No Surprises

I am pleased to see that the Local Government Association and the Public Service People Managers’ Association have published a “member guide” to recruiting and retaining qualified social workers. 

http://www.local.gov.uk/documents/10180/6637817/L15-70+Members+guide+on+recruiting+social+workers_06.pdf/2930746e-6ac3-41b4-a3f2-cc2560d16573 

There were no surprises to me in its core messages, which just seemed to be good commonsense. The authors of the document conclude that qualified social workers stay in council employment longer when they:

• Feel valued and supported
• Have good management, good supervision, good training
• Have a supportive team and colleagues   
• Have advice, expertise and emotional support
• Have good work-life balance and career progression
• Have clear priorities and appropriate caseloads
• Are able to practice reflectively
• Have effective administrative back up and IT systems
• Have job security
• Have access to flexible working practices

Who would argue with that? It is just good commonsense. But I fear there are lots of places where it still doesn’t happen. I wonder why?