Multi-agency services: building the work group

Building the work group covers both the logistical process of identifying resources, getting them on board and sorting out any workforce issues, as well as the longer term and perhaps more complex challenge of helping a group of individuals to develop and work effectively together. This section covers some of the key aspects:

• Staffing
  
  
• Location
  
  
• Workforce issues such as secondment or recruitment, terms and conditions, retention and career development
  
  
• Line management, supervision and performance appraisal
  
  
• Team building
  
  
• Training opportunities
  
  
• Managing group dynamics

There are a whole range of practitioners who can contribute to multi-agency working in support of children and families with additional needs. There are also a variety of membership criteria in operations across different multi-agency service models. Click here for more details of the staffingconsiderations in the different settings.

Lead professional

Many of the children and young people you work with will have multiple additional needs which require integrated support, coordinated by a lead professional. Therefore, it will be important that practitioners in multi-agency settings can be lead professionals when necessary. Click to read more about the lead professional.

Location

The right location, and a well-resourced base, is an important consideration for multi-agency services. Should the service be run from a school-based setting or a community setting? What about virtual teams, where practitioners remain in their home agency location rather than be co-located with their multi-agency service colleagues?

The location you choose will partly depend on the practical issue of what is available when you are setting up the team. However, whichever setting is chosen, it helps to have:

• Desk space and equipment for all team members
  
  
• A regular venue for holding meetings
  
  
• A welcoming and well-resourced therapeutic space, ideally two rooms, for undertaking group and individual work with children and parents
  
  
• For multi-agency services based in schools or early years settings - a dedicated phone line (for parents who wish to contact the service directly)

These accommodation considerations will also be the same for multi-agency panels who may not have a permanent base.

Click to read about the advantages and disadvantages of different locations.

Workforce issues

Managers tell us that the key issues in relation to staffing a multi-agency service are deciding whether to second or recruit staff, sorting out terms and conditions and assisting retention and career development. Click on the links to find out more.

Members of a multi-agency panel remain employed by and based with their home agency, which generally means there are no pay or terms and conditions issues to resolve. However, it can still be helpful to have an agreement in place with the home agency, rather like a secondment agreement, which sets out for example:

• A commitment to regular attendance at panel meetings
  
  
• An agreement that in the case of non-attendance, members should send a 'briefed' substitute to meetings or a written report
  
  
• A description of their role and expected tasks
  
  
• An acceptance to own and be accountable for any agreed actions
  
  
• Agreement on amount of casework time, where applicable
  
  
• Line management and supervision arrangements between the two agencies, in relation to work for the panel
  
  
• Agreement on case recording and monitoring procedures

Line management, supervision and performance appraisal

These are distinct activities which, in a multi-agency service, may be carried out by different managers. The National Evaluation of Children's Trusts (2005) found that practitioners already involved in multi-agency working, such as Sure Start, were familiar with dual line management and supervision arrangements. However, practitioners who were unfamiliar with multi-agency working were often unsure of how this would work in practice. 

Practitioners thought that there was potential for tension between the needs and expectations of the line/team manager and the professional supervisor. They felt that clear and open communication, trust and respect of professional expertise will be required to prevent conflict and to achieve professionally appropriate supervision. It is suggested that managers will need to have high performance expectations of all professionals in their team, and will have to be the final arbiter in any dispute. Managers will need to be open, trusting, but also assertive.

Click here to read more about line management, supervision and performance appraisal in different multi-agency settings.

Team building

Building a good team spirit helps address some of the key challenges that hold back multi-agency working. There are a number of ways of doing this.

Some people opt for outward-bound, activity-based team development, which can vividly demonstrate the importance of working collectively. However, it can sometimes be difficult to link what is learned during this kind of exercise back to the stated purpose of the team or organisation. For a team leader attempting to establish a common vision and help people take up roles to support that vision, an effective way forward can be through practical exploration of the challenges involved. A helpful starting point can be to understand more about the concept of organisational culture. You may also want read more about the conceptual and practical considerations for team building.

Training opportunities

Joint training is widely viewed as one of the most effective ways of helping practitioners work more collaboratively, as well as developing the capacity and capability of the service. Click for more on training opportunities.

Managing group dynamics

Leaders and managers will need to be aware of group dynamics to enable everyone to have a say, get involved and have their particular contribution identified and valued. Issues, such as those described throughout this section, can be addressed proactively as part of the induction process or through introductory training, for example by:

• Initiating discussions of inevitable issues which arise in multi-agency groups
  
  
• Asking the whole staff to discuss what would be unacceptable behaviours related to group working
  
  
• Using these as part of the 'ground rules' for working together
  
  
• Using exercises and case studies to tackle issues in group dynamics

The crucial role of management was highlighted in the National Evaluation of Children's Trusts (2005). Managers will need to acknowledge practitioners' professional roles and expertise, protect professional boundaries, allocate cases according to the skills of staff in multi-agency teams and trust professionals within their teams. They will need to balance recognition of the distinct skills and expertise of the different professionals in their teams with a requirement for common skills.