Monitoring and Continuous Improvement

It is important to note that workforce planning is not a static process that is completed when the strategy is written and communicated. This is a dynamic process that involves constant measurement, reassessment and adjustment. Human resource and child welfare management staff must regularly analyze this information in order to anticipate or react quickly to changes in the organizational composition or climate and to make adjustments as they become necessary.

A monitoring system provides feedback on workforce performance both internally and externally. Feedback, in turn, is the driver of continuous improvement. Each goal should include measurable objectives with timeframes, actionable steps and benchmarks against which to measure progress. Determining which data are relevant and how to gather it is a critical monitoring function. It is essential that the indicators selected for measurement are valid and reliable and that one area of improvement is not negatively impacting another area.

Example: An agency may have the goal of enhancing its credibility in the community by increasing the credentials of its leadership. Highly credentialed supervisory and management staff may be recruited from outside the agency. This could have the unintended consequence of a high level of turnover and the loss of experienced front-line program staff if staff begins to feel devalued and perceive no potential for professional growth within the agency. The agency’s ability to provide effective services may be diminished, impacting its credibility and further exacerbating the issue by undermining its ability to recruit qualified staff.

Monitoring Workforce Plan Objectives

Workforce planning must monitor the effectiveness of recruitment initiatives and outcomes, retention efforts and turnover and staff development and training. Exit interviews, salary surveys and other questionnaires can track whether adjustments to the workforce plan are needed to build and retain a highly competent workforce. Measuring the completion of action steps is necessary but not sufficient. Effective monitoring requires that measurement must, ultimately, speak to effects on client outcomes. Data must be reviewed regularly and objectively to determine if the workforce strategy is improving outcomes for children, youth and families.

Example: It is not enough to assume that completing a training course will enhance performance. Whatever the worker has learned must be applied in case situations and is only valuable if it improves client outcomes. If all staff are trained in family engagement skills and apply them effectively, the agency should, in the short run, see an increase in the number of clients participating voluntarily in parenting skills programs and other preventive activities; in the long term, success will be measured in terms of reduced rates of repeat maltreatment.

Monitoring Service Delivery and Outcomes

Agencies need a systematic method for examining case processing activities to assess service delivery quality or compliance with practice standards. Quality Assurance units, Child and Family Service Reviews and audits provide data on how the workforce plans are impacting the achievement of improved outcomes for children, youth and families.

Effects of Monitoring on the Workforce

Monitoring in child welfare can have complex effects on the climate of the organization and the capacity of the workforce, depending on the culture of the agency. The need to support workers and establish a doable job has been well documented. It is ultimately important that the monitoring in child welfare conveys the common purpose of supporting workers as well as holding them accountable for service delivery.

Example: Routine failure to close investigations in a timely manner, complete case plans or make monthly contacts with clients shows that agency practice standards are not being met. But this requires further analysis of the underlying cause. It may be an indication that workforce capacity is inadequate or that workforce management is an issue at the agency, unit or individual level.

Agencies can benefit from systematic efforts to routinely: 1) monitor service delivery performance relative to established practice standards; 2) estimate if the agency’s current workforce capacity is adequate to meet those practice standards; and 3) assess how to leverage strengths and opportunities to cope with challenges and be alert to emerging issues that may promote or impede the plan’s success.

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Additional Sections:

Vision, Mission, and Values
Environmental Scan
Agency Assessment
Goals and Objectives