Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

Social workers undergo continuous performance evaluation through supervision, management meetings and annual appraisals.

While managers are similar appraised by those at even higher levels of seniority, some have argued that practitioners should be able to have their say on the performance of those they report into.

A 2024 Community Care poll found that social workers were more likely to leave an employer over unsupportive management than pay – and enabling them to appraise their managers may be one way of addressing this.

“All managers should be accountable to workers and service users, and we should be able to give feedback on their performance, as they do on ours,” said one practitioner, in a recent article about social workers’ views of management.

But do social workers agree?

A Community Care poll of around 1250 respondents found that 86% believed managers should be reviewed by their staff as part of their annual appraisals, in order to “ensure accountability”.

Only 14% felt this would add to “the already significant pressures on managers”.

‘Managers should be subject to scrutiny’

“Social work managers should be subject to much more scrutiny than they are, because ultimately their team depends upon them and looks to them for advice and guidance,” commented Mark.

Another social worker, Sara, described management in the sector as “out of touch” with frontline realities.

“If you raise an issue about workload, it is your fault,” she added. “If a client complains, it is your fault.

“I love social work, but hate the office politics, blame culture. If you speak up, you are classed as a trouble maker, then you are ostracised by managers and in the worst case get moved to another team.”

‘The very best managers know what it means to be compassionate’

Rose highlighted the stark contrast between good and poor leadership, stressing that “the very best managers” are those who are “compassionate and encouraging.”

“I have had the very best and very worst of managers in my 13 years in children’s social care,” she said. 

“The difference between them was not what pressures they were under themselves, or issues of having to meet unrealistic targets. It was a sound understanding of what it means and looks like to be compassionate, empathic, supportive and encouraging.” 

Celebrate those who’ve inspired you

Photo by Daniel Laflor/peopleimages.com/ AdobeStock

Do you have a colleague, mentor, or social work figure you can’t help but gush about?

Our My Brilliant Colleague series invites you to celebrate anyone within social work who has inspired you – whether current or former colleagues, managers, students, lecturers, mentors or prominent past or present sector figures whom you have admired from afar.

Nominate your colleague or social work inspiration by filling in our nominations form with a few paragraphs (100-250 words) explaining how and why the person has inspired you.

*Please note that, despite the need to provide your name and role, you or the nominee can be anonymous in the published entry*

If you have any questions, email our community journalist, Anastasia Koutsounia, at anastasia.koutsounia@markallengroup.com

Being a social worker is no easy feat.

Practitioners face a mountain of challenges: limited resources, high caseloads, increasingly complex needs, staff shortages and pay increases that have been criticised as inadequate.

Yet, while inadequate pay is frequently cited as a reason for practitioners leaving permanent roles, a recent Community Care poll suggests a different story.

Management key to retention

Of around 2,200 respondents, 62% named “unsupportive management” as more likely to make them leave an employer than inadequate pay, with the rest stating the opposite.

‘Management can make or break practitioners’ confidence’

A recent Community Care article, based on the views of experienced social workers, highlighted the value of good management to practitioners’ experience of their roles.

Senior social worker Naomi credited her manager’s support for helping her find her footing when she first stared out.

“I’ve moved on to roles since where the manager hasn’t been supportive and that makes your job 10 times harder,” she said. “If you’ve got a supportive, understanding manager, it’s very helpful.”

However, Janet, an agency worker with over 30 years’ experience, told Community Care that management has now become more “oppressive”, compared to when she qualified.

“It can eat away your confidence and how you feel about being a social worker if you’re working in an environment that feels quite stressful and micromanaged.”

What makes for supportive management in social work?

The first years post-qualification are daunting for any social worker.

It is the challenging transition from theory to practice, when practitioners find their footing with children, families or adults and shape their professional identity.

However, on top of this, they often face high caseloads, increasingly complex needs, and a loss of experienced staff to support them.

Community Care’s 2022 caseloads survey found social workers in their assessed and supported year in employment (ASYE) were overwhelmed by their caseloads and missing out on learning from experienced colleagues who were unable to offer support due to their own workloads.

It’s a tough environment to build professional confidence in or even solidify your decision to remain in the field. According to Department for Education workforce statistics, two-thirds of those who left the children’s sector in 2020-21 had been with their local authorities for five years or less.

So what could help new social workers navigate their first years post-qualification? We asked practitioners attending Community Care Live 2024 for their views.

‘Experienced managers need to nurture new practitioners’

Cassy, now head of safeguarding in a public inquiry, can still recall her nervousness when starting out 22 years ago.

“I was really nervous about being transparent with families or making phone calls in the office in front of colleagues,” she says. 

“There was just a general lack of confidence in speaking to families about difficult issues and things I was concerned about.”

The key components to building her confidence were, ultimately, her managers and colleagues.

“You need experienced managers and colleagues nurturing less experienced social workers, allowing them to model their skills and have enough time to learn and embed them in their own practice.”

‘Never be afraid to ask questions’

Even those with prior social care experience needed time to settle into the role.

Though she had over a decade of social care experience before qualifying, senior social worker Naomi says it took her a couple of years to feel fully confident in her new position.

She too credits her manager’s support for helping her find her footing as a practitioner.

“I’ve moved on to roles since where the manager hasn’t been supportive and that makes your job 10 times harder. If you’ve got a supportive, understanding manager, it’s very helpful,” she says. 

Share your story

Picture: daliu/fotolia

Would you like to write about a day in your life as a social worker? Do you have any stories, reflections or experiences from working in social work that you’d like to share or write about?

If so, email our community journalist, Anastasia Koutsounia, at anastasia.koutsounia@markallengroup.com

“You also need colleagues you can turn to and who are comfortable saying, ‘You know what, I’ve been here 10 years but I don’t know that question, let me find out.’ It’s good to know that, no matter how experienced you are, not everyone knows everything.”

Hardey Barnett, an independent reviewing officer, also stressed that newly qualified practitioners should “never be afraid to ask questions”.

“I’ve been there before, where I don’t want to ask a question out of fear of being embarrassed,” he says.

“But these are opportunities for learning so always ask. Never be afraid because it can rock your confidence if you are left without answers. I guarantee there will be half a dozen other people in the room going, ‘Oh my God, thank you, I had no idea what that is.’”

‘Management has become more oppressive’

Yet, despite many praising supportive managers for helping them through their initial years in social work, Janet says today’s environment isn’t as nurturing.

An agency worker with over 30 years of experience, Janet believes the newly qualified experience is now undermined by constant changes in policy, pressure of complex caseloads and micromanagement.

“Management has become more oppressive, whereas before it was about caring and supporting each other. Now there’s this expectation that you should be able to just do the job from the start,” she says.

“It can eat away your confidence and how you feel about being a social worker if you’re working in an environment that feels quite stressful and micromanaged.”

Janet credits her first team, and working relationships with other professionals assisting in cases, for making her feel she had “made the right decision” as a newly qualified.

“It was always about knowledge sharing and being able to go to people and ask, ‘How do you do this?’ I could get the support and assistance I needed.”

Over the past 30 years, she has found that closeness rarely exists anymore within teams. Her solution is mentorships, where new practitioners can have someone to advise and support them who is independent of their management.

“We’re human beings as well and we take on a lot,” she says. “We’re involved in a lot of people’s trauma and lives and we have a certain level of control over them. But what is it doing to us as human beings? So I think mentoring could be a good thing – [having] someone who is experienced that can support newly qualifieds to build their confidence and make them feel they made the right decision.”

‘I had good supervisors but a poor manager’

Olle Chima, a social work lecturer who qualified in 1997, can empathise with practitioners who don’t feel supported by management when starting their careers.

“I remember feeling daunted, my risk awareness was so heightened. I was always terrified that I would miss something,” she says of her initial years as a children’s practitioner.

“But I also had a poor manager. When I raised an issue of concern once, he said, ‘Oh, don’t worry. I know we want to save all the children, but we can’t.’ I thought it was a terrible thing to say.”

Instead, it was her supervisors who walked her through the necessary procedures to address her concerns.

“They told me what to do, what to check for, and how to ensure I had crossed all the Ts,” she says. “For me it became about whether you have done everything practicable and lawful that you can do. And that’s enough.”

She cites psychologist Lev Vygotsky’s theory on learning environments as a lesson managers should carry with them when bringing newly qualifieds into their team.

“Vygotsky believed if you’re doing tasks alongside the child you should give them the space to do some difficult things on their own but still stand back [to help if need be],” she says. “It’s a great approach to have with new practitioners.”

“I always encourage that with students. You don’t have to do everything [on your own], you can always seek advice from senior practitioners. Because otherwise, they are just left anxious.” 

How long did it take you to build your confidence after qualifying?

Have you ever sat in a meeting where everyone is asked to go around the table (albeit virtual) and state who they are? Everyone gives their name and their job title, but is that who they really are? At what stage does someone stop being seen as a social worker and only seen as a manager?

I have noticed that if I introduce myself by name and state my profession is social work but I am also a manager, people will look at me strangely.

One person said to me afterwards, “You do know you are a team manager?”. Indeed I do, I replied, but firstly I am a social worker.

It got me thinking about how often I use the title ‘manager’, and have concluded it is rarely. The inquisitive sort might ask why this is. Am I not proud to be a team manager? Well, yes, I am very proud. I have the privilege of working with a phenomenal team, who are extremely hard working and committed to social work values, and demonstrate exceptional quality of work daily.

Being treated differently as a manager

But I hesitate to state my job title because I have found other professionals, organisations and clients treat me differently if they know I am a manager.

Recently, I was on the receiving end of an abrupt, disgruntled professional, who wasn’t happy that a service couldn’t be provided as quickly as they wanted. The social worker dealing with the situation had tried everything within their power to move things along, but resources would simply not be available for another two days.

This professional called back and I happened to pick up the phone as I was supporting the team that day with calls due to high demand. I introduced myself by name and team. After a detailed conversation, the professional, who had been very animated throughout the phone call,  explained to me that the team manager needed to be informed that we could not provide a service until two days later. When I replied that I was fully aware and everything humanly possible was being done, the line went silent for a little while. Then the voice said, “I’m sorry for the way I spoke, I didn’t know you were the manager”.

”Why do you think it’s ok to speak to a member of my team differently to how you speak to me?” I asked. A muffled apology came through from the other end and the person said they had another urgent call coming through.

The unacceptable abuse of frontline staff

I have observed a huge difference between how others speak to me as a manager and how they speak to my team. Irate family members suddenly become very passive when the call is transferred to me. What they think I can do differently to everything the practitioner has already tried is beyond me. There is a time and a place for me to be involved, but I do not possess a magic wand.

I would like others to speak to my team in the same way they feel it is appropriate to speak to me. Frontline staff suffer daily passive abuse; it is not acceptable and should not be tolerated. I continue to challenge people on how they come across, because, while the attitude may not be directed to the person, it does affect them.

We are all busy and have competing demands, but respect and kindness go a very long way. Yes, I am a team manager, but I am also a registered social worker committed to upholding our values.