Madison Maintains Momentum
Madison E. Kerr opened the proceedings at the Festival of North West Thinking Conference 2021. An economist with Pro Bono Economics (PBE) she drew comparisons between her upbringing in Massachusetts and the UK, where she has lived for six years. The audience forgave her choice of domicile - some one has to live in Yorkshire!
Her opening talk drew on PBE research that indicated a strong desire of people to see local control over spending decisions, with national bodies tapping into local knowledge. She then compared this to the current state of play which is a complete reversal of this position. She also referenced work that PBE has undertaken for You Gov where the top five people priorities for "Levelling Up" were:
Good jobs with decent pay
Health
Crime
Housing
Local infrastructure
where as the majority of awards under various "Levelling Up" schemes were on national infrastructure (HS2 etc)
Her engaging presentation concluded with a call for National Government to listen to local people.
Madison’s presentation slides can be viewed here.
The Government's Covid Action Plan Summary July 2021
On the 5th July, the Government announced their action plan for Covid-19 moving forward. Below is a useful summary:
Headline
“Test, Trace and Isolate has an important ongoing role in managing the virus and reduces the risk of potentially dangerous variants spreading. The Government expects the Test, Trace and Isolate system will remain necessary through the autumn and winter.” – para 22.
Details
The Covid-19 Response has action in 5 areas.
1. Reinforce the country’s vaccine wall of defence through booster jabs and driving take up.
Bring forward second dose for under 40s to 8 weeks after first dose.
Booster doses for most vulnerable. If possible, delivered alongside Flu
Consider JCVI advice on vaccination of children
Vaccination as condition of deployment for staff in car homes, consult on widening settings
2. Enable the public to make informed decisions through guidance, rather than laws.
Remove all legal restrictions on social contacts, life events and open all remaining settings
Covid-status certification not required in law. Organisations can ask visitors for proof, which government will enable
Remove legal requirements on face coverings.
End 1m+ and 2m rules. DsPH can advise on targeted time-limited rules if necessary.
No longer advise work from home. Covid-secure regs replaced by ‘working safely’ guidance. Encourage hand washing, ventilation, and outdoor space.
Encourage QR codes for customer check in using App, not a legal requirement
End school bubbles and routine tracing by schools. Tracing in schools triggered by an outbreak.
Under 18s who are contacts exempted from self-isolation in line with full vaccinated adults. More detail to follow.
Lift limit on 5 named visitors in care homes. Guidance on safe visits.
Keep guidance on ventilation, face masks, hand washing, covering nose and mouth when cough or sneeze, stay home if unwell, consider your individual risks.
3. Retain proportionate test, trace and isolate plans in line with international comparators.
· Symptomatic testing, tracing and isolation will remain key to monitoring and containing the spread of the virus, augmented by use of the NHS COVID-19 app (though checking in or providing contact details to venues will now be voluntary).
· Regular asymptomatic testing will continue focused on those not fully vaccinated, education, higher-risk settings such as the NHS, social care and prisons. Regular rapid testing offer continues. Community testing continues.
· Exempt fully vaccinated from the requirement to self-isolate if they are a contact. Further details will be published in due course
· Until at least the end of September, self-isolation enforcement and support will otherwise continue as it is now.
4. Manage risks at the border and support a global response to reduce the risk of variants emerging globally and entering the UK.
Retain robust controls at the border. VOCs pose biggest threat.
RAG country system continues with regular reviews of list.
Arrivals from amber countries who are fully vaccinated will no longer need to isolate. Details to be announced shortly.
Working with G7 on global vaccination. Developing new global pathogen surveillance network.
5. Retain contingency measures to respond to unexpected events, while accepting that further cases, hospitalisations and deaths will occur as the country learns to live with COVID-19.
Significant risks remain, particularly VOCs. May need to take measures to manage the virus during winter – will prioritise strengthened guidance and seek to avoid restrictions.
Will maintain contingency plans for restrictions at local, regional or national level – as last resort.
Maintain current regulations that allow LAs to respond to serious threats until 28 September.
Will publish an updated Covid-19 contain outbreak management framework in due course.
Covid-status certification not mandated for now, possible could be introduced in autumn or winter as a way of keeping events and business going.
The Government will continue monitoring data and will assess preparedness for autumn and winter later in the year.
Digital Inclusion in Great Manchester: Andy Burnham's Pledge
The last year has seen a rise in homeworking and the inextricable need for many people and organisations to increase their capacity to work and communicate online . This has exacerbated digital access inequalities, and has forced many to be ‘digitally excluded’. A focus on digital inclusion is therefore a necessity.
This month, Andy Burnham was re-elected as Greater Manchester’s Metro Mayor. He has since pledged to aim to equip all under 25s, over 75s and disabled members of the community with the skills and technology to engage with our ever increasing digital society. Through the newly established Digital Inclusion Action Network, Burnham will work with organisations to help extinguish digital exclusion in the city region.
Since 2020 and the Greater Manchester Technology Fund launch, over 1,300 disadvantged young people have been helped with a “digital kit bundle”, which includes a laptop or tablet and tools to get online.
Your Say on Government Covid Funding
An enquiry into the government response to the Covid-19 pandemic is yet to be announced, however pandemic piecemeal investigations have begun. The Committee is calling for evidence now on how well funding provided by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) and the HM Treasury was distributed.
The Commitee want to hear your evidence, your views, your point of view.
What ever your thinking is, the government want to know. We don’t know if they will listen or what will result from your submission. What we do know is that if nothing is said, nothing will happen.
People and Places- what are they worth?
People and places – what are they worth?
This article has drawn significantly from one written by Stephanie Corking, People Director and co-owner at business consultancy firm, Laws of Attraction. Her article appeared on thebusinessdesk.com on 10th March 2021.
The pandemic has been tough for many employees: new working environments, disrupting routines, changing roles and responsibilities, long term friends that have been made redundant and for many, being furloughed and not working for long periods. All of these may have created worry and uncertainty with many colleagues. Now, your people are your biggest opportunity and will be crucial to reviving the fortunes of the region’s individual businesses, towns, cities, and the economy as a whole. Therefore, an investment in your people (now more than ever), could be the smartest ‘post covid’ move you can make.
There is much talk currently, amongst both large and small business owners, of the post-covid recovery plan. Strategies, agendas, objectives, and detailed plans to get consumers back to our brands and spending again have been the talk of many a zoom call up and down the country. And for many businesses, the PM’s announcement of the UK roadmap on the 22nd of February has resulted in a flurry of activity for ‘return to work’ plans and how to welcome their customers with open arms when the doors are eventually allowed to reopen.
Whilst many have spent the last 6-9 months continually revaluating their operations, the focus is now on strategic priorities, learning from the lessons of responding to uncertainties and capturing the changes (and opportunities) of the last 12 months to move forward.
The same level of thinking should have taken place within the VCFSE sector as well. There is a danger that we may have been wrapped up in too much “here and now” and have left inadequate space for the “tomorrow and beyond”.
The effects of COVID-19 on the sector are profound and unprecedented. While retailers must work through operational and tactical considerations to re-open retail stores VCFSE bodies have wider issues to consider as well. These do create an opportunity to re-examine who you are as an organisation, considering:
• Customer — How has your customer evolved during and after the crisis? What are their expectations, needs, behaviours, and priorities in this new environment? In purely commercial terms a customer is the one that pays the bill. We have service users who may not be customers in the strict sense. To change a service to reflect the needs of the service user without consulting the customer is a very dangerous strategy indeed.
• Brand — What is the purpose of your operation, and how can you best serve customers? Do you need to evolve your value proposition to stay relevant? If so, how? Who are the stakeholders with whom you have to consult?
• Product — What are the key, best-selling products and services? Is it the right time to consider new categories, new services, and new business models? This style of thinking is sometimes seen as “not sector appropriate”. In a world where financial resources will be finite and variable customer focussed thinking will be of paramount importance.
• Store — What is the impact on the store channel, its role, and the corresponding operations? How do you keep your customers and associates safe, while playing a new role in customers’ lives?
• Digital — How do you keep what you have developed and worked without ignoring those who cannot access digital for whatever reason.
(Deloitte)
However, what is missing from that list above is People…
It has been no surprise that HR functions have been at the core of managing change in the past 12 months. And now, as leadership teams begin to mobilise the operational plans, how do we ensure that employee engagement stays high on the agenda to ensure customer engagement stays ‘high’ on the high street?
Recent surveys have told us, that overall, most companies did a good job of addressing their employees’ physical and emotional needs during the working from home and lockdown periods, ensuring they met the basic needs of safety, stability and security. However, as we approach the next phase, those needs are evolving and the need for a sophisticated return-to-work strategy that focuses on employee wellbeing, managing stress as well as motivation, listening and encouraging innovation from your teams and overall employee engagement are all things that should be high on the people agenda.
So how should HR functions be adapting and realigning their people strategy and how does this link to the North’s post covid recovery strategy? Stephanie observes,
“Developing a human-centric people strategy that has relationships at its heart and the ability to evolve consistently to support the corporate strategy, enables improved employee wellbeing and business performance.
In the majority of client conversations, we have had recently, I’m often surprised to hear that HR teams feel they haven’t done enough to develop their post covid strategy, in line with the business strategy, and then communicate, engage and inspire their colleagues across the business so that they fully understand that the people are the intrinsic part of getting customers back through the doors”.
66% of HR functions develop people strategic plans that are not linked to the organisation’s corporate strategy.
Our regions voluntary sector operations have an opportunity to improve the employee experience during the return-to-work phase. The good news is, we have the tools to achieve that. Advancements in employee listening platforms, pulse surveys, two-way communication channels mean that leaders can now address employee experience in a data-driven and targeted way. By using the data to drill down on which groups of employees need more and varied types of support, they can also tailor their communication styles and actions that create feelings of wellbeing and build relationships across the workforce.
In a recent survey, 87% of highly engaged employees said they are less likely to leave the company they are work for compared to their counterparts. There is a danger of complacency creeping in here. Someone leaves and there are plenty of people seeking work at present. We need to ascertain why some one is leaving and try to improve the areas that they highlight. Exit interviews are important and valuable if they are acted upon. There is more cost to recruitment than the price of the advert. Think about lost productivity; time to read applications; to interview or even creating the new job description in the first place. An employee walking out of the door because they see somewhere better to work (and it isn’t always about money) is probably money and value walking out of the door as well.
However, the fundamental key to success is that leaders and managers are responsible and accountable for the employee needs to help them thrive during the return.
Employees will be looking to the leadership teams and line managers for both strategic direction and emotional support (after all the most important relationship you have at work is with your boss), whilst customers will be looking to businesses’ front-line employees to deliver a safe, engaging and enjoyable return to the quality operations that they are used to.
In summary, having a ‘leader led’ approach to employee engagement (it’s not just an HR thing) will be your quickest win to mobilising your workforce and ensuring your returning customers continue to come back as the Northern and wider economy reopens and your employees feel safe, inspired and engaged.
March 2021 – with huge thanks to Stephanie Corking.
Coronavirus Campaigns & Resources
Here you can access government- provided resources for the following campaigns:
New 'Covid-19 Response: Spring 2021' - Road Map Resources
Including:
New 'Let's Keep Going' Stay Home, Protect the NHS, Save Lives creative
New 'Back to School' resources will be live on the Campaign Resource Centre from Saturday 27th February.
Accidental Savers into Deliberate Donors?
Accidental Savers into Deliberate Donors?
The ONS have reported that there are 6m accidental savers as a result of Covid. It is also reported that there are 9m people experiencing financial issues as a result of the pandemic. Trying to steer a course between the two may not be easy but it is a course well worth steering. The experience of food banks, during the pandemic, does indicate a desire to meet need where it is communicated. Can ‘accidental savers’ be encouraged to donate to worthy causes?
How do we communicate need?
Almost certainly the answer is to communicate what a donation will achieve. A shopping list approach raises the horizon of a potential donor. An example list may be
£5.00 could enable an extended visit for our respite at home service.
£20.00 could enable the hire of a hall for an older persons loneliness club.
£100.00 could enable lunch to be provided for 40 lonely older people.
Somewhere in the communication needs to have an indication that, in the event of over donation, funds will be used for general charitable purposes. You don’t want a situation arising where the phone lines are staffed but the back up services that enable signposting are not well resourced.
It is important to be aware that people give to all kinds of causes. Birmingham City Council currently have a crowd funding campaign to support habitat for slow worms. A four figure sum has been raised in less than three weeks.
Further, it is vital to be even more aware that not everyone who reads your appeal will be in a position to respond as they would wish. Some will not be in a position to respond at all as shown by the figures in the opening paragraph of this article. So, it is a very good idea to get at least two other people to read what you intend to say before it is communicated to the wider world.
How do we enable people to give?
By far and away the easiest method is to use an online platform. Just Giving is the most well known. Local Giving is less well known but, from time to time, has match funding challenges where donations can be doubled. This is ideal for encouraging supporters to make a donation. It is also ideal for encouraging accidental savers to give as their money will go further. You must choose your own platform. The following characteristics are helpful:
Anonymous donations have to be possible – where the platform knows who has given and you do not. Many people like this option as it removes the fear of follow up mail shots etc.
Gift Aid is possible on donations with the platform making the claim for you. This saves time for you.
Whilst there may be suggested donation sums it is important to allow donors to make a choice themselves.
What do we do when people have given?
The first requirement is to use the money in line with the terms of the donation. If there are limitations imposed on a donation it creates a restricted fund. Otherwise it is important to say thank you – using contact details if provided. If contact details are not provided a general thank you on your website and in your annual report and accounts will have to suffice. This should make reference to the appeal and speak about what it has achieved. For example
“Our older persons appeal resulted in £1,465 and with this money we held :10 older persons lunches; 20 pop up cafes for lonely older people; and 55 extend visits under our respite at home service. Thank you for making this happen”.
What next?
Have a look at what your organisation could do with a modest sum of money and try an appeal. If the target is relatively small it has a greater chance of success. You can then communicate that success.
People respond to positive messages. If you only issue financial communications when it is a crisis (we need £600 by Friday or we have to stop doing X) then it always will be a crisis. If regular (note that the word regular is not the same as frequent) supporter requests are issued which explain what the money will do as well as reinforcing what it has done there should be a greater response and that will lead to greater supporter stakeholder engagement.
Community Spaces Facing Crisis
The pandemic has had significant effects on the sustainability of community spaces. The mind pictures bucolic village halls that just tick along – they always have and they always will. But, what of urban spaces? What of those spaces that have resulted from the Community Asset Transfer process that has operated for the past decade? What of those that have moved away from grant funding as they have transitioned into earned income? And, what about the bucolic village hall?
The report How Many Of Us Had Pandemic In Our Risk Register?, published by Community Matters in January shows that the situation for charities and other community groups was made more confusing by “shifting and contradictory guidance” from the government about how public buildings could be used during national and regional lockdowns. The rule of six has caused particular issues with social distancing requirements causing problems for user groups who now have to have fewer people attending – thus affecting the economics of the entire operation.
The report also warns that some of these charities were already running out of financial reserves by the time the second national lockdown ended late last year. A third lockdown was imposed this month (Jan 2021), which began after the data for the report was collected. This is going to make an already critical situation worse.
The report was compiled by Community Matters who surveyed 20 groups in England and Wales. These groups operate assets in their local communities, including sports halls, libraries and a former police station. The research showed that many charities chose to end some, but not all, of their activities
The report states that, during the first lockdown, charities reached a number of different decisions on how to adapt their work, “from complete closure to full-scale provision of a service to people in need”.
It was not all doom and gloom as the survey showed that “there were those who kept childcare provision open for key workers, those who took the opportunity of an empty building to get maintenance and work done on the property, from decorating to major renovation, and those who kept some services running remotely”. However, some respondents also commented that they had only managed to survive, financially, by raided reserves designated for ongoing repair and maintenance with improvements being kicked well into the long grass.
Plans to reopen were disrupted when new government rules were introduced, often at short notice, the report found. It said: “Shifting and contradictory guidance has created problems for a number of organisations, especially those with no paid staff or where staff have been furloughed. As plans have been made, so restrictions have changed again.”
It also noted that respondents “were particularly concerned about the confusing information about what the restrictions were that they are supposed to abide by, and were trying to keep up with issues around the ‘rule of six’ but also exemptions that applied to educational activities and voluntary and community sector meetings and gatherings”.
The research found that many charities had been “prudent” in using government schemes to maintain income during lockdowns. None had “never envisaged this situation being so long lasting. The data was collected as the second lockdown was in progress. There was some evidence of organisations reaching the near end of their financial reserves”. The situation has been made more acute for some community groups which have in recent years been “persuaded of the wisdom of generating their own income rather than relying on grant income”. In one reported case the number of invoices issued, in a typical month, has changed from approximately 100 to none. Income from community hiring; service delivery; hot desking and workspace and a community café all stopped. Some income has returned but not in the volume required. In some cases the possibility of handing the asset back to the local authority, or transferring it to another community body. The report does question what a new business plan will look like in that situation.
John Wilson, project manager at Community Matters, told Civil Society News: "As the country enters its third lockdown, there is tremendous strain on communities. The potential issue for community spaces is that, having taken the government's advice to heart and set out to generate their own income rather than being reliant on grants, [they] have struggled as they have been forced to close or opened for reduced hours. In normal times community spaces and centres form the beating heart of their locality, and often provide the only opportunity for social interaction amongst some of the older and more vulnerable members of their community. As we seek to return to whatever passes as normal in the future, communities will need to come together. To make this happen communities will need places to gather, and the crisis in funding for community spaces means that many may not reopen."
In the North West we have a huge range of community spaces. This report, at 38 pages, is lengthy but readable. It indicates some trends and data that may help funding applications. It provides reassurance, to trustees, that this is an unprecedented situation, and they must not berate themselves over forward planning. None of us expected this! It foretells a potential major crisis that will be in full flow as the year develops.
Community spaces in well off areas may well be rescued by “the big house in the village”; a medium sized legacy or even a community appeal to rebuild operational reserves. If the government is serious about “levelling up” then it needs to address this issue as a matter of urgency. The fabric of community life is at threat.
Following this report, Community Matters are asking for survey respondents to obtain more information about community spaces and Covid-19.
Mental Health Issues in the Workplace
In current times it is too easy to push on with the “day job” by concentrating on service users/customers/clients/those who we help. Regardless of the nomenclature we focus on outward facing services. Those same outward facing services are delivered by staff or volunteers. How do we reach out to them?
Charities and community bodies pride themselves on support, despite this, there is always scope to learn from others. This article, from Route One magazine, provides some very helpful thoughts on what and why to do. Some highlights:
1. The company director actually has qualifications in the subject
2. The ideas are practical for all.
3. The company director has also created a mental health charity to support others. This is no “lip service” operation. There is commitment.
4. She also appears to engage with the work that she expects her employees to do which does break down barriers.
The company mentioned in the article is a long established family business operating in a sector of the economy that has been badly hit by Covid lock downs and tiers. They also have to contend with a concerted government campaign which urges people not to use the services offered in the sector in which this company operates. So, just because they are well established and highly respected does not mean that they are immune from the issues that many of us face. If they can find time for staff well being so can we.