Drive For Change Website
"The process of employee engagement in Holloway
prison has helped to turn around our organisation.
Holloway prison now has vastly improved relations
between the management team and trade unions and
this more consensual approach to the running of the
prison is helping to produce real gains for prisoners.
In taking part in this project I wanted to not only
improve industrial relations but to implement a new
action plan on reducing self harm called Assessment,
Care in Custody, Teamwork (ACCT) within the prison."
Tony Hassall, Governor.
National workforce policies…
The project run at Holloway Prison built on the Prison Service's national People Strategy launched in 2004. Central to this strategy is a process of employee consultation using an annual survey which seeks to identify issues of staff concern and ideas for service improvement and analyse levels of staff morale. The project, led by the Partnership Institute built on this process, using the Prison Service survey and the Drive for Change toolkit.
The survey and toolkit revealed that employees felt that the new Governor was making a genuine attempt at consulting and listening to employees and that this was improving staff morale and working conditions. It was also found that staff appreciated the increased opportunity to speak to managers and contribute ideas to improve the running of the prison. However, concerns were raised about long working hours, a stressful working environment and high workload.
…plus local support…
The Partnership Institute brought together managers and trade union representatives to focus on these concerns. Support shown by the governor for the project was instrumental in bringing union representatives and managers together. Tony Hassall explained that: "I invested time in the project because I believed it would only succeed with a real display of commitment from the management team. I also wanted to show the importance that I personally attached to the issue of employee engagement."
Tom Appadoo from the Prison Officers' Association (POA) explained that this backing was important since the trade unions had previously felt that employees' concerns had not been listened to and that change had been imposed rather than agreed. Workshops were held to look at culture of the organisation and how it could improve joint working and employee involvement towards service improvement.
The workshops focused in detail on reaching an agreement on the new self-harm policy for prisoners. The Assessment, Care in Custody, Teamwork (ACCT) programme allows staff to raise their concerns, take action, and document the action taken for prisoners they identify to be at risk of suicide or self-harm. Previously, problems had been faced with implementing the policy since employees and unions viewed it as an extra burden on top of already heavy workloads. During the workshops, agreement was reached that self-harm should be a priority issue to be dealt with by prison officers and that the policy should be implemented.
…and action planning…
An action plan was agreed between management and union representatives on policy implementation, supported by training for prison staff on the ACCT programme, communication strategies and a joint statement issued by the POA branch chair and the governor on the importance of the initiative. The group also reached an agreement on the future of joint working, based on a five-point plan for partnership working built around respect, listening and compromise.
The project has proved significant in demonstrating how joint working can be used to benefit service delivery. Trade union and management representatives had put past difficulties aside and agreed a way forward for the service to address both the needs of the organisation and the needs of the staff.
Tony Hassall reports that the ACCT policy has had a positive effect on reducing incidents of self-harm. "Since we started implementing the policy, the number of self-harm incidents has fallen by two-thirds this year. This is the result of a more individualised approach to the care of prisoners who may be at risk and improved risk assessments. The success that we have received in improving the services we offer to the most vulnerable prisoners would not have been possible without the engagement and support of our employees."
…can reap real rewards…
Holloway has since secured a three star rating, out a maximum of four, for the first time. Staff turnover has been considerably reduced and sickness levels have fallen. There have also been direct gains for employees through the doubling of the staff training budget and staff training days increasing from two to ten days per year.
Joint working between managers and union representatives has also led to agreement on other policies such staff rotation, where employees gain experience from working in different areas of the prison and new shift systems for support staff. Future work between the management team and unions will concentrate on developing policies to allow self rostering and taking forward the Prison Service People Strategy (see below).
Both Tom Appadoo and Tony Hassall acknowledge that although much has been achieved, there it is a long way to go towards embedding union and employee engagement into service improvement initiatives and that a long-term culture change is necessary to support the new way of working. Future work such as on self rostering and the People Strategy provide the opportunity and structures to take forward joint working for the benefit of staff wellbeing and service delivery.
Involvement: "We want staff at all levels in Holloway taking part in how the prison is run and developed."
Communications: "Holloway will be a prison with effective communications."
Decision-making: "We want staff to make decisions at the right level knowing who should do what, who can do what and who answers for it."
Credit where it's due: "We want to ensure staff receive the appropriate rewards and recognition for the work they do."
Staff Development: "We want staff to have the skills to do their jobs."