Applying Supportive Behavioral Supervision

Module 2 Discussion Forum

Reminder Regarding Postings:
You are required to write AT LEAST ONE (1) POST each Module in response to the Growth Assignment. This post is due Friday February 7th by 5pm.


You are required to write AT LEAST TWO (2) RESPONSES each module to another's post in the discussion forums. These posts are due Monday February 17th by 5pm. In your response, you can ask questions about the content, clarify what someone wrote, or share some constructive feedback on the topic.

Sherry and I will be moderating the forum and reviewing posts regularly.

PLEASE BE RESEPECTFUL:
Avoid using employee/client names
Avoid posting confidential or personal information
Avoid sarcasm, put downs, jokes at the expense of others (think S&PA 1)
Offer suggestions or experiences
Be solution oriented
Acknowledge we are all growing and learning at all walks of life

Topic: (please answer all of the following questions)

1.) What specific step(s) did you take to improve the workplace culture this past month?

2.)What was successful about the action you took? How do you know?

3.) What did you find challenging about taking this action(s)?

4.)What was the reaction of your staff/team?

5.) What is your plan going forward to sustain these efforts?

6.) What question do you have for the group about this topic?

1.) What specific step(s) did you take to improve the workplace culture this past month?
- I am trying to work on stopping by the homes more often so that the staff and clients could have more face time with me. They usually only interact with me when there is a huge incident going on so I'd like for them to be able to see me when things are going well and not when things are going wrong. I think its important to apply the MBWA we learned in our training in the homes for the personal attendants. I am always in the office for my PC's to see me, but the personal attendants and clients don't always get to see me.

2.)What was successful about the action you took? How do you know?
- It was successful because the clients were excited to see me and tell me what they've been working on, and the staff were able to have me check in on how things are going in the home.

3.) What did you find challenging about taking this action(s)?
- Sometimes it can be difficult to stop by the homes since there is so much to be done in the office so its more of me needing to really schedule a time each month to stop by. I think in my position it is a bit harder to go to the homes, since clients and staff have much more communication and interaction with their immediate supervisor (PC's) so I really have to work hard in making sure I get to the homes when I can.

4.)What was the reaction of your staff/team?
- I think at first the staff were worried I was there since they only see me when I am following up on a an incident, but when they realized I was there to drop off paperwork and just check in they seemed excited and a lot less nervous to interact with me. It was very informal so that was good.

5.) What is your plan going forward to sustain these efforts?
- to schedule it into my calendar to really make sure I am in the homes at least once a month giving them that face time and interaction

6.) What question do you have for the group about this topic?
- What works for other supervisors to make sure they are getting enough face time in the homes with the staff and individuals we serve? Especially for those that aren't working directly with the staff and individuals as much.

1.) What specific step(s) did you take to improve the workplace culture this past month? This past month, I practiced Management by Walking Around (MBWA) to improve the workplace culture. I informally watched the staff perform their duties such as budgeting, interacting with the clients, checking if all expected paperwork have been filled out, etc. during the house visit. I also asked for feedback or any concerns or questions that they might have prior to leaving- whether it be work or personal life related. Again, I ensured them that they may contact me by text, phone call, or email. If I am available during non-work hours, I will be there to help also.

2.) What was successful about the action you took? How do you know? With the action that I took, what was successful is the fact that it allows me to see what I can help the staff improve on or maintain with to better the everyday lives of the clients. Although I am only visiting for a short amount of time, it at least allows me to be a part of their lives, since I am mostly at the office.

3.) What did you find challenging about taking this action(s)? Even though this is an informal visit, the fact that I am a supervisor still changed the way staff worked, which is challenging when I am aiming for improving services for the clients.

4.) What was the reaction of your staff/team? The reaction of one staff was she was actually glad that I came by as it allowed her to talk about how certain tasks in the weekly schedule are not being completed. She can easily text me this concern, but the fact that she can show me the weekly schedule and talk about it with me where I can see her emotions (which is hard to determine over text) was great feedback for me to help other staff improve on.

5.) What is your plan going forward to sustain these efforts? My plan going forward to sustain these efforts is to really dedicate a time to visit each house every week and on different days to be able to watch and interact with different staff each time.

6.) What question do you have for the group about this topic? I think that this is only effective if active problem solving is enabled, which can become difficult with this job setting. Any thoughts or suggestions for active problem solving?

1.) What specific step(s) did you take to improve the workplace culture this past month?
In Licensed program meeting on 2/7/20 we discussed way that we could improve the culture and increase staff retention.
2.)What was successful about the action you took? How do you know?
Some of the observations in a home where we have seen a positive change in culture was that the staff at that home is focused on resident care. The assistant supervisor is also asking the staff what they would like to do differently.
3.) What did you find challenging about taking this action(s)?
What is always challenging is to focus on staff retention ideas and culture change ideas outside of increasing salaries.
4.)What was the reaction of your staff/team?
The team was very creative and came up with some really good ideas.
5.) What is your plan going forward to sustain these efforts?
We are going to focus on the following areas:
Communicating about career paths.
training- staff feel that they are not adequately trained
Mentoring- more experienced staff are going to mentor new staff
Identify strengths of staff and give then additional responsibilities based on those strengths
Ask them to plan activities based on their interests
Getting staff more vested in the job through more responsibility for tasks and more responsibilities for helping residents achieve goals

6.) What question do you have for the group about this topic?
Do they have any other ideas?

Ha,
I like your idea of stopping at the homes more often to have more face time with staff and clients. Also, I can relate to your comment about them seeing you when things are going well. when I first started stopping by homes unannounced the response was literally," why are you here? What's wrong/" I like the idea of scheduling time in your calendar.

Rexsia,
I like the idea of informally watching the staff perform their duties. The response that you got from the staff that was glad you were there is great feedback. I think that too many time we try to do too much by phone and text message. we sometimes forget that staff might need more support.

1.) What specific step(s) did you take to improve the workplace culture this past month?
I did informal monitoring of staff perform their duties at the home to give feedback while they are acting normal and not feeling watched or nervous

2.)What was successful about the action you took? How do you know?
What I gave feedback on was changed by the staff.

3.) What did you find challenging about taking this action(s)?
Finding the time to give immediate and constructive feedback while not putting them on the spot or doing it in front of their peers in the home.

4.)What was the reaction of your staff/team?
They seemed appreciative and liked the feedback about their work duties specifically while on shift.

5.) What is your plan going forward to sustain these efforts?
spend more time at the homes to observe staff

6.) What question do you have for the group about this topic?
Do you try to give feedback right away after observations? Does this work better than delayed feedback? Do you give feedback when other staff are present?

1.) What specific step(s) did you take to improve the workplace culture this past month?

My goals was to attend an ISP meeting to model during the meeting and be able to offer specific feedback afterward. A secondary goal is to spend more time at the Encina office so that I and my team can get the benefits of being more available to each other for questions, feedback and team building.

2.)What was successful about the action you took? How do you know?
I was able to see how the PC handled a stressful meeting and model for a training PC how I would like to see those situations responded to. I was able to talk to the training PC about the history of this case and talk to her about how we manage these meetings.

3.) What did you find challenging about taking this action(s)?
Making time to attend ISP meetings the biggest hurdle.

4.)What was the reaction of your staff/team?
I think the staff welcomed my input at the meeting and the training opportunity it offered after the meeting.

5.) What is your plan going forward to sustain these efforts?
My plan is to attend ISP meetings occasionally and also spend more time at the Encina office to be more available to the SLS team.

6.) What question do you have for the group about this topic?
My biggest struggle is time. Besides putting it in my calendar and sticking to it, anyone else have any tips?

Annika,

I liked your question about giving feedback and I think it speaks to a larger topic of creating a relationship with your staff so you know how they would best receive feedback. Some people would be horrified to receive positive feedback in front of other people and some people would like it. The great thing about giving positive feedback or doing celebrations/caught in the acts in front of others is that it could help to encourage other staff to perform similarly but you don't want to alienate the person in the process. My standard is to give corrective feedback 1:1 unless all of the staff present need the same feedback. If you're giving feedback to a group it could spark a good discussion about hurdles and challenges to performing a certain task that you might not get just speaking to them 1:1.

Rexsia,

I'm so glad you got to give feedback face to face to see the difference in the quality of the interaction and how it helps you build rapport with your staff. It is always the best practice and one that we tend to skip out on because of time. I'm struggling with this as well. Your plan to visit weekly is great and will make a difference over time.

Rebecca,

I like that your goal is to attend ISP meetings and see how the PC's interact with the individual, families and advocates and how they deal with difficult situations. This is also something that I want to add to one of my goals. I currently don't attend the ISP meetings unless I am invited by the family or if there is an incident that I need to address. I'd like to be more present in those meetings.

Shannon,

I also like your goal of talking with your team on how to improve culture and retention. I like that the assisitant supervisor involved the staff and asked them what they felt needed to change/be improved on to best support them. I think sometimes we problem solve on our own and we forget that we can reach out to the staff to hear what other supports they need from us to help improve retention.

Shannon,

I agree that it is always challenging to focus on staff retention, especially without increasing their salaries and their supervisors having other tasks that take priority as well. Asking them to do so many things like changing the culture without an incentive like a rate increase is a factor. I believe that praising your staff, in the meantime, should help encourage positivity and change. Recognizing what they are doing correctly and not just their mistakes will allow them to be more inspired and motivated to do better at work.

Annika,

I think feedback on the spot is better just because they might not remember what they did correctly or incorrectly during which the delayed feedback is based on. I would not give feedback when other staff are present, because if it is positive feedback, the other staff might feel bad about not being good enough to be recognized. And when it is negative feedback, the staff who’s receiving the feedback might get embarrassed and doubtful with what they are capable of except for that one time when feedback was given.