Rebecca White

We absolutely will.  Because it matters and it’s what we do.  I’ve honestly little truck with those selling up their office space and saving money by shifting the costs to people working from home. The benefits to the planet are huge of course and flexible working done well can make a difference to people’s lives and work-life balance.  Whilst greenhouse gases and air pollutants saw a dramatic drop during the first lockdown (global daily emissions of CO2 fell by 17% at the peak of the crisis), the long term impact on global warming is miniscule unless we alter what we do from now on.  This isn’t a binary argument (are they ever?), but in our business I’ve never been more off the fence. 

As many organisations, we are pondering this, whilst still faced with huge uncertainty.  For all the gains, successful ‘pivoting’, learning and impact we have had, this remains the biggest question as we enter 2021, revisit strategy and the business model and conclude what kind of organisation we are for the purposes of forecasting, planning and mission.

Before lockdown

Before this all happened, let’s not pretend everything was easy and normal.  Climate change was still an existential threat, huge inequality persisted, including digital exclusion. And at Your Own Place we were still a tiny organisation living largely hand to mouth trying to solve the intractable problems of our times.  So just before we get romantic about BC (before Covid19) and AC (after Covid19), we work in a really tough industry in tough times and always have.

99.9% of our delivery was face to face.  It’s entirely possible that this much didn’t need to be and that alternatives did and do exist that have now been forced upon us.  However, we must remain unequivocal about what we do and the impact we aim to have before commissioners slash spending further and tell us we can do everything remotely.

In my last blog I talked about how we achieve our outcomes if we’re doing it all differently. We looked at all the things we do to build trust, create effective relationships and good learning environments.  These are much harder (but not impossible) via Zoom.  In addition, in order to achieve our impact we must work with the right people.  This means, and we are committed to this, however hard it is, those facing the greatest disadvantage and barriers.  Digital exclusion, is just one of many barriers we must now consider and be innovative and values-led in overcoming.  There are many others of course. I would invite you to list them all because I would hazard a guess that face to face support is generally part of the answer to every single one. 

Prior to these blogs you may or may not know that we attended an accelerator programme with Carnegie UK Trust (report out last week).  It was part of a project that led to a piece of work at Your Own Place to overcome digital exclusion barriers with young people.  As such, the challenges we faced in March this year were neither unexpected nor new to many of us in the sector. The reality however, is that we were not remotely in a position to tackle them at the operational and systemic level at which they needed tackling. If this was easy….

Going into lockdown

As lockdown struck, my genuinely wonderful little team set about not just supporting people with wellbeing calls and support, but designing guides to get people online, an upbeat reassuring social media campaign as well as creating accessible digital versions of every last bit of our delivery. All whilst I secured the cash.

As a cloud based and fairly digitally savvy organisation, we started from a good base.  However, aware of the digital exclusion barriers many people face, we were very nearly paralysed into inactivity.  Such is the mountain to climb in getting people online, it was very difficult to see the top and easier not to bother at all.  At one level, no matter how fantastically engaging our online offer was, we knew in our heart of hearts that it would simply exclude some people by virtue of the digital barriers they faced.

Of course, this remains the case with our face to face delivery too. But somehow, when you’ve only one option available, this reality becomes a lot more stark. 

Because the truth is, that online delivery is just another tool.  As those that suffer anxiety have chosen to keep their cameras off, but still engaged, so people come to our training with their hoods up that slowly recede over the days. For many people it is exactly the virtual nature that works and for others, less so.  This is not a static situation and in reality, people may benefit from the best of both worlds. 

Indeed, some people engaged during the last few months who we had previously struggled to get in a room, precisely because they could have their camera off, didn’t need to spend £5 on a bus fare and/or travel for two and a half hours on public transport.

Equally, we can find ourselves working with people face to face so desperate to get out of the house, our offer acts as some kind of respite and is duly embraced.

Like any tool, no one size fits all and we will all do well to remember this in our race back to face to face.

Going online

Before Covid19 (BC) I had always aspired to an online offer.  Knowing that this would give the business more geographical reach and increase our impact, it was something of an aspiration.  I’d briefly explored webinars and we had even delivered the occasional course via Skype for someone too far away for the costs to be justifiable for a 1-2-1 intervention. But I didn’t want to do it badly.

So without the resource, skillset or time, we didn’t pursue this, wanting it to be right when we did.  Then Covid19 happened and our hand was forced.  Through research and partnerships it has now happened – whether it’s our tenancy training, youth voice or mentoring training, it’s all currently moved online.

Early indicators are hugely promising (notwithstanding measuring outcomes – as discussed in last week’s blog).  Trainees and volunteers are engaged, completing the interventions and feedback along the lines of how much better ours is than most online learning, is encouraging.

For our volunteer mentors, trained recently over a weekend, fitting a mixture of self-directed and tutor-led delivery into their busy lives all without having to leave the house, is likely to increase our volunteer base and reach, including leading to a more diverse cohort.  With all this positivity about our online offers, shouldn’t we sound a note of caution about face to face always being best?  

That some trainees as well as volunteers will prefer digital delivery is impossible to ignore.  

And then there’s the cost to consider.  For now we are capturing the cost of not just devices, data and dongles, but staff time in delivering tech, the staff time on a total redesign of content (and systems and processes) as well as travel and support for people lacking confidence or the skills to use the tech when they have it. It looks unlikely that this new virtual delivery will in reality work out any cheaper. This insight will lend itself to a more nuanced conversation with funders and commissioners to avoid anticipated costs-savings and slashed budgets.

Why face to face

Hugging, physical contact, warmth and connection – what do they all have in common?  They form Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and build connection.  Whilst we’re not big huggers at Your Own Place, our ethos is of care, warmth and connection. 

For now, despite in my last blog outlining all the great ways we can connect on Zoom, I believe that our basic human needs are best served face to face with the vast majority of people much of the time.  How much eye contact, body language and warmth is lost on Zoom?

We know that oxytocin is released through physical contact and we know the smiles and relationships that are created on our face to face courses. There are many soft outcomes that come about that are lost in Zoom – building social capital, meeting people that are going to be your neighbours and sharing a spontaneous joke over the making of a cup of tea. We have no intention of losing these things that we know are core to achieving our mission.

What next?

Early conversations with partners, commissioners and funders suggest a hybrid of delivery going forward.  It would be great not to have lost all this work and its many successes.  Ultimately any decisions will be made based on the impact, cost-effectiveness, reach and the appropriateness (including safety) to the lives of those we work with.

We will stay on mission and mostly, because we can, will return to face to face delivery.  We will return next summer for the buzz, the impact and the laughs.

Wrapping up this blog series 

I hope you’ve enjoyed these blogs as much as I have.  We’ve covered a lot of ground and we don’t have all the answers. If we pause to reflect what we’ve all achieved I think we have such solid foundations to build and recover from.  Without denying the hardship many of us have experienced, there is huge opportunity for good in this imposed digital revolution.

All five blogs will be pulled together into a final report shortly.  Thank you for joining me and for all your feedback.

Isn’t prevention a bit of luxury during a crisis?  Even in the ‘good’ times prevention seems to be the poor relative, underinvested due to more immediate emergencies taking all the attention.  During a pandemic, we have all become even more reactive and necessarily so.  Every one of us changed our behaviour and so did our employers.  This wasn’t solely in terms of going to the office, but operating our entire lives in a way that took many of us online more than we’d planned. 

Whether you find yourself consuming your fitness, sourdough recipes or Saturday night drinks via the Internet, we have something in common, we are all doing things differently.  Usually, we do all this face to face, currently, it’s virtual.

This has to mean the results change. In third sector speak, if you’re changing the inputs and outputs then you must be changing the outcomes and impact too – or the difference we set out to make.  Just as during lockdown, some of us put on weight, lost weight, gained new Instagram followers or launched new services. Personally, I developed what I’m pretty sure was a caffeine rash!  

All of this change to our inputs and outputs will continue to have a broader legacy that we’re yet to see.  From more children going into care, to an impact on climate change, our use of office space, homelessness, unemployment, poverty, the high street and closer to home, the difference we make to people’s lives.  

It is this issue of shifting outcomes that causes me almost greatest concern, second only to the subject of last week’s blog about keeping people safe. We can’t possibly still be achieving our previous outcomes if we’re doing it all so differently?  Moreover, we are using different tools to measure the outcomes. How viable and attractive is this to our commissioners (and worth doing), if we’re not making the same difference?

The perfect is almost certainly the enemy of the good here and in a crisis it arguably matters less if we don’t achieve our outcomes.  What commissioner in their right mind is going to haul us over the coals for falling short in 2020? This isn’t a long-term strategy for sustainability as a homelessness prevention organisation, however. As we look towards 2021, let alone reporting on impact for 2020, what will we have actually achieved that has anything to do with our mission?

If you measure it you treasure it! 

As the founder of a social enterprise that is still evolving, I am utterly committed to measuring outcomes, (without beating myself up about the imperfection of the art). We have measured relentlessly since we incorporated in 2013 and will continue to do so. I remain stunned by the propensity in the sector to still ignore the importance of measuring the difference they make and yet make huge claims of the lives ‘transformed’.  For me it’s the reason I get out of bed in the morning and not to do so pours fuel on the fire of those that wish to devalue the sector and seek to underfund us. 

How we achieve our outcomes has evolved over the years and is in truth part art and part science.  The art element has revealed itself to Your Own Place in greater colour in recent years, as we acknowledge the importance of our values (and therefore approaches) in achieving our outcomes.   The true impact of our values are all but impossible to measure, but I never cease telling the story of those values and how they impact on our outcomes. 

When inducting new staff, a key mantra is that you have no outcomes at all if someone doesn’t come back for the second day of training or a second mentor meeting. As such, the only real outcome required on day one is that of a good relationship – so that they come back on day two. Brene Brown has some really interesting things to say about day 2s and how hard they can be to achieve.

So, how has going online changed the inputs, outputs and outcomes? Do we know what the specific changes are that might impact on our ability to achieve our outcomes and how can we replicate them online? 

What do we normally do?

In normal times we do manage and measure our impact quite well.  Just as lockdown hit, we were completing an external review of our Managing Impact strategy, resulting in new Theories of Change, tools, reporting and review cycles. 

Like many organisations, we use a range of imperfect tools and then endeavour not to over-report.  Indeed, we probably underreport. I always fear the standard falling back on feel-good quotes and case-studies, when hard data is what’s needed to make strategic decisions. Sadly all too often the press, trustees behind trust funds and even some commissioners and funders still just want stories and exclude the stats (or the other way around).  The reality is of course you need both. Having studied ‘What Works’ as part of my Professional Certificate in Effective Practice (PCEP – Youth Justice Board), I am passionate about doing better and using the evidence to move forward.

Measuring a counterfactual is all but impossible, because it’s hard to prove you prevented something from happening that hasn’t happened. That doesn’t stop us trying. Measuring the prevention of homelessness in the purest sense would involve tracking people over a lifetime (something I’d love to be able to do).  By definition, people in transition can be hard to track down and as a team of seven we simply don’t have the resource. Like most in the sector we use a range of (semi-evidence-based) proxies that are determined in our Theories of Change.

Tools to collect qualitative as well as quantitative data and information include start and end questionnaires as well as longer-term follow-up impact questionnaires, reviews (for mentors and mentees), photos, case-studies, films, quotes, testimonials as well as a project log that we all update monthly to capture the learning and ascertain the ‘what worked’.  We’re conscious of the ‘happy sheets’ that get circulated at the end of so much training, so prefer questionnaires that follow later and don’t ask if people enjoyed the lunch!  All of this is collated for reporting, reviewing, marketing and referencing.

An important, often undervalued part of managing impact is of course the review cycle. It’s no good collecting all this great data if it just sits there.  Thanks to some pro bono work via a funder this year, we have now contracted with Renaisi to analyse the data from our two main projects once a year.  Already the learning has been huge and shows us the variance in outcomes between different demographic groups.  This allows us to test changes by altering one variable at a time.  The first we’re going to test is a change in our approach to start and end questionnaires. 

Managing impact is a bit like unknown unknowns.  I quite enjoyed knowing nothing, now I know a bit, I realise not just how much more there is we can do, but now have to confront doing it all virtually. 

A lot happens on our courses and interventions, so it’s only natural as well as helpful that we collect as much data as we do and in different ways for different people as well as audiences.  This is part of managing impact after all – understanding its different functions – from marketing to reporting to improving.   As we collect quantitative and qualitative data, keep logs and take footage as we go, this poses significant challenges in how we do this online and stay true to our values and approaches. 

With changes so fundamental, how can we possibly replicate the outcomes? And do we have enough handle on the changing needs and if not, should our outcomes be changing too?  Moreover, how much priority should digital outcomes now have? More fundamentally, is our service still the right one to prevent homelessness?

A couple of years ago, I sat down with Jarrod, our first TILS+ trainer, and we analysed all the things we defined as ‘core’ and ‘not core’ to our delivery. Like many founders who design in their own image, Jarrod’s fresh perspective enabled us to codify what we thought was core and not core. When we talk about core, it relates to building that all-important relationship with the people who we support. This means maximising engagement, retention and attendance whilst adhering to our values. This can literally be anything from shaking hands when people arrive, smiling, having their name on a entry board so they feel expected, providing cups of tea and decent refreshments that take their food requirements into account.  At the start of a course we turn music on when people arrive, provide a unique and visually appealing learning space, make eye contact, show respect by finishing on time and putting our phones down, never put someone on the spot and always find the positive in the less than perfect answers. Never underestimate the impact of treating people decently and to do it consistently, it has to be codified.  How achievable is all this now via Zoom?

When we return to face to face, and we will, all of this can be resumed.  For now though we have a significant challenge.

With everything we do, the perfect is the enemy of the good enough or even the done.  I think it’s fair to say that I sometimes take this too far.  I’ve a team of perfectionists (they do say surround yourself with people better than you), but sometimes, and I would argue that now is that time, you just have to wing it a bit.

My colleague Simone, who runs our Mentoring Training and did an astonishing job of converting it into eMentoring Training, had just this anxiety as we went virtual.  She finally articulated it in a way I understood, and unsurprisingly it came from her extraordinarily high levels of empathy.  She said that she didn’t want mentors training online to become ‘second class citizens’.  When Simone emerged from the first online course with tears of relief and joy (at least I think they were), we knew we were onto something in replicating not just what we do online, but how we make people feel.

We never abandoned our values of fun, interaction, innovation, high quality, equality, professionalism or being restorative.  Finding ways of doing this over Zoom brings out the creative in everyone.

I’ve said before it’s not been all plain sailing – this has been hard on staff and they have felt the pressure.  But it’s written all over everyone’s faces when it works.

Our solution was to maintain and adapt as many of the core features of our face to face delivery as possible and take them online as was feasible.  Although you can’t make someone a cup of tea on Zoom you can welcome them with a smile, invite them to make their own cuppa and ensure they feel expected and welcome.  Arguably, with life so tough right now, this matters more than ever.  Just last week at the end of a tenancy training course via Zoom, a trainee told Jess ‘you’ve managed to make it feel like a big family and I felt brilliantly comfortable’. 

In terms of measuring outcomes, again we stuck to the core principles when searching for the right online tools to make them work.  There are unforeseen benefits to some of this and needless to say, some will stay with us way beyond lockdown.  For example sending out questionnaires electronically in advance of a course is efficient and even acts as an engagement tool for conversation.

How do we measure?

We now use Google forms for evaluation, collect data from mentors on their meetings using Wufoo forms and send out start and end questionnaires electronically too.  I’ve enjoyed using Menti for polls and our use of Canva as our presentation tool allows us to emulate pretty much any visual trick we like, for example using it for scaling statements with the annotate function. 

Whilst we may all be a bit bored of the Zoom montage pictures on Instagram, as records of engagement, enjoyment and participation, they remain a valuable record. All of this has an impact on the time to design courses as well as support people to use the functionality, including purchasing and then installing hardware for people living in a large rural county. On the flip slide there are some savings on sending out virtual forms in place of paper ones (including environmentally). 

We also chose delivery platforms that would most emulate our offer, style and values whilst creating essential new resources (Zoom and email guides)) where needed.  We now offer ‘run through’ sessions for Zoom usage and functionality before workshops and training.  We’ve even created a separate Google Drive so that when our mentors are undertaking their eMentoring Training in self-led sessions, they have a learning log that they can bring to the tutor-led sessions, which also then happens on Zoom.

In order to measure like for like, we have kept the same outcome measures across face to face and digital delivery.  The inputs (staff time, digital platforms) and outputs (configuration of the delivery) have inevitably changed. For now the outcomes are largely sacrosanct and give us a fixed point to plan from (and there aren’t many of those right now!). Commissioners are still commissioning us to prevent homelessness and not only to increase digital resilience after all.

There are so many variables in the picture described above, from the delivery itself, the evaluation tools and the digital resilience of the trainees and mentees themselves, that it’s hard to imagine our outcomes not being affected. In not letting the perfect be the enemy of the good enough, our priority right now is that people are still receiving a service and we’re confident we’re still having a positive impact. With bigger datasets we can start to compare outcomes.  There’s certainly a lot less paper and much more order in how we store things. 

I haven’t yet determined whether the fact that we were in the midst of overhauling our Impact Strategy when lockdown hit was a help or a hindrance.  That it got behind schedule is in no doubt, but it also meant that our heads were in the game. 

Values and principles

Having a set of values and approaches that a team is on board with (if you measure it you treasure it) undoubtedly makes all the difference.  Trusting them to get on with the ideas and then reigning in for detailed scrutiny and sense-checking is working increasingly well.  

Our values are our principles that we go back to again and again.  When I am muddled and struggling to find a solution, my go-to question is always ‘what is the desired outcome?’.  It’s the same with every member of the team.  It doesn’t matter if I’m preparing for a meeting, designing a Theory of Change or struggling with a social media post – the question is always the same.  It’s important  too to be honest with commissioners. We’ve asked them to trust us and let us try new things. 

The big questions

Some big questions lie ahead. At Your Own Place we take an organic and embedded approach to digital skills – delivering them as part of the bigger programme, not a programme in of itself.  They are delivered by a kind of osmosis. What will it take for commissioners who wish to prevent homelessness to pay for this and how can we do it if they don’t?

This raises some pretty fundamental questions for the sector in terms of regarding ‘digital’ as another overhead if it is to become business as usual and then having to deliver it and measure it. The likelihood is that it will change the impact we have and our organisations forever.

I hope you’ll join me for blog five when I’ll be exploring when, how or even if we return to full face to face delivery.

Charities and the third-sector are undoubtedly key to ensuring the country emerges from this pandemic as unscathed as possible. Now is the perfect time to recruit volunteers – both due to increased demand for services and the general public’s very real willingness to support local initiatives. 

As demonstrated in Danny Kruger MP’s Levelling Up Our Communities report, there has been an almost unprecedented willingness from ordinary people to step up and collaborate with local service providers. Against a backdrop of huge economic uncertainty, the public has shown they are prepared to support those in need. Community power is being shown. People who ordinarily would not consider volunteering are thinking of new ways to get involved with their communities to support those who are struggling. This is fantastic news for organisations who rely heavily on volunteers to deliver much-needed resources and interventions. Where previously you may have struggled to communicate the importance of supporting people who are struggling, campaigns that have captured the public imagination, such as those led by Marcus Rashford and Captain Tom, have meant there are now thousands of people willing to play their part. 

Training this new mobilised group of volunteers can be tricky, especially with social distancing making traditional approaches unfeasible. Online training is a great way to keep your staff and volunteers safe – but setting it up can be difficult and time-consuming, time which could be better spent serving those most needing support. There’s also the added difficulty of ensuring your training is both engaging and informative, volunteers are expected to take on large amounts of information so avoiding Zoom fatigue is key. This is where Your Own Place’s online Volunteer training comes in. 

Working with The Learning Tank we design and deliver bespoke training for your volunteers, providing the most comprehensive online training available to a budget-conscious sector. Having trained over 250 volunteers in just over seven years, we have an excellent track record and understand what’s important to both organisations and volunteers. Utilising a blend of trainer-led Zoom sessions and self-led modules, all our training packages guarantee volunteers get the information they need in an easy-to-access format. 

As part of the trainer-led sessions, volunteers have the opportunity to get to know one another – providing the same support and insights they would have if it were taking place face to face. These modules cover motivations and what volunteers gain from mentoring, the role, the importance of boundaries, prejudice and why it matters, building empathy, listening and good communication practices, the asset-based and restorative approaches, and look at beneficiary case-studies including safeguarding issues. We can design modules based on any information specific to your organisation and the role volunteers will have with you. During these sessions, we utilise the full functionality of Zoom to ensure volunteers stay engaged and present throughout. 

The self-directed learning modules cover more of the theory behind the role including an introduction to the organisation, what the role is and the support offered, key skills and values they need, and the legal aspects and specific policies and procedures relating to safeguarding. Our use of interactive activities sets us apart from other self-led trainers and helps keep learners focused and on-track. 

There are several ways you can integrate Your Own Place’s online Volunteer training into your onboarding process; whether you need us to create a fully bespoke package, transform your current offering to suit the needs of online training in an engaging and fun format which you then deliver, transform your current training and then delivering it ourselves, or provide off-the-shelf solutions that cover the main areas required. 

If you think your organisation could benefit from using online training to onboard your volunteers, get in touch with Rebecca for more information – rebecca@yourownplace.org.uk or on 07530 028446.