When a temporary manager arrives to take charge of an efficiently run project, the temptation is just to keep things ticking over. After all it may be hard to sell change to staff who are comfortable with the way they are working.
But when James Pearce, unit manager of The Grove, a service for people with learning difficulties run by Hampshire Council, was appointed to cover while the incumbent manager took a year's career break, he was told he was expected to move things on.
Against the backdrop of the Valuing People white paper with its emphasis on person-centred planning, Pearce's task is to continue the work begun by his predecessor to transform the unit into a resource for service users. He explains: "This is a highly regarded service but I haven't been given the luxury of coasting for a year. My job is to evaluate what we're doing now and look at where we want to be in five years' time. It's about strengthening our links with other services such as education and how we support people with complex needs."
The Grove is now open at weekends for use by a local group for disabled children and by Mencap. There is also a shift towards staff going out into the community to work with service users and towards greater differentiation between the roles of the nine-day service officers.
For example, one officer is developing her expertise in supporting the transition of young people from school to adult life. Her role in future might involve enabling young people to visit The Grove while they are still at school so that they can get an idea of what is on offer. She might also do one-to-one work to help young people develop their personal skills.
Pearce is encouraging staff to build on their strengths and develop specialist expertise. He observes: "The person-centred approach of Valuing People works for staff as well as for service users. It's about looking at where staff themselves want to be in five years and how they perceive that fitting in with the development of the unit."
Carrying everyone with him, not just the people most obviously likely to contribute to the transition, has been something of a challenge. "You can't afford to give up on a member of your workforce. Ultimately that would limit the service and leave a difficult legacy at the end of your contract."
Pearce believes it is critical to time the introduction of changes carefully. "When you come into a post it's important to see how things are working and to avoid imposing a strategy. You have to encourage people to come up with ideas and agree changes with staff. If you've only got a year there's a temptation to think you have to make changes straightaway." On the other hand there's also a risk of leaving it too long to voice criticisms which can make it harder to challenge practices that need to change.
He pays tribute to the support of his manager and staff. "Things have happened faster than I would have expected. This is a skilled and experienced staff team and there is a lot of enthusiasm to keep things moving."
As a new person with a fresh perspective, Pearce can do things
that might be tricky for a person who has been managing a service
for a while. "In my previous job as manager of a day centre for
people with mental health needs there were changes that needed to
be made but I wasn't the person to do it. That's why I decided it
was time to move on. Here, I find I can ask the difficult questions
that someone who's grown up with the service couldn't ask."
Curriculum Vitae
Name: James Pearce.
Current job: Manager of the Grove day services
unit (learning difficulties), Hampshire Social Services.
Qualifications: Diploma in Social Work.
Last job: Manager of day service unit (mental
health).
First job: Community support worker
(Mencap/Manpower Services Commission).
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