Pick of the Week 6

Reading some of these colleagues on this blog over the last few days is depressing. You have a duty not to only focus on negativity as that in itself is creating a self fulfilling prophecy for many staff preventing them from moving on from this TR disaster #irresponsible editing.

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It's always someone elses's fault. Why insist on infantilising the probation workforce by placing "many staff" in the role of victim? The only self-fulfilling prophecy is the catastrophe that is TR, i.e. a not-thought-through, not piloted, rushed & utterly piss-poor piece of parliamentary incompetence & organisational vandalism.

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The simple truth is that many of us would move on....but to what? We are working through the most ill thought industrial/workplace change there has ever been. The main principles of sound business change are all at the 'work in progress' and even planning stage...yet the business is operating with no allowance or adjustments for change to consolidate and then build. You want examples? The NPS IT system is an unmitigated disaster with repeated failure in real time delivery. E3 should be renamed 'suck it and see' workforce planning. 

Then there is management, given HR processes with little experience or insight into the human bit of the process, that this is about people management not process delivery. Then there is the fundamental error of making civil servants (second class) of practitioners. Moving on is impossible when there is no destination, no vision, just a series of process maps without cohesion or purpose in any way related to probation. NPS PO.

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E3 is the new enemy within, a deeply flawed system to support court closures shorter format reports to ensure that the system doesn't slowly grind to a halt...and on other matters does anyone know if ACEs are on performance related pay or if they receive bonuses as there just seems to be an unhealthy obsession with targets at the moment.......

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Work to rule is the only way we can achieve anything in CRC! Down tools, by which I mean do your actual job and stop being chained to the computer. F**ck targets!!! Set workload limit and refuse to see any new cases above this! That will soon focus peoples minds! Why should we continue to absorb more and more work? Where are the workload weighting tools? Why is maternity leave never covered, or long term sick leave for that matter. Why are we being treated in this appalling manner? Sod the conferences and intellectual bullshit. Why have NOMS sold us to the cleaners and let them pilfer the redundancy pot? SHAMEFUL NOMS. We need some support and advice now. The bloody ship is sinking and not enough lifeboats and all the unions want to do is carry on playing the violin whilst we sink!

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No doubt sometime soon we will look and act just like all other civil servants, sad, depressed, overworked with bullshit. Our attitude towards offenders will be like that of DWP staff towards the unemployed. The meaner we are the more targets we hit and the bigger the bonus for the boss. We have become part of the apparatus that punishes the poor and the vulnerable. We failed ourselves.

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You're right. But we've been bullied into this. Human beings now a market, in whatever circumstances. Stock to be used up. Conform to their robotic, soulless idea of existence for the plebs, or die. What a nasty, bleak, oppressive, unimaginative, vindictive society unfolding before our eyes, creating mini despots everywhere we look. Know in your hearts that what you see is wrong. Hold onto your individual truth, patience, grace and dignity. Be kind to your fellow colleagues because they delight in division and resentment, keep doing the things that you know you're doing right, and well. We are being governed by very damaged people who cannot love or care.

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How am I supposed to function and retain my morale when everything seems to be crumbling around me? Sitting in increasingly empty offices that are echoing because so many staff have been given the boot over the past 6 months(CRC). What is left of our small team are soon moving out of entirely suitable offices to save private company money. No idea where we are going or what to tell the service users! Too busy doing OASys and breaches to respond to service users as I used to. Starting to harden and go into self protection mode. Still prioritise the higher risk and service users who are motivated and really want to change, but really flagging now and exhaustion is taking over. Can't see how I can do same quality of work with the cuts we are facing! Is it just me?

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Don't know whether you will ever get to read this. Hope so. It certainly isn't just you. Thank you for this candid and heartfelt share. Words are easy I know but, there are many out here that do care and daily think, pray and indeed take steps to share concerns/experiences to a wider audience. 

Having retired early I can relate to some of what you have shared and know how difficult it is to stay strong and positive when facing so much adversity. However, as I often say @iangould5 you owe it to yourself and those that you work alongside to be very KIND to yourself and just do the best that you can. That's ALL anybody can reasonably ask. Stay true to your values and beliefs and acknowledge that it was not you that created this situation. You are taking positive steps and prioritising what you can do and Yes everyone will understand that a degree of self preservation is essential to survive. I do hope that you are able to get support from you Manager and that you continue to find ways that reduce the impact of all these changes on your health and well-being, including, being kind to yourself. Today is Sunday and off shortly to church alongside ALL things Probation you will be in MY thoughts and Prayers. Simple words I know but take great care.

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I'd like to ask the world's 18th largest employer why it now regularly takes a half day to get a computer password reset where once it took 5 minutes. Pourquoi? RSVP.

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For the second time in a month, I have spent valuable time hunched over a computer terminal completing an assessment by pasting "I have not yet met Mx X but have to complete this assessment in order to meet target" into the boxes, plus some bits and pieces from a clearly hurried court report. This is known as "gaming" the targets, or otherwise, Absolute pants.

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An advert has gone out internally in my CRC begging 'critical business need for PSOs'. 1st dibs to those facing redundancy; permanent staff; fixed term contracts and finally temps. It almost sounds as though anyone with a pulse who applies will get in. This makes me worry - some of us doing this job a long time make it look easy when the reality is very different indeed.

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It is interesting to read about all the constructive engagement between the unions and Noms over E3, yet hard to square this with the relentless attacks on facility time. Noms is now saying that all travelling expenses – attendance at JNCCs, representation of employee meetings – all previously covered by the employer – will in future have to be financed by the unions. Allied to the drastic cuts to facility time, this is death by a thousand cuts – at what point does the term 'facility agreement' become a misnomer?

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Is this a real report because statements like "We heard that the ‘rate card’ system limits.." are very ambiguous? It doesn't sit right with me that "charities" have been so eager to take the work of paid professionals. Even though we all knew TR was a lemon, the charities still put up bids as they wanted to take the work and secure the £contracts. Now they are crying because it hasn't worked out and they're not gaining the expected revenue, probably haven't even recouped their bid outlay. "I told you so" is an understatement.

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"TrackTR aims to support the improvement of services for people under probation supervision by advocating for the successful transformation of probation."

So Clinks, the voluntary sector and Brum Uni are going to tell us how to do our job, and no doubt tell us all how probation should be further transformed by handing contracts to Clinks and the voluntary sector! From what I've seen of the voluntary sector under TR it is us that should be telling them how to do their job, because there are a lot of substandard services out there positioning for probation work. This is one of the consequences of TR, it took the 'expert voice' away from probation (100 years old btw) and allowed every man and his dog to become a self styled expert.

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There's quite a marketplace in so-called research. You pay your boffins and they produce findings that help to promote your cause. It's known as 'funding bias'.

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It's all so predictable not only has Probation been destroyed the voluntary sector and even the greedy multinationals are bound to be damaged by Graylings mad scheme.

It's such a shame that the previous links with organisations have been severed in the chaos but on an individual basis I have been able to make some positive relationships with the voluntary sector which has been very helpful in helping clients. Shelter have been particularly useful and able to do the stuff I can't anymore, but clearly don't have the risk management experience and have been happy to leave that responsibility to me. It makes a bit of a mockery of the rate card system though, why would we go through CRC to pay for services we can access for free?

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One of my initial observations on joining the Probation Service many years ago, coming from the voluntary sector, was the relative lack of connection between Probation the services that were available almost immediately outside the office door, in the local community. There were some very good collaborations that were happening and were managed on a secure footing, a win – win in my experience. 

My own voluntary organisation at the time had a contact with the local Probation Service and received a fee for that service thereby securing a stream of funding. The spin off was that we had more people coming through our doors and whom we could then seek to engage in other services whose outcomes supported other sources of funding. In addition the link made the organisation more attractive to volunteers who like me joined up, made a name for myself and then secured a Probation career from it. Note here the localism, local people, community and Probation. Probation has long needed to get away, by degree of course, from the desk in the Office and make in - roads into the local community and community in the wider sense, not just the voluntary sector.

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Many of us who comment on this blog know by example and intuitively that the new structures that TR created are poorly positioned to deliver locally and draw on the community in the way that its creators might have imagined. Maybe someone else can develop the idea why this is the case (I am struggling to collect my precise thinking on it) and propose some alternatives. Alternatively you might disagree and think TR created the basis for localism, community, Probation and voluntary sector and equally your thoughts please.

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Before TR I recall working closely for many years with the voluntary sector. As probation officers we always accessed local community services and used what was local. Sova, Mind, CAP, CAB, Shelter and more. One other organisation made bikes with the homeless, another helped with reading and writing, another collected and provided furniture, another financial advice and debt support. We once had a drive to get in even more community services and got local charities to come into the office once a month and tell us how we can work together. A 'Local Agency Tree' we called it I think and each leaf was a new partnership. All this ended with TR and since then we only see charities that have CRC contracts or are out to make money for doing relatively little, and so are not really charities.

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The problem was that the probation service never paid for any of the services it got from those local charities. And since none of those local charities had a magic money tree, they were unsustainable. Charities cannot provide services with fresh air - they have to employ staff to actually do stuff. Those staff need to be paid.

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Not true. Many probation trusts had financial arrangements with local charities they worked with. Others readily encouraged sending clients their way at times their services were underused. The difference now is that the charities we're talking about here are those "charities" in name only seeking big bucks and contracts whether they can deliver or not, usually they cannot!

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Completely lost at work today. Just have no idea where this is all going. Voluntary sector relationships. Just everything. What an utter mess HMP is in. NPS omnishambles.

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Imagine the scene: a professional probation service, working creatively and fruitfully with energetic community groups (particularly effective with women clientele). Imagine some local trusts building this into a gold standard effective service. This is not now. The labyrinthine procurement and commissioning arrangements are right up there with the incomprehensible finance packages that brought about the last recession. Same deal, different sector.

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Jobs..new jobs. The way you chuck the words around gives you away - that you think its just a job. That's the issue with your frankly asinine comments. Maybe you need someone with the balls to point out that when people give themselves to a vocation it is not just a job. I left my 17 year vocation as a PO 20 years ago for complex personal reasons. But I still miss it, and I follow this blog - why? Because a vocation isn't a job. Years ago I had a job in supermarket but I don't follow Asda on Facebook. Why? Because it was just a job. Many people are leaving their vocation. which is why your stupid comment misses the point by a country mile. Mind you, from what you wrote I think my comments here are pearls before swine.

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The colleagues I know are not just leaving a job to try something new they have been forced out of a profession because it's damaging to stay. They haven't got jobs to go just lucky enough to be in a position to get out. Over half the staff in my office are seeking alternative employment, surely that indicates something's wrong with the employer?

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I can't understand the comments about being disillusioned if only that was the case! We are destroyed physically and mentally by the rapid unnecessary and enormously costly changes. Most of us have spent years training and studying to work in the profession so you can expect us to be a little " upset" at being destroyed for political ideology. It's sickening.

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This blog post would have been the same if written by me or any probation officer I know. It symbolises what probation has become, a dead end job with no career prospects. Something is very wrong when the entire staff group are more interested in how they can resign or retire.

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People are not leaving because they're slightly fed up and fancy a change. They chose their profession for particular reasons, reasons which were once taken for granted because they were fundamental to the role ie working with people. Time and time again it has been shown that the relationship between officer and individuals is key. The message now is that targets are key - and due to high workloads and fewer staff probation staff are basically being turned into data inputers to ensure targets are met and profit protected. It's warped. It doesn't work in either CRC or NPS. 

I spend so much time and effort under constant duress battling with clunky, dysfunctional IT in order to meet targets that I haven't time to breathe or complete fundamental tasks in any meaningful way. It's pointless and soul destroying and no wonder people are leaving as and when they can. These are significant losses, however no doubt viewed as a successful reduction in costs in the sick, twisted view of profiteers destroying what was once a functional and well performing joined up service which worked with people to change lives.

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The whole service has been destroyed. You have to just look at NPS recruitment for trainees. How many of the trainees about to qualify in June have any life experience? Very few I suspect. Probation used to have a proud tradition of employing Ex Offenders, imagine sitting across from someone and telling them you would be good at doing this job? It gives them hope and something to aspire to. 

I was an ex offender never believed I would ever become a PO but I did. After declaring all my convictions I was given a chance by an ACO to become a Probation Ancillary (later became known as a PSO) I didn't look back. The most crucial aspect of my role was developing a professional relationship with the people I was supervising. It's all gone now, it's not a worthwhile vocation anymore. It's fraud and the individuals we are responsible for see right through it! If I could afford it I'd get out now and not look back. BTW I'm in the NPS.

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I am NPS too and I would leave tomorrow if I could. It is truly awful. Last week 3 days with massive IT problems again. Try writing a parole report when the system keeps stopping /phasing, crashing, ejecting you without warning from delius so work is lost. I actually saw a colleague cry because she had 2 OASys to do, a termination and an ISP so for deadlines. Remember we are all over 100% so no spare time to catch up. It is truly awful. NPS = Firefighting.

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Yup our office too, PO transferred to fill shortfall in another team and now we are all on 120% to 130% so we are managing the cases belonging to the transferred PO. All high risk of course, NPS the employer that just keeps taking.

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Same in ours. PO's move from court team to prison. Staff move from field team to Courts. Field team vacancies are not filled an PO's do double/triple the work. Similar story in CRC, staff leave and those left pick up the extra work. Nobody wants to do it but fear the threat of disciplinary for missing targets. In the meantime managers play little Hitler and take all the credit. Those that can retire and resign already have, those that are left are job hunting.

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What has happened to the NPS managers? They are all stressed off the planet and taking it out on their teams. You want to know why sickness absence is so high? Look at the behaviour of managers to staff. You can put all the action plans / stress management plans in place but a simple trick would be use of good manners and civil behaviour.

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The JFDI management style of SPO's and ACO's has got worse since TR. Managers try to create a "fear me" culture to stop staff challenging them. They'd do better being part of the team and admitting they don't have the answers. They won't though because they won't accept staff don't give a damn about targets and all the crap coming out of the NPS and MoJ, because then they'll have to accept they're obsolete.

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This post was great and it's a pure reflection of what's going on at the moment. I'm currently on annual leave going back to the transforming rehabilitation dungeon tomorrow and I feel like shit about it. It's gone to the point where I just don't care about anything in regards to the work. This post gives motivation and it shows someone who has had enough of being a mug and has done something about it. I think that's a lesson for all including myself most definitely. Enough of the talking and it's time for action. 

There's only so much can continue in going in circles talking about how crap the service is and how everyone is stressed. I think by now we have more then identified the issues and how we are all feeling and now that we have identified these it's time to develop our own personal sentence plan of what we are going to do and achieve for ourselves. We can bang on about the service and how shit we feel or we need to switch up the gears like this person who posted this great piece. Get that laptop, iPad or what ever gadget out and start exploring the world outside probation. There's are things out there and you just need to allocate time to look properly. 

I know for me personally this isn't living. I understand that there are many who have families, mortgages, rent etc and I appreciate that and sometimes it's not easy but you only need to believe in yourself that there is another world out there. It's a shame because we all have a real passion for this but it's time to smell the coffee and if you are genuinely not happy and you been going on and on then do something. Some people get on with it and have good stress management and that's ok if they are comfortable with what their doing but for others, if your getting that sick feeling on a Sunday that your going to work on Monday, or you genuinely don't give a shit about the job anymore due to all the crap going on and you are just not happy- then the power is in your hands and this is the conclusion that I've come to. And believe me I moan and feel like utter shit hence I feel enough is enough. All you practitioners both NPS and CRC are great and have amazing skills, don't let it go to waste. There's a big world out there.

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My 15 years in Probation has had various peaks and troughs and I think over the course of any professional career these are more likely than not. Deciding to leave is a very personal decision and I have taken a great deal of thinking about it but events also play their part, events that are particular to me. My blog in a part was about trying to communicate an essence of something that I think the ‘powers that be’ need to listen to and I hope they will. That it has resonated with so many should by reason have their attention. I do think the post that someone made stating something along the lines of, ‘people get disillusioned, they move on, what is all the fuss about?’ was a fair enough point although for me it misses an understanding about how you and I and many others have been affected by, what I would say, are an ill thought out set of reforms that have caused a great deal of distress to our profession and professional careers. 

I had firmly decided to leave several months ago, in the early part of this year, and prior to that I had been mulling ideas and options. Recently an opportunity opened and I have decided to take it. On one level it feels like a risk but ultimately I am happy with my decision. I guess I am suggesting, for fear of sounding patronising, think it through, take your time, consider your options including trying to adapt to the situation with your current employer. Yours with respect and heart felt concern.