24 June 08 – Review of the Interventions Delivery Target (IDT)
A report published today reviews the implementation of the Interventions Delivery Target (IDT) for Jobcentre Plus. The IDT measures whether customers in receipt of Incapacity Benefit, Income Support or Jobseekers Allowance have timely support and work focused interviews taking place in order to help them get back into work.
The research focused on providing an overview of how IDT is working and how performance is managed by Jobcentre Plus staff. A qualitative approach was used, focusing on the views and perceptions of individual staff, gathered via a series of in-depth interviews.
The key findings of the research were:
- Staff felt IDT supported good customer service by ensuring customers are provided with the advice and support that will assist them to find work.
- Staff also thought that elements of the target ensured support for priority customers i.e. Lone Parents and Incapacity Benefit (IB) Customers.
- Fail to Attend (FTA) rates and the availability of advisers to conduct interviews were identified as main potential constraints on performance. However the use of pre-interview calls and effective diary management was seen as important to aid IDT performance.
- Many offices reported using Specialist Advisers in a multi-functional manner. A key advantage of this was the enabling of Jobcentres to deal with peaks in demand, staff leave and sickness. However, some staff expressed concern that this could lead to the dilution of Specialist Adviser skills and knowledge.
- Staff highlighted the supporting link between Job Outcome Target (JOT) and IDT, in particular that attending a Work Focused Interview (WFI) at the correct time may have a positive impact upon a customer’s chances of finding employment.
Notes to Editors
- The DWP research report “Review of the Interventions Delivery Target (IDT)” is published on 24 June 2008.
- The review is based on qualitative methods, focusing on the views and perceptions of staff gathered via a series of in-depth interviews. To achieve this, the review was conducted in two stages; Stage One involving a post implementation review carried out during June and July 2007, and Stage Two a stock-take review during November and December 2007. The research was conducted by the Centre for Public Policy at Northumbria University. The review authors are James Lowrey and Ann Purvis.
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