Measuring the productivity of workforce development in care homes

Investment in the workforce is vital for high quality care. However, identifying whether or not this investment has been successful in delivering improved productivity is far from straightforward. Skills for Care and Development funded a project whose overarching aim was the development of a framework for evaluation that would enable employers and other stakeholders to measure the impact of workforce development on care home productivity. The objectives were to answer a number of research questions.

• Is there a link between skills levels, qualifications and other characteristics of the workforce, and quality of care and outcomes for residents?
• Is there a strong relationship between quality of care and outcomes for residents, and workforce characteristics (such as higher levels of qualification and pay)?
• To what extent do additional factors influence, distort or skew the relationship between workforce characteristics and quality and outcomes?

We developed a model that provided us with a set of expected relationships between the characteristics and investment in the workforce, and quality and outcomes. This identifies key factors that we need to establish in order to link outcomes for residents to workforce development, including: level of resources available; workforce characteristics; staff motivation, attitudes, knowledge and skills; conditions of employment; and motivational context, including organisational characteristics.

Link to report: Measuring the productivity of workforce development in care homes