Joint review on management of social services staff

Joint review on management of social services staff

A report published in July by the Audit Commission and Social Services Inspectorate, People need People, says that most councils could improve their services by improving their people management skills. The report, the second in a series of reports of Joint Review findings on specific areas of social services management and practice, gives an overview of the management of social service staff and summarises the strengths and weaknesses that have been found in the reviews carried out to date.

The Joint Review of Local Authorities' Social Services was established in 1996 as a joint project between the Audit Commission and the Social Services Inspectorate of the Department of Health. The reviews help councils and government identify how to improve services and achieve better value for money. By the end of 1999, 52 reports had been published, and Reviews had commenced in a further 33 local authorities. Each report is presented to the individual authority and widely disseminated to the population each authority serves.

People need People proposes four key areas which would help authorities to improve their people management, and therefore services to users. These are:

• 1.

  ensuring that staff across the organisation deliver high quality services that are guided by the vision and values of the authority;

• 2.

  planning longer term to attract the right staff;

• 3.

  retaining good members of staff through training and qualifications;

• 4.

  driving up quality by consistently implementing good practice.

John Bolton, Director of Joint Reviews said:

Good people management is the key to quality services and the performance of the best performing authorities shows that implementing human resource policies effectively can make a big difference.

Overall the findings so far offer encouragement but also a challenge to those responsible for social services. I hope that this report will help people to recognise how they can improve the management of their existing staff, and as a result the services delivered to local people.

Further information: People need People (ISBN 1-86240-245-0) is available from Audit Commission Publications on 0800 502030, priced £15. Relevant Web sites: The Joint Reviews – http://www.joint-reviews.gov.uk/

The Audit Commission – http://www.audit-commission.gov.uk

The Social Services Inspectorate – http://www.doh.gov.uk/scg/socialc.htm