fundamental retention assumptions.docx

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FUNDAMENTAL RETENTION ASSUMPTIONS

Retention must be seen as an investment that enhances the University‟s educational leadershipand administrative efficiency by enhancing the quality of the educational opportunities itprovides and by increasing the percentage of its students who take advantage of thoseopportunities and graduate in a timely manner.• The most effective retention efforts are those that enrich the educational experience. For thisreason, retention efforts are connected to fundamental educational concerns of the University.• Comprehensive, sustained strategies are required to produce significant retention results.Isolated efforts produce only marginal results.• All retention initiatives should be undertaken with explicit attention to the diversity of studentsserved by the University.• Data is critical to retention improvement. Comprehensive retention planning andimplementation require data that are readily available and usable by decision makers at thecentral and unit level.• Create a culture of high expectations regarding the success of students and theuniversity‟s commitment to excellence in undergraduate education. o Expect students to graduate in four to five years.o Expect students to take advantage of an enhanced undergraduate experience.• Recognize that academic and psychosocial factors together influence students‟ persistence decisions, and involve the Student Affairs and Academic Affairs Divisions incollaborative retention strategies.• Create an infrastructure to promote and sustain retention improvement, with primaryresponsibility shared by the Vice President for Student Affairs and Vice Provost forUndergraduate Affairs.• Appoint a campus-wide retention committee to coordinate retention efforts.• Assign responsibility for implementation of individual retention strategies to appropriateunits.• Promote enhanced access, expertise, and capacity to do timely retention data analyses

at both central and unit levels.

Update the career pathways e-tool to promote theadult social care sector, careers available within it andprogression routes to include new case studies andnew qualifications.Skills for Care September

2011Test appetite for locality based public awarenesscampaigns and report back to the DH Working Groupwith implications for resources required.Skills for Care March 2012Review and re-launch of the Care Ambassadorschemes. This will include supporting them to workalongside Jobcentre Plus advisors and the range of



reviews

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Key theme: Attracting a diverse workforcePlease cross reference with Skills for Care‟s Workforce Development Strategy -Standards,learning and qualifications, Apprenticeships and Carers sectionsOverall ambition:To grow the adult social care workforce by targeting and attracting diverse individualswith a rangeof skills that can enhance the sectorElements:ƒ . Career transitionsƒ . Older workersƒ . Encouraging volunteering and community capacity buildingƒ . Equalities and gender balanceƒ . Ensuring an appropriate workforce

Action By whom WhenTargeted approaches to young people in educationand their support networks, teachers and careersadvisors to promote increased awareness of thesector and entrySkills for Care, employers,education and careersadvisorson-goingCapture and maintain links with people in careertransition (returners, redundancies, career changers) to

promote the options of a future within social care(up-skilling, paid/voluntary work, self employment etc)Develop and test strategies for mass redundancysituationsWorkonit launchedSkills for Care, employersJobcentre Plus

April 2011March 2012Support the role of people who use services asemployers and their workforce

Launch of Personal Assistants FrameworkDevelop the level of guidance and support available topeople who use services and their carers when theybecome responsible for employing personal assistantsService user networksand groupsDepartment of HealthSkills for Care



Skills Funding AgencyTest out and develop new career pathways to takeinto account specialised job roles, individual expertise,diversity of supporting roles and new types ofemployers

Skills for CareEmployers

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Key theme: RetentionPlease cross reference with Skills for Care‟s Workforce Development Strategy -Standards,learning and qualifications, Workforce redesign, Innovation and community skillsdevelopment sectionsOverall ambition:

A rigorous approach to retaining and developing staff that encompasses a range ofgood practice

initiatives to promote organisational and individual well-beingElements:ƒ . Personal development and growthƒ . Organisational development and growth

Action By whom WhenPromote the role of implementing quality rewards andincentive packages to aid retention with examples ofgood practice and case studies from employersSkills for CareEmployersMarch 2012

Encourage leaders and managers to understandtheir role and influence in recruiting and retaining theirworkforce and enable them to access the relevanttraining and support to do thisNational Skills

Academy for SocialCare Leadership andManagement StrategySkills for Care newqualificationsRecognise that good practice in recruitment and

retention should encompass the individuals andcommunities providing additional unpaid services andsupport

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Key theme: Research and intelligencePlease cross reference with Skills for Care‟s Workforce Development Strategy -Workforce



intelligence and research sectionOverall ambition:

A continuous programme of activity to inform recruitment and retention initiativesElements:ƒ . Inform and influence national policy development, local initiatives, individual

businesses,service and workforce developments Action By whom When A baseline survey to gauge public perception of socialcare, it‟s value, understanding of job roles and careers. Utilise the outcomes of this survey to plan furtheractionsSkills for Care andDevelopmentSeptember2011

Identify gaps in research evidence that could informrecruitment and retention initiatives.Identify opportunities to fund specific research needsas identified by employers and use the outcomes toinform policy development and/or local practiceSkills for CareEmployersPeople who use serviceson-goingInterrogation of the National Minimum Data Set forSocial Care (NMDS-SC) to inform research andpolicy development, for example reliance on migrantworkers and to signpost and predict future trends anddevelopmentsSkills for Care On-going orat specifictimesrequestedQuarterlyupdatesPromote research, materials and resources toshowcase what works well in recruitment andretention via the Skills for Care Research Data-baseand timely briefings and updatesEmployersSkills for CareOn-goingvia signpostingandupdates



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Key theme: Standards, learning and qualificationsPlease cross reference with Skills for Care‟s Workforce Development Strategy -Standards,learning and qualifications sectionOverall ambition:To enable a diverse workforce, employed by increasingly new and diverse employers toaccesshigh quality learning and supportElements:ƒ . Clear information about training and funding supportƒ . Quality assuranceƒ . Effective and consistent inductionƒ . The new qualifications (QCF) underpin an employer and sector-led approachensuring thatqualifications are fit for purpose and represent value for money

ƒ . Engaging with the supply side to ensure what they offer meets the needs ofemployers andthe new agenda

Action By whom WhenPromote the use of Common Induction Standards asa basis to all entry into employment initiatives withinthe sectorExpand the use of these standards and all commoncore principles to support employers and theirworkforceSkills for Care

EmployersDWPJobcentre PlusEducation/Careersadvisorson-goingContinue to develop, manage, maintain and promoteapprenticeship programmes and demonstrate howengagement with these programmes can aiderecruitment and retention initiatives for the sectorSupport employers to understand the importance

of skills development in terms of business benefitsand retention and provide/signpost to resources topromote thisSkills for Care Signpostemployersto materialsEnsure employers have the most effective functionalskills/skills for life and employability support and that



It's important, however, not to give a volunteer more work (or more challenging work) than he

can realistically take on. The volunteer and his supervisor should talk together honestly about

how much he can sensibly hope to accomplish while still feeling he is getting the challenge orsatisfaction he desires. This is a delicate balance, and one that both the volunteer and his

supervisor should think about thoroughly.

Recognizing and thanking volunteers is also very important in convincing people to stay. This is

talked about more in #10 below.

Evaluate your program.

In a comprehensive volunteer program, you should evaluate how well volunteers are doing. This

includes how well they are meeting their goals, as well as how well their work is helping to

fulfill the agency mission. Often, volunteers (like paid staff) are evaluated every six months oryear.

An important part of the process is self-evaluation by the volunteer. How well does he feel he isdoing? What would help him work more effectively? Are there other programs or projects at the

organization that he would like to take part in? A self-evaluation is often forgotten by

supervisors, but is often enormously helpful in increasing volunteer productivity.

How do you fire a volunteer?

Sometimes, a volunteer simply isn't working out the way you hoped. Often, people are wary of

firing someone, especially when that person isn't paid. But when someone isn't doing the job they

agreed to, you need to take action. Often, you can come to an understanding of why things aren'tworking out, change those conditions, and the volunteer can turn into a fantastic resource in that

position.

But sometimes, our best efforts fail, and you need to take a person off of the job they are doing.

How do you do that? Different things may be appropriate, depending on the reason you need to

let them go. Be simple and honest. You might say:

"I think we have a job better suited to your talents than the one you are doing now."

"I'm afraid your actions aren't in keeping with the agency's philosophy. You might be happier

volunteering somewhere else."

"We've found someone better suited to the job you're doing."

"We no longer need your help on this project."

"I'm sorry, we need to let you go."

Recognize efforts and achievements.

This is one of the most important things you can do for your volunteers. It's always important to

recognize the work of your employees, and this is especially true for volunteers, who don't, after

all, receive monetary compensation for what they do. Everyone wants his or her efforts to benoticed! If someone feels important to the organization, too, it's much more likely that they will

remain an active member.



You can recognize the work of your volunteers in many different ways. Some of the more

common possibilities include:

Awards (e.g., plaques and certificates)--these can be agency awards, or you might nominate

your volunteers for other awards, such as those which are city or statewide competitions.

Celebrations, such as lunches or award dinners.

Media attention--you might have a "volunteer of the month" whom you write about in the

organization's newsletter, or you might submit a story about an outstanding volunteer to the

local newspaper or television station. Many local newspapers have regular columns celebrating

the accomplishments of community volunteers.

A personal touch. Greet volunteers by name--people appreciate being remembered.

Gratitude. Don't forget to smile and say thank you--and say it often!

Sometimes, you might ask an outstanding volunteer to take on more responsibility, or even

offer him a paid position with the agency.

Example 1: Volunteer recognition and retention

Johanna Woodchild of the Greenville County Chapter of the American Red Cross in South

Carolina knows the importance of recognizing volunteer service. She works with more than a

thousand volunteers, and celebration is a year round business for her. From Christmas drop-ins torecognition dinners, Johanna is always organizing ways to thank volunteers and allow them to

meet, have refreshments, and keep in touch with each other.

One way for Johanna to recognize her volunteers is to offer recognition ceremonies. That is what

Johanna was doing when we talked to her. She was expecting a couple hundred people to show

up the annual business meeting and recognition dinner. "We invite all of our volunteers, andthere are several steps that go along leading up to this. In the past, we've had pretty interestingentertainment, and we encourage the volunteers to bring their families. It's a volunteer committee

who selects what were going to do and what the menu is and so on. This year they decided to

dispense with outside entertainment and have a huge icebreaker game, because they think we aretoo isolated in our services and need to meet Red Cross volunteers that work in other areas of

service. We don't have very many expenses regarding the place (they had it in gyms churches,

cafeterias), or the food (donations), or the preparation of the food. The teen volunteers serve thefood. Most of our expense comes in the awards. I believe we spent twelve hundred dollars last

year. Some of them are large framed certificates, and we give quite a few plaques.

"We have so many really dedicated and hard-working volunteers. For any of them to be singled

out as being the epitome of what a Red Cross volunteer should be is something that means a lot

to them," Johanna said. "I talked with two volunteers recently about their awards, each of them

had won the Outstanding Male Volunteer of the Year Award. One of the gentlemen has his plaque on his wall in such a place that as soon as you open the door to his apartment that is the

first thing you see. The other gentleman, who is a retired businessman who has served on many

boards, is involved with us through a Learn to Swim program. He centered his plaque over hisliving room couch. So, the award itself is very prestigious, and it's a very high honor."



To recognize her volunteers, the chapter gives away various types of awards; competitive

awards, top male and the top female volunteer; diversified service volunteer, and new

outstanding volunteers. Awards to organizations and companies are also given. The number ofawards varies from eight to 50. "We give pins, year pins, (five, ten, fifteen twenty) to volunteers

who have been with us those numbers of years. This year, I was just going over the list, we have

66 people who have been active volunteers for five years. That's always the largest category butit's never been that large before. We give award recognition for people who have given the mosthours in disaster services. Last year's winner was 1,452 hours. Armed Forces volunteers are also

given certificates in recognition of hours of service given. We're retaining people better, and

that's real encouraging."

Recognition goes beyond her organization's frontiers, Johanna said. "It's an ongoing process, and

we nominate them for awards outside of Red Cross. For example, the Jefferson Award is a bigaward that is given to five people in about a three or four county area and in the past five years

we've had three winners. In the past two years our youth volunteer has been the winner of the

Youth Volunteer of the Year Award, given by Volunteer Greenville (an arm of the United Way)

and the J.C. Penny Co."

Johanna understands that recognizing and thanking volunteers is one of the most important waysto keep them. "One of the big things is the awards," said she. "We try to get people recognized in

newspapers and on TV. Every time there's a disaster that's away from here, one that is a national

level disaster, the local TV stations come over and films our national level volunteers as they

drive away in the emergency response vehicle. That's neat, to see us on the news. People feelvalued. We also have a newsletter that comes out four times a year. It's very folksy and it

highlights volunteers and tries to educate the volunteers about what the different areas do. We"re

trying to build a family, so we all need to know who each other are, and what we are doing."

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