Many people have a relationship with supervision. Whether it is systematic supervision or informal supervision. Some have a good experience with it. While others have less positive experiences with it. This is because supervision includes many different methods and techniques. Supervision has previously depended on who you get as a supervisor. With systematic supervision, you give less power to coincidences.
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Why systematic supervision?
When you now read this article, I assume that you recognize the benefits of supervision (such as the development of the right skills, work environment, and job satisfaction). I also assume that you are to a greater extent looking to find out how you can achieve a good and systematic approach. An approach that draws out the effect of the supervision. Well done then you are already in the first step: To understand the usefulness of systematization and structure.
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It costs time and money to pursue development. Therefore, the schemes must be good when we first implement measures. Adding supervision without a plan is almost like buying welfare technology without providing training or explaining to anyone the benefits. It may be used by a few, but it is difficult to see the benefit. With a good system around supervision, you can ensure that people see the benefit of and benefit from the supervision.
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Several researchers consider structure as an important success factor in supervision (Bergland & Hestetun, 2003; Ducat and Kumar, 2015). Bergland and Hestetun (2003) point out, for example, that it is important to work with attitudes as to why supervision is important. They also point to the importance of finding the right time for supervision. Ducat and Kumar (2015) in turn examined several supervision studies. They found that there is a general need for a consistent and structured supervision process.
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Choose from several procedures for systematic supervision
It is possible to make supervision systematic with several procedures. External help, digital supervision service, and own system are some of them.
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Option 1: External help
In Bergland and Hestetun (2003), they chose an external supervisor who helped them structure the supervision. In the same way, you hire consultants, universities, or knowledge centers to help create systematic supervision. They can help plan the supervision, conduct it and evaluate the supervision.
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The advantages of using external help are that you can choose people with a lot of expertise in the area. They may have gained some experience and read a lot of theories in the field. This means that choices and decisions are not based on perception, but a qualified basis. You do not have to spend a lot of time and resources on getting a good supervision plan yourself.
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The disadvantages of using external help are that it often costs quite a bit to involve external over a long period. This is money you could spend on other things. When they go out and the assignment is finished, it can be difficult to keep the competence they have and have gained.
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Option 2: Digital supervision service
Another method that can be used to create systematic supervision is a digital supervision service. It can be seen that more people who have used supervision for a period are switching to this type. For example, many students use digital supervision tools. Digital tools can be used in physical meetings. They can be used to plan, implement and evaluate the supervision. See for example peer-it’s digital supervision services.
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The advantages of using a digital supervision service are that all parties gain ownership of the supervision and become proficient in the process. Good digital services are based on research and theory which means that their actions are based on this foundation without having to read 100 books in the field first. It is stated that with digital resources, the supervision can be more targeted and less time is spent on informal talking. Also read why digital supervision is so popular.
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The disadvantages of digital supervision are also that it costs a bit. If the employees have very little experience with data, one may need to provide basic training in the use of the technology. It also requires that you have available data, Ipad, or mobile that the participants can complete the supervision on.
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Option 3: Own system based on research and literature
It is also possible to create your systems based on research and literature. This means that you read aloud and learn the supervision field. There is a lot of available literature and research articles in the area that say something about what should be included in a plan, who should be supervisors, how the supervision can be implemented, etc. Maybe there are also some free resources online that you can use.
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The advantages of this approach are that you become proficient in supervision. You will most likely also get large ownership of the supervision and can use this to train other colleagues or employees.
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The downside of trying to figure it all out for yourself is that it requires a lot of time and energy that you could spend on other things. It costs a bit in terms of staff costs, and the consequence of the time you should spend on other important tasks.
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Assess and implement
Once you have chosen the procedure, it is important to consider various actors, pitfalls, and success criteria.
When choosing external help, you must consider who will help you. Feel free to read up on what the different ones can do and hear what they can contribute. You may well take a get-acquainted conversation before with a select few before deciding on an actor.
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If you choose digital services, you can search for different solutions and evaluate them against each other. Here it can be useful to consider features, security, and GDPR. Preferably looking for digital services that benefit both managers and employees.
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If you choose to find out for yourself, you need to consider what you should base yourself on and how much time you should spend getting to know the area. What books should you buy, what research articles should you read and what free resources are available?
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Furthermore, it is important to inform the employees and have a dialogue with them about what has been decided. You can consult with selected employees before making a decision. Maybe they have some other reflections and other things they think are important.
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The next step is to start implementing the new systematic supervision. Set yourself a goal for when to start. It is easy to postpone and forget such tasks. Are you going to start tomorrow or next week? Or should you save in the calendar that you are grabbing this next month?
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Try this system with a small group or for everyone? It depends on your situation and the number you are responsible for.
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Evaluate and improve systematic supervision
Once you have tried out the system, it is important to evaluate it. You can evaluate along the way and at the end of the supervision. It is important to get feedback on what worked well and what worked less well so that you can improve the supervision next time. Be aware that when you open up for feedback, the participants expect the feedback to be heard, and perhaps something is done.
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If you get feedback from a large group, you may want to use scale. For a smaller group, you may want to enable written feedback. It is easy to either spend too much time on the evaluation or too little. A few may fall into the pit that they spend so much time evaluating that when they are done they are no longer relevant. Meanwhile, a few do not spend any time at all and are not interested in improving.
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At the next program, you can now adjust for the feedback that has been received and improve the tutorial. This can be repeated in several rounds until you have an optimal arrangement for supervision.
