Last Updated on January 12, 2023 by Team TSW

Every social work method has its own process and techniques and to achieve the best results, social workers are expected to understand and imbibe skills specific to social group work. This method caters to groups differing in its size and composition. Now, if social workers try to work in these different groups in the same way, apply the same technique and same skills, They may not get what is expected out of the method. Apart from common social work skills, some of the skills of social group work methods are very specific and workers must learn these specific skills to get best results.

Skills of social group work

Before we move forward to skills specific to social group work, we need to understand What is a skill? According to Philips: “The term skill refers to a conscious, disciplined use of one’s self and one’s abilities which can be acquired reliably only through the disciplined experience of professional training for social group work, during which the potential group worker not only takes help in his learning from teachers and supervisors but carries responsibility in a group work agency simultaneous with his acquisition of group work theory. On the one hand the social worker has to understand his profession’s philosophical values and also draw from social work’s professional purposes. These are the roots of social group work skill. The capacity to translate values into professional efforts that precipitate movement toward the fulfilment of purpose constitutes social group work skill.”

According to Trecker (1955), skill is the capacity to apply knowledge and understanding to a given situation. Trecker (1955: 36-37) also has specified skills for social group work as follows:

1) Skill in Establishing Purposeful Relationships

A) The group worker must be skillful in gaining the acceptance of the group and in relating himself to the group on a positive professional basis.

B) The group worker must be skillful in helping individuals in the group to accept one another and to join with the group in common pursuits

Explanation:-

A group worker plays two roles while working with groups: as a member and as a leader. Workers need to change roles as and when tasks emerge. As a leader it is important that the group accept the worker as the leader and it largely depends upon the skills of the worker if he can impress the group or not. A skillful worker finds it easy to get acknowledged as a leader. Some of the factors which help worker in becoming the true leader:-

• Effective rapport building with the group members; Moving with the pace of group members help get on the same wavelength with people easily and quickly.
• To know and understand his group members – their strengths, capacities, fears, problems and roles they can play in the group’s progress.
• Accepting members as they are helps in winning the confidence and trust of people. 
• Worker can establish a good working relationship only if he can demonstrate the knowledge and skill and can then influence group activity to get the desired result.
• Group within a group hinders the ability of the group to achieve a larger objective. Workers should also focus on non-verbal communications. Some members in the group may be hesitant to express their feelings. It is thus the role of workers to make them feel free. This can be achieved through various group activities like play,outing,drama,art etc.
• Skill to remain calm and composed while listening to the distasteful – understanding the fact that two people can look at the same thing differently. It is vital for the relationship that workers strengthen their inner self to respect different views  without getting upset or hitting back. 
• Delegation of responsibilities rather than taking up all the burden on himself.

2) Skill in Analyzing the Group Situation

A) The group worker must be skillful in judging the developmental level of the group to determine what the level is, what the group needs, and how quickly the group can be expected to move. This calls for skill in direct observation of groups as a basis for analysis and judgement.

B) The group worker must be skillful in helping the group to express ideas, work out objectives, clarify immediate goals, and see both its potentialities and limitations as a group.

Explanation:- 

Information is power and group work is no exception. Information gathering, processing and then evaluation is a very important assessment skill.  Analyzing skills include:

• Pointing out patterns in the data. Effective information gathering helps understand the group progress. Data collected at two different points of time presents the patterns. Patterns further indicate if the group is moving at desired pace and direction. 
• Identifying gaps in the data. With complete understanding of group progress, workers can make decisions if change in process and planning is required or there is any gap which needs to be addressed to get the progress going.
• If it is observed during assessment that data is not gathered properly or adequately to bring any outcome then a mechanism is established for obtaining data to complete an assessment.

3) Skill in Participation with the Group

A) The group worker must be skillful in determining, interpreting, assuming and modifying his own role with the group.

B) The group worker must be skillful in helping group members to participate, to locate leadership among themselves, and to take responsibility for their own activities.

Explanation:

Apart from the role of leader, group workers also play the role of member in the group. As a member workers are supposed to behave not just as a member but as a guide and enabler. It is important that workers participate in group activities to achieve following:

• Workers get an idea how the group is moving while working closely with the group. If there is any conflict between members or if members are ready for new and more challenging roles within the group.
• If the situation allows, workers can change their role, delegate more responsibilities to members and also swap the role of members.
• Introverts are those who don’t express themselves much in public. It is the responsibility of workers to observe activities of members and if someone is running away from participation then encourage them to participate.
• Workers should imbibe leadership skills in members by giving them roles and responsibilities.

4) Skill in Dealing with Group Feeling

A) The group worker must be skillful in controlling his own feelings about the group and must study each new situation with a high degree of objectivity.

B) The group worker must be skillful in helping groups to release their own feelings, both positive and negative. He must be skillful in helping groups to analyze situations as a part of the working through of group or intergroup conflicts.

Explanation:-

• Worker should keep himself away from any preconceived notion about the group. If there is any such feeling he must have control over such feelings. 
• Objectivity remains key while looking at groups as social work practice is free from any kind of personal view and judgemental attitude. Workers must see the situation as it is and should not mix their personal views in it.
• Members often not known to each other develop conflict and some members may form sub groups within the group, some may refuse to participate in group activities voluntarily, some members may try to dominate others. All these situations create problems and ultimately defeat the purpose of group formation. Workers are supposed to address these conflicts and remove them to get the desired results.

5) Skill in Programme Development

A) The group worker must be skillful in guiding group thinking so that interests and needs will be revealed and understood.

B) The group worker must be skillful in helping groups to develop programs which they want as a means through which their needs may be met.

Explanation:-

Careful planning is very important for any successful group. A well planned programme gives direction to the group and enables each member to know and prepare his/her responsibility.  The group worker should possess abilities and skills to guide the members through an effective programme planning process. The programme planning process includes :- 

• Setting goals.
• Brainstorming with members.
• Planning the programme in line with the goals.
• Obtaining the approval of the group.
• Assigning individual and sub group responsibilities.
• Implementation of the programme.
• Periodic evaluation and feedback 
• Follow-up

6) Skill in Using Agency and Community Resources

A) The group worker must be skillful in locating and then acquainting the group with various helpful resources which can be utilized by them for program purposes.

B) The group worker must be skillful in helping individual members to make use of specialized services by means of referral when they have needs which cannot be met within the group.

Explanation:-

• Resources are key and often not available easily. Workers with the help of their contacts need to arrange the resources for the group so that the group can sustain and end successfully. 
• Resources are not only limited to material resources, sometimes members need expert help thus availability of human resource, in case of best practices, availability of relevant literature are required.
• A ground, building, hall, room etc. may be required for group activities. Workers with their connection should get them available to help group progress.

7) Skill in Evaluation

A) The group worker must have skill in recording the developmental processes that are going on as he works with the group.

B) The group worker must be skillful in using his records and in helping the group to review its experiences as a means of improvement.

Explanation:-

Writing and maintaining group work records is an essential element of professional social work. Recording must always be driven, at least in part, by professional knowledge and an ethical value base. Recording can enhance the group work practice in many ways like:-

• Helps in attracting more funds.
• Influence policy.
• Review and evaluation of group work progress becomes easier.
• Help the agency in future group work practices.
• Written communication can represent complex matters better than speech can.

Read common social work skills in detail.

How to acquire skills

Some of the skills are innate and easy to acquire Let’s discuss how a social worker can attain skills :-

• Keenly observing democratic leadership styles.
• Reading relevant material from libraries, authenticated websites, journals, reports etc will keep you updated on the latest in the field.
• Maintaining a dairy of everyday gives a written documentation for reference.
• Interacting with social work fraternity and with co-workers in professional forums such as workshops, seminars, conferences, training programs etc. basically facilitates interchange of ideas and experiences.
• Gain hands on training.
• lending a hand to others to acquire social work skills, one can constantly check and reinvent oneself about the skills needed.

Conclusion

Group work skills explained above are vital for successful worker group relationships and group output. It’s important for a group worker to show confidence in group members and in their abilities, accept them as they are. Feeling of empathy and a belief in team work to accomplish assign task. “great people are those who make others feel that they too, can become great”.