Is Outcomes Star right for you?
Four things to ask yourself to get the most out of Outcomes Star
If you’re considering making the Outcomes Star approach and our Stars part of your practice, there’s one important question you need to consider – whether it’s the right fit for your practice and the people you support.
While there are over 50 Stars developed for use with everyone from children, teens and families to armed forces veterans, refugees and people recovering from disaster, the Outcomes Star approach isn’t right for every service and setting.
In this article we’ll help you understand where the Stars can effectively help you guide people through the Journey of Change.
“The Star has changed the way our keyworkers operate and we are getting better results”
– Service provider
Question 1. Do you have a ‘trusted helper’ model of support?
Outcomes Stars are designed to work within a model of support that is prevalent across many sectors, and yet it doesn’t have a single, recognisable name. You may know it as keywork, casework, support work, recovery, peer to peer support or something else!
A broad definition would be a ‘trusted helper’ model where the service provides support that is:
- 𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐨𝐧𝐞
In various different ways, which can include group work or other approaches too – but with a relationship between person providing support and person being supported at the heart.
- 𝐖𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐞-𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞
Working holistically to make sustainable change happen, because lives are complex systems made up of interconnected factors & influences.
- 𝐇𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐨𝐧
More than providing information & advice; it looks different in different settings, but it’s about the practitioner being by the side of the person they support – an active partner in change, through communication & action planning. That doesn’t mean ‘doing for’ or taking away agency though & that’s where the real skill comes in.
- 𝐎𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞
More than a single interaction; exact time periods will differ depending on the circumstances & services.
If you are not working in that way – perhaps providing information and advice only, or perhaps not supporting someone over time – then Outcomes Star is probably not the right fit for you. Talk to us about what you need as a first step if you think this is the case, as we may be able to advise on alternative solutions.
Question 2: Do you work collaboratively with the people you support?
Completing a Star is a collaborative process. You and the individuals you support work together to complete their Star, following a person-centred process that puts their strengths, assets, needs and goals in full focus. Through co-reported outcomes, someone’s perspective and the perspective of a practitioner are captured together in the Star (these can also be captured separately too.)
The nature of this collaborative process may differ in different services – for example, it may be appropriate to collaborate with someone’s circle of support. But Outcomes Star works best when it is embedded into collaborative, person-centred practice.
Question 3: Do you have the time and resources to commit to training?
To make sure that you and the people you support get the most out of Outcomes Star, every licence holder has to complete core training. This is to make sure that every practitioner is able to use the Stars effectively to measure and understand progress, identify what needs more focus, develop realistic action plans and facilitate difficult conversations.
There is a degree of flexibility in how we train your team to be ready for Outcomes Star. For example, we can deliver core training in either full-day, face-to-face modules or half-day remote modules. We also offer additional training in areas like action planning, difficult conversations and practice review to further prepare your team.
However, the core training module is always required for new users of the Stars, so if you are considering adding Outcomes Star to your practice you need to be sure that you and your people can commit to the training phase.
To learn more about the training we offer, take a look at our training page.
Question 4. Can you use Outcomes Star Online?
The Outcomes Star approach is much more than just software – but getting the practical processes for recording and reporting Star data right can make all the difference for a successful implementation for practitioners.
Outcomes Star Online is a dedicated online application for recording completed Stars and reporting on Star data. It is included within the account and licence fees, is fully compliant with data protection and cyber security (including ISO27001 and for the UK’s NHS, DTAC/DBS0129 Clinical Safety compliance) and is easy to use and set up. It can also be integrated with your existing software through our APIs. Find out more here.
If you are considering using Outcomes Star it is worth exploring what your digital systems needs are upfront, including integration with your existing software. We can support with any information compliance documentation or processes you need – just get in touch.
Final considerations
If Outcomes Star is the right approach for you, are you ready to start?
Because we require 4-6 weeks’ notice to deliver in-house onboarding and training, it’s essential to make sure that you’re still in a position to engage with those sessions when they happen. For that reason, if an organisation is about to go through any significant change or has only just come through a period of change, we usually suggest delaying getting started with Outcomes Star.
Do you have buy-in from the decision makers?
It’s important that the people talking to us about getting started with Outcomes Star are able to influence the implementation within their organisation. If that isn’t the case, it might be that you need to focus on getting buy-in from the people who need to be involved in the implementation process before moving forward with the Stars.
If we think that the time isn’t quite right for Outcomes Star to become part of your practice, we are more than happy to chat to you about what might need to happen to implement the Stars at a later date.
Next steps and more support
We can work with you on what an implementation plan could look like for your organisation, before you choose to move forward, to help you assess if the Outcomes Star approach is right for you. Contact us to talk through the options and how it might work for you.