1. Values Based Approaches: update for Care Home Provider Forum
Reuben Colton, Commissioning Manager (Workforce)
Oxfordshire County Council

2. What are Values Based Approaches?
Skills and experience based model of recruitment, retention and working…
…to one that is based around the
individual’s values and behaviours
“Values”, noun: “Principles or standards of behaviour; one's judgement of what is important in life.”

3. What are Values Based Approaches?
Values Based Approaches to recruitment:
To look beyond someone’s experience and qualifications and get to know the real person
To ensure candidate values are aligned with organisational values; people fit the culture
To assess values, behaviours and attitudes not often assessed in the recruitment process
To send a clear message about what the organisational values are and demonstrate that they are important
VBR is a values-based approach to the attraction, selection and induction of staff and volunteers which enables organisations to understand an individual’s values, behaviours and motivations and assess whether they align with the values, culture and expectations of the organisation.

4. Why use VBA?
Values Based Approaches can help improve staff performance and retention
By attracting, developing and retaining quality workers, avoiding:
Too many applicants without the right qualities
Not enough applicants
Can recruit but people don’t stay very long
People leaving
Lots of vacancies
Urgency to recruit
The wrong people
Each of you is likely to have different challenges – this might include…
Too many applicants without the right qualities
Not enough applicants
Recruit ok but people don’t stay very long
These challenges are likely to be set against:
People leaving/ high turnover rates
Lots of vacancies/ high vacancy rates
Urgency to recruit
…which can all lead to recruiting the wrong people for the role, and so the cycle continues…
We are sympathetic to employers who find themselves in a cycle of poor recruitment decisions they struggle to get out of. But we are also realistic about the challenges faced and painfully aware of the affect bad decisions can have on quality of care.
How do we break the cycle?
We need to convince using evidence.
Spell out that if employers continue to do what they have already done, they will continue to get what they have always got…

5. Evidence base
There is a clear and growing evidence base of the impact of VBA, across health and social care, and I’ve just highlighted some key relevant reports and evaluations.
MacIntyre, etc.: Value based recruitment toolkit: evaluation of 12 month pilot.
Evidence that it works is there and growing: Bold assumption that everyone here today is here because they already see the benefits of VBA.

6. The local history Pilot: Values Based Recruitment and Interviewing
2014/15
Pilot: Values Based Recruitment and Interviewing
Values based recruitment training courses and materials
National development project with
2016/17
Between September 2014 and July 2015, Oxfordshire County Council ran a project to develop and pilot values-based recruitment and interviewing (VBR/I) with adult social care providers with Kerry Cleary. The work was funded by a one-off grant from Health Education Thames Valley (HETV). Involved 6 adult social care providers active in Oxfordshire. Further developed and refined in partnership with Brighton & Hove Council in the following year.
National development project with Skills for Care: to improve the quality and availability of info, guidance and training of VBR/I.
Throughout this work: evaluation and reports, etc. Now: an opportunity to take stock of successes to date.
Supporting overhaul and development of values based approaches toolkit: e.g. values and behaviours framework

7. Taking stock: the purpose
To take stock of progress with VBR to date in Oxfordshire, in the context of regional and national work, and to identify:
The extent of usage
The impact on recruitment and retention
Examples of best practice
Drawbacks and barriers to success
To agree options, opportunities and next steps
WIDER CONTEXT: ADASS SE Priority to scale up the use of VBA, BUILDING ON REGIONAL SUCCESS. SfC PLANS FOR NEXT PHASE OF SUPPORT FOR PROVIDERS

8. Themes and findings so far
Key themes from April workshop:
Variability in use and approaches: not “one size fits all”
Golden thread: importance of embedding values across the organisation
Benefits of peer support: within and beyond organisations
Strong desire for further practical work to support VBA across health and care
Survey of providers:
Low response rate: very small sample size, but…
Illustrative and some key learning points to take away
Variability: support for smaller organisations
Golden thread: not just in recruitment
Benefits of peer support: action learning sets and buddying
Strong desire…: WIDER CONTEXT: ADASS SE Priority to scale up the use of VBA, BUILDING ON REGIONAL SUCCESS. SfC PLANS FOR NEXT PHASE OF SUPPORT FOR PROVIDERS: Strong interest in Oxfordshire contributing to, leading and helping further that work).

9. Yet only about one third feel they use VBA “a lot”
Survey results
Promoting values publicly
Using values during staff induction
Over 90%
In supervision
In day to day work
Over 70%
When advertising/attracting staff
In interviews
- Very strong responses to promoting values publicly and using values during staff induction: 90+%
Fewer reported that values feature in supervision or day to day work: , e.g. rewarding staff for modelling those values.
Recruitment activity: over 70% use VBA in advertising and attracting candidates, and interviewing.
Of all ‘practical’ steps, having a values and behaviours framework was the activity fewest had completed
Yet only about one third feel they use VBA “a lot” in recruiting new staff, and none reporting using VBA fully.
Over 70%
Have a Values and Behaviours Framework
Over 60%
Yet only about one third feel they use VBA “a lot”

10. Survey results Over 60% 68% and 54%
Staff know values “quite well”
Over 60%
Skills for Care training
No further training or learning
68% and 54%
Around two thirds raised barriers they faced, such as:
Lack of understanding of the benefits
Time pressures
Staff trained in VBA leaving
Most feel they have embedded values only “a little”: 36%
Knowledge of values: 60%+ feel their staff know their values quite well
Training: over two thirds (68%) had attended SfC training, but most of have not provided further training after that initial push (54%).
Around two thirds raised barriers they faced: No one reported not facing barriers.
Embedded “a little”: Slightly fewer said “somewhat” or “quite widely”. No respondent reported “not at all”.

11. support and resources

12. support and resources

13. June 2018 workshop and next steps
Identify tangible actions to:
Help local organisations to start using or expand use of VBA
Have the greatest possible impact on recruitment and retention
Next steps:
Local training in Values Based Recruitment and Interviewing
Action learning sets and other practical, shared support
Develop overarching values and example resources
Potential task and finish group focussing on ‘under 25s’
Future local meetings/events
- Action Learning Sets: a structured method enabling small groups to address complicated issues by meeting
regularly and working collectively.
Commitment from individual organisations to take forward VBA and for organisations to be advocates for VBA? Mention verbally instead?
From my point of view: want to understand what further investment will have the greatest impact, and how we can collectively achieve more than individually.

14. National Minimum Data Set for Social Care (NMDS)

15. About NMDS The National Minimum Data Set for Social Care is:
An online workforce data collection system for the sector
The leading source of robust workforce intelligence for adult social care
Used by Government, strategic bodies, commissioners and policy makers for:
Policy-making
Service planning and development
Workforce modelling and planning

16. Why contribute to NMDS?
1. Funding - access to valuable funding through the Workforce Development Fund
2. HR support - helps create management information for workforce and service planning
3. Training records - helps manage and track training including the Care Certificate
4. Save time - with permission, data can be shared with CQC to populate provider profiles
5. Be counted - data is used (anonymously) to help plan for the future of adult social care
6. Compare – see how you’re doing compared with organisations locally and nationally

17. Support NMDS support team Sessions? For example:
Managing your NMDS account and inputting data
Evidence based decisions and NMDS