The Importance of Being MIND-ful of Workplace Well-being
In December we posted a ‘news’ piece exploring ACEVO’s recent report observing well-being of the workforce int he VCSE sector. Workplace well-being is of paramount importance; so-called ‘burnouts’, are explored by Eleanor Ross in her recent Daily Telegraph article. She recounts her story of striving for success in freelance journalism and how continuous pressure contributed to a decline in performance. This led to poorer wellbeing and, in her case, suicidal thoughts. The author is now slouch – she has a Master’s degree and was generally considered a high achiever.
One of the traits of working in the Voluntary Sector is that we strive to be the best in what we do. This is seemingly a good thing except that we cannot all be the best in what we do unless we are the only person doing it! That is extremely rare. A more realistic option may be to aim to be the best that we can be – and to seek support and help to enable us to do that in a manner which enables continuous effective performance. We still give ourselves the challenge of development but we also give ourselves permission to slow down the treadmill.
Stress and pressure can be helpful. Some people work best when there are deadlines. However, when it gets out of control it ceases to be helpful. It can become oppressive. So, please
Don’t get to the crisis stage
Recognise warning signs
Seek help at the earliest stage of recognition.
MIND has an excellent range of resources that can help. Mental health and well being are important matters and should not be ignored. It also vital to be MIND-ful of our colleagues and those around us and offer to support to those in need.
In future years 2020 may be seen as the “year of the pandemic”. 2021 could be the year of greater awareness of all health issues; visible and invisible – physical and mental.
GMCVO Funding for BAME-led Organisations
During our Festival of North West Thinking, a recurring theme throughout all of the events was the unequal affect Covid has had in BAME communities. Furthermore, this has meant that BAME-led voluntary and community organisations have also been under more pressure, due to the increasing demand as a result of the pandemic. Emergency funding has been granted to many organisations; however, issues have been raised over how equal that access is due to the institutional racism that exists within our sector and within funding organisations.
Please watch highlights from our first Festival of North West Thinking first event ‘Covid-19 Recovery: VCSE Leadership Voices Assembly with a Focus on Inequalities’ and in particular the point of views of Natalie Creary, Director of Black Thrive and Farzana Khan Executive Director and Co-founder of Healing Justice (HJL) who talk passionately and eloquently about inequality experienced in BAME communities and how Covid-19 has enhanced this.
GMCVO Funding:
Speaking to some of the issues raised above, last year, Greater Manchester BAME Network distributed almost £200,000 of funding to small GM BAME-led VCSE organisations affected most by Covid in order to respond to the increasing needs of BAME communities. These grants were administered by GMCVO using funding provided by Comic Relief and the National Emergency Fund.
We are pleased to share that in response to additional funding there is a second round of grants now available. The grants are aimed at finding new activities, services and any adaptation needed due to Covid-19.
On 18th December, round two of the small grants (£1000-£5000) opened; this will close on Friday 26th February 2021.
Organisations who have already received a grant are still entitled to apply for further help.
The Law Family Commission on Civil Society
The Commission on Civil Society was launched at the end of Nov 2020 and will explore many elements of Civil Society. Lord O’Donnell will chair the commission, which has 17 commissioners from across the private, public, voluntary, education and education sectors. Commissioners include: Roots Programme Director, Ruth Ibegbuna; Chief Executive of Barnardo’s, Dr Javed Khan; Clore Social Leadership Chief Executive, Shaks Ghosh; NCVO Chief Executive, Karl Wilding; and Theresa Shearer, the Chief Executive of ENABLE Scotland. The heavy lifting will be undertaken by Pro-Bono Economics, who already undertake a Charity Tracker Survey, and the work is expected to take two years.
The ears of VSNW were pricked when the Commission was launched with a speech by Oliver Dowden, Culture Secretary, who stated that the government does not know enough about Civil Society. We explored further to see if this piece of work is (a) connected to the Kruger “Mutual Aid Groups” report and (b) official in terms of status. The answer appears to be no to both questions.
So, why is the Commission doing what it is doing and how did they get a Cabinet Minister to attend the launch? The answer goes beyond Lord (Gus) O’Donnell – the former Cabinet Secretary. The trail leads all the way back to Stockport.
The Commission is nothing to do with legal provisions. It is funded by the Law Charitable Trust. This is the same trust that gave the Lowry a donation of £1m towards a gallery, which is now named in its honour. The Trust is the philanthropic vehicle of Andrew Law who was born in Cheadle Hulme and educated there. He has gone on to be a hedge fund manager and now is a hedge fund owner. From his personal wealth (not via the Trust) he is a major donor to the Conservative Party – hence the ability to connect with a Cabinet Minister.
There will be calls for evidence in the New Year. VSNW will monitor these and share them as they appear. The North West connection is strong (the Trust supports other bodies in the North West) which may create opportunities to influence.
Please see here for initial brief for the commission.
Andrew Rainsford, Research and Policy Officer VSNW
Workforce Well-being in the VCSE Sector.
Workforce Well Being – ACEVO
ACEVO, in conjunction with Mental Health Foundation England, has published a significant report exploring the well being of the workforce in the VCSE sector. The report can be found here.
The main findings are grouped under four headings:
What makes it tough: the vulnerability of charity staff where the commitment and pressures brought by lived experience/personal connection or even a drive for social justice all combine to over burden the workforce – who may not realise that they are over burdened.
The impact on leaders with issues around the need to balance authentic honesty, with taking very difficult organisational decisions that can have an impact on people’s lives. Holding responsibility for workforce wellbeing, and the desire to compensate for the challenges of working in the sector, can be draining for CEOs. The scale of the challenges can feel overwhelming, and it is easy for leaders to feel they are ‘not coping’.
When the ground shifts which has become apparent as the operating environment for charities suddenly changed. Many teams and communities are experiencing deep sadness, loss, isolation and fear as they witness growing need and falling income as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Governance and strategy which states that the sector will not be able to meet challenges unless the mental health of staff and leadership is prioritised. Boards play an important role in highlighting mental health as an organisational priority if organisations are to do their best work, ensuring that leaders know they are not alone by giving them the permission they need to reach out and share the load.
The report explores many issues that are too often put into the “too difficult”, “tomorrow” or “to introduce this may imply weakness” piles. 2021 will continue to bring pressures. Trustees and CEO’s are urged to take time out to read this report and consider the impact on their organisation.
Andrew Rainsford, Policy and Research Officer, VSNW.
Health & Social Care Funding Reform
Health and Social Care Funding Reform
The Sunday Telegraph, 22nd November, carried an article from Lord Forsyth of Drumlean, chairman of the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee and who’s employment history includes being a minister under Margaret Thatcher’s government. The Telegraph newspaper is a former employer of the current Prime Minister Boris Johnson (he was a columnist in the period immediately prior to winning the election in 2019) and sometimes used as a kite flying venue. It is worth exploring what the article says.
There are two main proposals. Firstly, there should be provision of emergency funding now to meet the growing demand for services and give care workers a much needed pay rise. This is vital in ensuring people get the care they need.
And, then by the end of the parliament there should be a commitment to making care (as opposed to accommodation costs for residential care) ‘free at the point of need’, just like the NHS.
The author then goes on to say:
“Crucially, these changes in funding should be made alongside bold reform in how the system works, with steps taken to join up care with the NHS, and to help keep as many people in their homes for as long as possible.
Of course, all of this will not come cheap.
To deliver these two big changes we will need to spend over half as much again on care as we do today by the end of the parliament. In time this will undoubtedly require us to find additional tax revenue.
But, after decades of underinvestment in care, loosening the purse strings was always going to be required. In truth, the cost of these measures by the end of the parliament would amount to £9bn per year, compared to the furlough scheme which is likely to cost about £6bn per month.
Moreover, investment in social care will not only cost money but save money too by freeing up capacity in the NHS which can be redeployed to deal with the backlog created by the pandemic.”
Those of us with long memories may recall that we have been somewhere near here before. In the Blair years “local strategic partnerships” were encouraged in which all statutory bodies were encouraged to work together to provide joined up services. So, care beds and care provisions were to be made available which would enable “bed blocking” to be resolved. In turn, this would then mean that hospital beds were available for people who needed them – and not care beds. It will be interesting to see if the second proposal gains traction and, if so, how? It is certainly one for the sector to keep an eye on.
The first proposal has financial implications. If there is increased funding it will go to commissioning bodies. They will then have the choice to pass on the additional funding, in the form of increased contract prices linked to remuneration of delivery staff or retaining it to use elsewhere. This is something where there does need to be a sector wide approach. Staff remuneration is a key factor in staff retention. Increases at the lower end of pay structures is a good thing in this regard. However, the danger of a flatter pay structure is that there is less willingness to progress, which may affect working experience in key management roles in the future.
Andrew Rainsford Policy & Research Officer VSNW
To note: The Telegraph operates behind a paywall and therefore access to the article requires membership or signing up for a one month free trial.
Action Planning's Top Tips According to CEOs
Action Planning is a charity consultancy that has just celebrated 30 years of operation. Over the period it has changed style of operation and currently operates in a federated model with a network of 150+ associates – all of whom are experienced practitioners. Recently they have undertaken a survey of Chief Executive Officers – with one question asking for a “top tip” to be shared with others.
The top tips can be found here Action Planning’s Three Minute S urvey | Insights | Action Planning
Many of the comments revolve around health and well being – for both the staff team and the CEO. In many ways this is obvious but the longer that we operate in crisis mode the greater the danger of forgetting this.
Possibly the one that struck me the most was “focus on your core mission and cut out the fluff!” This is difficult as we all work in a sector that tries to do as much as it can and then, invariably, endeavours to do more. As we move towards 2021 we need to look at what we need to do and then to do it well. If this means shedding some of the “want to do” activities, we use our networks to minimise the impact when we do so. Interestingly this same message, of sticking to core activities, appeared in a business strategy seminar VSNW attended in Nov 2020.
We are not aware of a mechanism which looks like a sector business broking service, in which those needing to shed “want to do” activities can be connected with those who could take them on.
If you think that there may be a market for such a service please email, in confidence, Andrew.rainsford@vsnw.org.uk
Coping with Covid-19 in the workplace: A personal story
Sharon Martin, Head of Finance at Cats Protection has written a blogpost, which coincides with Charity Finance Week, offering an insight into how her team coped with the pandemic.
Sharon offers a personal insight, notably dealing with the key themes of:
Accounting and forecasting,
teams fatigue,
working remotely and
new routines
She explores some of the struggles that have come with being forced to suddenly work from home, from a professional and also personal stance.
See the full article here.
Bus Loads of North West Thinking
Bus Loads of North West Thinking: Third Event Summary
The third event of VSNW’s Festival of North West Thinking took place on 12th November. It incorporated the Annual General Meeting which, whilst not intense in thinking, was certainly thought provoking – VSNW is bucking the trend and starts the new governance year with more trustees that it either started, or finished, the outgoing governance year with. Trustees were recruited by a combination of direct approach and increased awareness of the need. A forward vision was laid out and responses ensued. VSNW is not complacent – the constitution of the organisation does allow for more trustees than we have – even with our enhanced numbers.
Warren Escadale, Chief Executive VSNW, set the scene for the rest of the evening with his AGM talk. In his presentation he explored four key points.
Increased connectivity within sector
Enable influence for the VCSE Sector
Demonstrate value of VSNW and the sector as a whole
Building an effective NW leadership organisation
For organisations other than VSNW these can translate into
Be effective in your market area
Set out your USP when delivering work and activity
Demonstrate your added value in contracts/commission
Strive for excellence in what you do and learn from needed improvement.
He concluded by saying that there is no going back. We might not have arrived at the nirvana of the “new normal” (and it may not be the land of milk and honey when we get there) but the old normal is gone; never to return.
If you were not at the AGM you missed some gems of thought. For those with long memories there was a network of minibuses, in Manchester, branded “Little GEMS”. The main event moved us into full sized double deck bus loads of thinking. There was standing room only on some sections of the route – such was the quantity of thought stimulated by many speakers.
At the beginning of the route was Elly de Decker – the England Director for the National Lottery Community Fund. She steered the thinkers on a carefully plotted route through past occurrences, but began the journey with a look forward. The next stop indicator included the announcement that emergency funding is coming to an end, and with longer term programmes to recommence; they will be looking for partnership working. They want to provide funding for both activity delivery and for organisations aligning themselves to the new normal.
After this presentation there was a slight pause for a driver change. Paul Streets - CEO, Lloyds Bank Foundation, took over the conference wheel and a change in driving style was noted. Excellent visuals aided the journey which took us on an alternative view of the pandemic; passed via specific landmarks of:
Meeting the moment – switching to digital where possible
Concerns now – concern that some funders will think digital is the cheap way forward whereas face to face will be more effective in many cases
Opportunities – flex in operation and the recognition of the “sector small”
Concerns about Future – the well-being of leaders and staff/volunteer teams
Funding – short term fine but longer term is needed.
This section of the journey ended at the destination of “Gloom and Bloom or merely Doom?”. This is an interesting philosophical question and one prompted by questions to both drivers who had piloted the bus, in a smooth yet challenging manner, to this point.
To allow recharging (this was an electric bus – powered by zoom, powerpoint, keyboards and participation) questions were taken – which related, in the main to definitions and points of clarification.
Sarah Longlands, Director of IPPR North then took the wheel and piloted the bus around the scenic peaks and valleys of the voluntary sector. She highlighted the need to look back to look forward – the resultant panoramic view enhances the journey experience. IPPR have just the view finder to enable this as they have produced a Third Sector Trends Survey every year since 2008. She then used a side panel of the bus to post an advert for a long term barometer.
Sarah’s input encouraged those on board to think critically and, in particular
Avoid false optimism that oversimplifies the complexity.
Note that policy rhetoric overlooks the history of austerity
The implicit reliance on philanthropy and good will. The government is not just an enabler; it is also a government who is a direct financial contributor – in terms of grants but also in terms of commissioning landscape.
React to the emphasis on big ideas driven by a central state eg. Kruger report – focus on big society – we are searching for central idea.
Question the economic model. Northern powerhouse has productivity in its heart. The discussion is always ‘if we could just increase productivity we then will have the excess funds and headroom to fund the things we think are important like education and health.’ This is the wrong way round. We need to invest in people and the communities where they live. Invest so people can have better lives – so they can live in decent houses, decent education which will lead to increased productivity. With this statement she steered the bus into a virtual circle.
Evening was approaching and traffic on the road was beginning to build up. A different style of driver took over. Neil McInroy, Chief Executive of CLES took us through the clutter of traffic in a determined driving style that left little to chance. Had there been an audio link into other vehicles, the drivers of those would have heard a determination to reach the destination, on time, intact, and with those on board fizzed up and ready to go.
He retook the fares (or passes) with the comment
This is a deep moment of societal change. We need to wake up and break out of the rollercoaster – and off we went. We travelled the length of the A6 as it runs through the North West – with important recognition of areas to the west who are more impacted by the A51 and the A57 – all roads with ascending and descending hills
We were treated to a treatise setting out the depth of the crisis; we were treated to an explanation of The Good The Bad and The Ugly. And, when one thought that ammunition was spent, we were told that the future is not about the sector filling in the gaps of failing public service, or an economy gone wrong. Our task is to build what we do. To deliver more care. To start getting involved in retail and manufacturing and create community wealth. We need to get off the idea that we fit in-between the public and private sectors.
Those on board then were made aware by Dr Sanjiv Lingayah – Lead Author on Home Truths Report – that there were still seats on the bus and efforts had to be made to increase the range of those on the journey. He presented the challenging questions of how can we support and empower the BAME led voluntary sector? And why has this part of the sector been excluded to date?
He brought us up short with an anecdote clearly setting out inequality and lack of listening. Bluntly, if a bus is going to run efficiently it has to be full – regardless of background; ethnicity or anything, (switching out of the bus travel analogy there are no private sector bus services who would refuse travel based on race; ethnicity; sexuality; disability or age – so why is this happening in the VCFSE sector)?
Dr Sanjiv positioned the bus at the terminus of the journey by setting out where to walk when leaving the vehicle for today. He charged all passengers to sit with our failure and uncomfortable ideas whilst recognising we all make mistakes. Then ask why are we here as a sector? The sector should be about restoring wholeness to society, focusing on social justice. This means serious corrective action but laced with HOPE - even in the carnage of this year and black and brown bodies suffering – it’s really important to recognise the power and agency of people discriminated against, this is one aspect of hope.
The journey concluded with an exhortation, from the Chair of VSNW to take practical actions away and make a difference.
Meanwhile, the VSNW bus was metaphorically driven to the depot and got ready for the next journey – Metro Mayors on 9th December – departing from a zoom lounge near you at 16.15 for an hour.
Andrew Rainsford Research & Policy Officer VSNW
Working with ex-offenders and those at risk of offending?
VNSW attended the virtual seminar of Safety Culture. Billed as “Surviving or Thriving” and found via a business service website we had hoped that this would provide some applied business advice which could be shared with the wider sector. This was not the case – something quite unexpected resulted.
The first speaker was John MaCavoy – a former career criminal from London who discovered indoor rowing when in prison. For reasons explained in the presentation this developed into Iron Man participation which, in turn, led to sponsorship from Nike to enable him to share his highly motivating story. The presentation, including questions and answers, can be found here.
For those working with the hard to reach, at risk of (re)offending this could be an invaluable presentation. There are other speakers. However, the entire event lasted for 4.5 hours and was far too long. The astronaut (Kelly) and pilot presentations (Sullenberg) are also useful to watch as they have a combination of drama and mentoring.
There is a need to register. We can report that the in-box has been free of marketing emails since we registered.
ENDS
About Safety Culture
Safety Culture is a business that started in a domestic garage in Australia a decade ago. They produce check lists for safety critical processes and now have a world wide, blue chip, customer base. The introduction to the seminar provided a brief overview of how the company developed.
About VSNW
Voluntary Sector North West is a regional infrastructure body for the North West of England. Providing support for local CVS bodies, with an element of direct project delivery, VSNW works with regional statutory bodies to advance the case for the Voluntary Sector.