Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment-workfor… · As the Commitment becomes embedded and...

71
Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment May 2014 Written by Tim Allan, Kirsten Hedland and Laura Filsak Published by Skills for Care

Transcript of Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment-workfor… · As the Commitment becomes embedded and...

Page 1: Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment-workfor… · As the Commitment becomes embedded and employee sign ups increase, employers are anticipating new support needs that are both

Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment

Evaluation of the Social Care

Commitment

May 2014

Written by Tim Allan, Kirsten Hedland and Laura Filsak

Published by Skills for Care

Page 2: Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment-workfor… · As the Commitment becomes embedded and employee sign ups increase, employers are anticipating new support needs that are both

Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment

Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment

Published by Skills for Care, West Gate, 6 Grace Street, Leeds LS1 2RP www.skillsforcare.org.uk

© Skills for Care 2014

Reference no. 130182A/ 217

Copies of this work may be made for non-commercial distribution to aid social care workforce

development. Any other copying requires the permission of Skills for Care.

Skills for Care is the employer-led strategic body for workforce development in social care for adults in

England. It is part of the sector skills council, Skills for Care and Development.

This work was researched and compiled by Tim Allan, Kirsten Hedland and Laura Filsak of ekosgen.

Page 3: Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment-workfor… · As the Commitment becomes embedded and employee sign ups increase, employers are anticipating new support needs that are both

Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment

Table of contents

Executive summary ................................................................................................................... i

1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 1

2. The Social Care Commitment ........................................................................................... 5

3. Uptake of the Social Care Commitment ......................................................................... 14

4. Development and Launch of the Commitment .............................................................. 22

5. Registration, Sign Up and Support ................................................................................. 31

6. Activity, Outcomes and Impacts ..................................................................................... 45

7. Conclusions and Recommendations ............................................................................. 56

Appendices ............................................................................................................................. 60

Acknowledgements

We would like offer our sincere thanks to all the stakeholders and employers who gave

their time to provide input into the evaluation. We would also like to thank the Skills for

Care project team for their assistance and support throughout the study.

Page 4: Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment-workfor… · As the Commitment becomes embedded and employee sign ups increase, employers are anticipating new support needs that are both

Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment

i

Executive summary

Introduction

In 2013, Skills for Care commissioned an independent process and impact evaluation of

the Social Care Commitment („the Commitment‟). The overall aim of the evaluation was

to establish the success, or otherwise, of the process to design and implement the

Commitment and the impacts that have arisen as a result of employers‟ engagement.

The evaluation has taken a mixed methods approach involving primary research with

stakeholders (qualitative interviews) and employers (a quantitative survey and

qualitative interviews) together with analysis of relevant management information.

The Social Care Commitment

The Social Care Commitment was first cited in the Caring for Our Future White Paper.

It is a voluntary agreement made by employers in the adult social care sector to improve

the quality of their workforce by undertaking tasks to ensure good recruitment,

supervision and training practices. The Commitment is intended to provide assurances

around quality of care and workforce practices, and to reaffirm public confidence in the

health and social care sector.

Skills for Care was tasked with the process of developing the Commitment. The

process ran from October 2012 to September 2013 and involved initial scoping and

research, formation of a steering group, development of the Commitment‟s content,

brand and IT system, a consultation exercise with the adult social care sector and an

initial launch. A ministerial statement about the Commitment was released in March

2014 but a high profile public launch has yet to take place.

Employers engage with the Commitment via a two part process. First is registration,

which involves entering details about the organisation via the Commitment website.

Following verification by Skills for Care that they are a care provider, the second stage

is for employers to select the tasks they intend to complete. This results in them having

„signed up‟.

The Commitment has been promoted via a number of channels including the

newsletters of Skills for Care and its partners, trade press, emails sent to Workforce

Development Fund claimants and Skills for Care‟s local networks.

A series of resources have been produced by Skills for Care to support employers with

the registration and sign up process and there are links to publically available

documents and websites associated with each of the statements to support employers

to complete the tasks.

Page 5: Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment-workfor… · As the Commitment becomes embedded and employee sign ups increase, employers are anticipating new support needs that are both

Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment

ii

Uptake of the Social Care Commitment

At the end of April 2014, a total of 814 employers had signed up for the Commitment

and 581 had registered (by registered, we mean that they had not progressed to sign

up). Skills for Care has a target of 2,500 employers to be signed up by September 2014.

On current evidence this would appear to be quite stretching.

The majority of employers that have engaged with the Commitment provide residential

(45% and 43% of registered and signed up employers respectively) or domiciliary

services (30% registered and 33% signed up), operate in the private sector (71%

registered and 73% signed up), are small or medium employers and are spread

throughout the country.

Compared with the wider sector, employers providing domiciliary care services and

those in the private sector are over represented, while other adult community care

services, other services, Individual Employers (IEs) and micro businesses are under

represented.

On average, employers have selected 22 of the Commitment‟s 41 tasks. Just over a

fifth of employers (22%) selected the minimum of seven tasks (one per statement).

There are no evident patterns in terms of some tasks being selected more frequently

than others, although IEs tended to select fewer tasks (15 on average), while employers

in the statutory local authority sector and those providing other community care services

tended to select an above average number.

Development and Launch of the Commitment

The process by which the Commitment was developed appears to have been very

appropriate, especially given the challenging timescales and what some considered to

be a relatively open-ended brief.

In managing the process, the steering group has been an effective vehicle for shaping

the development of the Commitment and ensuring that it has relevance to, and

responds to the needs of, all parts of the adult social care sector. Where frustrations

exist, they surround delays in a formal public launch of the Commitment, although it is

understandable that key decision makers would want to assess the results of the

evaluation before embarking on large-scale promotional activity.

It has been suggested that the consultation exercise which preceded the development

and implementation of the Commitment could, and perhaps should, have obtained input

from a broader cross-section of employers, and especially from those less predisposed

to engaging with workforce related initiatives. This may be true, although given the

Page 6: Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment-workfor… · As the Commitment becomes embedded and employee sign ups increase, employers are anticipating new support needs that are both

Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment

iii

overwhelming positive evaluation messages, it is difficult to see how additional

consultation would necessarily have resulted in a better product per se.

Registration, Sign Up and Support

Employers are most commonly engaging with the Commitment as a means of

endorsing or recognising the things that they do well, to enhance their reputation, to

improve how they train and develop their staff and to improve the quality of care they

provide.

The registration and sign up process overall, and each of its component parts, appears

to be fit for purpose with very few employers saying that they had found it anything other

than straightforward. The vast majority rated the clarity of the instructions, the amount

of information that is requested and time required for both parts of the process very

favourably. The option to register via an NMDS-SC account and the ability to save their

task selection part way through the sign up process has also been well received. The

vast majority of those employers that had registered but not progressed to sign up

planned to do so in the future and cited time constraints as being the main reason for

the delay (rather than issues relating to the content of the Commitment per se).

The support materials produced by Skills for Care are held in high regard, as is the

telephone and email support function. Over time, it is likely that support needs will

change somewhat, from those relating to process and functionality of the site, to

employee engagement and supporting employees to complete tasks.

Activity, Outcomes and Impact

Almost all of the signed up employers had, at the time that they were consulted for the

evaluation, made some progress towards completing the tasks they had selected. For

half of these employers, this had been relatively straightforward. For the other half, and

especially for domiciliary care providers, issues of time (e.g. a lack of manager time and

difficulties in releasing staff from their day-to-day duties) had presented some

challenges. Nonetheless, employers report having benefited considerably from the

Commitment. For example:

Reputational benefits: 92% said that the Commitment has endorsed or

recognised what they currently do well or will do in future; 87% said it acted as a

quality mark; and 82% said that it has or will enhance their reputation.

Quality of care benefits: The high prevalence of these benefits is perhaps the

most important finding of the evaluation. The Commitment has led to an

improvement, or an expected improvement, in quality of care for 85% of

Page 7: Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment-workfor… · As the Commitment becomes embedded and employee sign ups increase, employers are anticipating new support needs that are both

Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment

iv

employers. In addition, it has, or will, make care more personalised (78%),

and/or improve the dignity of care (76%).

Workforce benefits: Improvements (or expected improvements) in how staff are

trained and improved employee morale were also frequently cited (83% and 62%

respectively). Other workforce related benefits were mentioned less often (for

example, attracting high volumes of applicants for vacancies or higher staff

retention rates) although in most cases this was because employers selected „not

applicable‟ rather than suggesting that the Commitment was not meeting

expectation.

Additionality describes the extent to which activities or impacts would have occurred

regardless of an intervention. There is a modest level of additionality associated with

the Commitment, with many of the employers saying that they would have undertaken

some or all of the tasks anyway. However, employers were keen to stress that the

added value of the Commitment is in the structured approach to workforce development

that it provides. It is repeatedly helping to focus their efforts, is providing a framework

and is ensuring that they are working towards an appropriate standard which is

consistent with the rest of the sector. As the Commitment becomes more widespread

across the sector and those employers who do not already do many of the tasks sign

up, the level of additionality may increase.

Recommendations

1. Work with the Department of Health to undertake a coordinated and high

profile public launch of the Commitment.

While recognising that the public launch will be affected by Departmental

priorities outside of Skills for Care‟s influence, there is no doubt that greater

public awareness of the Commitment will raise employer engagement and Skills

for Care should continue to raise this as a priority. In promoting the Commitment

as part of this launch, Skills for Care could also consider using the iCare

Ambassadors to raise awareness in schools, working through Area Officers and

User Led Organisations to engage IEs and ensuring that the accompanying

support materials are publicised.

2. Use messages from this evaluation to help increase employer engagement

and sign up.

This evaluation contains some very encouraging messages which should be

disseminated across the sector and which are likely to have a positive influence

on employers‟ propensity to register and sign up. It may be appropriate to target

the marketing activity at a sub-sectoral or „employer type‟ level, drawing on the

different outcomes and impacts presented in this evaluation for different types of

Page 8: Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment-workfor… · As the Commitment becomes embedded and employee sign ups increase, employers are anticipating new support needs that are both

Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment

v

employers. Likewise, making a concerted effort to market the Commitment to

employers from parts of the sector that are currently under-represented in terms

of registration and/or sign up would be advisable.

3. Remain sensitive to employers’ evolving support needs.

To date, Skills for Care have recognised and responded to employers‟ support

needs. While these have changed over time, they have primarily been process

related. As the Commitment becomes embedded and employee sign ups

increase, employers are anticipating new support needs that are both process

and implementation related. Skills for Care should continue to monitor support

needs and ensure an appropriate response, which both meets employers‟ needs

and is not overly demanding on the part of Skills for Care.

4. Skills for Care may wish to produce an employer-friendly map to illustrate

how the Commitment is aligned with other initiatives in the sector.

In a time of considerable change in the health and social care sector, there risks

some confusion amongst employers regarding the raft of new tools and

initiatives. A user-friendly map or diagram which quickly conveys the new

landscape would be welcomed by some employers.

Page 9: Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment-workfor… · As the Commitment becomes embedded and employee sign ups increase, employers are anticipating new support needs that are both

Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment

1

Key point summary

In 2013, Skills for Care commissioned an independent process and impact

evaluation of the Social Care Commitment („the Commitment‟). The overall aim

was to establish the success, or otherwise, of the process to design and implement

the Commitment and the impacts that have arisen as a result of employers‟

engagement.

The evaluation has taken a mixed methods approach involving primary research

with stakeholders (qualitative interviews) and employers (quantitative survey and

qualitative interviews) and analysis of the Commitment‟s management information.

1. Introduction

1.1 Introducing the Evaluation

In December 2013, Skills for Care commissioned ekosgen to undertake a process and

impact evaluation of the Social Care Commitment („the Commitment‟). The evaluation

objectives are summarised in the table below. The evaluation focused on the

Commitment‟s activities from an employer perspective only, although it is recognised to

have a wider remit to engage employees.

Evaluation Objectives

Process Evaluation

Overall aim

To establish how successfully the Social Care Commitment has been

implemented, in particular in terms of processes followed.

Specific objectives

To explore the whole process of the Social Care Commitment project, including the

following stages: planning; consultations; launch; dissemination of information and

recruitment of employers; ongoing support and communication.

To explore and summarise best practice and lessons learnt for internal and

external processes connected to the Social Care Commitment.

To recommend applicable improvements to the process or steps in the process.

Impact Evaluation

Overall aim

To explore the overall impact of the Social Care Commitment on employers who

have signed up to it, and the wider sector where possible.

Page 10: Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment-workfor… · As the Commitment becomes embedded and employee sign ups increase, employers are anticipating new support needs that are both

Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment

2

Specific objectives

To identify what difference, if any, the Commitment has made to the way

employers work (including carrying out of day-to-day activities).

To establish the impact of the Social Care Commitment on quality of care.

To establish the impact of the Social Care Commitment on business productivity

and other financial benefits.

To explore what the obstacles and issues are for signing up to the statements,

including what is hindering the progress of signing up to all of the statements.

To establish in which ways Skills for Care can provide ongoing support to

employers who have signed up.

To explore if there are differences to be found for the objectives set out above by

sub-sector and size of business.

To explore, where possible, indicative impact of the Social Care Commitment on

the quality of care provided across the sector as a whole, and public/sector

perception of it.

To make actionable and practical recommendations for the future of the Social

Care Commitment, including Skills for Care‟s role.

1.2 Evaluation Method

The evaluation method was multi-stranded and involved both primary and secondary

research:

Desk review: analysis of relevant documentation and management information

related to the Commitment.

Interviews with strategic and operational stakeholders: strategic

stakeholders included Skills for Care staff and members of the Social Care

Commitment steering group. The operational stakeholders were members of the

Commitment support team.

Quantitative employer interviews: telephone survey of 229 employers:125

that had signed up to the Commitment and 106 that had registered (15% and

18% of the total number of employees engaged respectively). This included

seven Individual Employers (IEs) (five that had signed up to the Commitment and

two that had registered). The sample was weighted towards those that have

signed up to ensure that sufficient information was obtained on the impact of the

Commitment. The survey gathered feedback on the registration and sign up

process, the support available from Skills for Care and the impact of the

Page 11: Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment-workfor… · As the Commitment becomes embedded and employee sign ups increase, employers are anticipating new support needs that are both

Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment

3

Commitment (both experienced and expected in the future). The survey was live

during April 2014.

Qualitative employer interviews: a total of 11 qualitative interviews were

undertaken with employers (eight that had signed up to the Commitment and

three that had registered) in April 2014. These employers were selected from the

quantitative survey sample based on the nature of their responses, e.g. where

they reported a particularly strong impact or high level of activity.

1.3 Terminology

The terms used throughout this report are as follows:

Registered employer: An employer who has registered their interest in the

Commitment and completed the initial registration stage. They may have gone

on to create their account and view and select tasks but have not completed the

process.

Signed up employer: An employer who has selected at least one task under

each of the seven statements and proceeded to sign up. They will have received

their Commitment certificate and have a development plan detailing the tasks

selected and when they aim to have achieved these.

Individual Employer (IE): an adult who employs their own care/support staff,

either self-funded or via a direct payment taken as a cash payment.

1.4 This Report

This is the final report from the evaluation and is structured as follows:

Chapter 2: The Social Care Commitment introduces the Commitment and

provides an overview of the development process;

Chapter 3: Uptake of the Social Care Commitment provides detail on the

profile of employers that have engaged with the Commitment;

Chapter 4: Development and Launch of the Commitment reviews the

development of the Commitment and assesses marketing and promotional

activities;

Page 12: Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment-workfor… · As the Commitment becomes embedded and employee sign ups increase, employers are anticipating new support needs that are both

Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment

4

Chapter 5: Registration, Sign Up and Support discusses the suitability of

registration and sign up process and the support offered to employers;

Chapter 6: Activity, Outcomes and Impact reviews the activities that

employers have undertaken as part of the Commitment and the impacts this has

achieved;

Chapter 7: Conclusions and Recommendations discusses the success of the

Commitment to date and provides recommendations for the Commitment looking

forwards.

Page 13: Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment-workfor… · As the Commitment becomes embedded and employee sign ups increase, employers are anticipating new support needs that are both

Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment

5

Key point summary

The Commitment is a voluntary agreement made by employers in the adult social

care sector. The Commitment was first cited in the Caring for Our Future White

Paper. It is a public pledge made by care providers to improve the quality of their

workforce and is intended to provide assurance around quality of care and workforce

practices, and to reaffirm public confidence in the health and social care sector.

The process to develop the Commitment ran from October 2012 to September 2013

and involved initial scoping and research, formation of the steering group,

development of the Commitment content, brand and IT system, sector consultation

and implementation. A ministerial statement was released in March 2014 but a high

profile public launch has yet to occur.

Employers engage with the Commitment via a two part process. Firstly employers

register which involves entering details about the organisation via the Commitment

website. Following verification that they are a care provider, employers then go on to

select their tasks and sign up.

The Commitment has been promoted via a range of methods including Skills for

Care and partners‟ newsletters, trade press, emails to Workforce Development Fund

claimants and Skills for Care‟s local networks.

In supporting employers to engage with the Commitment, a series of resources have

been produced by Skills for Care covering the registration process. There are a

series of links to publically available documents and websites associated with each

of the statements to support employers with the tasks.

2. The Social Care Commitment

Introduction

This section of the report outlines the background to and process of developing and

implementing the Social Care Commitment. Analysis of the effectiveness of the

approaches taken follows in later Chapters of the report.

2.1 Rationale for the Commitment

The Caring for Our Future White Paper was published in 2012 and set out the vision for

a reformed care and support system. The White Paper highlighted the public demand

for better information about care and the need to ensure consistent high quality care

across the country. The Commitment was first noted here in the form of a sector

compact as a response to these issues.

Page 14: Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment-workfor… · As the Commitment becomes embedded and employee sign ups increase, employers are anticipating new support needs that are both

Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment

6

“We will work with care providers, service users and carers to develop a sector-specific

compact, including a skills pledge, to promote culture change and skills development.

This will set a framework for agreement between employees and employers, to improve

skills, competencies and behaviours. As part of this work we would expect local

authorities and care providers to identify the appropriate proportion of available

resources to support training and development as part of the commissioning process

(…).” Caring for Our Future: reforming care and support (July 2012)

In the wake of the events at Mid Staffordshire and Winterbourne View, there was an

evident need to take steps to reaffirm public confidence in the health and social care

sector. By making a public commitment, organisations are expected to enhance the

information available about them as a provider and employer, and give assurance to

service users, their friends and relatives, and the wider public on the standards of

quality, safety and dignity in care offered by individual organisations and the sector as a

whole.

2.2 Developing the Commitment

Skills for Care, in their role as the employer led workforce development body for the

adult social care sector in England, were given responsibility for developing the

Commitment. The development timeline is summarised in the figure below, followed by

an overview of the process.

Prompted by the publication of Caring for Our Future in summer 2012, between October

and December, a research project was commissioned to draw together existing

evidence on voluntary employer commitments and their effectiveness.

In December 2012, a Skills for Care project team was established with the role of

developing the Commitment content, brand and IT system (with technical support from

Page 15: Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment-workfor… · As the Commitment becomes embedded and employee sign ups increase, employers are anticipating new support needs that are both

Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment

7

a software development supplier). A steering group was also established to support the

development of the Commitment and provide a discussion forum with views from across

the sector. There is representation on the steering group from employer membership

organisations, IEs, unions, Department of Health, National Skills Academy, Association

of Directors of Adult Social Services and the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

During the early part of 2013, the Commitment processes, statements and tasks (i.e.

the content of the Commitment and how it would be introduced) were developed by the

steering group and a working group of IEs, building on the findings from the research

project. A Ministerial Summit was held in April 2013 to refine the proposals and the

Commitment‟s name. This was followed by an employer consultation period during May

and June, which gathered feedback from 500 employers on the proposals via an event

and an online survey. Following the employer consultation, the steering group made

refinements to the Commitment branding and marketing material.

In September 2013, the Commitment and website was launched to the sector. An event

was held in London to which a group of sector trailblazers were invited. These

employers would be the first to sign up and who would promote the Commitment to the

rest of the sector.

The resulting Commitment is a voluntary agreement, open to all employers working in

the adult social care sector. At the time of writing, there has been no public launch of

the Commitment, however a Ministerial statement regarding the Commitment was

released in March 2014.

2.3 The Statements and Tasks

The Commitment is comprised of seven statements and there are a series of tasks

associated with each. Each statement sets out an overall objective with the tasks sitting

below them providing a range of actions that could support its achievement. The

statements and tasks reflect the wide range of employer responsibilities when recruiting

staff and once people are in post. These are shown in the Appendix to this report.

2.4 Registration and Sign Up Process

For employers, making the Commitment is a two part process. Firstly, employers

register for the Commitment and then secondly they sign up to it. Registration involves

employers expressing their interest in the Commitment while the sign up stage involves

formalising the Commitment by selecting the tasks that they will work towards.

Page 16: Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment-workfor… · As the Commitment becomes embedded and employee sign ups increase, employers are anticipating new support needs that are both

Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment

8

A summary of the process is shown in the figure below and an overview of each stage

is provided in the remainder of this section. Elements of this process were developed

following the launch of the Commitment. This includes enhancements to the

functionality of the Commitment website. For example, the linkage with employers‟

NMDS-SC account, ability to update the development plan to keep it as a live

document, and the linking of parent company and subsidiaries‟ accounts.

Registration

There are two routes to registering for the Commitment, via the Commitment website

(www.thesocialcarecommitment.org.uk) or via a National Minimum Dataset for Social

Page 17: Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment-workfor… · As the Commitment becomes embedded and employee sign ups increase, employers are anticipating new support needs that are both

Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment

9

Care1(NMDS-SC) account. If registering via the Commitment website, there are

separate pages for registering as an organisation and as an IE. Employers fill in their

details on the website and click „Register‟. The information that is required is shown in

the box below.

Registration Information

Organisation Individual Employer

Organisation:

Employer name

Parent organisation code2

Address

Telephone number

Main care service provided

Organisation type

Contact’s details:

Title and first and last name

Job title

Email address

Security question and answer

Title and first and last name

Address

Telephone number

Type of care received

Whether it is your own care and support

or another person‟s

Email address

Security question and answer

Details for the person managing the

account (if different from the named

person for the account)

Once submitted, the registration is verified by Skills for Care. In the case of

organisations, where employers are CQC registered, the registration is approved as this

indicates that they are an organisation providing care. If employers are not CQC

registered, the internal team uses information from the employer‟s website or gathers

information via telephone to confirm that they are providing care. There are few

refusals and where these occur, the main reasons are that organisations have

incorrectly registered (e.g. as an IE), they are a training provider or they already show

as registered. In the case of IEs, verification requires provision of evidence that they

are an employer (for example, a copy of their employer liability insurance certificate).

If registering via an NMDS-SC account, there is a registration button on the account

page. This takes the employer to the registration page on the Commitment website

where some details are pre-populated. Registrations through the NMDS-SC are

automatically approved and do not require verification by Skills for Care as this NMDS-

SC registration again indicates that they are an organisation providing care.

Once applications have been successfully verified (where appropriate), employers

receive an email notifying them that that registration has been approved. The email

1 The National Minimum Dataset for Social Care is the recognised leading source of robust workforce

intelligence for the adult social care which uses an online data collection portal. 2 This is a unique code identifying a parent organisation that has signed up to the Commitment. It is only applicable if

a subsidiary has been invited to sign up by a parent company when it will be pre-populated. It should otherwise be left blank.

Page 18: Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment-workfor… · As the Commitment becomes embedded and employee sign ups increase, employers are anticipating new support needs that are both

Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment

10

contains a link to the Commitment website which employers follow to complete their

registration and sign up.

If employers do not progress to sign up after three months then they are contacted via

Skills for Care (initially by phone but now via email) and prompted to do so.

Sign Up

Following the link in the registration email, organisations complete further details

regarding number of employees and CQC registration, while no further information is

asked of IEs. Employers can then view the statements, select the tasks they would like

to work towards and enter the date by which they aim to complete each task. Signing up

to the Commitment does not require any checks of the validity of initial selections or

progress towards them over time.

Page 19: Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment-workfor… · As the Commitment becomes embedded and employee sign ups increase, employers are anticipating new support needs that are both

Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment

11

Employers are able to exit the sign up process part way if they wish and any tasks they

have selected will be saved. Once employers have selected at least one task per

statement, and specified timescales for achievement, they are able to click „Sign Up‟.

Once they have signed up, employers are asked whether they agree to appear in public

searches of organisations that have made the Commitment and whether they would like

to receive further information from Skills for Care. A development plan is produced for

employers which sets out the tasks selected and when they aim to have completed

them.

Post-Sign Up

From their Commitment account homepage, employers can view and update the

development plan, update selected tasks, download the certificate which confirms that

they have signed up to the Commitment, edit their details, confirm subsidiaries (if

applicable) and invite employees/subsidiaries to sign up.

Following sign up, employers begin to work towards the tasks they have selected. Their

progress is self-monitored and there are no alerts or emails issued to prompt progress.

After 12 months, employers are prompted to renew their Commitment, however they

can update their tasks prior to 12 months if they wish.

2.5 Marketing, Communication and Support

Marketing and Promotion

The Commitment has been marketed to the sector via the following routes:

Skills for Care enews;

Partners‟ newsletters (for example, an article in the Associate of Directors of

Adult Social Services (ADASS) newsletter);

Adverts and articles in trade press;

Page 20: Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment-workfor… · As the Commitment becomes embedded and employee sign ups increase, employers are anticipating new support needs that are both

Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment

12

An email to Workforce Development Fund claimants;

Presentations by the Commitment steering group;

Via Skills for Care‟s area officers and local networks.

The marketing material has provided an overview of the Commitment, how to register

and sign up and the benefits of engaging with it.

Supporting Employers

An internal Skills for Care support team provide support for employers engaging with

the Commitment. The team consists of a Skills for Care Officer and an Assistant.

Employers can contact the team either by telephone or email and on average 10 to 20

enquiries are received each week, with the majority via email.

The support is available to employers at any stage of engaging with the Commitment,

from pre-registration to post-sign up. Employers‟ queries tend to be process-related

and are about using the system. The most common queries are regarding:

An error message occurs when CQC registration details are entered;

The employer‟s session has timed out;

Forgotten password.

These queries are responded to by the Assistant member of the team. Approximately

once a week, the team receives a more complex query. These concern bugs in the IT

system which are logged for the site developers to address. Employers can also

enquire as to why they should sign up to the Commitment. These queries are

responded to by the Officer member of the team.

A series of resources have also been produced by the Officer to support employers.

They have been added to and amended as the site has developed and new features

have been added. The resources are detailed in the box below.

Page 21: Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment-workfor… · As the Commitment becomes embedded and employee sign ups increase, employers are anticipating new support needs that are both

Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment

13

Social Care Commitment Resources

„How to register as an employer‟ guide*

„How to register as an individual employer‟ guide*

„How to register as an employee‟ guide*

„How to register as a subsidiary‟ guide*

„I have registered as an Employer but I am also an Employee - How can I make the

commitment as an Employee?‟ guide*

„We are a Subsidiary Organisation how can we link to our Parent Organisation?‟

guide *

„How to update your Development Plan & Statements‟ guide *

FAQs on the Commitment website*

A series of videos demonstrating the process*

„Further information of what this means for your workplace‟ guidance**

A series of resources associated with each of the statements**

* These are available to all via the Commitment website

** There are a series of links to publically available documents and websites

associated with each of the statements. These are accessed via the employers‟

Commitment account webpage.

Page 22: Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment-workfor… · As the Commitment becomes embedded and employee sign ups increase, employers are anticipating new support needs that are both

Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment

14

Key point summary

To the end of April 2014, a total of 814 employers had signed up and 581 had

registered for the Commitment. The target of 2,500 employers signed up by

September 2014 will be difficult to achieve given the current rate of sign ups.

The majority of employers that have engaged with the Commitment provide

residential (45% and 43% of registered and signed up employers respectively) or

domiciliary services (30% registered and 33% signed up), operate in the private

sector (71% registered and 73% signed up), are small or medium employers (38%

registered (although note that 54% were not allocated) and 83% signed up) and are

spread throughout the country.

Compared to the wider sector, employers providing domiciliary care services and

those in the private sector are over represented in the profile, while other adult

community care services, other services, IEs and micro businesses are under

represented.

Employers have selected a wide range of tasks when signing up to the Commitment.

Signed up employers have selected an average of 22 tasks. Over a fifth of

employers selected the minimum of seven tasks (22%) while the majority have

selected additional tasks, up to the maximum of 41 tasks.

On average, each task was selected by 54% of employers, reflecting the high

number of tasks that employers have selected. Across the tasks the proportion of

employers that had selected each one ranged from 34% to 71% and the under or

over represented tasks are not biased towards any specific statements.

IEs tended to select comparatively fewer tasks (15 tasks on average, compared to a

wider sector average of 22).

3. Uptake of the Social Care Commitment

Introduction

This chapter presents the Commitment management information from the point of

launch in September 2013 to the end of April 2014. It presents an overview of uptake of

the Commitment by employers and the profile of the employers that have engaged with

the initiative. The employer profile is compared to the wider sector using data from the

National Minimum Dataset for Social Care (NMDS-SC) (April 2014). For evaluation

purposes, the number of employers that have engaged with the Commitment can be

considered as outputs.

Page 23: Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment-workfor… · As the Commitment becomes embedded and employee sign ups increase, employers are anticipating new support needs that are both

Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment

15

3.1 Registration and Sign Up

Total Figures

Since its launch in September 2013 to the end of April 2014, a total of 814 employers

had signed up to the Commitment and 581 had registered. Over time there has been a

steady increase in the number of employers engaged with the Commitment. Between

March and April 2014, the number of registered employers fell from 704 employers to

581 employers. The decline is due to the internal team removing the accounts of

registered employers who had been inactive for over two months. Up to March 2014,

there had been an average of 118 registrations and 100 sign ups per month.

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

Sep-13 Oct-13 Nov-13 Dec-13 Jan-14 Feb-14 Mar-14 Apr-14

No

. o

f e

mp

loye

rs

Sep-13 Oct-13 Nov-13 Dec-13 Jan-14 Feb-14 Mar-14 Apr-14

Signed up 136 224 335 392 458 578 704 814

Registered 477 627 744 755 756 856 823 581

Signed up Registered

Employer Uptake

Source: Skills for Care

Skills for Care aim to achieve 2,500 employer sign ups to the Commitment by

September 2014. At the time of writing, this would appear a stretching target, requiring

over three times as many signed up employers than the current level. However it is

important to bear in mind that the Commitment has had a soft launch and the absence

of a full public launch will have impacted on progress toward the employer uptake target

(marketing and employer awareness is discussed further in Chapter 4).

As a benchmark, Skills for Care aim to achieve a conversion rate of 50% from employer

registration to sign up. At the outset in September 2013, for just over every three

employers who had registered there was one signed up employer. This ratio has

improved over time, as could be expected, and by March 2014 for every 1.7 employers

who were registered, one employer had signed up. Whilst this suggests an improving

Page 24: Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment-workfor… · As the Commitment becomes embedded and employee sign ups increase, employers are anticipating new support needs that are both

Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment

16

ratio of registered to signed up employers, it does not quite reach the aspirational target.

The barriers that registered employers experience to signing up are discussed in

Chapter 5.

Employer Profile

The proportion of employers both registered and signed up to the Commitment is

broadly similar when figures are viewed by service area. Employers most commonly

operate in care home services without nursing (28% signed up, 30% registered),

domiciliary care services (33% signed up, 30% registered), and care home services with

nursing (15% signed up, 15% registered) service areas. Compared to the profile of the

sector as a whole, the key points are:

Over representation: Domiciliary care services are over represented, (30% of

registered and 33% of signed up employees compared to 14% in the total

sector).

Under representation: Other adult community care services and other services

are under represented. Respectively these are 4% registered and 5% signed up,

compared to 14% in the sector and 6% registered and 9% signed up compared

to 19% in the total sector.

Page 25: Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment-workfor… · As the Commitment becomes embedded and employee sign ups increase, employers are anticipating new support needs that are both

Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment

17

Uptake by Service Area

Registered Signed Up Total Sector

Total 581 814 25,674

Care home services without

nursing 30% 28% 28%

Domiciliary care services 30% 33% 14%

Care home services with

nursing 15% 15% 11%

Any other adult residential

care service 12% 5% 8%

Any other services 6% 9% 19%

Any other adult community

care service 4% 5% 14%

Any day care or day

services 3% 5% 5%

Any other adult domiciliary

care service 1% 2% 3%

Not recorded 0% 0% -

Source: Skills for Care and NMDS-SC

The sector profile of employers is broadly similar across those that are registered and

signed up. When both groups are compared to sector averages, the key points to note

are:

Over representation: Private sector employers account for around three

quarters of registered and signed up employers (71% and 73% respectively),

compared to 46% of all employers in the sector.

Under representation: Fewer statutory local authority employers have engaged

with the Commitment (9% of registered employers and 8% of employers that

have signed up) compared to the national sector profile (34%).

In April 2014, 14 of the total employers engaged with the Commitment were IEs3. Of

these, 13 were signed up and one had registered. This is a low proportion of the signed

up sample, and although it is in line with the proportion of IEs in the total sector based

on the NMDS-SC, IEs are known to be particularly under represented in this database.

3 Through the course of the evaluation, ekosgen have highlighted that some employers are incorrectly

classified as Individual employers. The Skills for Care team are looking into this.

Page 26: Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment-workfor… · As the Commitment becomes embedded and employee sign ups increase, employers are anticipating new support needs that are both

Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment

18

Uptake by Sector

Registered Signed Up Total Sector

Total 581 814 25,674

Private sector 71% 73% 46%

Voluntary or third sector 16% 14% 16%

Statutory local authority 9% 8% 34%

Other 3% 2% 2%

Not recorded 1% 1% -

Individual Employer 0% 2% 2%

Source: Skills for Care and NMDS-SC

The geographic profile of employers that have engaged with the Commitment is broadly

in line with the national profile. There is a very slight over representation of employers

in the North West and the South East and a slight under representation of employers in

the Eastern and London areas compared to the total sector profile.

Uptake by Geography

Registered Signed Up Total Sector

England 581 814 25,674

South East 17% 17% 14%

North West 17% 19% 16%

West Midlands 13% 10% 12%

South West 12% 12% 12%

London 10% 8% 11%

Yorkshire and the Humber 10% 11% 10%

Eastern 9% 9% 11%

East Midlands 6% 8% 9%

North East 6% 5% 6%

Source: Skills for Care and NMDS-SC

The profile of employer take up by size band varies quite significantly between the

employers registered and signed up to the Commitment, and compared to the total

sector. Micro businesses are significantly under represented compared to the total

sector (5% signed up compared to 32% of all organisations), whilst there is an

overrepresentation of medium and large employers signed up compared to the total

sector. Comparing the profile of the registered employers to the rest of the sector is

problematic, as a large proportion of this group is not allocated (54%).

Page 27: Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment-workfor… · As the Commitment becomes embedded and employee sign ups increase, employers are anticipating new support needs that are both

Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment

19

Uptake by Employment Size

Registered Signed Up Total Sector

Total 581 814 25,674

Micro 3% 5% 32%

Small 24% 51% 49%

Medium 14% 32% 15%

Large 5% 9% 1%

Not allocated 54% 2% 2%

Source: Skills for Care and NMDS-SC

3.2 Profile of Tasks Selected

This section of the chapter is based on data from March 2014 while queries with the

April data are confirmed with Skills for Care.

This part of the chapter presents the management information held by Skills for Care

and the profile of tasks selected by employers. This information does not detail

employers‟ progress against these tasks, however employers‟ feedback on progress is

detailed in Chapter 6.

Signed Up Employers

Overall, employers appear to select a wide range of tasks when signing up to the

Commitment. On average, each employer has signed up to 22 tasks in making the

Commitment. However, as shown in the table below, there was significant variation

amongst employers. More than a fifth (22%) of signed up employers selected the

minimum number of tasks (seven, one for each statement), whilst the majority selected

additional tasks. The maximum number of tasks any one employer could select was 41

and 18% selected this (equating to almost six per statement).

Number of Tasks Selected, signed up employers

% of employers

7 (minimum number of tasks) 22%

8 to 15 21%

16 - 25 16%

26 - 40 22%

41 (maximum number of tasks) 18%

Source: Skills for Care

Page 28: Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment-workfor… · As the Commitment becomes embedded and employee sign ups increase, employers are anticipating new support needs that are both

Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment

20

The main variations in terms of task selection across the sector include:

Sector: On average, statutory local authorities signed up to the highest number

of tasks (25). The remaining categories were more closely aligned with the

overarching average of 22; private sector (22), voluntary or third sector (19) and

other employers (21).

Service area: Establishments classed as „other adult community care services‟

selected the highest number of tasks when signing up to the Commitment, with

an average of 25. Other adult residential care services selected the lowest

number of tasks on average (15), whilst the remaining service groups were

broadly in line with the total signed up population average.

On average, each task was selected by 54% of employers, reflecting the high number of

multiple selections. Across the tasks the proportion of employers that had selected a

task ranged from 34% to 71%. The over and under represented tasks are shown

below. These do not appear to bias any particular statements.

More Popular and Less Popular Tasks

More popular tasks

- Have a set of up to date job descriptions and person specifications for all roles

(71%)

- Check that all employees have completed all statutory and mandatory training

associated with their roles (69%)

- Encourage an atmosphere where people feel they can ask for help (68%)

- Offer support and learning opportunities (67%)

- Develop and review induction processes in line with legal requirements and best

practice (66%)

- Monitor inductions to assess that they are appropriate and successful and

provide documentary evidence that each worker agrees that such training has

been received (66%)

Less popular tasks

- Discuss day to day practice in the work place using the Learning Through Work

Guides for the Social Care Commitment (34%)

- Implement and review written agreed ways of working to support employees to

meet the requirements of the Social Care Commitment and any applicable Codes

of Conduct or Practice (36%)

- Find out about what creates and sustains a positive culture in the workplace and

produce an action plan as a result (36%)

Page 29: Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment-workfor… · As the Commitment becomes embedded and employee sign ups increase, employers are anticipating new support needs that are both

Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment

21

- Run information sessions for employees to inform them of any other codes,

standards and registration systems applicable to their roles (36%)

- Set performance objectives for supervision practice for all supervisors. (37%)

Variation in Tasks Across the Sector

An analysis of the tasks select by different types of employers shows that:

Employment size: There is little variation in the tasks selected by employer size.

Service area: Employers providing other adult residential services tended to

select a smaller number of tasks, while those providing other adult community

care services selected a higher number of tasks.

Sector: Employers in the Statutory Local Authority sector tended to select a high

number of tasks compared to those in other sectors.

IEs

IEs have tended to select fewer tasks compared to the wider sector. On average,

signed up IEs selected 15 tasks, compared to the sector average of 22 tasks. While the

number of tasks had the same range as the wider sector (between seven tasks and 41

tasks), a large proportion (five out of the 11 IEs) selected the minimum seven tasks.

Where more tasks than the minimum have been selected, IEs have most commonly

focused on recruitment, information about the Commitment for employees and

supervision tasks compared to the wider sector.

Page 30: Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment-workfor… · As the Commitment becomes embedded and employee sign ups increase, employers are anticipating new support needs that are both

Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment

22

Key point summary

The process by which the Commitment has been developed was appropriate. It was

completed within a short timescale and arrived at a comprehensive product, with

suitable statements and tasks, and which respond to the original rationale.

In managing the process, the steering group has been an effective tool for shaping

the development of the Commitment. There are some frustrations amongst the

stakeholders relating to what is perceived as a lack of communication from the

Department of Health. This concerned a lack of a detailed brief at the outset of the

process and delays to the public launch.

The marketing of the Commitment is well received across the sector and employers

became aware of the Commitment via a variety of sources. This included most

commonly the Skills for Care website (39%), followed by word of mouth (21%) and

Skills for Care e-news (13%). In total, two thirds of employers found out about the

Commitment via Skills for Care and stakeholders have raised concerns about how to

reach those employers less involved in the sector.

The success of the Commitment will be strongly correlated with sector-wide and

public awareness. At the time of writing, while the Minister has released a statement

on the Commitment and the public launch has not yet occurred. The evaluation

would strongly endorse a public launch to raise awareness amongst the sector and

wider public.

4. Development and Launch of the Commitment

Introduction

This chapter reviews the process by which the Commitment has been developed and

assesses the promotion and marketing activities that have been undertaken. The

findings are based on feedback from stakeholders (strategic and operational) and

employers, together with the results of a „lessons learnt‟ exercise undertaken by Skills

for Care in January 2014.

4.1 Development Process

The development process for the Commitment is explained in Chapter 2. In summary it

ran from October 2012 to September 2013 and involved initial scoping and research,

formation of the steering group, development of the Commitment content, brand and IT

system, sector consultation and launch.

Page 31: Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment-workfor… · As the Commitment becomes embedded and employee sign ups increase, employers are anticipating new support needs that are both

Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment

23

A Sound Process

Overall, the evaluation concludes that the process of developing the Commitment has

worked well, especially give the timescales available. Stakeholders were generally very

satisfied with the approach that had been taken, with none suggesting that they would

do things distinctly differently again (see quotations below). In this regard, it certainly

seems that the appropriateness of the process is reflected in the end product. The

Commitment responds to its original rationale, standing as a quality mark for the sector

and including a range of commonly recognised actions which are associated with good

workforce practices and quality of care.

‘Developing the Commitment has been a job well done.’ - steering group member

‘People often choose a care provider in a crisis and the Commitment is a quick and

easy way of assessing quality in a crisis situation.’ – steering group member

‘It demonstrates to the public that you are developing your staff.’ – steering group

member

Although not a change to the process per se, two related topics did arise during the

consultations. Firstly is the subject of links with Care Quality Commission (CQC)

inspection, although views on this were mixed. Some stakeholders clearly feel that the

extent to which employers will complete the tasks in the Commitment will be driven by

whether or not they are formally covered by inspection. An associated point was raised

that the Commitment risks being undermined should poor standards of care emerge

within an organisation who has signed up. However, others are strongly of the view that

the Commitment should remain a voluntary promise which is employer driven rather

than being centrally enforced.

The second point, albeit only raised by one stakeholder, was that there should be a

function for organisations that are not providing care (e.g. training providers) to endorse

the Commitment, which could help to raise awareness. This is something which Skills

for Care may wish to look into further in the future.

Challenging Timeframes

A key challenge in the development of the Commitment was the short (and shorter than

anticipated) timeframe, with the completion date brought forward by six months by the

Department of Health. The stakeholders were uncertain of the rationale for amending

the timeframe. Those working on the Commitment consequently felt under some

pressure to hit the revised milestones and whilst none felt that the process was

necessarily compromised, there is general agreement that more time to discuss and

review content, test the IT system and obtain employer feedback would have been

Page 32: Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment-workfor… · As the Commitment becomes embedded and employee sign ups increase, employers are anticipating new support needs that are both

Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment

24

beneficial. For example, one stakeholder commented that ‘the employer consultation

exercise involved the usual suspects and it would have been useful to gain feedback

from the harder to reach employers, which could have been achieved with more time’.

It is therefore to the credit of those that have developed the Commitment that the

findings in this report, especially those from employers, are generally very positive and

that the shortened timescales do not appear to have resulted in any significant

development or implementation issues.

Managing the Development Process

The Social Care Commitment steering group has been an effective component in the

development of the Commitment. It is a large group (20 to 25 members) with good

representation from across the adult social care sector. Feedback on the steering

group was almost universally positive and despite its size, the common view is that it

has been well managed and facilitated, with all parties able to contribute, and that it has

been a very important sounding board and discussion forum to help shape the

Commitment.

There was, however, some frustration amongst stakeholders regarding what is

perceived to be a lack of communication from the Department of Health regarding the

Commitment. This concerned, firstly, the lack of a detailed brief at the outset, and,

secondly, limited communication regarding a public launch (making it difficult for

stakeholders to plan their own publicity activity to coincide with national press). The

public launch is discussed further later in this chapter.

Lessons Learnt

Given that the process appears, in the main, to have been effective, the overriding

lesson is that it provides a sound framework or template for initiatives of this kind in the

future.

The only other message under this topic is that the Commitment has been introduced

amidst a time of considerable change for the sector, with the Care Certificate being

developed and various recruitment and related tools and initiatives in progress (e.g.

Finders Keepers and a new national strategy for recruitment and retention). The point

was therefore raised during the consultations that an employer-friendly „map‟ would be

beneficial to show the links and interdependencies across the various developments.

‘When it first came about we supported it and felt there was a need for an initiative

focused on quality. There have since been several announcements of new codes and

standards and, while the rationale for the Commitment still stands, there is confusion

amongst the sector as to how it all fits together.’ – steering group member

Page 33: Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment-workfor… · As the Commitment becomes embedded and employee sign ups increase, employers are anticipating new support needs that are both

Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment

25

4.2 Suitability of the Statements and Tasks

The statements and tasks in the Commitment have been carefully selected and appear

to be very appropriate. The common view, shared by a large majority of employers and

stakeholders, is that the Commitment contains the right amount of statements, that the

tasks are appropriate and that the wording is reasonably clear.

‘Needs to be a balancing act, comprehensive but not too difficult. I think we have

achieved this.’ – steering group member

‘All the tasks are relevant.’ – signed up employer

„There weren’t any topics that we thought were missing.’ – signed up employer

Perhaps not surprisingly, employers that had signed up tended to be more positive

about the suitability of the statements and tasks, compared with those that had

registered but not proceeded to full sign up. For example, and as shown in the table on

the following page, signed-up employers were:

Less likely to say that there are too many statements (20% compared with 33%

of registered employers);

More likely to say that all of the tasks are suitable (81% compared with 63% of

registered employers);

Slightly more likely to say that the statements are well worded (68% compared to

60% of registered employers).

Page 34: Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment-workfor… · As the Commitment becomes embedded and employee sign ups increase, employers are anticipating new support needs that are both

Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment

26

Employer Views on Statements and Tasks

Total Registered Signed Up

Number of Statements

Too many statements 26% 33% 20%

The right number of statements 70% 60% 78%

Too few statements 1% 2% -

Don‟t know 3% 6% 2%

Suitability of Tasks

They are all suitable 72% 63% 81%

Some are suitable 25% 33% 18%

None are suitable - - -

Don‟t know 3% 5% 1%

Wording of the Statements

They are well worded 64% 60% 68%

The wording is ok 33% 35% 32%

They are poorly worded - 1% -

Don‟t know 2% 5% -

Source: ekosgen. Sample of 229 responses (104 registered employers

and 125 signed up employers).

Suitability Across the Sector

The Commitment‟s statements and tasks appear to be equally suitable for different

types of employers. There was only one instance where the survey results showed a

slight variation, with smaller employers more likely to say that there were too many

statements than their larger counterparts. This is perhaps to be expected, given that

HR processes and practices are likely to be more formalised, and potentially more

comprehensive, in larger organisations.

Looking specifically at IEs (of which seven were consulted for the evaluation), the key

messages are that:

Number of statements: all of the IEs felt the Commitment contained the right

number of statements

Suitability of the tasks: three stated that all of the tasks were suitable, while

three stated that some were and one did not know.

Page 35: Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment-workfor… · As the Commitment becomes embedded and employee sign ups increase, employers are anticipating new support needs that are both

Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment

27

Wording of the statements: Four stated that the statements were well worded

and three stated that the wording was ok.

While the Commitment is largely appropriate for those who provided feedback for the

evaluation, it is obviously difficult to conclude on the suitability of the Commitment for

the wider population of IEs. This is due to firstly the size of the sample and, secondly,

to its representativeness: it included IEs who are very active in the sector, e.g. two of

those consulted had been involved in Skills for Care‟s Link Up project.

‘All the statements made sense to me.’ – signed up IE

‘Only some of the tasks are suitable – we are all individuals so there will never be a

Commitment to fit all people who employ PAs.’ – registered IE

4.3 Promotion and Marketing

Sources of Employer Awareness

The most common means by which employers became aware of the Commitment was

via the Skills for Care website (39%). This was followed by word of mouth (21%) and

Skills for Care e-news (13%). „Other‟ sources were also cited by 13% of employers and

included other organisations or a head office, other colleagues or departments, training

events and Twitter.

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45%

Don‟t know

Other

Trade press

NMDS-SC

Social Care Commitment website

Contacted directly by Skills for Care

Conference or event

Skills for Care e-news

Word of mouth

Skills for Care website

Sources of Employer Awareness

Source: ekosgen. Sample of 229 responses. Employers could select multiple responses.

There is some variation in how registered and signed up employers became aware of

the Commitment, although it is unclear whether this had any bearing on whether they

stopped at the registration stage or proceeded to full sign up. The main variations are

that a higher proportion of registered employers became aware of the Commitment via

the Skills for Care website (52%) or at a conference or event (13%) compared to signed

Page 36: Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment-workfor… · As the Commitment becomes embedded and employee sign ups increase, employers are anticipating new support needs that are both

Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment

28

up employers (29% and 3% respectively). While a higher proportion of signed up

employers found out via „other‟ sources or were contacted directly by Skills for Care

(21% and 14% respectively) compared to registered employers (3% and 5%

respectively). Note that there are no differences in how employers became aware of

the Commitment that can be correlated with their characteristics (e.g. size or service

area).

Sources of Employer Awareness, sources with variation by

registered and signed up employers

Registered Signed Up

Higher proportion of registered employers

Skills for Care website 52% 29%

Conference or event 13% 3%

Higher proportion of signed up employers

Other 3% 21%

Contacted directly by Skills for Care 5% 14%

Source: ekosgen. Sample of 234 responses (104 registered and 125

signed up).

IEs had most commonly found out about the Commitment through Skills for Care.

Three IEs stated that they were contacted directly by Skills for Care and one stated they

had seen it in the Skills for Care e-news. Others were made aware of the Commitment

via a friend or family member, a User Led Organisation or a care provider.

Quality of the Marketing Materials

Overall, the marketing of the Commitment appears to have been well received. The

general consensus is that the approaches have been fit for purpose and the materials

produced have been of a high quality, accessible and have had a clear message.

However, considering the trend in the number of sign ups shown in Chapter 3, there do

not appear to be spikes in the number of sign ups correlated with promotional activities.

‘The materials look good and market the Commitment well.’ – steering group member

‘We found out about it through our local care home forum which has links with Skills

for Care. The promotion was good – we understood what the Commitment was and

the importance of it as a future quality standard for the sector.’ – signed up employer

‘It has been promoted well, it just needs to be publicised more in the community.’ –

signed up employer

Page 37: Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment-workfor… · As the Commitment becomes embedded and employee sign ups increase, employers are anticipating new support needs that are both

Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment

29

A small number of employers put forward suggestions for new promotional approaches

via the qualitative interviews, including one employer who suggested awareness raising

in schools via the Skills for Care iCare Ambassadors, and another who felt that more

detail on the benefits of signing up for employees would help with engagement.

‘I often find that young people are not well prepared when they come to us straight

from school. If they were aware of the Commitment and what a career in care

involves, this would help retain those that we take on. Often people who join straight

from school leave as they realise that the job is not for them.’ – signed up employer

Volume of Promotion

While stakeholders and employers were complimentary about the marketing materials,

there were some concerns about the scale of the promotional activity that had been

undertaken (at the time of the consultations), with a general feeling that it had been

relatively low key.

Linked to this, stakeholders noted that many of the employers that have engaged with

the Commitment are those who also engage more generally with Skills for Care, a fact

that it is borne out by the statistic that two thirds of employers found out about the

Commitment from Skills for Care, be that via the Skills for Care website, direct contact

from Skills for Care or the NMDS-SC.

This is not necessarily surprising given that, firstly, the Commitment was deliberately

given a soft launch, and secondly, Skills for Care have used a wide range of the

promotional channels that are available to them at a relatively low cost (and rightly so),

for example via the Skills for Care website, Area Officers and their links with local

networks, the NMDS-SC and the Workforce Development Fund. Going forward,

however, while it is recognised that there are some employers who are particularly hard

to reach, more diverse marketing approaches may be worth considering.

Overall, one of the key evaluation findings is that the success of the Commitment will be

heavily reliant on awareness across the sector and amongst the general public. As

discussed previously, at the time of writing, while the Minister has released a statement

on the Commitment4, a public launch has not yet occurred and timescales for doing so

remain unclear. Putting aside the aforementioned disappointment regarding its delay,

the evaluation evidence would strongly endorse a public launch of the Commitment.

This would significantly benefit the public profile of the Commitment and encourage

engagement from across the sector.

4 https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/a-commitment-to-care

Page 38: Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment-workfor… · As the Commitment becomes embedded and employee sign ups increase, employers are anticipating new support needs that are both

Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment

30

‘Employers are inundated and an initiative like this needs a good level of profile

attached to it.’ - steering group member

‘With little public awareness, employers won’t see the rationale for making the

Commitment.’ - steering group member

‘It just needs to be publicised more in the community.’ – signed up employer

Page 39: Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment-workfor… · As the Commitment becomes embedded and employee sign ups increase, employers are anticipating new support needs that are both

Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment

31

Key point summary

Employers are most commonly engaging with the Commitment as a means of

endorsing or recognising the things that they already do well, and to enhance their

reputation. More than three quarters have also engaged because they want to

improve how they train and develop their staff.

The registration and sign up process overall, and each of its component parts,

appears to be fit for purpose. The vast majority of employers rated the clarity of the

instructions, the amount of information that is requested and time required very

favourably.

The vast majority of signed up employers plan to renew their Commitment after 12

months. The main reasons for this are that they recognise the benefits that the

Commitment can help deliver; it helps them to improve as an organisation, provides

recognised standards to work towards and enhances their reputation.

The reason why some employers register for the Commitment but do not

subsequently sign up is not down to the Commitment itself, but, in the majority of

cases, because employers have not yet had the necessary time to commit to it.

The support materials produced by Skills for Care have been well received, as has

the telephone/email support function. Over time, it is likely that support needs will

change somewhat, from those relating to process and functionality of the site, to

employee engagement and supporting employees to complete tasks.

5. Registration, Sign Up and Support

Introduction

This chapter discusses the registration and sign up process for the Social Care

Commitment, drawing mainly upon feedback from employers. It covers employers‟

motivations for engaging with the Commitment and their choice of tasks, as well as

feedback on the process itself and the resources and support that has been provided.

5.1 Motivations for Engaging with the Commitment

Employers cited a broad range of reasons for engaging with the Commitment, the most

common of which was to endorse or recognise things that they already do well and to

enhance their reputation. The first of these in particular is interesting; at 84% it is a very

high proportion and would suggest that good practice in relation to workforce activity is

already very prevalent. This may indeed be true, but (more likely) it could also be

Page 40: Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment-workfor… · As the Commitment becomes embedded and employee sign ups increase, employers are anticipating new support needs that are both

Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment

32

suggested that the employers that have signed up to the Commitment are not yet fully

representative of the wider sector.

Other motivations that were cited regularly included a desire to improve how the

company trains and develops staff (78%) and to improve the quality of care they

provide. It is also worth noting that relatively few employers (25%) engaged with the

Commitment in the interests of commercial gain.

Motivations for Engaging with the Commitment

No. %

Endorse or recognise things we currently do well 193 84%

Enhance the organisation‟s reputation 185 81%

Improve how we train and develop staff 179 78%

Improve the overall quality of care we provide 172 75%

We think it is likely to become a quality mark for the sector 155 68%

Improve dignity in the care we provide 127 55%

Help us to make care more personalised 122 53%

Attract more people with the rights skills and/or values to

apply to work for us 92 40%

Improve employee morale 91 40%

Attract more people to apply to work for us 77 34%

Help reduce our staff turnover rate 76 33%

Curiosity - we were interested to find out what it involved 76 33%

To improve commercial performance 58 25%

Other 2 1%

Don‟t know 1 0%

Source: ekosgen. Sample of 229 responses. Employers could select multiple

responses.

Further analysis shows there to be little variation in the motivations for engaging with

the Commitment regardless of whether employers have only registered or have also

gone to sign up.

A small number of variations were however evident by employer characteristic which

are statistically significant (as shown below). Skills for Care may wish to consider these

variations when promoting the Commitment to the sector, although it should be noted

that the sub-samples are relatively small:

Page 41: Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment-workfor… · As the Commitment becomes embedded and employee sign ups increase, employers are anticipating new support needs that are both

Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment

33

Small employers tended to have a broader range of motivations for engaging

with the Commitment than larger employers and in particular were considerably

more likely to cite reasons relating to recruitment. Nearly half of the employers

with 10 staff or fewer stated that they were looking to attract more people to

apply to work for them, compared with 16% of the larger employers (51 – 100

employees).

Small employers also more often stated that they were looking to attract more

people with the right skills and values to apply (56%) than the larger employers

(21%).

Motivations related to recruitment and retention were cited slightly more often by

domiciliary care providers (half of whom said they were looking to attract more

people to work at the organisation) than residential providers (25%).

Furthermore, nearly half of the domiciliary providers were looking to reduce their

staff turnover compared with a quarter of residential providers.

IEs tended to have less specific motivations, with „curiosity‟ and „wanting to feel a part of

the wider sector‟ cited most regularly, following a desire to improve overall as an

employer, to improve the quality of care they receive and to formalise their working

practices.

5.2 Registration Process: The Employer View

Registration

From an end user perspective, the Commitment registration process appears to be fit

for purpose. Over four fifths of employers surveyed for the evaluation found it to be a

very easy (56%) or quite easy (31%) process, with only one in ten reporting that they

had found it difficult. No significant variations were evident by employer characteristic,

nor by whether an employer had only registered or had also gone on to sign up.

Page 42: Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment-workfor… · As the Commitment becomes embedded and employee sign ups increase, employers are anticipating new support needs that are both

Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment

34

Overall Opinion of the Registration Process

Total Registered Signed up

Very easy 56% 55% 58%

Quite easy 31% 29% 34%

Quite difficult 8% 9% 7%

Very difficult 3% 6% 1%

Don‟t know 1% 2% 1%

Source: ekosgen. Sample of 229 employers (104

registered employers and 125 signed up employers)

Each separate aspect of registering for the Commitment received favourable feedback

from employers. The layout of the website, clarity of instructions and the amount of

information and time required were all rated as either good or very good by at least 80%

of the sample.

Opinion on Aspects of the Registration Process

Very

good Good Av. Poor

Very

poor

Don't

know

Layout of the website 40% 49% 10% - - 2%

Clarity of the instructions on the

website 46% 42% 9% - 1% 2%

Amount of information required 35% 45% 14% 1% 2% 2%

Time required to complete the form 38% 42% 12% 4% 1% 2%

Source: ekosgen. Sample of 229 employers (104 registered employers and 125

signed up employers)

As shown in the table below, those employers that had only registered were somewhat

less positive than those that had also signed up, but the differences are generally very

small (the only one where the difference, in percentage point terms, reaches ten percent

is the time required to complete the form).

Page 43: Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment-workfor… · As the Commitment becomes embedded and employee sign ups increase, employers are anticipating new support needs that are both

Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment

35

Opinion on Aspects of the Registration Process, by registered and signed up

employers

Signed up employers

Very

good /

Good Av.

Very

poor /

Poor

Don't

know

Layout of the website 90% 9% - 1%

Clarity of the instructions on the website 88% 11% - 1%

Amount of information required 84% 13% 2% 2%

Time required to complete the form 85% 10% 5% 1%

Registered Employers

Very

good /

Good Av.

Very

poor /

Poor

Don't

know

Layout of the website 86% 11% - 3%

Clarity of the instructions on the website 88% 7% 2% 3%

Amount of information required 77% 14% 6% 3%

Time required to complete the form 75% 15% 7% 3%

Source: ekosgen. Sample of 229 responses (104 registered employers and 125

signed up employers).

Smaller employers were slightly less likely to have found the registration process to be

easy or very easy (82%) compared with medium sized (89%) and large employers

(93%), but this needs to be seen in context. The positive feedback from small

employers is very encouraging, especially given that they typically won‟t have a

bespoke HR function, may not be as IT savvy nor have as formalised workforce

development practices as their larger counterparts. It would of course be desirable to

have no differences in the feedback by employer size, but there is a question mark over

how achievable that is in reality.

Turning to IEs, the message is once again that the registration process does not need

major revisions. That said, examples were given of where certain aspects of the website

design or layout made it more challenging to access due to the IEs‟ disabilities. The five

IEs surveyed who had progressed to sign up stated that the registration process was

easy. However the two IEs who had registered for the Commitment but not signed up

recalled finding the process difficult. Difficulties using the Commitment website and

working towards agreed tasks were associated with their personal circumstances which

may also present challenge for other IEs.

Page 44: Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment-workfor… · As the Commitment becomes embedded and employee sign ups increase, employers are anticipating new support needs that are both

Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment

36

Registration via NMDS-SC and Data Sharing

Where they were able to comment, the vast majority of employers were positive about

the option of registering for the Commitment via an NMDS-SC account. While it was

not relevant to 65% of the sample, 30% rated this option as good or very good, 3%

rated it as average and 2% considered it to be poor. The message would therefore

seem to be that this is a feature that should be maintained going forwards.

The vast majority of employers, both registered and signed-up, are comfortable with

their organisation appearing in searches on NHS Choices and the Commitment website,

and for their details to be used for research purposes (see table below). Looking

ahead, it would seem appropriate to propose that this to be maintained, with an opt out

option retained for those organisations who don‟t wish for their details to be shared.

Opinion on Data Sharing, by registered and signed up employers

Total Registered Signed Up

Comfortable 87% 81% 92%

Neither comfortable nor uncomfortable 7% 9% 6%

Uncomfortable 4% 8% 2%

Don‟t know 2% 3% 1%

Source: ekosgen. Sample of 229 employers (104 registered employers and 125

signed up employers)

Improvements to the Process

The evaluation concludes that there are no changes required to the registration

process. The process strikes a suitable balance in terms of data collected, providing

meaningful monitoring information while placing minimal demands on employers, and is

quick and easy to complete. Given the positive feedback on the process noted above, it

is unsurprising that the vast majority of employers found no aspect of the process could

be improved.

5.3 Sign Up Process: The Employer View

Signing Up

As with the registration process, the strong message from the evaluation is that the sign

up process is fit for purpose. Signed up employers were satisfied with the process and

the vast majority rated the clarity of the instructions, the amount of information that is

requested and the ability to save their selections very favourably. No differences are

evident by employer characteristic.

Page 45: Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment-workfor… · As the Commitment becomes embedded and employee sign ups increase, employers are anticipating new support needs that are both

Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment

37

Opinion on Aspects of the Sign Up Process

Very

good /

Good Av.

Very

poor /

Poor

Don't

know

Clarity of the instructions on the website 87% 11% 2% 0%

Amount of information requested 86% 10% 3% 1%

Ability to save selections and return to it at

a later date 84% 9% 4% 3%

Source: ekosgen. Sample of 125 signed up employers.

The sign up process also appears suitable for the IEs who contributed to the evaluation,

with all five that had progressed from registration to sign up remarking that it had been

straightforward.

Rationale for Selecting Tasks

During the evaluation survey, employers were asked about their rationale for selecting

tasks, or, if they had not chosen any, what would influence their choice. The key

findings are:

Benefit to the organisation: Amongst the most common reasons were that the

tasks chosen by the employers would have the greatest benefits for the

organisation (79%) and that they covered the areas where improvement is most

needed (64%).

Building on current practices: Over two thirds of employers (68%) said that

they had selected tasks because they reflected, in full or in part, what they were

already doing (this is in keeping with the earlier finding about why employers

engaged with the Commitment per se). Two thirds said that they chose tasks on

the basis that they were easy to implement.

Page 46: Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment-workfor… · As the Commitment becomes embedded and employee sign ups increase, employers are anticipating new support needs that are both

Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment

38

0% 20% 40% 60% 80%

Don‟t know

Other

We already do all of the tasks

They are quick to implement

Use little staff time to implement

Cost little to implement

Areas we most need to improve

They are easy to implement

We already do some of the tasks

Have the greatest benefit for us

Employer Reasons for Selecting Tasks

Source: ekosgen. Sample of 229 responses. Employers could select multiple responses.

IEs chose (or would choose) tasks based on how relevant they are to their needs or the

needs of their PA(s) (three IEs), because they are easy to implement (two IEs), will

have the greatest benefit and because they are affordable (one IE each).

Reviewing and Renewing the Commitment

It is a strong endorsement of the Commitment that the vast majority of signed up

employers said it is very likely (72%) or quite likely (24%) that they will renew their

Commitment after 12 months. The main reasons for this are that employers recognise

the benefits that the Commitment can help deliver; it helps them to improve as an

organisation, provides recognised standards to work towards and enhances their

reputation. Benefits and impacts are covered in more detail in Chapter 6.

‘It improves care so why not!’ – signed up employer

‘It’s a good idea to improve the credibility of the sector.’ – signed up employer

‘It helps continual improvement and provides something to work towards.’ – signed up

employer

A similarly positive finding is that nearly two thirds of employers thought that they

definitely will (22%) or probably will (43%) sign up to new tasks, in addition to those they

have already chosen, before the 12 month renewal date. Only 10% said they would

definitely not select any more.

There is little variation across the sector in terms of views towards renewal. Domiciliary

care providers are more likely than residential providers to say that they will select more

tasks, although the difference is not statistically significant.

Page 47: Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment-workfor… · As the Commitment becomes embedded and employee sign ups increase, employers are anticipating new support needs that are both

Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment

39

Of the five IEs who had signed up to the Commitment, two felt that they definitely or

probably would renew their Commitment. The other three answered „don‟t know‟ and

explained that this would depend on time constraints, cost implications and how the first

round of tasks progressed.

Barriers to Sign Up

The survey asked registered employers about why they had not signed up to the

Commitment. The headline finding is that there do not appear to be any issues

associated with the sign up process itself, nor the content of the statements, but rather

that a lack of time is the overriding issue (see table below). This was far and away the

most commonly cited reason and should provide some reassurance to Skills for Care

that in relatively few cases is the conversion rate being hindered by issues relating to

the design or the Commitment specifically. This message was also reinforced through

the qualitative consultations that followed the survey. This suggests that there is a need

for organisations to gain a better understanding of the benefits of signing up to justify

the time required and increase the conversion rate.

Registered Employer Reason for Not Signing Up

No. %

Not had time to progress to sign up 75 72%

Still deciding which tasks to select 17 16%

We had forgotten to sign up 11 11%

We can‟t commit to the time input at this stage 6 6%

Unsure how to do this (i.e. what the process is) 5 5%

We have chosen to focus on a limited number of statements

before moving on to others 4 4%

We can‟t commit to the financial cost at this stage 3 3%

Some of the statements are not relevant to our business 3 3%

Didn‟t understand the instructions on the part of the

Commitment website where you can view the tasks and sign

up

2 2%

Don‟t think it will be of benefit to us 1 1%

Other 11 11%

Don‟t know 9 9%

Source: ekosgen. Sample of 104 registered employers.

Page 48: Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment-workfor… · As the Commitment becomes embedded and employee sign ups increase, employers are anticipating new support needs that are both

Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment

40

Of the two IEs in the sample who did not progress to sign up, one stated that this was

due to some of the statements not being relevant to them and one felt that they were

already doing things in a way which worked for them.

5.4 Supporting Employers

Take Up of Resources

The resources that have been produced by Skills for Care to support employers with the

Commitment have been widely used. Nearly four fifths of employers have accessed

one or more of the resources (78%), most commonly using the „How to register as an

employer‟ guide (see table below). This was followed by the „How to register as an

employee‟ guide, the „How to update your Development Plan & Statements‟ guide and

the Frequently Asked Questions. Other resources had been accessed less frequently, in

large part due to low levels of awareness.

Page 49: Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment-workfor… · As the Commitment becomes embedded and employee sign ups increase, employers are anticipating new support needs that are both

Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment

41

Take Up of Resources

Accessed

Knew

about but

not

accessed

Did not

know

about

Don't

know /

N/A

„How to register as an employer‟

guide 48% 19% 15% 18%

„How to register as an employee‟

guide 28% 35% 18% 19%

„How to update your Development

Plan & Statements‟ guide 28% 31% 20% 21%

FAQs on the Commitment website 28% 31% 19% 23%

„Further information of what this

means for your workplace‟

guidance

17% 33% 29% 21%

Resources associated with each of

the statements 17% 31% 29% 23%

„I have registered as an Employer

but I am also an Employee - How

can I make the commitment as an

Employee?‟ guide

13% 31% 35% 21%

„How to register as a subsidiary‟

guide 6% 28% 45% 21%

„We are a Subsidiary Organisation

how can we link to our Parent

Organisation?‟ guide

6% 22% 52% 21%

Source: ekosgen. Sample of 229 employers (104 registered employers and 125

signed up employers).

Overall, the resources are very well regarded (80% of employers said they were useful,

with only 2% saying they were not). As such there is nothing to suggest that major or

urgent revisions to them should be considered.

Where employers had not accessed the resources, it was (perhaps not surprisingly)

because they didn‟t feel they needed any assistance, although some employers did say

that they weren‟t aware of them and it may therefore be worth Skills for Care taking

steps to ensure that they are publicised as widely as possible.

Page 50: Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment-workfor… · As the Commitment becomes embedded and employee sign ups increase, employers are anticipating new support needs that are both

Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment

42

Across the sector, slightly more domiciliary care providers had accessed one or more of

the resources (88%) than residential providers (73%). There were no other discernable

variations by employer characteristic.

‘I didn’t use the resources as had no need to, it was all so straightforward.’ – signed

up employer

‘The resources are excellent. They are professional looking, good quality and helpful’

– signed up employer

There has been a similar level of take up of the IE specific resources. Three of the

seven IEs had accessed the „How to register as an Individual Employer‟ guide (two

signed up IEs and one registered IE). Where IEs have accessed the guide, all but the

one registered IE found that it was useful. The IE who had not found it useful stated

that they had not been able to address their specific access issue. Those that had not

accessed the resource stated that they did not need to do so.

Contacting the Support Team

A fifth of employers surveyed for the evaluation had contacted the Skills for Care

Commitment support team, either by telephone and/or email. In the vast majority of

cases where employers had not, it was because they did not feel any need to (only in

very few cases was it because they were unaware that the support was available).

The support is clearly held in very high regard, with 95% of those that had used the

service reporting that, overall, it was either good or very good and similarly high ratings

being returned against the different components shown in the table below.

Opinion on the Support Provided by the Support Team

Very

good /

Good

Av.

Very

poor /

Poor

Don't

know

Their knowledge 95% 0% 2% 2%

Ability to solve your problem or provide

guidance 90% 0% 7% 2%

Timeliness of response 96% 2% 0% 2%

Source: ekosgen. Sample of 43 employers (13 registered employers and 30

signed up employers).

Signed up employers were more likely to have contacted the team (24% compared with

12% of registered employers). This is largely to be expected given that they will have

Page 51: Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment-workfor… · As the Commitment becomes embedded and employee sign ups increase, employers are anticipating new support needs that are both

Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment

43

spent more time on, and explored more components of, the process. However there is

no difference between registered and signed up in terms of how they view the support.

The majority of IEs had not contacted the support team (six out of the seven). This was

mainly because they had not needed to. The one IE who had contacted the support

team had done so by telephone and rated all aspects of the service as being very good.

Future Support Needs

Looking ahead, it seems likely the employers‟ support needs will change as the

Commitment becomes more embedded. The support and guidance is currently focused

on assisting employers through the registration and sign up process, and rightly so, as it

is these topics which employers have required support with to date.

In the future, for employers who are new to the Commitment, process related support

needs are likely to remain and the current resources will address these needs.

However, as the Commitment becomes more embedded amongst those employers

already signed up, a growing proportion of employers are likely to request support in

connection with their employees‟ Commitment, for example with:

Process support needs around the how employees can register and sign up;

Implementation support needs around employee engagement and how, as a

manager, they can support them to complete the tasks.

There are already resources which respond to some of these needs, such as the „How

to register as an employee‟ guide, the presentation for employees and the links to

resources which are against each of the statements. However, a considerable level of

resource would be required to produce resources and provide guidance via the support

team, on implementation of all the tasks associated with the employee Commitment,

particularly if the support is to have sector-wide relevance. While Skills for Care might

wish to monitor the extent to which these support needs are realised and the extent to

which they hinder employee engagement, it could be questioned whether providing a

large library of resources or high intensity of support is within Skills for Care‟s remit.

Overall, it seems that smaller employers are less likely to require support in the future

than their larger counterparts (see table below). This could be because they have fewer

staff and therefore see the employee sign up and participation process as being less

onerous than for larger organisations.

Page 52: Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment-workfor… · As the Commitment becomes embedded and employee sign ups increase, employers are anticipating new support needs that are both

Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment

44

Future Employer Support Needs, by employment size band

Small Medium Large

N/A - will not require support 69% 70% 55%

How to support employees to complete the tasks 13% 20% 25%

Process of employee sign up 13% 18% 25%

How to engage employees in the Commitment 19% 17% 25%

How to renew the Commitment 13% 13% 20%

How to update or edit my details 6% 9% 15%

How to select the tasks 6% 9% 20%

Which tasks to select 6% 7% 15%

How to find other available resources to support

employers regarding the commitment - 8% 10%

How to link parent and subsidiary employers - 7% 5%

Don‟t know 6% 2% 10%

Other - - 10%

Source: ekosgen. Sample of 229 responses.

The majority of IEs (six of the seven) felt they would not require any support specific to

the Commitment in the future. One IE commented that they may benefit from some

support in the form of easy to read information or audio files relating to the Commitment.

Page 53: Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment-workfor… · As the Commitment becomes embedded and employee sign ups increase, employers are anticipating new support needs that are both

Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment

45

Key point summary

Almost all of the signed up employers had, at the time they were consulted, made

some progress towards the tasks they had selected. Around half of these employers

had experienced barriers to completing their tasks, citing a lack of manager time,

difficulties in releasing staff from their day-to-day duties and financial constraints as

the main issues. These were more prevalent in domiciliary care providers than their

residential counterparts.

The group of „reputational benefits‟ included in the survey were cited by the vast

majority of employers. 85% of employers have also experienced, or expect to

experience, quality of care related benefits as a result of the Commitment, while 83%

said that it has led, or will lead, to improvements in how staff are trained and

developed.

Commercial benefits (costs, sales and profits) were cited less often, although this is

not surprising given that commercial improvement was the least frequently cited

motivation for engaging with the Commitment.

There is a modest level of additionality associated with the Commitment, with many

of the employers saying that they would have undertaken the tasks anyway.

However, the added value of the Commitment is in the structured approach to

workforce development that it provides. It is repeatedly helping to focus their efforts,

is providing a framework and is ensuring that they are working towards an

appropriate standard which is consistent with the rest of the sector.

6. Activity, Outcomes and Impacts

Introduction

This chapter discusses the result of the Commitment in terms of the actions that

employers have taken and the benefits that they have gained.

6.1 Employer Activity

At the time of writing, there had been an encouraging level of activity by employers

relating to the Commitment, particularly considering that some had only engaged

relatively recently. Almost all of the signed up employers (94%) had, at the time they

were consulted, made some progress towards the tasks they had selected. Not

surprisingly, in the vast majority of cases the tasks were in progress rather than having

been completed – see the chart below. There is little in the way of correlation between

time since signing up to the Commitment and the extent to which tasks had been

completed. As shown later in this chapter, employers have experienced barriers to

completing the tasks to varying degrees, which will have affected their progress.

Page 54: Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment-workfor… · As the Commitment becomes embedded and employee sign ups increase, employers are anticipating new support needs that are both

Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment

46

15%

38%

41%

6%

Employer Progress Against Tasks

All are completed

All are underway

Some are underway

Have not started delivery against any

Source: ekosgen. Sample of 125 signed up employers.

No significant variation by employer characteristic is evident in terms of the progress

that has been made against tasks. Furthermore, employers who said that they already

do some or all of the tasks (i.e. it was company practice before the introduction of the

Commitment) tended not to report that they had made any more progress than

employers for whom the tasks were „new‟.

The qualitative interviews shed further light on the progress that employers are making

against the tasks and, in most cases, revealed a considerable degree of enthusiasm.

Employers that had fully signed up cited a range of activities that were in progress as a

result of the Commitment, including revised approaches to recruitment and induction,

service user involvement, dignity in care and marketing (i.e. using the Commitment to

promote the organisation). Examples are provided below.

Signed up employers

Signed up employer: A voluntary sector adult residential care provider, based in the

South East with 200 employees.

‘We have reviewed our recruitment approach and included our members in the

process. Our members are all visually impaired so we have to think about how we

invite them to participate. Previously, prospective recruits would have a tour around

and speak with members but we didn’t gather their feedback in a structure or formal

way. Now we forewarn members that prospective new members of the team will be

looking round and that we’ll be asking what they thought about how they interacted

with them. We’ll then go round and gather their feedback.’

Signed up employer: A private sector adult residential care provider, based in the

South East with 12 employees.

‘We have also undertaken a lot of activity around dignity and we are now a 5* dignity

champion, whereas we were only 2* before. We now have a dignity tree in our lounge

Page 55: Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment-workfor… · As the Commitment becomes embedded and employee sign ups increase, employers are anticipating new support needs that are both

Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment

47

Signed up employers

which the clients are able to add words to reflect how they feel they are treated. This

has given the clients a sense of empowerment as they are able to feed back their

feelings. Where this has been positive, the feedback has boosted staff morale. Since

signing up to the commitment we have also renewed all our job descriptions,

undertaken a training needs analysis and developed training profiles for all staff.’

Signed up employer: A private sector domiciliary care provider, based in London with

75 employees.

‘There are two main actions we’ve done to date. Firstly we included our Commitment

as part of our entry to the local business awards which aim to celebrate excellence

and achievement amongst local businesses. This demonstrates the things that we do

well. We were finalists and having signed up helped our entry. Secondly, we now go

through the employee ‘I will…’ promises with new recruits to helps them to understand

the job and what we are asking of them.’

The registered employers consulted through the qualitative element of the evaluation all

had plans in place to complete the sign up process and had a reasonably clear idea on

which tasks they would prioritise.

Registered employers

Registered employer: A private sector residential care provider, based in the South

East.

‘We are currently getting things in place and preparing to sign up; we should be able

to do this in the next ten days. I am liaising with managers, reviewing the systems and

making sure that all the tasks can be met. I have selected the tasks and the form is all

ready to go. We are reviewing our appraisal format ready for the upcoming round of

appraisals – we want to ensure that the targets set for employees meet the standards

of the Commitment.’

Registered employer: A private sector adult resident care provider, based in the East

Midlands with 30 employees.

‘I plan to use it as a toolkit for the team. I will set them targets and challenges each

month and then at the end of the month we can discuss their progress at our team

meetings. It will be great to be able to praise them when we achieve the target and

say ‘Yes! We did it!’. It will act as a good motivator and I can use it to prompt staff

each month that they have agreed to meet these targets.’

Barriers

Half of the employers that had signed up had not experienced any barriers to

progressing and, where applicable, completing their tasks. For the remainder, the main

Page 56: Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment-workfor… · As the Commitment becomes embedded and employee sign ups increase, employers are anticipating new support needs that are both

Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment

48

barriers, none of which comes as a surprise, were a lack of manager time to take the

tasks forward, difficulties in releasing staff from their day-to-day duties and

financial constraints. The results suggest that domiciliary care providers are more likely

to experience these barriers than their residential counterparts, especially a lack of

financial resources and difficulties releasing staff from their jobs.

Barriers to Completing the Tasks, variation by service area

Adult

domiciliary

care

Adult

residential

care

No barriers experienced 42% 54%

Lack of manager time to commit to the Commitment 36% 38%

Unable to release staff to take part in tasks 29% 14%

Lack of financial resource 18% 6%

Other 2% -

Don‟t know - 2%

Source: ekosgen. Sample of 45 adult domiciliary care providers and 63 adult

residential care providers signed up). Given the small number of responses from

employers operating in other service areas, these findings cannot be reliably included

in the analysis.

The Development Plan

The extent to which the Development Plan has been used to date is mixed, with half of

the employers consulted for the evaluation saying they had used it, but a large majority

of those also said they had used it a little rather than a lot.

Encouragingly though, almost all of the employers that had used it said that it had been

very helpful.

6.2 Outcomes and Impacts

Benefits of the Commitment

The survey asked employers whether they were able to comment on whether they had

benefited as a result of the Commitment and/or whether they expect to in the future.

The main findings in response were:

Four fifths of employers were able to comment on benefits (79%), of which half

said those benefits had already occurred. Just over a fifth of the sample (21%)

said it was too early to tell.

Page 57: Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment-workfor… · As the Commitment becomes embedded and employee sign ups increase, employers are anticipating new support needs that are both

Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment

49

Signed up employers were more often able to identify experienced or expected

benefits than registered employers (89% compared with 67%), although the

proportion of the latter is still relatively high and suggests that despite not having

yet signed up, many employers are confident of the benefits that the

Commitment will generate for them in the future.

Large employers were more likely than small employers to identify benefits,

although the difference is not especially significant.

A slightly higher proportion of domiciliary care providers were able to identify

experienced or expected benefits (87%) than residential care providers (76%).

The group of „reputational benefits‟ included in the survey were the most commonly

cited by employers. The vast majority of employers stated that the Commitment had

endorsed or recognised what they currently do well or would do in future (92%),

followed by it being a quality mark (87%) and that it enhances or will enhance their

reputation (82%). This is very significant, both in the context of the evaluation and for

the future of the Commitment. With particular reference to the 82% of employers who

said the Commitment will enhance their reputation, this is something that Skills for Care

should consider publicising more widely when the Commitment is more formally

launched.

25%

33%

44%

57%

55%

48%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Enhanced the organisation‟s reputation

It is a quality mark for us

Endorsed or recognised things we currently do well

Reputational Benefits

Experienced to date Expected in future

Source: ekosgen. Sample of 181 responses.

‘We expect to gain recognition as a good employer and commercial benefits will

follow. However, this will happen once there is greater awareness of the Commitment

across the sector and the public.’ – signed up employer

Page 58: Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment-workfor… · As the Commitment becomes embedded and employee sign ups increase, employers are anticipating new support needs that are both

Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment

50

The vast majority of employers have also experienced, or expect to experience, quality

of care related benefits as a result of the Commitment. This is another very significant

message, perhaps the most significant given the Francis Inquiry, Cavendish Review

and more recent (April 2014) national media coverage on malpractice in the care sector.

This too should be used by Skills for Care as part of their marketing activity to stimulate

further take-up.

‘Going through the Commitment with new recruits helps them to understand the job

and what we want from them. This has improved quality of care.’ – signed up

employer

27%

27%

29%

49%

51%

56%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Improved dignity in the care provided

Made care more personalised

Improved overall quality of care

Quality of Care Benefits

Experienced to date Expected in future

Source: ekosgen. Sample of 181 responses.

Improvements in how staff are trained and improved employee morale were also

frequently cited (83% and 62% respectively, when the „occurred already‟ and „likely to

occur in the future‟ responses are combined). Other workforce related benefits were

mentioned less often (see chart below) although in most cases this was because

employers selected „not applicable‟ rather than suggesting that the Commitment would

under-deliver. It is also of note that in most cases, workforce benefits are mainly

expected in the future rather than having occurred already, in some cases because

employers will not have taken on any new staff since signing up to the Commitment.

Page 59: Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment-workfor… · As the Commitment becomes embedded and employee sign ups increase, employers are anticipating new support needs that are both

Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment

51

3%

6%

6%

16%

33%

38%

39%

44%

46%

50%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Reduced our staff turnover rate

Attracted more people to apply to work for us

Attracted more people with the skills and/or values to apply to work for us

Improved employee morale

Improved how we train and develop staff

Workforce Benefits

Experienced to date Expected in future

Source: ekosgen. Sample of 181 responses.

Commercial benefits (costs, sales and profits) were cited less often (see the following

chart), although this is not surprising given that commercial improvement was the least

frequently cited motivation for engaging with the Commitment. Linked to this, a

considerable number of employers said that commercial benefits through the

Commitment were not applicable to their organisation.

2%

2%

2%

21%

23%

29%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40%

Increased profits

Increased sales / turnover

Reduced costs

Commercial Benefits

Experienced to date Expected in future

Source: ekosgen. Sample of 181 responses.

The qualitative consultations reinforced the survey findings, with the recognition of

existing practices, and the opportunity to develop staff skills both being frequently

mentioned. Employers also commented that the Commitment provides a structured

approach to improving their organisation, that it has given managers and staff a target

to aim for, and provides reassurance that they are working to a common standard for

the sector.

Page 60: Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment-workfor… · As the Commitment becomes embedded and employee sign ups increase, employers are anticipating new support needs that are both

Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment

52

‘It made us aware we are already doing a good job.’ – signed up employer

‘Making sure we achieve our goals - reassuring to know we are at the correct

standard.’ – signed up employer

‘Developing the staff through comprehensive training.’ – signed up employer

‘Staff morale has definitely improved; gave them a goal to aim for.’ – signed up

employer

‘Made staff more confident.’ – registered employer

‘Stops you becoming complacent. Makes you aware of how we can improve on skills

and develop our staff.’ – registered employer

‘It has got staff and residents involved in the care provided.’ – signed up employer

‘Enhancement of everything- a brilliant thing to be part of. – signed up employer

‘It shows people we are doing our very best in the care we provide.’ – signed up

employer

„Knowing what’s involved in improving the organisation.’ – registered employer

Variation by registered and signed up employees and employer characteristics

While both signed up and registered employers have experienced benefits as a result of

engaging with the Commitment, there is some variation between the two. Registered

employers tended to identify a greater number of benefits than their signed up

counterparts, but were also more likely to say that these were expected rather than

having already occurred.

There are also differences by employer size and type. Small employers and employers

providing domiciliary care services, for example, have most commonly benefited from

recruitment and retention benefits. For the latter in particular, this is an important

finding given the well documented recruitment and retention challenges that exist in the

sector. It is also in line with the findings on domiciliary providers‟ motivations for

engaging with the Commitment reported earlier. In addition:

Recruitment related benefits amongst small employers: Small employers

(ten or fewer members of staff) more often stated that they have attracted more

people to apply to work at the organisation, or expect to in future (64%) as a

result of the Commitment than medium (11 – 99 employees) and large employers

(100+ employees) (38% and 40% respectively). Small employers also more

often stated that the Commitment has attracted more people with the right skills

and/or values to apply (61%, compared to 45% of medium employers and 48% of

large employers).

Page 61: Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment-workfor… · As the Commitment becomes embedded and employee sign ups increase, employers are anticipating new support needs that are both

Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment

53

Reduced costs for small employers: Nearly half of the small employers stated

that they had experienced, or expected to experience, a reduction in costs (45%),

compared with 25% of medium employers and 32% of large employers.

Recruitment and retention benefits in domiciliary care: Domiciliary care

providers more commonly reported that they have attracted more people to apply

to work at the organisation, or expect to in future (52%) than residential care

providers (39%). Nearly half of the domiciliary providers also cited reduced staff

turnover as an experienced or expected benefit (48%), compared with a third of

the residential providers (35%).

The Commitment as a quality mark: Nearly all residential care providers

considered the Commitment as a quality mark or expected it to be in future

(94%), compared to three quarters of domiciliary providers (76%).

Skills for Care may wish to consider using these findings to inform future marketing

material; however it should be noted that the sub-samples of employers are relatively

small.

Benefits for IEs

Four of the seven IEs consulted for the evaluation were able to discuss the benefits

associated with engaging with the Commitment, while three were not, stating that it was

too soon to comment.

One of those who could provide feedback said that they had not experienced any

benefits, nor did they expect to in the future. This is largely due to the fact that they had

registered but not signed up and felt that relatively few of the tasks were applicable to

them given the financial limitations within which they were operating. The other three

IEs had signed up and had all experienced benefits, or expected to in future. These are

summarised below.

Page 62: Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment-workfor… · As the Commitment becomes embedded and employee sign ups increase, employers are anticipating new support needs that are both

Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment

54

Benefits for IEs

Experienced benefits, each cited by one IE

Improved how I train and develop PAs

Improved how I manage my PAs

Expected benefits, each cited by two IEs

Attracted more PAs with the skills and/or values to apply to work for me

Improved overall quality of care

Expected benefits, each cited by one IE

Retained PAs for longer

Made care more personalised

It is a quality mark for me

Additionality

Additionality describes the extent to which activities or impacts would have occurred

regardless of an intervention. Employers were asked about the additionality of the

Commitment via the qualitative interviews.

The headline finding is that there is a modest level of additionality associated with the

Commitment with many of the employers saying that they would have undertaken the

tasks anyway. However, this is not surprising, nor should it be seen as a shortcoming

of the Commitment, given that more than two thirds of employers also said that they

chose their tasks on the basis that they already do some of them. In addition, the most

common motivation for engaging with the Commitment was to endorse or acknowledge

what employers felt they already do well. As the Commitment becomes more

widespread across the sector and those employers who do not already do many of the

tasks sign up, the level of additionality may increase.

So whilst additionality may not be especially high for the Commitment, its added value

for employers lies in the structured approach that it provides to workforce development.

Employers felt that, while in many cases they would have done the tasks regardless

(and whilst we also need to note that the evaluation sample cannot necessarily be

considered to be representative of the wider sector), the Commitment has helped to

focus their efforts, provided a framework, and ensured that they are working towards an

appropriate standard which is consistent with the rest of the sector. This view was also

shared by IEs.

Page 63: Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment-workfor… · As the Commitment becomes embedded and employee sign ups increase, employers are anticipating new support needs that are both

Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment

55

„We may have got here eventually but the structure and focus of the Commitment

have made it a lot easier.’ - signed up employer

‘We are generally good with training anyway but it has been good to have the

guidance to help.’ – signed up employer

‘We would have changed the appraisal system anyway but it is good to have the

Commitment statements to work with and meet. It is also good as it is standardised

and will be standardised across all care establishments.’ – registered employer

‘It provides a structure and keeps development as a priority on the list.’ – signed up IE

‘We have done very little on the back of the Commitment because we already do all

those things.’ – signed up employer

Page 64: Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment-workfor… · As the Commitment becomes embedded and employee sign ups increase, employers are anticipating new support needs that are both

Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment

56

Summary conclusions and recommendations

This evaluation reports many positive messages with regards to the Social Care

Commitment. The most significant and encouraging of these is that, in the vast majority

of cases, the Commitment has enabled employers to improve the quality of the care

they provide, or is expected to do so in future.

The Commitment has been well received by those employers that have engaged with it

to date and the process of registering and signing up, on the whole, appears fit for

purpose. The Commitment has already delivered tangible benefits across the sector

and the breadth and intensity of these benefits is set to increase in the future. Skills for

Care should have no pressing concerns regarding the Commitment as a product; it is

easy to access, with sector-wide suitability, and with potential to generate better

workforce practices, raise care standards and act as a beacon of quality when choosing

care. That said, the employers and IEs engaged to date have tended to be those who

are active in the wider sector (including through involvement with Skills for Care) and

who have already adopted good practices. The risk of some optimism bias in the

results therefore needs to be acknowledged. The public launch will be a crucial factor

in allowing the Commitment to respond to its initial rationale as a quality mark and in

generating greater levels of involvement from across the sector.

Recommendations

1. Work with the Department of Health to undertake a coordinated and high profile

public launch of the Commitment.

2. Use evaluation evidence to increase employer engagement and increase the

number of sign ups.

3. Remain sensitive to employers‟ evolving support needs.

4. Skills for Care may wish to produce an employer-friendly map to illustrate how

the Commitment is aligned with other initiatives in the sector.

7. Conclusions and Recommendations

Page 65: Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment-workfor… · As the Commitment becomes embedded and employee sign ups increase, employers are anticipating new support needs that are both

Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment

57

The process by which the Commitment was developed is a sound one. The

Commitment responds to the original rationale to create a quality mark and holds

relevance across the sector. Given the tight timescales within which the development

took place, this is a commendable achievement on the part of all those involved.

The process of engaging with the Commitment (from the initial registration, proceeding

to sign up) is fit for purpose with no obvious refinements required. Across the sector,

employers have praised the process for its ease and straightforwardness and it strikes a

balance between collecting adequate information for monitoring purposes and not being

onerous for employers.

There is an appropriate level of support available to employers who have engaged with

the Commitment. To date employers‟ queries have been process related and the

resources, coupled with the support team‟s knowledge and professionalism, have

provided a more than adequate response. Looking to the future, process-related

support needs will continue to arise as new employers engage with the Commitment.

For those already engaged, support needs look set to evolve as the Commitment

becomes more embedded and will cover employee sign up and task completion.

The employers that have engaged with the Commitment to date are, in many cases,

those who already exhibit good practice in relation to HR, training and care; an

important point that needs to be borne in mind when considering the very positive

messages arising from this evaluation. Many employers already do some or all of the

tasks and have signed up to the Commitment to give this a formal endorsement. This is

not a criticism of the Commitment; indeed, it was established to recognise and

champion those standout employers. It should also be noted that even those employers

for whom the contents of the Commitment is not new cited a range of benefits that they

expect to experience as a result of their participation. However, engaging those who are

harder to reach and for whom undertaking the tasks will represent a more significant

overhaul of current practice is likely to be more challenging and these employers may

have greater support needs.

There is strong support for the Commitment across the sector. This is evidenced by the

extremely high proportion of employers who would recommend it and those signed up

employers who plan to renew the Commitment after 12 months. Nevertheless, the

target of 2,500 sign ups by September 2014 seems particularly stretching from the

current position. Given that there are no substantive process or content related barriers

to sign up, and that Skills for Care have made efforts to reach those who do not proceed

to sign up, the issue would appear to centre on awareness in the wider sector and,

possibly, the priority afforded to the Commitment by employers. Yet given the potential

of the Commitment to generate better workforce practices and ultimately to improve

Page 66: Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment-workfor… · As the Commitment becomes embedded and employee sign ups increase, employers are anticipating new support needs that are both

Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment

58

standards of care, it would seem a missed opportunity for it not to be more widely

publicised, both within the adult social care sector and to the general public.

Recommendations The evaluation is generally very positive and, as such, there are relatively few obvious

areas for remedial action or intervention. Four recommendations are therefore

proposed, as follows:

5. Continue to work with the Department of Health to undertake a coordinated

and high profile public launch of the Commitment.

While recognising that the public launch will be affected by Departmental

priorities outside of Skills for Care‟s influence, there is no doubt that greater

public awareness of the Commitment will raise employer engagement and Skills

for Care should continue to raise this as a priority. In promoting the Commitment

as part of this launch, Skills for Care could also consider using the iCare

Ambassadors to raise awareness in schools, working through Area Officers and

User Led Organisations to engage IEs and ensuring that the accompanying

support materials are publicised.

6. Use messages from this evaluation to help increase employer engagement

and sign up.

This evaluation contains some very encouraging messages which should be

disseminated across the sector and which are likely to have a positive influence

on employers‟ propensity to register and sign up. It may be appropriate to target

the marketing activity at a sub-sectoral or „employer type‟ level, drawing on the

different outcomes and impacts presented in this evaluation for different types of

employers. Likewise, making a concerted effort to market the Commitment to

employers from parts of the sector that are currently under-represented in terms

of registration and/or sign up would be advisable.

7. Remain sensitive to employers’ evolving support needs.

To date, Skills for Care have recognised and responded to employers‟ support

needs. While these have changed over time, they have primarily been process

related. As the Commitment becomes embedded and employee sign ups

increase, employers are anticipating new support needs that are both process

and implementation related. Skills for Care should continue to monitor support

needs and ensure an appropriate response, which both meets employers‟ needs

and is not overly demanding on the part of Skills for Care.

Page 67: Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment-workfor… · As the Commitment becomes embedded and employee sign ups increase, employers are anticipating new support needs that are both

Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment

59

8. Skills for Care may wish to produce an employer-friendly map to illustrate

how the Commitment is aligned with other initiatives in the sector.

In a time of considerable change in the health and social care sector, there risks

some confusion amongst employers regarding the raft of new tools and

initiatives. A user-friendly map or diagram which quickly conveys the new

landscape would be welcomed by some employers.

Page 68: Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment-workfor… · As the Commitment becomes embedded and employee sign ups increase, employers are anticipating new support needs that are both

Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment

60

Appendices

Statements and Tasks

Page 69: Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment-workfor… · As the Commitment becomes embedded and employee sign ups increase, employers are anticipating new support needs that are both

Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment

61

Page 70: Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment-workfor… · As the Commitment becomes embedded and employee sign ups increase, employers are anticipating new support needs that are both

Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment

62

Page 71: Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment-workfor… · As the Commitment becomes embedded and employee sign ups increase, employers are anticipating new support needs that are both

Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment

63

S

kills for Care

Skills for Care

West Gate

6 Grace Street

Leeds

LS1 2RP

Telephone: 0113 245 1716

Email: [email protected]

Web: www.skillsforcare.org.uk