frameworks for social workers and occupational therapists.

Began to influence and impact learning & development of staff in the private & voluntary sectors through the Devon Care Training Consortium and use of specific DH training grants.

• Continue to roll out the delivery of the Directorate wide Management Development Programme & evaluate impact.
• Continue to deliver a comprehensive programme of training.
• Further develop a common approach to induction with managers and partner agencies.
• Produce a Learning and Development plan.
• Work with managers to populate service specific frameworks of essential knowledge and skills and review existing programmes where necessary.
• Maintain existing NVQ provision.
• Develop and implement training in equality and diversity.
• Deliver Single Assessment Process on a joint agency basis.
• Support the delivery of the Devon Domestic Violence strategy through awareness sessions for staff.
• Introduce and fully utilise the GLADIS management information system.
• Work with User / Carer project manager post to ensure the involvement of service users and carers in the design, delivery and evaluation of training.
• Explore opportunities for further use of e-learning.
• Programme and implement roll out of portfolio model for all staff groups.
• Evaluate effectiveness of Continuous Professional Development (CPD) strategy implementation and supervision policy in relation to identification of learning needs.
• Set up and promote an in-house learning resource library.