With the publication of Justice Secretary Chris Grayling’s Transforming Rehabilitation, it’s a time of great upheaval within Probation Trusts.
And for many probation professionals, the review has created a time of unprecedented uncertainty. As in many areas in life, however, times of change bring opportunities, as well as difficulties and threats.
If we take a step back, there are positives that can be taken from much of what is happening. And while it may appear a bit too early to try and see the way forward, those that get a head start by trying to positively embrace the change will be those who are most likely to benefit from the new landscape and succeed.
Firstly, probation professionals work with offenders because they want to make a difference – and this opportunity to make a difference has not gone away. In fact, there are arguably now greater opportunities to reduce reoffending and improve public protection.
Though there is much uncertainty, it is the current ‘corporate structure’ around delivering the goals of the probation service that is going to change, less so the work itself. The structures around working to try and reduce re-offending, and keeping our citizens safe, will change, but the core work will continue.
Probation professionals will now get the chance to work with a group of offenders beyond their remit before – those released after serving a 12-month, or less, sentence. And it is among these offenders, with some of the highest rates of recidivism, that there is an opportunity to do so much work, and achieve great results.
In all probability – even without the sweeping nature of Chris Grayling’s review – there would have had to be further amalgamation of Trusts, because this would have been the only way to bring the savings that the current economic climate dictates through better economies of scale.
This was make clear when our Chief Exec Mark Darby last year co-presented with Mike Maiden, CEO of Staffordshire & West Midlands Probation, at an Academy for Justice Commissioning event where it became clear the number of probation corporate bodies had gone from 54 to 42 – and then more recently to 35. Clearly far fewer will exist in the future.
And, of course, during this time of transition, the day job will still have to be done – while at the same time delivering the change that will be required… something of a tall order. Research shows that during times of massive change and uncertainty, productivity can drop off by as much as 75%, as people deal with the change individually and collectively.
And from a change management and communications perspective, one could certainly argue that the lead up to the review being published, and the tone of the review itself, could have done a lot more to inspire professionals about the changes ahead, to offset the dangers to productivity that such change engenders.
However, the situation is what it is, and to move forward, existing probation professionals can either choose to try and win one of the new 16 contracts and become a ‘prime’ contractor, or they can choose to become ‘sub’ contractors – partnering with a larger contractor to deliver the work required, while also partnering with other sub contracted agencies – such as alcohol management services.
Incidentally, this outcome-based contracting is a model that will become more and more prevalent across all service providers, according to the International Association for Contract and Commercial Management, in this blog.
One thing is for sure, the new system will be creating a very complicated structure of primes, subs, stakeholders, partners and alliances – and all of these relationships will have to work, aligned around the shared goals and governed in an effective fashion.
The more open and transparent this management is, and the more intimate and engaged the partners can be, the better the outcomes will be.
What is required is an integrated ecosystem of commissioners and providers that will manage demand, reviews and payment by results using 21st century technology to provide the glue to enable the partners to work better together, efficiently and effectively.
Our platform for change and relationship success, pam, has already helped many Probation Trusts move towards just such a connected and efficient ecosystem, and we want to continue being a part of the journey.