Individual Work Planning and Performance Review Are Key Elements of Southwark Adult Social

Individual work planning and performance review are key elements of Southwark Adult Social Care’s business deliveryand workforce development processes.

Theseoperate in conjunction with the council’s corporate Performance Management Scheme which sets out the overarching principles foreffective management and development of the workforce across all areas of thecouncil.

The work planning process in Adult Social Care (ASC) is shaped by the priorities described in the following key documents which all employees should have the opportunity to read and understand prior to their individual work planning meeting taking place with their manager at the beginning of each new financial year:

• Southwark Council’s Fairer Future Promises
• Adult Social Care Vision Statement Objectives and Priorities
• Own Service Plan
• Own Team Plan

The key benefits of effective work planning and performance review are that these processes:

• ensureeach employee’s day to day actions are directly connected to the strategic goals of the organisation and ultimately to the delivery of improved outcomes for adults with care and support needs and for carers;

• make clear what is expected of each individual member of the workforce; spotlighting at the same time any new knowledge and skills an employee needs to gain in order to develop or stretch their capabilities;

• recognise personal aspirations and career goals, helping managers to support employees in taking steps towards the next stage in their professional development;

• generate useful data about whole workforce development needs that can be used to inform the annual training needs analysis and training delivery plan for ASC;

• supportmanagers in making evidence based decisions abouteligibility for incremental salary progression;

• encourage the retention of Adult Social Care’s most important assets – the experience, skills and talents of its staff – by recognising and valuing the contribution and achievements of every individual member of staff.

My Individual Work Planis a recording template which isdesigned to support these processes by capturing the conversations each employee in Adult Social Care can expect to have with their line manager to:

• plan for the contribution they will make over the year ahead towards the business objectives that have been agreed for theirteam and service area;

• identify their personal learning and development needs in relation to these objectives as well as their broader professional development and career progression goals;

• formally review their performanceat the midyear point and againat end of the year.

The template ismade up of 5 sections (below) that are completed by the employee and their line managerat key points over the course of the year:

1. My Profile
2. My Objectives and Extension Targets
3. My Personal Development Plan
4. My Midyear Review
5. My End of Year Review

At the core of the work plan are the individual objectives and extension targets that the employee will have the opportunity to discuss and agree with their manager at the beginning of each year.

Once agreed these should be routinely discussed during planned supervision meetings throughout the year so that evidence of achievement can be documented along the way and any additional needs for support or training can be identified and planned for in a timely manner.

The work plan template has been formatted in a way that makes it easy to use, allowing extra rows to be created or removed whenever there is a table.Its value however will only be as good as the quality of the conversations that take place between employees and line managers when planningfor and reviewing its contents.

1. My Profile

This is intended to be a short personal profile which the employeeshould complete at least one week before their individual work planning meeting takes place sothat the information can be shared in advance with theirline manager.

These detailsshould be used tohelp shape a tailored conversation about the content of the employee’s individual work plan, taking account of the employee’s relevant work historyto date and in the context oftheir career or other professional development plans or aspirations.

Areas to include within the profile:

• the stagethe employee has reached in their job or career progression
• their interests, aspirations and professional development goals
• their self assessment of strengths and areas for development
• their ideas for maintaining or improvingtheir own motivation and performance
• anyideasthe employee has for service improvement, no matter how small the step

1. My Objectives and Extension Targets

During thework planning meeting the employee and their manager shoulddiscuss and agree a set of individualobjectives that supportthe priorities and objectives described in theirown team and service plans.

Typically around eightobjectives would be the norm but this can vary up or down depending upon scope and complexity.

When formulating objectives care is needed to avoid duplicatingduties that are already described inan employee’sjob description,contract of employment, or which are regulatory requirements.Thesearegivens and do not need to be restatedin the work plan as objectives or targets.

A well formulated objective is SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Timely).

It is best to set objectives that can,as far as possibly, be reasonably distributedthroughout the year so that the employee’s workload can be evenly spaced and achievements can be continuous and motivational over time.

The council’s Performance Management Scheme also specifies that every employee should be seta number of Extension Targets.An extension target should specifically seek to challenge and stretch the employee’s potential beyond what they are already capable of doing.

In the same way that their individual objectives are linked to these, an employee’s extension targets must also supportthe delivery of their team and service plans and be realistically achievable within the time and resources available.

Extension targets may require specific learning and development inputs to be arrangede.g. to enable the employee to develop new knowledge or skills or to study for a post-qualifying award.

Progress in relation to objectives and extension targets should beregularly discussedduringplanned supervision meetings.The work plan template provides a column to record evidence of achievements as this is gathered during supervision sessions or at other times which can then be used to informthe discussionswhich take place at theemployee’s midyear and end of year review meetings.

1. My Personal Development Plan

My Personal Development Plan (PDP) should describe the key learning and development inputsneeded to support the employee in achieving their objectivesand extension targets as well as fostering theirbroader continuous professionaldevelopment (CPD).

The PDP should also consider how to support an employee to remain effective and motivated in theircurrent role if they are satisfied with this and do not see further career progression as an immediate goal.

When formulating the PDP the employee and line manager should take opportunities to think creatively about the variety of ways in which the employee’s knowledge and skills could be enhanced or their experience broadened; including actions which the employee can take for themselves as well as measures the employer is responsible for arranging.

Learning and development can be advanced through different routes and activities not only by attendance at formal training events alone, for example by researching a professional issue, shadowing a more experienced colleague, or by becoming involved in a service development project.

A clear distinction should be made in the PDP between training or learning events that are mandatory and those that are desirable or optional.

Allplanned elements included within an employee’s PDP must be justifiable in terms of the calculated cost and benefits to the service.

Where investment is made by the council in their training and development, employees will be expected to use as part of their core duties the additional knowledge, skills and, where relevant, any further qualification which they have gained, to improve outcomes for service users and carers.

Regulated professionals:

For those employees who are members of a regulated profession (e.g. Social Worker or Occupational Therapist) the PDP should take account of any regulatory requirements for training and CPD, particularly where this is necessary to support renewal of registration with their professional regulator or to maintain the currency of a post-qualifying award such as Best Interest Assessor (BIA) or Approved Mental Health Professional (AMHP).

In addition:

Social Workers: should include within their PDPany profession specific CPD needs in relation to the Knowledge and Skills Statement for Social Workers in Adult Settings and to theProfessional Capabilities Framework.

Occupational Therapists: should include within their PDPany profession specificCPD needs in relation to the Professional Standards for Occupational Therapy Practice.

Non-regulated professionals:

For those employees who belong to a non-regulated profession (e.g. Visual Impairment Rehabilitation Worker)the PDP should take account of any CPD standards recommended by their professional bodies.

NB. Team managers are responsible for collating their team’s identified learning and development needs and obtaining approval from service managers for these to be taken forward. This information will be used to inform the Organisation Transformation Team’s annual Training Needs Analysis exercise and associated development of the Learning and Development Plan for Adult Social Care.

1. My Midyear Review

Half way through the financial year a midyear review meeting between the employee and their manager should be held to review and documentevidence ofachievements to date and to confirm any different focus or priorities for actions during the remainder of the year.

The midyear review should include consideration of:

• evidence of outcomes and achievements

• areas of practice or tasks which have been performed well and any that have presented challenges
• factors that have helped or hindered success;
• reflections on what could have been done or approached differently;
• the impact of completed learning and development events or activities
• adjustments needed to the work plan due to changing circumstances;
• amendments needed to the PDP in the light of one or more of the above factors.

Prior to this meeting taking place the employee should completeaself-assessmentin the relevant section on the template at least one week beforehand so that this can be shared in advance with their line manager.

The employee may subsequently wish to amend their self-assessment in the light of feedback and reflections during the review meeting, after which the template should be passed over to their manager to finalise the line manager’s assessment.

Additional issues:

In this section the line manager is expected to record any impact on the work plan that has arisen from any of the following factors:

• Sickness absence (the employee’s record of all sickness absence taken during the year to date must be noted here (i.e. total numbers of days/episodes);
• Any absenteeism resulting from other reasons;
• Unexpected changes of role or responsibility;
• Other factors beyond the employee’s control e.g. service reorganisation.

Any differences of opinion and how these will be resolved:

It may be the case that an employee and their line manager will each hold a different view about one or more aspects of the employee’s performance. The aim should be to reach joint agreement about this.

If after further discussion there remains a significant difference of opinion which cannot be resolved by the two parties alone, this section should be completed by the line manager describing what steps will be taken to resolve the differences in question. This could include a review of the issues by the ‘grandparent’ manager.

Within two weeks of the Midyear Review meeting taking place all relevant sections of the work plan template should have been completed and the interim report signed and dated by both the employee and their line manager.

1. My End of Year Review

Towards the end of the year a final review meeting between the employee and their manager should be held to review and record all progress achievedthroughout the year against the individual objectives and targets.Prior to this meeting taking place the employee should completeaself-assessment in the relevant section on the template at least one week beforehand so that this can be shared in advance with their line manager.

The end of year review discussion should include consideration of:

• evidence of outcomes and achievements

• areas of practice or tasks which have been performed well and any that have presented challenges
• factors that have helped or hindered success;
• reflections on what could have been done or approached differently;
• the impact of completed learning and development events or activities;
• elements of the work plan or PDP that need to be carried forward into the next financial year.

The employee may subsequently wish to amend their self-assessment in the light of feedback and reflections during the review meeting, after which the template should be passed over to their manager to finalise the line manager’s assessment.

Additional issues:

In this section the line manager is expected to record any impact on the work plan that has arisen from any of the following factors:

• Sickness absence (the employee’s record of all sickness absence taken during the year must be noted here (i.e. total numbers of days/episodes);
• Any absenteeism resulting from other reasons;
• Unexpected changes of role or responsibility;
• Other factors beyond the employee’s control e.g.service reorganisation.

Any differences of opinion and how these will be resolved:

It may be the case that an employee and their line manager will each hold a different view about one or more aspects of the employee’s performance. The aim should be to reach joint agreement about this.

If after further discussion there remains a significant difference of opinion which cannot be resolved by the two parties alone, this section should be completed by the line manager describing what steps will be taken to resolve the differences in question. This could include a review of the issues by the ‘grandparent’ manager.

Within two weeks of the End of Year Review meeting taking place all sections of the work plan template should have been completed and the final report signed and dated by both the employee and their line manager.

My Individual Work Plan – staff guidance notes v. April 2017Page 1