Workforce Well-being in the VCSE Sector.
Workforce Well Being – ACEVO
ACEVO, in conjunction with Mental Health Foundation England, has published a significant report exploring the well being of the workforce in the VCSE sector. The report can be found here.
The main findings are grouped under four headings:
What makes it tough: the vulnerability of charity staff where the commitment and pressures brought by lived experience/personal connection or even a drive for social justice all combine to over burden the workforce – who may not realise that they are over burdened.
The impact on leaders with issues around the need to balance authentic honesty, with taking very difficult organisational decisions that can have an impact on people’s lives. Holding responsibility for workforce wellbeing, and the desire to compensate for the challenges of working in the sector, can be draining for CEOs. The scale of the challenges can feel overwhelming, and it is easy for leaders to feel they are ‘not coping’.
When the ground shifts which has become apparent as the operating environment for charities suddenly changed. Many teams and communities are experiencing deep sadness, loss, isolation and fear as they witness growing need and falling income as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Governance and strategy which states that the sector will not be able to meet challenges unless the mental health of staff and leadership is prioritised. Boards play an important role in highlighting mental health as an organisational priority if organisations are to do their best work, ensuring that leaders know they are not alone by giving them the permission they need to reach out and share the load.
The report explores many issues that are too often put into the “too difficult”, “tomorrow” or “to introduce this may imply weakness” piles. 2021 will continue to bring pressures. Trustees and CEO’s are urged to take time out to read this report and consider the impact on their organisation.
Andrew Rainsford, Policy and Research Officer, VSNW.
Health & Social Care Funding Reform
Health and Social Care Funding Reform
The Sunday Telegraph, 22nd November, carried an article from Lord Forsyth of Drumlean, chairman of the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee and who’s employment history includes being a minister under Margaret Thatcher’s government. The Telegraph newspaper is a former employer of the current Prime Minister Boris Johnson (he was a columnist in the period immediately prior to winning the election in 2019) and sometimes used as a kite flying venue. It is worth exploring what the article says.
There are two main proposals. Firstly, there should be provision of emergency funding now to meet the growing demand for services and give care workers a much needed pay rise. This is vital in ensuring people get the care they need.
And, then by the end of the parliament there should be a commitment to making care (as opposed to accommodation costs for residential care) ‘free at the point of need’, just like the NHS.
The author then goes on to say:
“Crucially, these changes in funding should be made alongside bold reform in how the system works, with steps taken to join up care with the NHS, and to help keep as many people in their homes for as long as possible.
Of course, all of this will not come cheap.
To deliver these two big changes we will need to spend over half as much again on care as we do today by the end of the parliament. In time this will undoubtedly require us to find additional tax revenue.
But, after decades of underinvestment in care, loosening the purse strings was always going to be required. In truth, the cost of these measures by the end of the parliament would amount to £9bn per year, compared to the furlough scheme which is likely to cost about £6bn per month.
Moreover, investment in social care will not only cost money but save money too by freeing up capacity in the NHS which can be redeployed to deal with the backlog created by the pandemic.”
Those of us with long memories may recall that we have been somewhere near here before. In the Blair years “local strategic partnerships” were encouraged in which all statutory bodies were encouraged to work together to provide joined up services. So, care beds and care provisions were to be made available which would enable “bed blocking” to be resolved. In turn, this would then mean that hospital beds were available for people who needed them – and not care beds. It will be interesting to see if the second proposal gains traction and, if so, how? It is certainly one for the sector to keep an eye on.
The first proposal has financial implications. If there is increased funding it will go to commissioning bodies. They will then have the choice to pass on the additional funding, in the form of increased contract prices linked to remuneration of delivery staff or retaining it to use elsewhere. This is something where there does need to be a sector wide approach. Staff remuneration is a key factor in staff retention. Increases at the lower end of pay structures is a good thing in this regard. However, the danger of a flatter pay structure is that there is less willingness to progress, which may affect working experience in key management roles in the future.
Andrew Rainsford Policy & Research Officer VSNW
To note: The Telegraph operates behind a paywall and therefore access to the article requires membership or signing up for a one month free trial.
Action Planning's Top Tips According to CEOs
Action Planning is a charity consultancy that has just celebrated 30 years of operation. Over the period it has changed style of operation and currently operates in a federated model with a network of 150+ associates – all of whom are experienced practitioners. Recently they have undertaken a survey of Chief Executive Officers – with one question asking for a “top tip” to be shared with others.
The top tips can be found here Action Planning’s Three Minute S urvey | Insights | Action Planning
Many of the comments revolve around health and well being – for both the staff team and the CEO. In many ways this is obvious but the longer that we operate in crisis mode the greater the danger of forgetting this.
Possibly the one that struck me the most was “focus on your core mission and cut out the fluff!” This is difficult as we all work in a sector that tries to do as much as it can and then, invariably, endeavours to do more. As we move towards 2021 we need to look at what we need to do and then to do it well. If this means shedding some of the “want to do” activities, we use our networks to minimise the impact when we do so. Interestingly this same message, of sticking to core activities, appeared in a business strategy seminar VSNW attended in Nov 2020.
We are not aware of a mechanism which looks like a sector business broking service, in which those needing to shed “want to do” activities can be connected with those who could take them on.
If you think that there may be a market for such a service please email, in confidence, Andrew.rainsford@vsnw.org.uk
Coping with Covid-19 in the workplace: A personal story
Sharon Martin, Head of Finance at Cats Protection has written a blogpost, which coincides with Charity Finance Week, offering an insight into how her team coped with the pandemic.
Sharon offers a personal insight, notably dealing with the key themes of:
Accounting and forecasting,
teams fatigue,
working remotely and
new routines
She explores some of the struggles that have come with being forced to suddenly work from home, from a professional and also personal stance.
See the full article here.
Bus Loads of North West Thinking
Bus Loads of North West Thinking: Third Event Summary
The third event of VSNW’s Festival of North West Thinking took place on 12th November. It incorporated the Annual General Meeting which, whilst not intense in thinking, was certainly thought provoking – VSNW is bucking the trend and starts the new governance year with more trustees that it either started, or finished, the outgoing governance year with. Trustees were recruited by a combination of direct approach and increased awareness of the need. A forward vision was laid out and responses ensued. VSNW is not complacent – the constitution of the organisation does allow for more trustees than we have – even with our enhanced numbers.
Warren Escadale, Chief Executive VSNW, set the scene for the rest of the evening with his AGM talk. In his presentation he explored four key points.
Increased connectivity within sector
Enable influence for the VCSE Sector
Demonstrate value of VSNW and the sector as a whole
Building an effective NW leadership organisation
For organisations other than VSNW these can translate into
Be effective in your market area
Set out your USP when delivering work and activity
Demonstrate your added value in contracts/commission
Strive for excellence in what you do and learn from needed improvement.
He concluded by saying that there is no going back. We might not have arrived at the nirvana of the “new normal” (and it may not be the land of milk and honey when we get there) but the old normal is gone; never to return.
If you were not at the AGM you missed some gems of thought. For those with long memories there was a network of minibuses, in Manchester, branded “Little GEMS”. The main event moved us into full sized double deck bus loads of thinking. There was standing room only on some sections of the route – such was the quantity of thought stimulated by many speakers.
At the beginning of the route was Elly de Decker – the England Director for the National Lottery Community Fund. She steered the thinkers on a carefully plotted route through past occurrences, but began the journey with a look forward. The next stop indicator included the announcement that emergency funding is coming to an end, and with longer term programmes to recommence; they will be looking for partnership working. They want to provide funding for both activity delivery and for organisations aligning themselves to the new normal.
After this presentation there was a slight pause for a driver change. Paul Streets - CEO, Lloyds Bank Foundation, took over the conference wheel and a change in driving style was noted. Excellent visuals aided the journey which took us on an alternative view of the pandemic; passed via specific landmarks of:
Meeting the moment – switching to digital where possible
Concerns now – concern that some funders will think digital is the cheap way forward whereas face to face will be more effective in many cases
Opportunities – flex in operation and the recognition of the “sector small”
Concerns about Future – the well-being of leaders and staff/volunteer teams
Funding – short term fine but longer term is needed.
This section of the journey ended at the destination of “Gloom and Bloom or merely Doom?”. This is an interesting philosophical question and one prompted by questions to both drivers who had piloted the bus, in a smooth yet challenging manner, to this point.
To allow recharging (this was an electric bus – powered by zoom, powerpoint, keyboards and participation) questions were taken – which related, in the main to definitions and points of clarification.
Sarah Longlands, Director of IPPR North then took the wheel and piloted the bus around the scenic peaks and valleys of the voluntary sector. She highlighted the need to look back to look forward – the resultant panoramic view enhances the journey experience. IPPR have just the view finder to enable this as they have produced a Third Sector Trends Survey every year since 2008. She then used a side panel of the bus to post an advert for a long term barometer.
Sarah’s input encouraged those on board to think critically and, in particular
Avoid false optimism that oversimplifies the complexity.
Note that policy rhetoric overlooks the history of austerity
The implicit reliance on philanthropy and good will. The government is not just an enabler; it is also a government who is a direct financial contributor – in terms of grants but also in terms of commissioning landscape.
React to the emphasis on big ideas driven by a central state eg. Kruger report – focus on big society – we are searching for central idea.
Question the economic model. Northern powerhouse has productivity in its heart. The discussion is always ‘if we could just increase productivity we then will have the excess funds and headroom to fund the things we think are important like education and health.’ This is the wrong way round. We need to invest in people and the communities where they live. Invest so people can have better lives – so they can live in decent houses, decent education which will lead to increased productivity. With this statement she steered the bus into a virtual circle.
Evening was approaching and traffic on the road was beginning to build up. A different style of driver took over. Neil McInroy, Chief Executive of CLES took us through the clutter of traffic in a determined driving style that left little to chance. Had there been an audio link into other vehicles, the drivers of those would have heard a determination to reach the destination, on time, intact, and with those on board fizzed up and ready to go.
He retook the fares (or passes) with the comment
This is a deep moment of societal change. We need to wake up and break out of the rollercoaster – and off we went. We travelled the length of the A6 as it runs through the North West – with important recognition of areas to the west who are more impacted by the A51 and the A57 – all roads with ascending and descending hills
We were treated to a treatise setting out the depth of the crisis; we were treated to an explanation of The Good The Bad and The Ugly. And, when one thought that ammunition was spent, we were told that the future is not about the sector filling in the gaps of failing public service, or an economy gone wrong. Our task is to build what we do. To deliver more care. To start getting involved in retail and manufacturing and create community wealth. We need to get off the idea that we fit in-between the public and private sectors.
Those on board then were made aware by Dr Sanjiv Lingayah – Lead Author on Home Truths Report – that there were still seats on the bus and efforts had to be made to increase the range of those on the journey. He presented the challenging questions of how can we support and empower the BAME led voluntary sector? And why has this part of the sector been excluded to date?
He brought us up short with an anecdote clearly setting out inequality and lack of listening. Bluntly, if a bus is going to run efficiently it has to be full – regardless of background; ethnicity or anything, (switching out of the bus travel analogy there are no private sector bus services who would refuse travel based on race; ethnicity; sexuality; disability or age – so why is this happening in the VCFSE sector)?
Dr Sanjiv positioned the bus at the terminus of the journey by setting out where to walk when leaving the vehicle for today. He charged all passengers to sit with our failure and uncomfortable ideas whilst recognising we all make mistakes. Then ask why are we here as a sector? The sector should be about restoring wholeness to society, focusing on social justice. This means serious corrective action but laced with HOPE - even in the carnage of this year and black and brown bodies suffering – it’s really important to recognise the power and agency of people discriminated against, this is one aspect of hope.
The journey concluded with an exhortation, from the Chair of VSNW to take practical actions away and make a difference.
Meanwhile, the VSNW bus was metaphorically driven to the depot and got ready for the next journey – Metro Mayors on 9th December – departing from a zoom lounge near you at 16.15 for an hour.
Andrew Rainsford Research & Policy Officer VSNW
Working with ex-offenders and those at risk of offending?
VNSW attended the virtual seminar of Safety Culture. Billed as “Surviving or Thriving” and found via a business service website we had hoped that this would provide some applied business advice which could be shared with the wider sector. This was not the case – something quite unexpected resulted.
The first speaker was John MaCavoy – a former career criminal from London who discovered indoor rowing when in prison. For reasons explained in the presentation this developed into Iron Man participation which, in turn, led to sponsorship from Nike to enable him to share his highly motivating story. The presentation, including questions and answers, can be found here.
For those working with the hard to reach, at risk of (re)offending this could be an invaluable presentation. There are other speakers. However, the entire event lasted for 4.5 hours and was far too long. The astronaut (Kelly) and pilot presentations (Sullenberg) are also useful to watch as they have a combination of drama and mentoring.
There is a need to register. We can report that the in-box has been free of marketing emails since we registered.
ENDS
About Safety Culture
Safety Culture is a business that started in a domestic garage in Australia a decade ago. They produce check lists for safety critical processes and now have a world wide, blue chip, customer base. The introduction to the seminar provided a brief overview of how the company developed.
About VSNW
Voluntary Sector North West is a regional infrastructure body for the North West of England. Providing support for local CVS bodies, with an element of direct project delivery, VSNW works with regional statutory bodies to advance the case for the Voluntary Sector.
Talking Tory
This was a phrase used at the recent VSNW Festival of Thinking. It reflected that there is a need to develop new relationships and that communication with those with whom there is not a track record of alignment is not always easy. VSNW has begun to build relationships and develop learning to share with the aim of assisting the process.
A “one nation tory” webinar was attended. One nationism was coined by Benjamin Disraeli to remind those in government that they were there for all – not just “our people”. It was Thatcher who coined the phrase “our people” and there is a significant strand of the current conservative party to still adhere to that level of dogma. The seminar had four speakers.
Danny Kruger MP is gaining a reputation as the sector “expert” within the Tory party. He did reference Disraeli, mentioned that there is a need to “trust the people” and observed that “you have to be fierce in the defence of the gentle”. This phrase gives cause for reflection and may be useful in future discussions. He stated that moving forward One Nationism is Mutual Aid Groups and local action within a dismantled bureaucracy to enable action.
Arlene Foster – the leader of the Ulster Unionists then spoke and claimed that One Nationism has been reinforced by Covid. Three examples were cited.
a. The Union needs conserving (Tories take this for granted) but with less London Centric and England Centric announcements and policies.
b. Enable and trust the people – but not in the Blairism continual subsidy manner. She indicated a need for long term plans for education and training to enable this example to be effective.
c. Ambition without Empire. She observed that a permanent state of decline is not acceptable and that areas that once thrived need to be levelled up. Like many others she is somewhat lacking in detail as to what this means.
Jane Stevenson, newly elected MP for Wolverhampton SW saw one nationism as levelling up and warned that if “our people” do not benefit from the “splash the cash” that was promised before the last election there will be electoral consequences. One hopes that she is keeping an eye on the employment market for she will likely be a one term MP. She did highlight that the National Brownfield Institute is to be located in her constituency and that delivers “levelling up”. She sees that talent is evenly spread whereas opportunity is less even in distribution.
The final speaker was KIrstene Hair who was an MP, lost her seat in December, and is now senior adviser to Douglas Ross – leader of the Scottish Conservatives. She delivered a tirade against the Westminster Government and the PM which was quite extraordinary. Shortly after the “Devolution has been a disaster” comment, made by the PM, was reported. Certainly the desire to conserve the Union, expressed by Arlene Foster, is less likely to happen in Scotland.
There were either technical issues with some of the questions (or maybe the questioners had given up). John Denham (former Labour MP) was one of the questioners.
So, what did we learn from this? The main learning point is that there is no agreed definition of One Nation Toryism amongst Tories who have been invited to speak at a seminar that explored the issue. The differences were more than mere nuance. There is some talk about levelling up – but no shared understanding of what it means. There is some talk about education and training and no idea how it is to be delivered.
The conclusion may suggest that the session was not helpful. It was – if only to show that “Talking Tory” is not going to be easy as being in a position of leadership and representation does not mean a shared or consistent vision. Sorry!
The seminar can be viewed here https://www.conservativehome.com/video/2020/11/watch-live-one-nation-conservatism-what-does-it-look-like-after-covid-19.html It is recommended as is a regular scan of Conservative Home. Many of the articles are of relevance to the sector and it helps to read the comments – some are quite alarming.
Surviving or acquiring – strategies for business success.
The Business Desk held the above seminar on 17th November 2020. VSNW attended to gain insights to share with our Social Enterprise Networks – many of whom need to explore “hard subjects” resulting from the pandemic. We have to be good at the enterprise to enable the social. Speakers were excellent and it is hoped that the event will be on line in due course. The seminar comprised four speakers.
First off was Dr John Ashcroft – an economist of some renown. Amongst many points he observed two stand out.
1. “If you do not have a digital presence you have a problem”. This has been evidenced by the recent demise of Edinburgh Woollen Mill/Jaeger/Ponden/Peacocks who had a minimal online presence and is a lesson for all social enterprises. If customers cannot access you they cannot make purchases.
2. The FED (the American Central Bank) has indicated that there will be no interest rate increases for three years. Dr Ashcoft surmised that the Bank of England will have to follow suit. This does mean that it is a good time for directors of social enterprises to revisit appetite for borrowing. There will be opportunities for investment arising – as set out by other speakers in this seminar.
Chris Yates then followed. He is an experienced Chief Executive who specialises in turnrounds and business exits. This is language that brings sharp intakes of breath within the social enterprise sector but we cannot ignore such issues. Every word that Chris spoke added value to the seminar. Key points include
Obtain clarity of outcome from stakeholders. What do they want and do they all want the same? What happens if they don’t?
Ask the team for simple and straightforward things that can be achieved quickly. By setting simple goals, with short time frame, it helps get people out of a fog that is caused by panic operating practices brought about by increasing pressures.
Be honest and don’t be economical with the truth. Not every operation can be saved.
Plan for three or four key outcomes and base the plan on stakeholder consultation.
This all sounds quite straightforward. The author of this piece knows that it is not so easy in practice which is why he brought in some one when the community enterprise he was heading took over a failing operation – and this despite him providing similar services for others. One step removed, yet immersed on an interim basis, can be of huge assistance.
Frank Otanagoro continued the seminar with useful advice for dealing with the Covid situation. He advised that unnecessary costs should be eliminated and cash managed tightly followed by a micro and macro evaluation of the business. Bluntly, is what you do and how you do it needed and being undertaken in a manner that is now relevant. He also urged a robust examination of the supply chain – a failure of a supply could have a knock on effect for what you do.
From a social enterprise perspective it then became interesting. Frank strongly encouraged examining all operations within a business and, perhaps, shedding some of the non-core ones. From an existing operation perspective it can have the effect of creating an element of cash or, at the very least, releasing management time to concentrate on the “knitting”. From our perspective it could provide opportunities to acquire an operation which is already up and running with a customer base from which income can be generated. It may even come with a management team who can learn from us as we learn from them. It could be exciting.
Ian Barton concluded the session by stressing the need for business planning. Be strategic in thinking – what will the operation look like in the “new normal”. He talked about the need for strong balance sheets which can be strengthened by the sale of non-core assets – which resonated with Frank. There was discussion about different natures of mergers and acquisitions which, for the author, a former commercial banker, was fascinating but perhaps outside the scope of this report. However, Ian did observe that if blue sky strategic planning had taken place an operation is well placed to react quickly to an opportunity. A distress sale can make things cheaper. This is an element of commercial aggression that the social enterprise sector can learn from.
The Q&A session also produced information gems. It is possible to have a profit poor and cash rich business. Q2 of 2021 will be critical as this is when the support packages, for all sectors, are due to end and first repayments of Covid loans are due. It is sensible to plan for opportunities and wait as well as having an agile response system. Good business will become available due to impaired balance sheets. There has to be caution and a need to fully understand cash flow implications of expansion. Late filing of annual returns can impact on credit rating and it is essential to work with auditors to obtain an audit report which does not have a going concern qualification.
Finally, Dr Ashcroft observed that this will all pass – eventually whilst Frank stressed the importance of good business coaching and support networks.
About – speakers. One of the joys of this seminar was that none of the speakers tried to push their services. In that spirit readers of this article are urged to explore profiles on Linked In and other sites.
About – Business Desk. This is a daily business update bulletin that arrives at 08.15/08.20 each weekday morning. It is free of adverts and provides headlines. These can be clicked upon for further information. There are adverts on the supplementary pages. It is a free service to which the author signed up when CEO of an enterprise in the West Midlands and again now he is working in the North West. There have been no unsolicited emails that can be tracked back to this sign up.
About – author. Andrew Rainsford is Policy and Research Officer for Voluntary Sector North West. He has a varied career including commercial lending; local government management; CEO of a new start community enterprise and project development/funding for a wide variety of third sector bodies.
Social Enterprise Day 2020
Social Enterprise Day is held annually on the 3rd Thursday in November. This year, as part of Global Entrepreneurship Week, Social Enterprise Day falls on the 19th November.
According to Social Enterprise UK, social enterprises are “our best chance of creating a fairer world and protecting the planet”. Essentially, social enterprises are distinguishable from traditional businesses by their profit channels. Their aim is to reinvest or donate their profits into projects and campaigns aimed at creating positive social change; goods and services are sold in an open market, which in turn creates employment, and thus reinvests into the local community.
This community focus makes Social Enterprise Day important to VSNW. We are delighted to say that Racheal Jones, Chief Executive at One Knowsley (a VS6 partner), has joined the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority’s Social and Solidarity Economy Reference Panel as a VCFSE sector representative. Racheal joins other leaders and experts from social enterprise organisations as part of an advisory panel aiming to maximise the contribution of the sector as part of the regions Covid-19 recovery planning. The panel provides a vital voice for the sector in discussions with the LCR Metro Mayor, Steve Rotheram.
In keeping with the social enterprise ethos, Racheal states that:
“The establishment of the Social and Solidarity Economy Reference Panel is a testament to the ongoing commitment within the region to develop a whole economy that is fair and inclusive”.
VSNW is committed to the continuing support of organisations whose raison d’etre surrounds giving back to the community and looks forward to a more equal and fairer society.
Happy Social Enterprise Day!
