Adult Social Care Workforce Strategy 2023-2026 - Print version

Introduction and scope

A thriving and skilled social care workforce means a better quality of life and positive outcomes for Coventry’s adults and their carers. We are proud of our workforce and this Adult Social Care Workforce Strategy is all about ensuring we have the right people in the right place at the right time with the values, skills and experience to deliver the care and support needed both now and in the future.

Coventry City Council's ‘People Plan’ [/peopleplan] recognises that like most Local Authorities, Coventry has experienced, and is continuing to experience, very challenging times in relation to funding availability which has changed the way services are provided and delivered. This change in thinking has resulted in a greater need for creativity, commercialisation and working with partners to develop shared outcomes.

The People Plan identifies the action we will take as a Council and an employer in order to deliver the workforce vision and crucial workforce objectives, particularly paying close attention to organisational development and leadership. The central theme of the plan is to continue to build and develop a ‘One Coventry’ culture. One Coventry [/onecoventryplan] is the council’s approach to partnership working to enable a citywide public service ethos.

The Plan also details how we intend to improve capacity, capability and processes to deliver the Council’s ‘One Coventry’ priorities, which are;

• Increasing the economic prosperity of the city and region
• Improving outcomes and tackling inequalities within our communities
• Tackling the causes and consequences of climate change
• Continued financial sustainability of the Council
• Council's role as a partner, enabler and leadership.

Download a designed PDF version of the report. [https://www.coventry.gov.uk/downloads/download/7661/adult-social-care-workforce-strategy]

The local and national context

This Adult Social Care Workforce Strategy focuses on our Adult Social Care workforce, both internally within the Council and our external social care providers and the challenges we face together. It is also a statement of our workforce priorities and the action we will take to deliver those priorities.

Coventry has a growing and diverse population, and our workforce needs to grow and adapt in response to the residents of the City we support.

View our demographics [https://www.coventry.gov.uk/adult-social-care-strategies-policies-plans/coventry-adult-social-care-annual-report-202223-local-account-1/7#3]

Coventry’s Adult Social Care workforce is diverse with people working for the independent sector, local authority and for people in receipt of direct payments.

Within Coventry City Council we employ over 900 staff and the wider Adult Social Care Workforce in Coventry amounts to 9,600 jobs (2022/23).

View our workforce data [https://www.coventry.gov.uk/adult-social-care-strategies-policies-plans/coventry-adult-social-care-annual-report-202223-local-account-1/7#4].

The landscape, opportunities and continued legacy of the pandemic have changed the narrative and context of social care. Our working practices have had to change and continue to do so in ways we are only just beginning to understand. We needed to adapt quickly and make greater use of technology and develop new and constructive relationships with stakeholders and partners. We want to take forward these positive outcomes and build on that momentum. At the same time, we need to recognise the effect the pandemic has had on wellbeing and mental health of the population so that we can take steps to mitigate its impact.

We also recognise that locally Adult Social Care continues to be pivotal to the health and wellbeing of Coventry residents, and crucial to the effective operation of the NHS with the role it plays in admission avoidance, hospital discharge and promoting independence.   

Nationally the Government White Paper ‘People at the Heart of Care: adult social care reform’ (published December 2021) [https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/people-at-the-heart-of-care-adult-social-care-reform-white-paper] recognises the crucial role that social care plays in supporting people to lead a fulfilling life, playing a full role in society

The White Paper identifies that the number of jobs in adult social care is forecast to grow by almost one-third by 2035. As the population grows, and the way in which care is delivered evolves and diversifies, the Adult Social Care workforce will need to grow and develop with it.

Whatever the direction of government policy the delivery of social care remains a local responsibility and is therefore incumbent on us to develop our workforce to meets the needs and aspirations of people who require support from Adult Social Care within our communities.

Workforce diversity and inclusion

Our workforce strategy and associated action plans need to recognise and take into account that our strength lies in our diversity, and in order to be able to effectively meet the needs of our communities it is vital that we have a workforce that is reflective of the people we serve, and in a dynamic and changing City that is easier said than done. Creating a culture that values and promotes diversity and inclusion will ensure we harness different perspectives, experiences and knowledge and support our workforce to continue to learn about the diverse communities and cultures within the City so that we may support people in a way that is appropriate to them. Our People Plan [/peopleplan] and our One Coventry Plan [https://www.coventry.gov.uk/theonecoventryplan] and its values are clear that a commitment to equality underpins the way that we work and provide services.

Key workforce challenges and what’s working well

In recent years, financial pressures, increased life expectancy and the growth in numbers of people living with multiple and complex conditions has put a considerable strain on resources. This creates demand for a workforce that can be responsive to these changes and adapt what they do to respond to this changing environment.

Attracting new people into social care to replace those who have left is just one solution to keep pace with the demand for social care services. We also need to make sure we are doing everything possible to retain our existing workforce. This involves a range of approaches including effective recruitment, good learning and development opportunities and a focus on the health and wellbeing of our workforce.

We also know that we cannot simply keep expanding our workforce in respond to growing demand, and we have not done this so far as demonstrated by a largely static workforce headcount over the last three years despite referrals for support increasing.  We do therefore need our workforce to find new ways of supporting people, have the innovation and imagination, combined with the intelligence and compassion to support people in new ways based and less reliant on the provision of regulated care. 

Our Adult Social Care Workforce Strategy needs to acknowledge and build on what is already working. Whilst there are many challenges, there are also many successes. We need to ensure we develop, promote, and celebrate existing good practice as well as look for new ideas. Each year we produce an Annual Report (also known as a Local Account [/ascannualreport]), which seeks to showcase the work of Adult Social Care in Coventry.

Our approach - delivering our Adult Social Care Workforce Strategy

Internal Workforce Overview

For our internal workforce our plan to deliver the Workforce Strategy includes actions which are; already underway, or planned along with proposed new areas of work. The activity set out in the plan focusses on five themes which are:

• Recruitment and Retention
• Workforce and Culture
• Learning and Development
• Employee Relations
• Health and Wellbeing

Each of our workforce themes and associated outcomes have identified success measures with timescales identified. We will keep these under review within our Workforce, Commissioning Boards and senior management team meetings

Outlined below are our planned actions for 2023/24.

Internal Workforce Support Overview

Recruitment and Retention

• Recruitment and retention reporting and data analysis to steer recruitment campaigns for hard to recruit posts and identify areas for improvement
• Ensure that the recruitment and selection procedures are undertaken in accordance the Council's Diversity and Inclusion best practice, with recruitment panels reflective of diversity and involving people with lived experience
• Analyse the Diversity and Inclusion recruitment & selection data and make recommendations for improving the diversity of the workforce where applicable
• Implement new Induction programme for Adult Social Care

Workforce and Culture

• Workforce profiling reporting and data analysis
• Establish workforce planning activity within Adult Services, to identify workforce availability, capability and ensure succession planning
• To identify and implement a range of targeted Diversity and Inclusion activities within Adult Services
• To review staff engagement mechanisms, visibility of senior leaders and ensure activity including recognition and celebration to drive our new values and help employees feel valued and appreciated
• To embed Team Planning approaches

Learning & Development

• Monitor non-completion of Corporate Statutory and Mandatory training across the Service
• Ongoing review of training programmes and plans informed by a cycle of Training Needs analysis and an annual training report
• To define Statutory, Mandatory and desirable/role specific training and build compliance/refresh requirements
• To review, establish clear and visible progression and career development pathways for all Adult Services staff 
• Development for leaders and managers across Adult Services, specifically linked to apprenticeship levy

Employee Relations

• Promotion and access to toolkits and training to support colleagues in Adult's Services to understand and effectively use HR policies and procedures. Embed a just culture approach.
• Review of Management of sickness absence process in line with enabling attendance and identify areas for improvement
• Review approach to managing performance and capability
• Investigation training for managers and commissioning managers

Health and Wellbeing

• Managerial awareness of mental health and wellbeing training and toolkits
• To consider specific strategies and activities to support key areas including stress, anxiety and depression
• To develop a range of Wellbeing initiatives with a focus on key areas for the workforce including stress, depression, anxiety and MSK
• Review application and learning from Adult Social Care Organisational Health Checks and any Corporate surveys

External Workforce Overview

For our external workforce we recognise a dedicated, experienced and content workforce is crucial in ensuring good quality provision and continuity of care. As such, our areas of support for our external workforce centre around the following three themes:

• Recruitment
• Retention
• Learning and development

Through the provision of targeted support, specific tools and resources and a range of training, our support offer will look to bolster knowledge and morale of existing staff whilst attracting a new cohort of individuals to the market.

Outlined below are our support offer and planned actions for 2023/24.

Governance and oversight

Our Adult Social Care Workforce Board will have oversight of our Adult Social Care Workforce Strategy and associated action plans. They will receive reports on both progress in the delivery of actions and understanding the impact of these actions.

The group will also take the lead in ensuring the Strategy is regularly reviewed and refreshed.