work programme commisioning
It is interesting to note that whilst the discussion surrounding the contracting of the “Work Programme” rages on there is little or no consideration for the poor supply chain in all this.
The commissioning processes of work schemes have, unfailingly, over the past 20 years either driven or nearly driven the smaller, front line delivery organisations (ie those that actual do the job) into the ground by their complete non management of client supply flows, payment systems and administrative burdens during contract transition and start up periods.
This has a direct effect on the new contract’s performance as it can take up to 12 months for a delivery subcontractor to recover from the debilitating effects of contract transition.
Consider this. When a programme changes there is such miscommunication and confusion in job centres that a massive dip in client referrals for first 3 months of a contract is typical (during FnD 1 we were down by 950% for the first 3 months)
If the subcontractor is changing “prime” there will be a new IT interface, invoicing and admin systems which lead to at least a month’s delay in payment.
All of this comes after the subcontractor has desperately fought to hold together experienced staff who are frightened for their jobs, dealt with the cash flowing of an infrastructure that is not paying its way and suffered the massive delays, inconsistencies and poor communications issuing from the commissioning bodies and the potential primes.
And when it is all over what do you get? Basically the same programme with a different name, less money and a “black box” which JC+ rapidly start to fill with paper and all manner of Kafkaesque obstacles.
You can change the politics and primes any which way you like but unfortunately it will still be the same bunch of administrators mismanaging the process.
My 15 years experience tells me, that you are so right! Let's re-invent the wheel again! Only when the people are put at the centre of a programme will help and support be effective! That will never happen as the people that design the programmes, processes and procedures, have no idea what a disadvantaged individual wants or needs.
How refreshing would it be if the powers that be, looked at people opposed to statistics?
It'll all change again, they'll ask for innovation, yet deliver more of the same!!!
I don’t think many of us will even get to the starting gate. The pressure on many of the medium and small front line organisations has become too great and I believe many will fall before next summer.... so who exactly will be able subcontract with the primes, .......probably only those companies that currently are already delivering FND, the ones that already have had their contracts extended to meet up and overlap with the new single programme. If you are not an FND supplier, you could be in serious trouble, most other contracts are running down to end on 31.3.11,.... many providers may sink in the spring if not before.
I do believe the changes are needed, but the pace is too fast and perhaps not fully thought through.
Reaching for the Stars – Will the Welfare to Work Sector ever be able to organise a wee drink in a brewery? I mean, let’s face it – this is unbelievable. As a sub-contractor, we do not have a vast army of bid writers, partnership managers, business development executives and shiny people in nice suits. Yet we’re expected to fill in a never-ending stream of Work Programme Expressions of Interest (well over 20 so far) - all of which ask for exactly the same information but in a slightly different format; just different enough to prevent you cutting and pasting; just different enough to piss you off completely! Surely, it wouldn’t have taken much to have a standard form to fill in. And then what happens? If they like your form, they send you another one with loads more bloody questions! At least the first round only asked you if you had a bio-diversity policy and a fraud prevention policy – this time we have to include the bloody things; which means writing them. For God’s sake, we’re not Working Links, we’re a couple of fat blokes in an office; we don’t have a environmental management plan or a stakeholder engagement strategy! We have a kettle… and biscuits on a Friday. Why do you need to know what anti-virus software we use and how many square feet all our offices are? Do you really need us to list every employer we’ve worked with over the last three years and categorise the owner by star sign? Is it so important that you know the number and route of every bus that comes near our centres and the shoe size of our delivery staff? Just to make it even more annoying, prime providers are merrily ticking the boxes for all the regions, knowing they’re not going to bother tendering in most of them even if they do get through. They all want London because it makes them feel big and Liverpool and Birmingham where there’s loads of unemployed. Out here, we have villages that only appear once every 100 years (makes outreach a bit tricky). To annoy us even more, they’re holding “events”. Not a single one of these has been any damn use whatsoever as they are not in a position to tell us anymore than we already know. It’s just another day waster… although, in fairness, Reed did supply free bacon sandwiches which was nice. And I did munch my way through four bars of [REMOVED BY EDITOR] branded chocolate to make amends for their event starting half-an-hour late without explanation or apology. I hope they didn’t notice as I want to stay on the right side of [REMOVED BY EDITOR] as nothing floats my boat so much as being given the runaround and loads of work so that I can be named on their bid as “ad hoc services as required” and then never hear from them again. By the way, for those of you who like to post the “Hey, stop knocking [REMOVED BY EDITOR]” comments, how about a ceasefire? We’ll stop posting them if you get [REMOVED BY EDITOR] to stop appearing on every TV programme going. I’ve even taken to watching kids TV to stay safe but, even so, I have my suspicions about Tinky-Winky. Of course, despite the fact that they’re treating us like bloody mugs; they bang on about the Merlin standard as if somehow that’s taken us all to the Promised Land of high-quality partnerships and happy sub-contractors. Merlin my arse! There’s no magic there; just a bit of sleight of hand. They should re-name it the Paul Daniels Standard. So, I’m spending day after day being bored witless filling in forms for organisations that may not even bother bidding in our part of the world. This is bad enough but we don’t even know if we want to be involved as the DWP happily set off on its latest initiative without bothering to identify the funding mechanism. My boss may have tasked me with doing all this but she’s quite likely to turn round and say “Stuff it” when she finds out we’re not being paid until the customer has stayed in employment until the new retirement age of 84 or whatever the hell it’s rising to. You never know, though. After the Government has finally created its “More for Less” monstrosity and the lead provider has taken its 50% Management Fee and we’ve re-structured our brains to accept the lunacy of maybe being paid outcome money in a few years time; maybe – just maybe – we can recoup the money we’ve lost by becoming involved in FND only to see it vanish! The truly horrible thought is that the way the economy is going I may end up as a client on somebody’s individualised learning programme that addresses my barriers to employment, builds my confidence and teaches me interview techniques. Do you know, for all the never-ending initiatives and blue-sky thinking, I started in Welfare to Work as a client and then a tutor on the old Employment Programme of the 80s. Do you remember that? The way it worked was that, if you were out of work, you could spend your days actually gaining experience and qualifications. People gained NVQs in Catering and became chefs; Carpentry and became carpenters. You could do Arts Administration, Training qualifications; Plastering - whatever you were interested in and there was a need for. How 20 years’ of continual improvement has degenerated into sitting in a room looking through the job adverts in the local free paper and having someone check the spelling on your CV is beyond me.
Cheer up Woody, ? we know it’s devastating, we know they might get it wrong, we know the wheel is turning, but in which direction is any one’s guess!..... I just hope in fairness when all the super primes say ‘we are going to be open and honest’ about everything that they pass the ITT to all potential subcontractors as soon as they get it... ask that at the next prime meeting event that you attend !! ....along with the question 'have you had any serious dialogue or offer from any banking institutions yet and if so what were the outcomes... let’s see how honest everyone is then.
I was informed (unofficially) at an event yesterday that loans against the work programme contract can be had for around %20 above base !.... put that in to the equation and the future becomes to look like a TV sitcom. We, the mere subcontractors, will have to smile and keep on chipping away until the monsters and their master (the contract) are revealed in a few months. Thanks for a great read, now get back to work, look forward to the Friday biscuit ... and enjoy the last few months of sanity.
This did make me laugh, thanks Woody for the light relief in what is a very deep, dark wood (no pun intended) at the moment for most of us at the bottom end of the supply chain! I echo all your sentiments, I am working for a small 3rd sector organisation on a call-off basis (lost my job 5 months ago) to complete their Work Programme Expressions of Interest, like you in excess of 20 so far and have just received one which is 39 pages long! You are having a laugh surely!!!!
Woody - your comments struck a chord and brought a smile to my face and are so very true. However not sure why a4e's name has been deleted.
there has been a lot of things deleted this week and why would that be? four bars of [REMOVED BY EDITOR] branded chocolate,, is that for real they have there own brand chocolate, what ever next new deal cider,anyone for a pint of pathways larger 15% strong stuff!!
Highpark, Pathways never got anywhere near 15%. It's more like a 5% Stella - unassuringly expensive.
Someone needs to stick Grayling and Freud in a dark room with Woody for an hour. Chuck in a pile of Work Programme partnership forms and a packet of hobnobs and wait for the fireworks.
There is an alternative tactic to pleasing all Primes. Simply wait for the results of who has got onto the Framework (think it's due to be announced mid-November) and then quickly set about making friends with your area's runners and riders then. Some Primes aren't asking for proformas until after the Framework announcement so there's nothing to stop them working with you later on.
This advice is probably irrelevant as we'll all be redundant next year, aimlessly walking around the streets trying to find anyone daft enough to set up free job clubs after the coaliton have introduced their 6 month siesta of W2W provision.
Woody - thank you for such an excellent post. I'm just playing catch up while on a train where laughing at your laptop in a quiet carriage is frowned upon (apparently, I just found that out). I really think you should treat yourself to biscuits on at least two days - you really deserve it for such eloquent precis of the current welfare to work mud wrestling.
And why did the editor leave the mention of Reed's bacon sandwiches in there, and the word arse but remove A4e? Interesting! By the way, Reed actually do some decent chocolate too.
Thanks Woody - and I hope that at least one of the forms you've submitted along with everyone's shoe size does bear the proverbial fruit. :)
Thanks Woody , yes you have summed it up . We do seem to have gone backwoods. I got involved in 97 and the smaller localised provision tailored to local skills shortages and knowledge of the communities certainly seemed to make a difference .
The whole concept of the programme is worrying , big instituitions providing solutions throughout the UK? Sub-contractors with limited cash flow will crash at the early stage. As Woody said we have returned to the Job clubs of the 'Full Monty' and the Leauge of Gentlemen' is Pauline advising the coalition?
Woody Woody Woody!
How I laughed at your wonderful narrative, it so reflects it how it is!!! But ya know what? Ministers, MPs, DWP, JCP W2W providers all believe their own SPIN!!! The service given to people is so poor,I know of some providers whose advisers have 165 on their caseloads, now that's what I call service!!!!!!!! It doesn't meet needs, and why, because the know it all people in all the high places have no concept of what it's really like!
I have an idea, why doesn't some one ask the people what they need, what would help them move forward? mmm maybe they will commission yet another report that's full of stats and other useless information that no one reads! Maybe they will realise that every single statistic is actually a living breathing human being. Now that would be a good place to start!!