IEP Quality Improvement Framework (QIF)
Welcome to the IEP Quality Improvement Framework (QIF), a groundbreaking initiative tailored specifically for the employability sector.
Developed through a collaborative effort between the Institute of Employability Professionals (IEP), Mesma, The Good Employability Company, and leading employability providers in the UK, the QIF represents a significant milestone in our mission to enhance quality standards and practices within the industry. Special acknowledgements to Fedcap and their associated service providers for organising and taking part in an initial trial and The Growth Company, Serco, Ingeus, Education Development Trust, the DWP and ERSA for their contributions and many other employability organisations from the sector who have been involved in the development of the QIF through roundtables and sector forums.
This unique framework is designed to offer a comprehensive blueprint of effective practices across various organisational contexts. Grounded in independent research and evidence, the QIF is not intended to replace existing quality assurance mechanisms but rather complement them, with a specific focus on elevating employability services.
To find out more about the QIF, watch the video from the launch here
To further explore the QIF and receive support, we have held two workshops as below:
Workshop 1 – Understanding the evidence, rationale, components and impact of the IEP Quality Improvement Framework
Hosted by David Imber FIEP | Head of the Centre for Employability Excellence and Principal of The Good Employability Company
Recommended for quality professionals, leaders, managers and staff responsible for frontline delivery and quality.
During this session we uncover the rationale for the six Quality Improvement Framework components, and show how its adoption in your service culture can improve quality at all levels.
Workshop 2 – Using the IEP Quality Improvement Framework in practice
Hosted by Louise Doyle MIEP | CEO of Mesma
Recommended for Quality professionals, leaders, managers and staff responsible for frontline quality.
During this session you will learn about the different applications for the framework to underpin your quality enhancement strategy. The team at Mesma will also share with you how the framework has been built into their software platform to help users coordinate and report on a range of activities.
Workshop 3 – Self Assessing Brilliantly
Hosted by Louise Doyle MIEP | CEO of Mesma
When you self assess brilliantly quality improvement activity has clear focus and big impact. Brilliant, collaborative self assessment starts with good preparation and a strong approach.
The session is aimed at quality professionals and anyone who leads or champions quality improvement for their team or department.
We guide you on how to self assess brilliantly using any quality standard including the IEP Quality Improvement Framework, as Lou Doyle shares the insights, hints and tips gathered working with hundreds of organisations on quality improvement.
To view the workshop videos or for any enquiries regarding the Quality Improvement Framework please email us at quality@iemployability.org
The Framework
1. Commitment to Quality
A commitment to quality should be represented by the organisation’s policies, procedures, performance standards, ethics, values and other commitments. This should be shown to be enacted in the service received by participants.
The vision includes concrete goals for society, participants, employers, the organisation and its partnerships. It should be apparent what is to be achieved, and how it might be measured. Quality indicators are written with qualitative and quantitative measures that can be objectively assessed.
Values are expressed in terms that relate directly to the service provided to participants. They can be implemented by the organisation’s policies and employees and contribute to the delivery of the vision and goals. Values indicate not only that persons are respected or supported, but in what ways and how.
The organisation is open to acknowledging areas for improvement, supporting improvement activities, and undertaking regular review.
The commitment to quality actively encourages organisational and individual progression toward quality standards. Activities to support and enhance quality are focussed on the benefits to be achieved; they are not limited to procedural compliance.
A disability charity provides specialist employment support under sub-contract to a prime provider. Their stated goal is to reduce the number of unemployed people and increase the number of employed people in their area of operation. In support of this, they also provide advice and guidance to the staff of the prime provider and other sub-contractors.
Recognising that it is difficult to evaluate changes in employment levels for a minority client group in a small local area, the disability charity adopts numeric targets for client-employment and duration of support, and supplements them with semi-structured interviews with client families and employers, to gauge changes in opinions and expectations.
The prime provider has a value – ‘to enable people to achieve their employment goals’. This relates directly to the contract. They can show how the staff and sub-contractors work to help clients decide on and achieve their own goals, including well-informed personal choice in the process.
Published vision/ values
Service strategy documents
Policy documents and procedures
Employee feedback
Partner feedback
Employer feedback
Investment in quality improvement. For example, roles with clear ‘quality’ responsibilities, relevant initiatives, agreed assurance methodologies .
The organisation sets out performance indicators and definitions of quality, consistent with the Quality Improvement Framework.
Quality indicators are relevant for participants, understood by employees and used well. Performance measures consistently focus on processes, employee competencies, and service competencies as well as the end results. Performance measures include both quantitative and qualitative behavioural evaluations against stated, objective criteria. Where performance involves a degree of compromise (for example between caseloads and case complexity) the means of establishing priority are clearly stated and used in practice.
See 1.1 The quality measures in the previous example cover both the number and proportion of employment outcomes, and feedback from clients about the extent to which personal goals have been met. The processes used and competence of staff are critically assessed in relation to the personal goals chosen by clients.
Evidence of relevant and related KPIs at organisation/ department/ team/ individual levels
Evidence that relevant data is used to drive progress against quality-focused KPIs e.g. dashboards, meeting minutes.
The organisation assesses resources of all kinds needed to meet its goals and can demonstrate that they are available. The assessment of resources required to meet participant and employer need is based on concrete measures and available evidence. Objective evidence is applied to adjust resource allocations as circumstances demand.
Staff throughout the organisation have a good understanding of the skills, activities and services that are shown to be effective in supporting clients. They can describe and be observed to apply these methods. The resources (in the broadest sense) are adequate to the needs of clients, in that they do not limit unduly what the service can do to help. The organisation reviews its provision with staff, clients, employers and partners and adjusts resources accordingly.
Employee feedback
Evidence of a systematic process for requesting additional resource
Evidence of transparent and robust resource investment decision making
Evidence of investment in resources
Outcomes from observation of Adviser-Client interaction/ work scrutiny
Outcomes from observation of Adviser-Employer interaction / work scrutiny
Policies and practices provide time for regular and effective collaboration, planning, delivery, and review with external partners. The practices are enacted at the relevant levels of management and delivery, with relevance to the services to and needs of participants. Working with partners contributes to achievement of the organisation’s goals and performance measures by making the service effective, easy to use and understandable by participants and employers.
The disability charity and prime provider meet at senior, middle management and front-line levels. They agree what services will best help clients and employers, and how to deliver them. They have shared mechanisms for regular review and for ad hoc problem-solving. They have mechanisms for gathering useful feedback from service users and including it in the service review process.
Relevant policies and processes documentation
Minutes of partner meetings
Examples of collaboration in design and delivery, and impact on KPI achievement
Effective ongoing training and skill development is provided for frontline practitioners and middle managers. Training and development needs are established to link the service and Continued Professional Development (CPD) provision such as training and mentoring.
The goals of CPD are clearly stated and the resulting investment in high-quality content and methods are relevant to build competence and confidence over time. The impact of CPD is evaluated and used to plan further development.
Those delivering CPD are skilled in their field. Mentors (or coaches) are given relevant training and training is designed and delivered by individuals who are professionally qualified.
Group facilitators are suitably skilled and experienced to both train and make use of the competencies of person-to-person advice and guidance.
Staff skill requirements are decided on the basis of the goals and performance required. They include consideration of independent evidence. The skills are stated as behavioural targets. Service needs and staff competencies are assessed to provide a basis for design and delivery of training. The results of training are assessed and provide input to later training and service development.
The organisation and its partners provide suitably skilled direct management and peer-mentoring. Mentoring is used to encourage progression and confidence, and not used in disciplinary measures. Staff can describe how they receive and benefit form mentoring activities.
Relevant policies and processes
Evidence of financial investment in staff CPD
Evidence of actual time in on or off-the-job CPD
Outcomes from QA activities such as observations demonstrate improvement
Employee feedback
2. Capacity for Improvement
The organisation has the ability, expertise and will to get better at what it does over time. It adopts continuous improvement methods to embed a cycle of acting, reflecting, and adjusting in accordance with its commitment to quality.
Leaders and managers lead and participate in quality improvement activities. They have suitable experience or training and are careful to use their position to lead by example to stimulate discussion and innovation.
Leaders understand and respond to the complexity of problem-solving with suitable approaches that recognise the variability, interdependence, and ambiguity inherent in the delivery of the provision.
Leaders use relevant external research and local data to gain a deep understanding of employees, participants, employers, and partners; they use this information to respond to issues, problems, changing needs or circumstances and to lead improvements.
- A service requires front-line and middle managers and directors to visit employer-customers and attend client focus groups as observers. The directors then make quality improvements separately from front line staff and customers, and the suggestions are compared and used in internal planning.
- Induction of newly appointed managerial staff includes guidance and practice in non-directive discussion techniques.
- A service is keen to encourage innovation and try out new ways of doing things. But it also applies quality criteria to proposed improvements, asking how an innovation will improve results, and testing ideas against evidence.
Evidence of intelligent engagement of managers in improvement activities.
Employees at all levels are encouraged to adopt a continuous improvement approach and how their efforts contribute to their own work or the overall service. Employees are provided with suitable training or support to help them solve problems, evaluate risks, act, reflect, and adjust.
The methods used focus on service, process and product improvements that benefit participants and employers. The burden of work to gather information and feedback and to analyse, propose and make changes is commensurate with the benefits and does not stifle creative or innovative suggestions.
Irrespective of whether quality initiatives ultimately succeed or fail, leaders and managers are supportive and actively encourage a culture of quality improvement from all employees.
- Staff report that they attend and are free to express views and ideas at regular quality sessions. There is evidence that the ideas are recorded, and evaluated objectively for inclusion (or not) in forward planning
- A service recognises the difficulties faced by staff and clients in a time of job shortages. It encourages and provides extra time for examination of failures as well as successes, giving support to instances where failure is examined to identify potential success factors.
Employee feedback is used to inform service design and delivery
Employee feedback shows culture of continuous improvement
Minutes of meetings/ events
Examples of improvements implemented by employees at all levels
The policies, procedures, processes, or frameworks that drive quality assurance and improvement can be seen to be active, and are linked to service goals, objectives and priorities.
Successes and failings are identified, causes are sought, and action is taken.
- An organisation has a quality manual that includes the policies, procedures and measures used to assess quality. There is evidence that quality is included in daily practice and not solely an occasional intervention to satisfy procedures.
- After many years work in its chosen field, an NGO recognises that it has helped many clients, but has not seen an overall change in clients’ employability. This observation is given an important place in the annual review process, and it is decided to change practices in one geographical area so any benefit can be evaluated before a longer-term commitment is made. Quality measures are used to inform the review decisions.
QA policies and processes are in place and reviewed periodically
Evidence of suitable CPD for those response for QA
Evidence shows range of appropriate QA methods are used to determine progress towards KPIs
QA processes draw on external good practice to ensure they are reliable and consistent
Examples of relationship between QA outcomes and effective action take to improve.
Leaders and managers effectively and systematically gather, record, and use qualitative and quantitative information to inform assurance and continuous improvement. The objectivity of the information it uses is assessed. Causality or correlation are distinguished to inform reliable decision-making.
A prime provider collects outcome data and visits and discusses the overall programme with clients and employers, separately from but with the agreement of local sub-contractors. They find some discrepancies between their information from client feedback, and that of sub-contractors, and work with them to identify where the truth lies.
Another organisation collects feedback from every client during and at the end of their programme. The forms used for feedback are regularly reviewed and are compared to a sample of in-person interviews to evaluate their effectiveness at eliciting information and opinions. The data is compared to information on contact duration and frequency as well as outcomes and job retention. The information is interrogated to find out whether the time spent, or the nature of the intervention is the best predictor of success.
Examples of structured evidence gathering, recording and analysis.
Examples or descriptions of how the organisation applies information to improve impact for clients
Service partners can describe how leaders and managers of the service engage them in constructive and collaborative quality improvement.
Reports and records are consistent between the organisations. Both parties can describe any differences of interpretation, and they can show how the differences are used in promoting quality.
Examples of collaborative quality improvement activities
Partner feedback used to inform service design and delivery
Partner/ employee feedback on collaborative quality improvement arrangements
The organisation has robust methods for gathering feedback from participants, employers, and other stakeholders that is systematic, regularly implemented, and appropriately resourced. The feedback received is recorded faithfully and subject to objective analysis. Actions are planned and tied to the feedback and evidence gathered.
A service can show that it has arrangements for gathering feedback through surveys and in-person structured discussions. The record show that this is a permanent and regular arrangement. Analysis of feedback is conducted by people independent of those about whom or by whom it is gathered, though in consultation with them. An external evaluator reviews the feedback and conclusions and reports to senior managers.
Reports of client, employer, and stakeholder feedback
Minutes of meetings where feedback is reviewed and acted on
Examples of feedback being acted upon.
3. Engaging the Local Labour Market & Supporting People Into 'Good' Jobs
The organisation, employees and partners understand the actual, concrete, relevant and local labour market through active involvement with employers and self-employment opportunities. They understand the diverse ways in which recruitment and advancement at work take place. They both support and guide current or prospective employers and support participants into work through practical and tailored steps to enable participants to benefit from good quality employment opportunities.
The organisation works with employers and others who offer local employment support, to support and encourage employers to provide good quality employment opportunities, and co-operates to make improvements where working practices fall short.
Leaders and managers of the service have up-to date knowledge of the relevant, usually local, labour markets based on direct experiences with employers and supported by statistical sources (see also 3.6).
They show how the design of the service takes account of this information to provide a service that meets the needs of employers and is also tailored to the needs of participants.
The service co-operates and constructively challenges circumstances where existing recruitment or working practices are inappropriate for clients, and supports employers by identifying improvements to job quality, recruitment practices and in-work progression.
- A service providing advice to redundant workers following a major factory closure gives a substantial proportion of its effort and staff time to contacting other employers in the travel-to-work area, including those that may be affected by related loss-of-business. They are open to how the skills of redundant workers may be of use in alternative or in self-employment, and engage closely with local training providers to support adjustments and new training provisions
- A service finds that the local construction economy has severe labour shortages. It works with major contractors to understand the shortages, and with construction sub-contractors and freelance workers so that it can respond to the changing situation. This results in the creation of a specialist construction industry team with employer representatives and front-line staff able to communicate directly about vacancies and recruitment.
Examples of credible sources of local LMI being used systematically to inform service design/ delivery
Service design process features LMI use during discovery phase
Examples of client feedback being used to inform service offer
Examples of employer feedback being used to inform service offer
Evidence of relationships with local stakeholder groups.
Partnerships between the organisation, employers and other services are linked to maximise effectiveness (the achievement of employment goals) and efficiency (the economical use of resources and effort).
The service develops relationships with other sources of local business support, with charters and other initiatives focusing on improving employment practices.
- An employability organisation aims to help people from ethnic minority backgrounds into suitable work. Their good standing in the community is used to help a local college set up training opportunities in the community, and they co-ordinate their own employer-discussions with the college’s careers provision to arrange simple access to guidance for clients.
- Bus services in a town are focussed on the central bus station and radial routes. A suburban community with high unemployment rates has poor bus links to a major industrial area. The service discusses adjustments to bus routes so that the two can be linked better.
Service design outcomes show effective integration of partner activities
Service design process captures partner feedback
Examples of partner feedback informing service design.
Leaders, managers, and delivery team members engage successfully with employers and employer organisations and make use of the information this provides to inform service design and progress participants into work.
The organisation participates in labour-market associations and bodies (for example Chambers of Commerce, professional associations, trade unions and others) to enhance its understanding, contacts, marketing and reputation.
- A service employs a dedicated employer-liaison team, charged with representing the service in (for example) the Chamber of Commerce, with building sales-relationships with employers, finding vacancies and opportunities and giving feedback to the client-advice teams. The team is recognised by employers as the sales and marketing force of the organisation, but with concern for quality of provisions and sensible results.
- Another organisation provides time for client-advisers to liaise with local employers and finds that it is able to gather good-quality in-person and on-the-spot information about recruitment methods, job tasks and activities to enhance the advice it gives and to match people to jobs better.
Policies or processes which encourage employee activity in the relevant or local labour market
Examples of employee engagement in local area.
Leaders ensure employees have processes in place to ensure employers are active in the design and review of services, including forward planning, overall assessment, and individual participant placement support.
A shortage of care workers in a town is tackled by the service holding discussions with several employers, leading to adjustments to working practices (part-time opportunities, flexible working) allied with pre-placement training and a guaranteed interview scheme. The employers are invited to review the successes and weaknesses of the scheme and changes are implemented. One of the changes is the linking with flexible child-care support for care workers so that school-holiday cover is improved.
Evidence of employer involvement in design and review of service.
Examples of employer feedback informing improvements.
Employees job descriptions, team structures, targets, caseloads, and time management procedures encourage practical and effective links with employers, commensurate with their needs and the needs of participants.
Organisations have sufficient mechanisms to allow team members to share and disseminate practical labour market information.
Employees use their understanding of the workings of the local labour market to support participants effectively to progress into or maintain or advance in suitable or good employment. They focus on the suitability and quality of job roles and placements, and encourage employers to go beyond minimum legal requirements.
Staff can describe how much time they have available for employer liaison, and how they use it. Caseloads and targets are shown to be set in such a way that this time can be used to good effect. Management engages in constructive review of time and resource allocations to ensure that employers are well served.
Employee feedback
Job descriptions and structure charts
Process quality review outcomes/ actions
Work patterns/ caseloads
KPIs for individual team members.
The organisation accesses statistical sources on the labour market and on their contribution to employment in it. Leaders and managers make effective decisions based on information they judge to be relevant and informative.
Staff can show how they evaluate all aspects of jobs, occupations, and work tasks, relating them to the advice they give to clients and employers. They are not confined to official job-descriptions but work as far as possible from first-hand observation.
A service uses O*NET as a first stage in identifying suitable work for clients. Before making recommendations, the staff use employer contacts to check the reliability of this data source and expand their understanding of what is actually involved.
Examples of employer feedback being used to inform service offer.
Use by staff of direct employer visits and work observation.
Examples of how credible sources of local LMI have informed service design/ delivery.
4. Participant-Practitioner Relationships
The success of employability advice requires practitioners to have:
- A high quality and professional relationship with their participants
- Knowledge of and contact with the local labour market
- Respect within and for the locality, people or local community(ies) they serve
- The ability to help participants to make choices and to carry out successful work-focussed activities.
Caseloads and time available for each participant are set in relation to participant needs and labour market circumstances. Substantial increases or decreases in the number of referrals to the service are met with timely adjustments to the resources (time, employees, methods, etc.) to maintain the overall quality.
One service allocates a fixed amount of time for a first discussion with a client and allows the Advisor to adjust the duration of subsequent discussions according to each client’s needs. The allocations are reviewed by a more experienced / senior Advisor, who helps avoid too-short or too-long sessions. The total time with each client is recorded and used with other data (outcomes, progress, feedback) in evaluating the service.
Another service allows for a long initial session in which client and Advisor can make detailed plans, with shorter follow-up sessions to support progress. Case reviews are used to decide whether progress is made or a change / additional support is needed.
Client feedback.
Advisor and line manager feedback.
Case-reviews.
Relevant QA outcomes e.g., observations, work scrutiny.
Evidence of regular contact with client.
Meeting minutes.
Process review outcomes.
Practitioners are able and are encouraged to use their skills and professional judgment from the outset to support participant progress. Managers demonstrably provide flexibility to use professional judgment to adjust to the needs and aspirations of each participant and/or employer. Participant and employer feedback shows how this flexibility or personal service is received and helps participants progress.
- Staff are given freedom to establish a relationship according to each client’s situation. Only after reaching an agreed action plan are specific training, services or supports (such as CV writing, interview practice) deployed. Case reviews are used to help Advisers develop their professional judgement.
- An employer-support team is set up to find vacancies, and to provide employer/client mentoring during early months at work. The business goal is to improve retention rates. The organisation gives the team freedom to use their time and offer support flexibly, and also evaluates the impact on retention before and after the team is set up.
Client progression data.
Evidence of progressive development of new knowledge/ skills/ behaviours.
Client action plan records.
Evidence of clients accessing resources.
Client feedback.
Advisor and line manager feedback.
Case-reviews.
Employer feedback.
Practitioners can describe and demonstrate research-informed interpersonal skills, applying suitable interpersonal behaviours to build a professional relationship with each participant.
Working relationships provide suitable practical support and encourage independent action by participants.
Practitioners challenge false beliefs or inappropriate behaviours towards the labour market, while maintaining constructive relationships.
- Behavioural standards are written and encouraged during Advisor induction and/or training. Case reviews progressively refine the approach and embed Advisor discretion within the behavioural framework. Supervisory staff are trained in observation and feedback and use them to support and develop their staff.
- One service uses after- and during-service reflective interviews to gather client feedback. Another service applies focus groups run by an independent evaluator. The means to incorporate the feedback not the service is clear and implemented regularly.
Evidence of actual time in relevant on or off-the-job CPD such as training.
Advisor and line manager feedback.
QA activity outcomes such as observations.
Client feedback.
Practitioners’ work with participants can be seen to have a consistent focus on employability goals. Within that, they show how they provide helpful information and understanding to participants. They can show how they help participants to make informed choices based on that understanding (for example through developing an understanding of ‘suitable’, ‘desirable’ ‘good’ or ‘decent’ work, with awareness of employment rights and obligations).
Planning of action is done with participant engagement and can be shown to be appropriately adjusted to each participant.
- Clients’ action plans may include social and personal goals, but in each case the link to an employment or employability outcome is explicit.
A service that supports clients with mental health issues is careful about the demands on cognitive capacity, and about the stress that employment counselling could add to the client’s decision making. They adjust the service with each client and make use of practical experiences (work trials, workplace visits, transport practice and so on) to help clients decide what they can do and what they enjoy.
Client feedback.
Client action-plan records.
Advisor and line manager feedback.
Outcomes from QA activity such as observations.
Client progression outcomes.
The service provides facilities, resources and methods that are relevant to the service goals and to participant and employer needs. It can describe and demonstrate how it supports participants who need to acquire labour-market skills as part of their progress to work.
- A prime provider always conducts the initial client interview. The notes from the interview show a good understanding of the client’s situation, and a clear link between the client’s needs and referral to specialist sub-contractors.
- A sub-contractor or small-scale service provider has limited resources and aims only (for example) to teach interview skills for the home care sector. It can show how the clients that it recruits or accepts are suited to this service, and what it does to refer on those who are not.
A service uses smartphone apps and telephone counselling to reach clients who cannot easily come to a centre. The service gathers feedback from clients on the useability of the technology and identifies any shortcomings for remedial action. The feedback from in-person attendees is compared to that from at-a-distance attendees to achieve a balance of provision.
Evidence that resource allocations are reviewed with input from Advisors and line managers.
Evidence that resources are relevant to the service goals and are sufficient and suitably applied.
Leaders, managers, and practitioners effectively evaluate participant’s needs, participants’ capacities, and goals, and demonstrate how they then support and develop participants’ competence and confidence to act on their decisions.
The service can show how it helps participants assess and improve their capacity to choose a suitable realistic occupation, to discover opportunities in that occupation, to compete for positions and to sustain employment.
Participants’ progress towards or progress within suitable work is guided by their own developing capacity and choices.
A focus on the local or relevant labour market is maintained so that action is targeted at real opportunities.
- Client’s records show that the clients themselves concur with descriptions of needs and goals. Advisors can show that they evaluate clients’ abilities and confidence to achieve their goals (subdivided as necessary), and how they use that evaluation to offer support or to find alternatives.
- Advisors can describe examples of their detailed knowledge of specific jobs, work tasks and work environments. They can explain how this information is used with clients and employers. Action plans address the issues that are identified in the process.
- A service reviews the use of career-guidance software and internet vacancy scraping. They find that it useful for certain clients and occupations, less so for others, and adjust the service accordingly.
Evidence that the tools and methods used to evaluate clients’ needs are adapted to the client group as required.
Evidence that clients are supported to make informed decisions that include good knowledge of the relevant labour market.
Client feedback outcomes.
Client progression outcomes.
The organisation can show the means it uses to achieve, and examples of, constructive relationships with participant groups. It has suitable means to monitor and gather feedback on its reputation and value. The feedback is used to adjust and enhance the service and to further engage relevant groups and individuals.
A service based in a deprived area of a city has its offices there and holds regular meetings with community leaders and participates in and supports community events. Clients are invited with their families and friends to feedback sessions in a community hall where refreshments are provided and there is space for confidential as well as open discussion.
A service provides general employability support across a wide geographic area and with no specific industry-sector focus. The service also works with local authorities, housing associations, local NGOs such as Citizens’ Advice Bureaux and others to co-ordinate, to develop a valued presence, and to adjust services according to need.
Evidence that the service develops supportive working relationships with the local- or service-community.
Evidence or examples of how the community links co-ordinate an multiple services; and of activities that engage the relevant community.
Employees are effectively encouraged and supported to share experiences and learning and to deploy and co-ordinate multiple skills in support of participants.
- Advisors can describe how they are able to share their experiences among colleagues in a supportive learning atmosphere.
- Advisors in specialist teams (for example, employer support, in-work mentoring, vocational skill training and more) are provided with time and structured support to work together and with other teams on problems and successes. The results are recorded and applied by managers and leaders.
- Advisors can discuss problems and issues they face with managers and colleagues separately from any staff appraisal processes.
Advisor and line manager feedback
Records of Advisor involvement in service review and design.
5. Working with Groups of Participants
When services work with participants in groups, it can result in positive peer-support and achieve economies of time and effort. When it is carefully planned and sensitive to the needs of individuals in each group, group working can provide exemplars, learning and motivational experiences. Adjustment to the needs of the group provides good and relevant learning opportunities and should accommodate learners’ different social and labour-market environments. Group leaders and facilitators need to be suitably skilled and experienced to both train and make use of the competencies of person-to-person advice and guidance.
The learning needs analysis should:
– Reflect on starting points, which could include social and family context, prior experiences and qualifications, identification of additional learning needs.
– Outline what the participants would like to achieve and identify clear goals (including employment goals).
– Provide details of the group sessions, including content and techniques to be used.
The learning needs analysis or preparation should be of scope and detail appropriate to the planned events. A series of group events spanning over 12 months may have a different LNA than a one-off group event.
Post-event evaluations include member and group leader (tutor) feedback and outcome measures. The longer-term impact of group participation is evaluated after a suitable delay.
Group events effectively help participants (and employers) learn and apply new knowledge and skills. Clear expectations for behaviour, tolerance, and respect should be understood by the group from the outset.
The group events should be designed appropriately whether for face to face or online delivery and should include opportunities for active engagement, meeting learning outcomes, skills development, based on sound learning principles and providing opportunities for actionable feedback.
Group leaders and facilitators adapt their approach to individual needs within the group, responding to group and individuals’ skill and stage of learning.
Group leaders or facilitators monitor and respond well to each participant’s confidence and performance. They support individuals with low self-efficacy, recognise and provide for individuals of high-self efficacy.
Group leaders or facilitators are suitably skilled and experienced both to train and to make use of the competencies of person-to-person advice and guidance.
The group environment ensures participants feel safe and can contribute confidentially. It is conducive to ease of communication, experimentation and questioning and allows for accurate transmission of ideas, debate and materials between group leader or facilitator and participants.
Technology and media are used appropriately and accessibility requirements are met (for example WCAG, language, location and accessibility).
6. Managing Influences External to the Service
The organisation is aware of and monitors all significant aspects of its working context, for example, contractual obligations, legal regulations and duties, labour market, social contexts and other commitments. It demonstrates how it plans to respond and how it does respond to changes and to both operational and ethical challenges.
Employees at all levels are aware of the terms of the contract that affect their work, including those with an indirect influence.
Employees are aware of and able to implement regulations that pertain to their work or scope of practice.
Employees can conduct their work to meet contractual and regulatory obligations.
- A service bids for and wins a new contract. Staff at all levels can describe how they contributed to ensuring that they can perform according to the proposal and successful bid.
- A service can show that its record-keeping conforms to the requirements of the contract, is accurate and audited.
A merger between services. conforms to TUPE regulations.
Service records
Audit outcomes
Stakeholder feedback
The service can show how its discussions with commissioning agents are open, frank, and constructive. Where necessary, confidentiality is maintained, but it is complemented by sharing concerns and issues. The standard applies both to commissioning organisations and to service providers.
- A local community organisation opens discussions with a prime provider to support their efforts to work in the community and help local unemployed people get ready for employment opportunities. During discussions both sides discover small but important differences in their view of ‘readiness for work’, and the community organisation works with the staff of the prime to ensure shared understanding and goals.
- A group of prime providers join with ERSA and the IEP to discuss future provision with government departments, opening discussions that are focussed on future success rather than current compliance.
Front line staff report that they can open with staff from the commissioner about their successes and their difficulties. Managers respond constructively.
Minutes of meetings
Employee feedback
Commissioner feedback
Evidence of engagement with relevant external bodies e.g. roundtables, events
Employees can describe important influences on their work and can show that appropriate policy, procedure, or operational responses are in place.
Employees can describe their limitations or boundaries of their work and are aware of when and how to refer participants to further sources of support.
- Working in an area with a large linguistic minority population, a service recruits and trains native-language and bi-lingual support staff and advisers.
A service is commissioned to provide initial assessments and action plans for clients, but not to follow up with support or employer contact. The service responds by building up a database of services that can provide this ongoing support, and recommending suitable referral, with guidance on likely effects if referral is not made.
Service design, supported by evidence of suitable delivery
Client feedback
The organisation sets out an ethical stance and adopts suitable procedures to address ethical standards and adjusts provision accordingly. It encourages employees to consider how to respond to ethical issues; employees can show how they respond.
- A job-retention service’s goals include helping clients to increase their working hours and get promotions. The service is aware of the influence of Universal Credit taper-rates on net pay. It takes steps both to provide accurate take-home-pay forecasts, and also to support clients to make their own judgements of what is possible and desirable.
- A service finds that there are regular opportunities for work on zero-hours and casual contracts paying near-minimum wages. Such work can provide outputs that count towards their contract. However, client feedback suggests that the benefits to individuals and families are uncertain and variable. After internal discussions and further feedback, the service adopts an approach tailored to such work opportunities and designed to help clients who are most likely to benefit.
An increase in the number of referrals occurs, and advisers’ caseloads rise substantially. The service shows how it adjust to the changes, by recruiting more staff, by introducing group-working methods, or by managing waiting times or other methods.
Evidence from case reviews
Client feedback
Employee feedback
Examples of ethical considerations being enacted
Evidence of changes to policies, processes, or service
Evidence of appropriate CPD for staff
The service can describe and give instances of how it responds to the specific local circumstances in which it operates and can give examples of actual adaptations or precautionary plans responding to changes in the working context and environment.
A major local employer closes making a large number of people redundant, and their local supply-chain partners are expected to follow. The employability services recognise that they have lost important sources of jobs, and that the local economy will take time to adjust. They open discussions with the commissioners (JC+, DWP, DfE, ESFA….) to adjust the expected outputs and also to re-align the support to recognise that employment may be both harder and slower to find.
Knowing that there are changes planned to the level of social care and community-health provision in their area, a service makes plans to respond by providing additional support to its vulnerable clients.
Examples that demonstrate responsiveness
Service design processes that show consideration of external factors
Evidence of risk management
