Leading by example

The relevance of the quality of human resource management to staff
morale, effective recruitment and reduced turnover is clear, yet in
every part of the social care sector human resource management
remains underdeveloped.

So Scie has established a programme of work on human resources with
a particular focus on leadership and the nature of leadership in
social care. It has launched two training packs: “Learning
Organisations: A Self-assessment Resource Pack” and “Leading
Practice: A Development Programme for First Line Managers”.

The resources are based on the premise that informed
decision-making can best take place in the climate of a learning
organisation and that, as the arbiters of practice standards, first
line managers are key individuals in a social care organisation.
Yet they are often given little help or recognition in undertaking
this role.

The concept of a learning organisation has been developing in the
past 30 years as attempts have been made to identify the key
characteristics of successful organisations. The principal features
of learning organisations are structure, organisational culture,
information systems, human resource practices and leadership.

The Learning Organisations pack has been designed to enable social
care organisations and service users to assess what a learning
organisation is and to what extent you are working in one or
receiving service from one. It also provides guidance on creating a
culture of learning in the workplace.

The Leading Practice pack recognises the vital role played by first
line managers as leaders of practice and invites them to develop
their leadership and practice skills through learning together in
the workplace.

It is designed to be run in-house to ensure organisational as well
as individual learning. The programme contains 12 sessions
comprising activities and discussions, with each session focusing
on a different theme.

Patricia Kearney is director of practice development at
Scie