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Multi-agency services: frequently asked questions (managers)

My staff work in their home agencies and we only meet once a week. I'm finding it really difficult to build a sense of team spirit, what can I do about this?

Lots of teams that have set up in this 'virtual' way have concluded later that the most effective way to do team working is to share a base. The day-to-day exposure means that there are constant, informal opportunities to get to know each other and to learn about their professional and personal cultures and practices. If this is not practical, then the following ideas might be helpful:

Regular team 'away days' (at least quarterly) focusing on common training, team building, celebrating success and 'issue sharing' can help to forge a sense of team identity.
Telephone or video conferencing can help you keep in touch on a daily basis.
If you all have access to IT equipment, you could set up a password-accessible noticeboard so that team members can seek each others' support and advice at any time, with the team leader checking in every day.
Carrying out joint case-working, consultancy or training can also build alliances and generate mutual trust and respect.

What kind of team building activities should I think about to help my multi-agency panel develop and work together effectively? I only have a small training budget and limited time.

Opportunities for joint training and development can be limited under this kind of service model, because the service members are not based together and their time commitment to the service is generally focused on attending meetings and carrying out casework. However, multi-agency panels stress the benefits of developing an awareness of each other's roles and shared values and principles.

Some of this will come about simply through the process of meeting together. However, your work may get off to an easier start if you are able to invest some time up front - for example one or two 'away days' - and ideally some time on an ongoing basis to help people gel as a group. Sometimes people find consultants and trainers helpful. If you do not have the funding for this, it might be worth approaching partner agencies to see if they can contribute towards the cost or see if anything else is available locally. Alternatively, depending on your own skills-base and levels of confidence, you may be able to facilitate some sessions yourself. Ideas for starter activities include:

Ice- breakers
Brainstorm exercise: common vision - compare the aims of the multi-agency service with the aims/roles of the statutory services that people represent
Case study exercise - use a case study example (this could be an individual, a family or a setting such as a school) to work out the contribution that all service members can make in line with the stated vision and purpose of your service

You could speak to your human resources department for other suggestions for training and development.

Alternatively click to read more about team building.

How can I address the needs of my staff in relation to their continuing professional development? I only have a small training budget.

Your priority will probably be team development rather than the personal development of individual staff members. This is vital in getting a new group of people to work well together and a key part of any change management process. But your staff will, of course, want to ensure that their professional development is not put on hold while they are working in your team.

Try to keep good links in place with your partner agencies, so that your staff can still access professional development opportunities in their home agencies. This is probably going to be easier if your staff have been seconded, but may also be possible even if you have recruited them, particularly if you have agreements in place at a more strategic partnership level.
Seek agreement from your partner agencies to allow any member of your staff to access general training on offer, eg an introduction to play therapy offered by child and adolescent mental health services, or child protection training by social services.
Work with your partner agencies to ensure that multi-agency working contributes formally to people's professional development, so that the time they spend in multiagency services is recognised if they move back to their home agencies. This may mean developing performance criteria jointly and looking at how the work they do in the multiagency service maps across to their own professional frameworks. This should be made easier with the introduction of the Common Core of Skills and Knowledge and, over the longer term, the development of a single qualifications framework for the children's workforce.
Link with other teams in neighbouring authorities to share training whenever possible as this lowers costs, and offer to support other teams' training needs where you have particular expertise, in return for some training from them.

You could speak to your human resources department for other suggestions for training and development.

Two people working in this new service are refusing to work with each other because of professional differences. How can I resolve this situation?

First try to clarify and separate the personal from the professional. If the issues are around working practices or beliefs, the strategy below can help.

Many differences and difficulties in multi-agency working can be traced back to a lack of shared goals and vision. So the first step is to establish the vision and goals for the service and ensure that all members understand their particular contribution and how this differs from their previous role. You may need to work with staff individually to understand more about their skills base and areas of interest, and you will need to work with the whole group so that they can find out more about each other and explore the different professional and personal perspectives.
If problems arise, use your vision and goals as the reference point for exploring the difficulties between service members.
Don't shy away from conflict as it doesn't always have to be divisive. In some cases it becomes divisive, but you can turn this round by using it as an opportunity to develop everyone's understanding of different professional backgrounds and the range of approaches that can be helpful.
Use a case study of an individual child or family to explore how each service member would work with them. Discuss the different approaches and try to highlight where joint working will secure better outcomes and what the ground rules should be (for example sharing information and agreeing strategies beforehand so that all work is complementary).
Where there is shared management, bringing both parties together with both managers can also help to clarify the problems and build joint solutions.

Click to read more about team building.

Some of the staff in the multi-agency service are on term-time-only contracts and others are not. What's the solution?

Multi-agency panels

If your panel is based in a school or you work closely with schools, this may not be a big issue as your meetings will probably only take place in term time. However, if you are community based and meet throughout the year, it can be more of a challenge. See what the panel thinks and how many referrals you are getting. You may decide to hold your meetings in term time only. But if it is important to be able to meet all year round, you might decide to hold some meetings with fewer people there.

There is also the issue of how to provide year-round support to those children and families that need it. Try to draw up a diary of who is available when, and find out what holiday and after-school provision is available to complement the work you are doing.

Multi-agency teams/integrated services

Where people are on teachers' terms and conditions, flexibility can be introduced by offering the option to take leave during term time in exchange for availability in school holidays. This has been successfully used where team leaders are on teachers' terms and conditions and need to continue to provide leadership and management in school holidays. Some areas are considering stipulating in job descriptions that certain posts require staff to work all year round, but with an entitlement to their existing annual leave.

Some workers take on term-time-only contracts for family and personal reasons and may not be able to be flexible. The implications of this for the work of the team during school holidays must be taken into account when setting targets. You may also need to develop mechanisms for providing cover for families when ongoing support work is needed over holiday periods.

On the other side of the coin, some teams find it difficult to manage situations where staff can take their leave during school term times. This can be a difficult issue for headteachers who expect a given level of service throughout each term. In these cases such expectations need to be managed and clarified from the outset. You will need to establish the case for the team being a year-round source of support to families and children, to highlight why it is necessary to maintain a workforce during holidays as well as term time.

Sometimes, just a 'skeleton' team will be in place, especially during the summer break. If this is the case you will need to think through the implications for management and accountability (who can vouch for the work and whereabouts of the staff), staff safety (where some people may be working alone on site) and keeping workloads realistic. Try to draw up a diary of who is available when and find out what holiday and after-school provision is available to complement the work you are doing.

Some of my staff get paid more than others and this is causing discontent. What can I do about it?

Issues like terms and conditions can sometimes really get in the way of people working effectively together. Unfortunately there is no instant solution, although lots of multi-agency services have managed to find solutions.

If you don't acknowledge up-front the fact that some people might be getting paid more than others, resentment can build up leading to longer term problems.

Most managers who have dealt successfully with this recommend being open about the fact that people come from different backgrounds and have different rates of pay. They highlight the benefits of the new working situation for all staff for example the opportunity to work in a more preventive way and the wider professional development opportunities created by working with these teams. And they get everyone signed up to a common vision so that each member of the service is clear why they are there and how important their contribution is. They may use the more highly paid staff to work in more specialist areas.

Other suggestions include:

Focus on team building exercises to build unity around a common vision.
Celebrate everyone's role and contribution.
Make the most of individual skills and expertise.
Try to include opportunities for shared working and skills sharing.
Find out from your senior managers what is going on locally to help people in the children's workforce develop their skills and qualifications.

Click to read more about the government's proposals for workforce reform, including the Children's Workforce Strategy which sets out long-term aims for recruiting and retaining people in the children's workforce.

One of my staff members is seconded part-time. Who gives permission for holidays and signs off sick leave, etc?

If you have dual management arrangements in place, both managers should agree to holidays being convenient and both should be aware of sickness and other absences. The seconding agency is usually responsible for 'signing off', but good practice would be to keep the integrated service manager in the information loop.

Where confidential information about a worker (such as the reason for sickness) is involved, you should reach a local agreement on who has access to this and where it will be recorded. Your human resources department should be able to guide you on this.

A member of my team insists on working within the 'traditional' parameters of their role and refuses to work more innovatively or creatively. What should I do?

Many staff members can experience 'role strain' in multi-agency services as they adjust to new expectations and demands without the security of the systems and protocols they are used to in their home agency. A careful induction can help to overcome this, giving staff members the opportunity to explore and discuss how this role differs to their old role.

Try to give them the opportunity to spend time shadowing staff who are working in new ways and who are good advocates for it.
During the induction period, some managers tell staff to give themselves six months to adjust to the role and not to expect it to happen immediately.

You may need to manage the expectations of service users about the new roles that people are taking on, as some of these will expect a worker with a familiar title to behave in certain ways and deliver certain things.

It can also be helpful to build in a probationary period. This creates a space in which the staff member may decide that the multi-agency context is not a comfortable one, or the manager may conclude that the staff member does not perform well in a multi-agency context, with dignity remaining intact on both sides. If either party decides not to continue the arrangement, it is helpful to reassure the staff member that this does not reflect on their professional standing and that a person whose performance is exemplary in one role does not necessarily find it easy to transfer that performance into a new context.

I'm responsible for a multi-agency panel, but line-managed within a statutory agency that has a very hierarchical structure. This means it can be difficult to influence the wider corporate agenda, which I think should be an important part of my role. What can I do about this?

Most multi-agency services have some form of steering group or partnership board to monitor their work. You may want to explore opportunities for keeping your steering group informed about the work of your panel and ensure you have ways of demonstrating its success. If there are issues that can only be resolved strategically, for example working out a joint solution to the introduction of lead professionals, then try to ensure that this is raised at the appropriate multi-agency forum. These forums should become easier to identify as your local area makes the transition to becoming a children's trust.

Successful networking doesn't just happen through meetings though. You may also need to build informal networks with other agencies. Ways of doing this include:

Taking time to get to know your local partners, for example by speaking to panel members to find out what other work they are involved in and more about the strategic aims of their services
Understanding the aims and objectives of partner agencies and looking for mutual development opportunities
Publicising the work of your service, for example by speaking at lunchtime sessions or community events