Success Measure
Supporting your workforce means developing a skilled, capable workforce who can confidently identify, recommend and use appropriate technology safely and effectively for people drawing on social care.
Overview
Supporting your workforce to develop and utilise digital skills safely and effectively is key to digital transformation. In order to do this, providers need to embed a clear vision for digital working and support their staff in all roles and at all levels.
One way to do this is to implement support systems that help care workers review and develop digital skills and whilst guaranteeing access to appropriate development opportunities.
Beyond this, organisations might develop ways of working that focus on digital technology –adopting an approach that raises awareness communicates the benefits of digital transformation. Myth-busting, reassurance, confidence-building and a learning culture are promoted.
Part of this this measure is also ensuring care workers are given the time and commitment to develop digital confidence and capability and are equipped to use technologies to access the information they need safely. This means also enabling staff to be engaged in adoption and embedding technologies in their services. For example, care workers may be involved in testing and embedding new technologies to ensure they are fit for purpose and support safe and effective delivery of person centred care.
Resources
- Digital Champions - Skills for Care
- An introduction to digital champions and how to introduce them into your organisation.
- Digital Champions - Digitising Social Care
- An overview of the benefits of digital champions and how to introduce them into your organisation.
- Digital Champions Toolkit for adult social care - Health Education England
- The adult social care digital champions toolkit has been created to inspire Leaders in Adult Social Care settings to promote others to help colleagues in becoming confident in using digital platforms that can improve those they care for. The toolkit is a comprehensive aid which explains where digital champions have been successful and delivers case studies to help others see the benefits of identifying and encouraging digital champions in their workplace.
- Care Worker's Statement on Generative AI - The Care Worker's Charity
- Following a roundtable with care and support working in May 2024, the Care Worker's Charity - in collaboration with the Oxford Project on the Responsible Use of Generative AI in Care, published the care workers statement in September 2024.
- The Digital Skills Training Database - Digitising Social Care
- A database of different digital skills training mapped to the Digital Skills Framework.
- Leading through Digital Change programme - Skills for Care and the National Care Forum
- The four day programme, delivered virtually, has been developed to build confidence and ability to identify and embed digital technology in the delivery of care and support. It is suitable for all workplace leaders, including registered managers.
- Topol Digital Fellowships - NHS England
- The Topol Digital Fellowship provides health and social care professionals with time, support and training to lead digital health transformations and innovations in their organisations.
- NHS Digital Academy - NHS England
- The NHS Digital Academy is a virtual organisation set up to develop a new generation of excellent digital leaders who can drive the information and technology transformation of the NHS.
- Digital Skills Framework - Digitising Social Care
- The Adult Social Care Digital Skills Framework is a resource to help people working in adult social care understand and develop the digital skills they need.
- Digital Capabilities for Social Workers - British Association of Social Workers
- A BASW/SCIE project to support social workers, employers, educators, leaders and experts by experience to develop skills and knowledge in the use of digital technology.
- Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Digital Healthcare Technologies Capability framework - Health Education England
- A clear need for our healthcare workforce is to continually adapt to meet the needs of the society it serves. Health Education England (HEE) commissioned the University of Manchester to perform a learning needs analysis and develop a framework outlining the skills and capabilities to ensure our health and care professionals can work in a digitally enhanced environment.
- Digital competency assessment for Allied Health Professionals - Health Education England
- This framework, developed by Topol Digital Fellow alumnus Chris Tack, has been developed to support the enhancement of digital competence for all AHPs, from band 3 to band 9. It is intended to be a developmental and supportive tool that can enable all AHP staff to meet their digital potential.
- How the Data Security and Protection Toolkit (DSPT) brought one small domiciliary care agency into the technological age
- How social care partners are working together to improve data and cyber security infrastructure
- Navigating IT solutions: how Swanton Care found security and growth
- Cyber attacks in social care: a case of ‘when’ not ‘if’