Personalisation and its implications for work and employment in the voluntary sector

This report assesses the impact of personalisation on social care, particularly focussing on implications for the workforce. Personalisation is often presented as being transformative in the manner in which it empowers both people who use services and employees. The report considers the latter aspect in particular by assessing some of the workforce implications of personalisation. It reports research drawn from policymakers and three voluntary organisations, with interviews with managers, employees and people who use services. The main findings from the research are: Policymakers were enthusiastic about the potential benefits of personalisation with regard to the opportunities for the independence of people who receive services and enhancement of workforce skills. Policymakers feared the impact of public spending cuts and recognised the cultural and operational barriers within local authorities to the implementation of personalisation. Policymakers were enthusiastic about the role of the voluntary sector and its workforce in terms of its contribution to delivering personalised services, whilst recognising concerns about skills gaps among employees and the impact of deteriorating terms and conditions of employment on worker morale. Management in the three organisations largely embraced the principles of personalisation, whilst also recognising the pressure from local authorities to use the personalisation agenda to cut costs. Employees in the main understood the principles of personalisation but revealed limited awareness of the implications for the changes in service budgets. Organisations were changing their approach to staff recruitment in order to develop a better fit between the interests of people receiving services and employees delivering them. Management anticipated significant changes to the working hours of employees providing personalised services, which was met with a degree of anxiety among some employees. Management recognised the need to address skills gaps among employees in areas such as risk enablement, decision-making and community connecting. Employees generally welcomed the potential enhancement of their skills through personalisation. Job security concerns were apparent among the majority of front-line employees as a consequence of personalisation. Organisations were balancing the move towards risk enablement and cutting costs with the need to protect service user and worker health and safety, particularly in relation to managing challenging behavior. Personalisation brings with it the potential to fragment pay and conditions away from collective terms towards linking them more closely to the value of individual service budgets. People who receive services revealed limited awareness of changes to service budgets, their choices over the service provider, choices over who provides their services and there was limited evidence of empowerment and greater choice

Valuable assets : a general formal investigation into the role and status of classroom assistants in Scotland's primary school

Based on the earlier pilot research conducted by SCER, the EOC instigated a General Formal Investigation (GFI) of the role and status of classroom assistants in Scotland's primary schools. As part of the GFI, SCER was commissioned to conduct a national survey of classroom assistants, teachers and head teachers. Primary data was generated from a Scotland-wide, large scale survey sent to over 1000 primary schools. Interviews were also conducted with Directors of Education and the Scottish Executive Education Department

Socially irresponsible HRM: findings from the UK hotel sector

This paper considers the value and extent to which socially responsible HRM enhances understanding of HR practices in the corporate hotel sector. The paper seeks to address two research questions. Firstly, what are the underlying management philosophies guiding models of HRM within the upper market corporate hotel sector? Secondly, how do the resultant HR practices impact the employee experience of work and well-being? Qualitative case studies were conducted in two high end hotels within the UK. Semi structured interviews (n = 30) were carried out at various levels of the organisation to gain multiple perspectives, including frontline employees, line managers, senior management and HR practitioners. Investigation of the experiences of frontline employees uncovered evidence of a socially irresponsible approach to HRM in each case study. Hidden and deceptive management philosophies were uncovered that shaped the nature of the HR practices used, and resulted in negative outcomes for the well-being of employees. This paper extends the limited research base which has considered socially irresponsible HRM, and extends the concept by demonstrating the central role that management philosophy plays in determining the responsibleness of an HRM approach. The paper also demonstrates the utility of SRHRM models in contexts where practices are rarely socially responsible

Skills, organisational performance and economic activity in the hospitality industry : a literature review

This monograph aims to understand the pressures which push organisations to adopt particular routes to competitive advantage. The monograph aims to discover if the best practice high skill, high wage and high quality route is used in the hospitality industry. It seeks to determine the influence of companies' product market strategies and their in-company and external structural factors on skills levels, work organisation, job design and people management systems. The monograph looked at the notion of best practice approaches and then moved on to consider the best way to carry forward the future research agenda of reviewing the nature of human resource management (HRM) in the hospitality sector. Conclusions were drawn from a range of interviews and from existing work which has sought to address the issue of HRM in the hospitality sector

Valuable assets: phase 2 of a general formal investigation into the role and status of classroom assistants in Scotland's secondary and special schools

The aim of this research is to extend existing data by considering classroom assistants in secondary and special schools in Scotland. The research examines the work and employment of classroom assistants and in particular explores the reasons for any role stretch amongst this group

What do you think of my ink? Assessing the effects of body art on employment chances

Using mixed design analysis of variance, this paper examines the effect of body art on job applicant hireability ratings. It employs the literatures on the social psychologies of stigma and prejudice, as well as aesthetic labor, to frame the argument. The results indicate that photos of tattooed and pierced job applicants result in lower hireability ratings compared to the control faces. The negative effect of body art on employment chances is, however, reduced for job applicants seeking non customer facing roles. In customer facing roles, the tattoo is associated with lower hireability ratings than the piercing. The results suggest that visible body art can potentially be a real impediment to employment

Higher and Further Education Students' Income, Expenditure and Debt in Scotland 2007-08

This report presents findings from the second study of the income, expenditure and debt of students studying higher education (HE) and further education (FE) in Scotland in 2007-08. The study was commissioned by the Scottish Government and conducted by the Scottish Centre for Employment Research at the University of Strathclyde Business School in conjunction with colleagues from the Business School and Department of Economics of the University of Glasgow. The aim of the study is to examine Scottish-domiciled higher and further education students' finances, particularly their income, expenditure, debt and savings, and their attitudes to the financing of study in Scotland. Where appropriate this data is then compared to the findings of the previous 2004-05 Scottish survey as well as a control group of young Scots who are not students

Socially irresponsible HRM : findings from the UK hotel sector

This paper considers the value and extent to which socially responsible HRM enhances understanding of HR practices in the corporate hotel sector. The paper seeks to address two research questions. Firstly, what are the underlying management philosophies guiding models of HRM within the upper market corporate hotel sector? Secondly, how do the resultant HR practices impact the employee experience of work and well-being? Qualitative case studies were conducted in two high end hotels within the UK. Semi structured interviews (n = 30) were carried out at various levels of the organisation to gain multiple perspectives, including frontline employees, line managers, senior management and HR practitioners. Investigation of the experiences of frontline employees uncovered evidence of a socially irresponsible approach to HRM in each case study. Hidden and deceptive management philosophies were uncovered that shaped the nature of the HR practices used, and resulted in negative outcomes for the well-being of employees. This paper extends the limited research base which has considered socially irresponsible HRM, and extends the concept by demonstrating the central role that management philosophy plays in determining the responsibleness of an HRM approach. The paper also demonstrates the utility of SRHRM models in contexts where practices are rarely socially responsible

Subtle increases in BMI within a healthy weight range still reduce women's employment chances in the service sector

Using mixed design analysis of variance (ANOVA), this paper investigates the effects of a subtle simulated increase in adiposity on women’s employment chances in the service sector. Employing a unique simulation of altering individuals’ BMIs and the literature on “aesthetic labour”, the study suggests that, especially for women, being heavier, but still within a healthy BMI, deleteriously impacts on hireability ratings. The paper explores the gendered dimension of this prejudice by asking whether female employees at the upper end of a healthy BMI range are likely to be viewed more negatively than their overtly overweight male counterparts. The paper concludes by considering the implications of these findings.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe