Post on 16-Jul-2020
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
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.
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.
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.
Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment
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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
Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment
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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
Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment
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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
Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment
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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.
Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment
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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.
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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
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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;
Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment
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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.
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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.
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“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
Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment
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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.
Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment
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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
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.
Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment
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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.
Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment
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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;
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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.
Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment
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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.
Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment
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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.
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
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.
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.
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%).
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
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%)
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.
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.
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
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
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).
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.
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
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
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
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
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
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:
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.
Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment
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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).
Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment
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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.
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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.
Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment
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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.
Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment
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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.
Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment
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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.
Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment
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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.
Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment
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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.
Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment
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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
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.
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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.
Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment
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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.
Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment
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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
Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment
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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
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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.
Evaluation of the Social Care Commitment
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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
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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.
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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.
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‘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).
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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.
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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.
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„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
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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
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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
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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.
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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.
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Appendices
Statements and Tasks
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S
kills for Care
Skills for Care
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Telephone: 0113 245 1716
Email: info@skillsforcare.org.uk
Web: www.skillsforcare.org.uk