the uk voluntary sector workforce: key skills for the ...

THE UK VOLUNTARY SECTOR WORKFORCE: KEY SKILLS FOR THE INFORMATION AGE Daisy Hodgson and Maggie McPherson Department of Information Studies, University of Sheffield, Regent Court, 211 Portobello Street, Sheffield, S1 4 DP, U.K.

ABSTRACT Information skills are clearly becoming more important to individuals at all levels of society. According to Europe Go Digital (2002: 1) “What matters most in a knowledge-based society are people and ideas, and the ability to make use of them”. This paper focuses on needs of workers within the UK voluntary sector and attempts to identify information skills in particular. These needs were initially investigated through a thorough literature review. Further empirical research compared five small-scale case-studies within voluntary sector organisations in South Yorkshire. The findings revealed that skills in harnessing and sharing information are invaluable within the sector. The importance of individual judgement and knowledge was also stressed by respondents. Whilst it is clear that these skills are not uniquely required by voluntary sector workers, it does seem that a certain combination of these skills may be of particular value. Given that this was a small-scale research project, much more investigation is required in this area, including such needs as basic literacy; information awareness and evaluation; writing, editing and presentation skills; verbal communication and networking skills; information seeking and the use of ICTs. KEYWORDS

Voluntary sector, skills gaps, information skills, information literacy, evaluation skills, cognitive mapping

1. INTRODUCTION A recent study commissioned by the Voluntary Sector National Training Organisation (VSNTO) suggested that substantial skills deficiencies exist within the UK voluntary sector workforce (Wilding et al., 2003). These deficiencies fall into two broad categories i.e. ‘skills shortages’ and ‘skills gaps’. Skills shortages relate to recruitment where “demand for applicants with the right skills [outstrips] the number of people with those skills (Ibid: 8)”. Skills gaps occur within organisations where some or all employees are not proficient in the skills required to achieve organisational objectives. The existence of ‘information skills gaps’ is explicitly identified by Gibbs and Linley (2000: 159) within a “significant minority” of voluntary sector organisations. On the basis of these findings, the initial purpose of the work was to be the investigation of information skills gaps (i.e. deficiencies in the skills required to manage information) within the UK voluntary sector. However, these were found to be a lesser problem than was initially anticipated: “The sector’s experience of skills gaps appears to be less widespread than is the case for skills shortages. However, this requires further investigation (Wilding et al., 2003: 9).” In order to investigate skills gaps, it seems logical to first establish information skills requirements. The aim of this paper is therefore the identification of the skills required to manage information by voluntary sector workers.

1.1 The Context and Importance of Information Skills Information skills may be defined as ‘expertness in the telling or giving of intelligence or knowledge (Pearsall and Trumble, 1995)’. However, skill is not the same as competence. Skills are to do with measurable behaviour whilst competencies are to do with measurable output (Skelton and Abell, 2001), i.e. ‘can it be done’ as opposed to ‘can it be done well’. This distinction is important, as whilst this paper aims to

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IADIS International Conference e-Society 2004

identify the skills which voluntary sector employees require to manage information effectively, it is in no way an attempt to measure their competence in such skills. The study of information skills might be viewed as a limited part in the wider field of information literacy, i.e. the ability to “recognise when information is needed and… locate, evaluate and use effectively the needed information (American Library Association (1989), cited in Behrens, 1994: 315).” Indeed, early behaviourist studies of information literacy focused on defining desirable ‘skills sets’ for the generic workplace. However, defining an information literate individual through the creation of skills sets has been criticised for encouraging a ‘surface learning approach’ to information literacy (Webber and Johnston, 2000). Whilst the development of skills sets for students of particular professions may still prove valuable in circumstances where there are clearly defined skills requirements and clear method of entry into the profession (Frame and Canter, 2001), there is no one method of entry or training course that qualifies an individual as a ‘voluntary sector worker’. Employees come from a wide variety of backgrounds and have a wide variety of perceptions and expectations (Bennett, 1998). They are therefore likely to possess (and require) a diverse range of information skills for their work. A related issue is that of where individual information skills needs fit into the wider debate surrounding information management and knowledge management. It seems clear that those responsible for information and knowledge management within an organisation should possess particular information skills (Powell, 1999). In the simplest working environments, information management can be defined as “the common sense application of information awareness to that environment (Ibid: 48)”. In theory, knowledge management should be a natural progression from information management in that it uses knowledge gained from accumulated information to create value for the organisation in which it is applied (Milner, 2000). However, some organisations have been unsuccessful in introducing knowledge management as they did not ensure that the necessary information management practices were firstly put in place (Ibid). The key point is that just as knowledge management should be based on sound information management, information management requires skilled employees to carry it out (Milner, 2000). Davenport (1997: 114) notes that “every member of an organisation who uses or modifies the information environment is also part of the support structure”. This is true of many small organisations which are unable to employ specialist information staff but require that all employees have certain information skills (Rosenberg, 2002). Dale and O’Flynn (2001) point out that even in organisations where information workers are employed, many managers have become ‘information junkies’ who prefer to do their own information seeking on the Internet. It seems then, that information skills are at the heart of both information literacy and information and knowledge management, though these concepts are more complex than lists of skills alone can convey. Furthermore, it seems that information skills are becoming increasingly important to staff at all levels of an organisation as opposed to designated information staff alone. From the literature, this seems particularly true for voluntary sector organisations, which have as much (if not more) to lose from bad information management as private sector enterprises (Clutterbuck and Dearlove, 1996).

1.2 The Voluntary Sector within the UK The UK voluntary sector is a worthy field of study for a number of reasons. It has a long history; having developed from the traditions of nineteenth century altruism and early twentieth century self-help (Rochester, 1998) to became sole or joint providers of a number of services during the 1980s, and a key partner in policy implementation during the 1990s and beyond (Courtney, 2002). As such, it may be considered a key element of the social and political landscape and is arguably a part of public life in which there is considerable national pride (Kendall and Knapp, 1996). However, there is no agreed definition of what constitutes ‘the voluntary sector’ within the UK (Rochester, 1998). This is due to the diverse nature of those organisations which may be included within it; from small, informal groups campaigning on local issues to multi-million pound charities which are acknowledged as experts in their field. Existing descriptions of the sector bring to mind something that has been thrown together almost at random, i.e. a ‘loose and baggy monster’ (Kendall and Knapp, 1995). Hudson (1995: 26) suggests some characteristics which unite voluntary sector organisations, though these are expressed in terms of values and actions rather than functions or structures. He states that they must exist for a social purpose, be independent of the state and “reinvest all their financial surpluses in the services they

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offer or the organisation itself”. This places them firmly in a particular context in relation to the public and private spheres. Nevertheless, many voluntary sector organisations are finding themselves in an increasingly difficult position. The need to be ‘professional’ and manage their resources in the most beneficial way must be balanced against public attitudes and expectations. Furthermore, Handy (1988) states that different types of voluntary organisation will have different attitudes to management. If this is so then organisations with multiple functions may well face internal conflict over how they (and their information resources) should be managed, even where management is accepted as a general good. Clutterbuck and Dearlove (1996) argue that although some managers in the private sector consider their voluntary sector counterparts to be ‘poor cousins’; in reality, they manage organisations of equal (if not greater) complexity and may be responsible for equivalent budgets. In this sense, voluntary sector managers are faced with similar challenges to their public and private sector counterparts. However, Myers and Sacks (2001) state that in as far as it is possible to generalise, voluntary sector organisations must be managed in terms of their emphasis on autonomy, individuality and rationalisation. Without consideration of organisational values and the particular importance of a wide range of stakeholders, they state that business management practices are destined to fail. Therefore, despite some parallels with both the public and private sectors, there also seem grounds to suggest that the voluntary sector is indeed a distinct entity, which requires distinct management practices. On this basis, the investigation of whether ‘voluntary sector workers’ require particular information skills may be justified.

2. THE IDENTIFICATION OF INFORMATION SKILLS NEEDS AMONGST VOLUNTARY SECTOR WORKERS 2.1 The Problem Although previous investigations of information skills needs have been carried out, there are few which focus on the voluntary sector in particular. Others have focused on library and information professionals (Garrod and Sidgreaves, 1997) or have excluded the voluntary sector from study (Skelton and Abell, 2001). However, as outlined above, the sector seemed worthy of study in this context due to its role in society and its unique combination of characteristics. The research took place within a group of voluntary umbrella organisations based in South Yorkshire. Such organisations exist to promote and co-ordinate the activities of other organisations of a particular type or within a particular area. Therefore, the research question may be specifically expressed as follows: What skills are required for the effective management of information by employees of voluntary sector ‘umbrella’ organisations based in South Yorkshire?

2.2 Methodology One intention of the work is to highlight the perceptions and attitudes of voluntary sector workers in relation to their information skills needs. These perceptions and attitudes do not exist in isolation; rather they should be studied in the context of the voluntary sector workplace in which information skills are required. Therefore, case study research was chosen on the basis that it can be used to investigate ‘what is going on’ in a given situation (Bouma and Atkinson, 1995). Although the majority of case studies investigate propositions (usually expressed as ‘how’ and ‘why’ questions), Yin (2003) states that it is acceptable to simply explore the circumstances of a case provided there is an explanation of the purpose of the study and its criteria for success. As there has been relatively little written about information skills in the voluntary sector thus far, such exploratory study may reveal new issues not identified in the literature. A multiple case design was subsequently selected over the investigation of a single case. The findings of a multiple case study may be considered “more compelling”, in that repeated studies in similar contexts might produce similar results (Yin, 2003: 46). The logic of choosing multiple cases has been likened to that

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used in the replication of experiments rather than the choice of respondents to a survey (Ibid.). On this basis, the intention was to choose five organisations which were similar enough to expect that their employees might have similar information skills needs. Stake (1995: 4) argues that in choosing a case “the first criterion should be to maximise what we can learn.” With this in mind, ‘intermediary bodies’ (Handy, 1988), also known as umbrella organisations, were selected for study. Umbrella organisations are likely to be ‘information intensive’, i.e. they deal with large amounts of information in relation to both the organisations that they support and those to which they promote their cause (such as local or central government). The National Association for Councils of Voluntary Service was chosen along with four ‘regional’ CVS organisations (i.e. Voluntary Action Barnsley; Doncaster CVS, Voluntary Action Rotherham and Voluntary Action Sheffield). As they are all based in South Yorkshire, it is likely that they may have worked closely together in the past, either formally (through regional organisations) or informally (through personal contacts). Though every effort was made to obtain similarity of outcome through careful selection of the case study organisations, it must be remembered that no collection of cases are guaranteed to produce similar results. The chosen organisations are not identical in terms of structure or job roles, and will vary in terms of staff backgrounds and expertise. Therefore, rather than attempting to make direct comparisons between results, the analysis will concentrate on identifying themes in relation to the information skills needs of their employees.

2.3 Data Collection Initially, the intention was to conduct two interviews within each organisation: the first with a designated ‘information officer’ or similar; the second with a member of staff without any ‘official’ information management responsibility. In reality, after initial contact with each organisation, the request for an interview was often passed to the single person considered most appropriate to respond on their behalf. Whilst this was not ideal, it was still considered a valid approach in that within many types of organisation, all members of staff are required to deal with information on a regular basis. The interview schedule was intended to draw on both information management practices within the organisation and a particular task which the interviewee carries out on a regular basis. From the literature, it seems that information management practices within an organisation (and its general attitude to information) have a direct bearing on the information skills needs of their employees (Powell, 1999). Therefore, rather than ask a number of direct questions about ‘information skills’, section one was intended to provide details of the context in which the employees work. This aimed to avoid any confusion over the concepts of ‘skill’ and ‘proficiency’ and allow the interviewee to speak freely without feeling that their own skills are under scrutiny. Topics included: the structure of the organisation and the interviewees’ role within it; written and unwritten information policy and practice; the use of a library or central information resource; the use of ICTs; internal and external information sharing; how the organisation might use information more effectively and information skills of particular value to the voluntary sector. Section two changed the ‘level’ of enquiry from organisational to task specific. Its focus was the process which the interviewee follows when locating, evaluating and interpreting information for a particular task. This aimed to identify individual information skills in relation to information location, evaluation and interpretation and attitudes to information sharing from the description of the task. This method of investigation was suggested by the work of Cheuk (1998), who developed a process model of information literacy.

2.4 Analysis Yin (2003: 109) describes analysis as “one of the least developed and difficult aspects of doing case studies”, whilst Eisenhardt (1989: 539) states that “a huge chasm often separates data from conclusions.” With this in mind, cognitive mapping was selected as the primary method of analysis. This is a technique used to illustrate the causal relationships between concepts; which are expressed as far as possible in the ‘natural language’ of the individuals who generate them (Banxia, 2003). It is hoped that cognitive maps will identify the relevant issues in each case at the expense of much which is interesting but largely irrelevant to the

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research questions (Figure 1). Cognitive mapping seems appropriate to this study due to the likely complexity of each case and the desire to identify information skills needs through employee perceptions. Maps are built up from short phrases, which often include the opposing ‘poles’ of an issue. For example ‘use e-mail… send a letter’ would be read ‘use e-mail rather than send a letter’. These are intended to provide greater insight into individual ways of thinking than one pole alone (Ibid). A further feature of cognitive mapping is the way in which relationships are expressed, i.e. an arrow is usually read as ‘may lead to’ rather than as a simple link. This allows statements to be arranged in a hierarchy; from goals (in the centre of a map) to strategic objectives and options for achieving them (further from the centre). There can be more than one central goal, and multiple connections between statements are expected (Ibid). There is no definitive cognitive map for any given situation (Banxia, 2003). Although software can aid the creation and analysis of such maps, it can only work with the information inputted by the user. Trial maps produced using such software appeared impressive, though their meaning was difficult to interpret. Therefore, more simplistic maps were produced using Microsoft PowerPoint. Although these are unlikely to capture every possible element of a case, they seem complete enough to identify the significant issues without confusion. As such, they are considered to fulfil the requirements of research at this level (Figure 1). Natural selection… set criteria

Judgement of CVS interests Support email networks

Two-way process… reliance on incoming information

Liaison meetings… e-mail

Communicate effectively with external agencies

Produce newsletter

Promote good practice

Feedback constructively to CVS Use of circulation slip

Division of labour… individual task

Journals straight to specialists… information overload

Harness incoming information

Database with searchable archive… forget valuable information

Formal filing policy

Reach grass roots

Forwarding relevant emails Internal e-mail… face to face communication

Internal information sharing… hoarding

Achieve knowledge management

Time for development… treadmill of publications

Ask each other…rely on NACVS

Download publications … refer to files

Sort out problems in person… refer to policy

Keep things that work unwritten… over-formalise Dual paper and Web service

Rely on judgement of admin staff

Figure 1. A Cognitive Map of Information Needs and Use within the National Association of Councils for Voluntary Service (NACVS)

2.5 Findings Despite expected differences in emphasis between the organisations, the cognitive maps showed that their goals in relation to information may all be linked to using it most effectively. This is perceived in a number of different ways, such as producing valuable resources or achieving knowledge management. The strategies to achieve this all relate to either harnessing information or sharing it in some way, whether within an organisation or between the organisation and other voluntary or non-voluntary groups. As such, there does seem a general need for certain information skills as discussed below:

•

Basic literacy, numeracy and office management skills, which create understanding of information and allow it to be shared.

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• • • • • • • •

Skills in information awareness, particularly of new information, is important to ensure up-to-date knowledge of developments which affect their organisations and those with which they work. Information evaluation skills, including judging relevance and currency, which can reduce ‘information overload’, save time and allow valuable information to be targeted towards where it is most needed. Summarising and editing skills, which can be used to extract that which is valuable from lengthy, complex documents. Verbal communication and networking skills, which are important in obtaining and sharing information with a variety of people, and in maintaining valuable contacts. ICT skills, which are valuable in sharing information via e-mail, and in seeking and accessing resources through online databases or the Internet. Such skills do not seem required by all, though they are growing in importance. Information seeking skills, which involve an understanding of the value of various sources and the ability to obtain information on paper, electronically and from individuals. Writing and presentation skills, which are required to communicate knowledge on paper or electronically, in the most effective way for the intended audience. Judgement and knowledge, whilst not necessarily information skills, may be applied to information management to increase its benefit to the organisation.

When these findings were compared with information from the literature, there appeared to be a number of parallels. The need for general skills in relation to information awareness and in evaluating, editing, producing, communicating and seeking is apparent, as is the application of individual knowledge. Powell (1999) highlights the importance of basic literacy and office management skills, whilst Cheuk (1998) and Davenport (1997) stress the importance of presentation. Bennet (1998) and Powell (1999) support the finding that information must be constantly evaluated in relation to organisational goals. They also support the particular importance of being aware of new information and of being “ruthless” when disposing of irrelevant material. Finally, they agree that communication and networking skills are important for information sharing both within and between organisations. Summarising, editing and presentation skills emerged as of particular value within the case study organisations. All interviewees were constantly required to re-produce and circulate information (whether verbally, electronically or on paper), to be understood by a wide variety of people. However the importance of these particular skills was not made explicit by the literature.

3. CONCLUSION 3.1 What skills are required for the Effective Management of Information by Employees of Voluntary Sector ‘umbrella’ Organisations based in South Yorkshire? It is difficult to provide a definitive answer to this question, as individual employees require different types and levels of skill depending on their particular role. It is also difficult to know how specific to be in listing information skills given that some may be closely related to or required to achieve others. Nevertheless, the evidence suggests that there are particular skills in relation to harnessing and sharing information which are required by employees within the case study organisations. Based on evidence from the case studies, writing and presentation skills emerge as especially useful. Accumulated knowledge and judgement seem vital; such skills allow individual knowledge to be expressed to others in a format in which it will be understood. Skill in information awareness may also be particularly important due to the frequency with which new initiatives are introduced to the organisations. Information evaluation skills (particularly when combined with awareness of organisational goals) also seem valuable. Individual failure to appreciate new or existing information could have considerable negative impact on the organisations if it results in failure to obtain funding. Furthermore, inability to dispose of that which is irrelevant may result in ‘information overload’ and have a detrimental effect on an employees’ productivity. Networking and verbal communication skills may also be of particular value within the case study organisations, as some employees are required to work with a wide variety of people. Skill in obtaining and

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sharing information through face-to-face and telephone contact seems important in ensuring mutual understanding. Furthermore, as those who work in umbrella organisations may be particularly disposed towards co-operation, networking skills seem important in order to access the accumulated knowledge of others in a particular area, field or role. Finally, although ICT skills are certainly valuable within the organisations studied, they alone are not sufficient to ensure the effective transfer of information to their client groups. Some such groups do not have access to ICT equipment, or lack the level of skills required to utilise available equipment effectively. More important in such situations is the ability of employees to evaluate the information needs of their clientele and respond appropriately. In practice, this may mean having the awareness to provide certain information on paper rather than in electronic format. It seems that employees are expected to possess a wide variety of skills, including those required to effectively manage information. The above information skills may be of particular value in general terms, though further post-specific skills may be required depending on employees’ individual information requirements and use.

3.2 Limitations of the Research Due to time constraints, it was only possible to interview one employee from each case study organisation. Further viewpoints would have provided a more solid foundation from which to draw general conclusions, particularly if the additional interviewees held non-management posts. Having established a list of general information skills of value to employees within the case study organisations, additional research could use these findings as a basis for hypothesis. Future case studies could investigate whether these skills are required within other groups of organisations (CVS and otherwise) within the voluntary sector. Cross-sector research could be carried out to determine whether there are genuine differences in information skills needs between employees within the voluntary, public and private spheres. Finally, this research might provide a starting point for a more in-depth study of information skills gaps within voluntary sector organisations.

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