Skip to content
SASP
  • About
  • Core Standards
  • Resources
    • Case Studies
  • Training
  • Webinars
    • Suicide bereavement and racialised groups and communities
    • Gambling harms and suicide bereavement guide
    • Monitoring and evaluation toolkit
    • SASP neurodiversity and suicide bereavement guide
    • Using case studies in evaluation
    • Using lived experience and steering groups in evaluation
    • Monitoring and Evaluation Toolkit Launch
    • Outcome measures webinar
    • Ask the Commissioner
    • Working with Children and Young People
    • RTSS and Real-Time Referral Pathways
  • A Compelling Case
  • About
  • Core Standards
  • Resources
  • Training
  • Webinars
  • A Compelling Case
CASE STUDY

Team recruitment and Induction

Sammy Ashley has been a Team Manager at AMPARO since February 2020. Prior to that, Sammy worked for the National Probation Service as an offending behaviour programme facilitator.

My work at the National Probation Service had many links to suicide and suicide bereavement. My experience of this, as well as a strong background in risk management, led me to applying for a team manager role at AMPARO.

Lockdown hit just as I was getting to know the team. Originally, I was employed to work with our staff in Cheshire and Merseyside, but I now manage staff in Lancashire and South Yorkshire – ten team members in total.

"We look for people who have supported others, people who understand risk and a real range of transferable skills. "

Sammy Ashley - AMPARO

Recruiting new team members

I’ve recently recruited two new team members. We tend to advertise through our own networks predominantly, our Twitter feed for example. We also make sure that staff across the organisation (Amparo is part of Listening Ear) have an opportunity to apply.

We are currently interviewing over Zoom, with our CEO joining most of our interviews. It is important that we are recruiting people who are the right fit for Amparo.

Our induction process

Recently, I ran an online four-week induction process for three new recruits. For two hours every Wednesday, we met to go through a checklist of essential Amparo processes and policies.

Week 1 was our introduction to each other. We also cover line management and supervision and talk through the staff structure and service offer of Listening Ear as well as Amparo so that everyone knows how they fit into that bigger picture. We give a copy of our staff handbook and our policies on data protection, equal opportunities, code of conduct and recording time and expenses.

Week 2: We discuss our current contracts and agreements; it is good for staff to know who we are working for, who has commissioned us. We discuss clinical supervision and share a supervisor list that they can make contact with. When someone is allocated a new client, they have to make sure that all info is gathered, so we run through data quality and clinical recording through case management forms.

Week 3: This session is all about risk – our policy and how to undertake risk assessments. I give recruits some real-life scenarios where they have to decide on the level of risk and what they would do in each situation. We want to make sure that staff are confident about assessing risk accurately.

Week 4: In our last session, we run through our Lamplight platform which is where we do all of our clinical recording. We use a case example to show the team how it all works.

We also do some work around making first contact with a client. We make first contact within 24 hours of the referral and we follow up in 7 days. Some recruits are unsure how to start that initial conversation. We also discuss confidentiality, client consent forms and gathering feedback from a client.

Getting started

Initially, I allocate one client to a new starter. I’ll talk through the process with them, what that client’s needs might be, how that first call might go. Once they have had the initial call, they come back to me and I can further support and what happens next.

One thing that we have found really useful for team building and team cohesion is a simple WhatsApp group where team members share knowledge and learnings, inform each other about new services, and ask questions of each other.

It is so helpful to have that forum when we all work remotely.

We also have regular team meetings for all Amparo staff. I have started to invite guest speakers to these, like a funeral director, a solicitor or someone from the coroner’s office – they give us valuable advice and information that helps us to support our clients.

We do have shadowing in place, mainly for getting up to speed with the inquest process so that we can support clients through this.

Supporting our team

Clinical supervision is provided by the organisation via a list of approved supervisors. Staff can access supervision for 1.5 hours per month, which is mandatory.

I have supervision every 6-8 weeks with my team. For newer staff, we sometimes increase the frequency to every couple of weeks while they settle into the role. We cover training (such as accessing ASIST training), clinical supervision, client caseload, or any team issues. It is important to have that structured support in place so everyone knows what to expect. I also check in on the WhatsApp group so that everyone knows I am contactable.

I’m well supported: I have clinical supervision and a senior team leaders’ WhatsApp group that we can check in and out of. There are also fortnightly senior team meetings, which is important for senior team members, who are supporting other members of staff.

What would you say to other organisations recruiting for the first time?

1. As a team leader, bringing staff together – however we can – has been crucial. We all feel part of a team even though we are working in isolation.

2. I make time to ensure that I am being encouraging towards the team, especially new members, helping them to build confidence and belief in their ability to do the job.

3. We are not a crisis service, but staff do work with people in crisis. I am developing a process where we can assess the level of risk a new client has in different areas of their life, so that we can be fully aware from the outset. Risk awareness is a really important and relevant skill to our work, so having that on the team is critical.

"I have a small caseload as well. If I didn’t have clients, I don’t think I could respond as effectively to staff. Staff know that I am doing that myself too. "

Sammy Ashley - AMPARO
  • Privacy Statement
  • Diversity and Inclusivity Statement
  • Cookie Policy
  • Training
  • Thank you statement
  • Glossary
  • Current Vacancies
SASP Homepage
Thanks to our Funders
Obitus logo
Ted Senior Foundation
  • SASP Members
    AMPARO/Listening Ear
    British Transport Police
    CALM
    Child Bereavement UK
    Childhood Bereavement Network
    DrugFAM
    Facing the Future
    Harmless
    Hector's House
    If U Care Share Foundation
    James' Place
    Life After Suicide (L.A.S)
    Maytree
    Mind
    Mind in Haringey
    NSPA
    Outlook SouthWest
    Oxford NHS / CalmZone
    PAPYRUS Prevention of Young Suicide
    Pete's Dragons
    Public Health England
    Samaritans
    Suicide Bereaved Network
    Suicide Bereavement UK
    Survivors of Bereavement by Suicide (SoBS)
    Sussex Community Development Association
    The Alliance of Suicide Charities (TASC)
    The Compassionate Friends
    The James Wentworth-Stanley Memorial Fund
    The Laura Centre
    The Listening Place
    The Matthew Elvidge Trust
    The MindEd Trust
    Winston's Wish
    Cruse Bereavement Care
    The Red Lipstick Foundation
    Judi Meadows Memorial Trust
    Co-op Funeral Care
    Widowed and Young
    Angela Samata
    Barry McGale
    Alexandra Pitman
    Madeleine Moon
    Network Rail
    Royal College of Psychiatrists
    Society for Allied and Independent Funeral Directors
    Winston Churchill Memorial Trust
    Devon & Somerset Fire and Rescue Service
    Hanover Communications
    Leeds Mind
    Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust
    NW Counselling Hub CIC 
    The Kaleidoscope Plus Group
    Liz Koole
    Coroners Court Support Service
    AMPARO Suffolk
    Greater Manchester Suicide Bereavement Information Service
    LifeCraft
    National Bereavement Alliance
    National Suicide Prevention Alliance
    Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust
    SAIF (Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors
    Stigma Statistics
    Suicide Prevention and Intervention Network (SPIN)
    Sunflowers Suicide Support
    The Kaleidoscope plus group
    Leicestershire Police Service
    Cameron Grant Memorial Trust
    Caring Connections
SASP is an organisation hosted by Samaritans, registered charity number 219432 and SC040604. Copyright Samaritans 2025