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Turning it Around
by Mary Claire Mohrfeld
“I will not hire another one.” Those were my exact words as I read the Residential Manager’s letter of resignation. During the five and half years as director of the community-based program, I hired five residential managers for the one residential manager position. This time I refused to continue to do that which was not working. This resignation, coupled with staff turnover, awakened me to the reality that if I did what I had always done, I would probably get another letter of resignation within the year.
Key people in the program were called together to wrestle with the challenge confronting us. We didn’t look to the experts or to models that were working. Rather, we took our combined years of training, experience, successes, and mistakes in the field and, with a strong conviction that we had within us the creativity and capabilities to meet this challenge, we began to brainstorm.
With the support and encouragement of our central office staff, we created an entirely new management structure. The structure includes a part-time management person whose only role is to support the residential direct service staff. This person has no IPP responsibilities other than training staff to implement the IPP. In other words, the person is free of meetings, paperwork and deadlines.
This support person is commissioned to create a working environment based on six principles:
- Train. First of all, believe in the staff person. Believe he or she has the potential to do the job. Convey this belief. Walk with the staff person. Explain how to do the job. Model it. Answer the questions. Do this daily, weekly, as often as needed. Once is never enough.
- Listen. Believe the staff person has something of value to say. Listen intently. You may hear a better way for doing something. It may be an idea never before shared. You will receive insight into the staff person’s life that will help you better understand him or her. It may mean the staff person will feel better because you genuinely listened to the person.
- Learn. Believe that mistakes are okay because they can be learning experiences. Teach the staff person to accept his or her mistake and not waste valuable time and energy trying to justify it. Once accepted, encourage the person to immediately learn from the mistake.
- Inform. Believe the staff person is entitled to be an informed member of the program. At staff meetings share with staff what is happening. The more they know, the more they feel a part of the program and the more ownership they have. Hence, the more willing they are to invest of themselves in the program.
- Praise. Believe each staff person is doing his or her best. Acknowledge it. Praise it. Never let quality work go unrecognized. This need not be formal or time consuming: A phone call, a comment as you work with the staff person, a note in their mailbox.
- Motivate. Don’t look for gimmicks or motivational posters to pin on the bulletin board. Let your commitment to the vision and mission of the agency be the motivational tool. Your enthusiasm will inspire far beyond any fashionable gimmick. Your positive attitude will fill the environment with irresistible vibes.
We believe the environment created by adherence to these principles will reduce staff turnover and, in turn, reduce the stress experienced by management.
Mary Claire Mohrfeld is Area Director with Region IV Services, South Sioux City, Nebraska. She may be reached at 402/494-2018.
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Resources: Web Sites Related to Direct Support Workforce Development
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Citation: Gaylord, V., Hewitt, A., & Larson, S. (1998). Impact: Feature Issue on Direct Support Workforce Development, 10(4) [online]. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota, Institute on Community Integration. Available from http://ici.umn.edu/products/impact/104/. __________ Hard copies of Impact are available from the Publications Office of the Institute on Community Integration. The first copy of this issue is free; additional copies are $4 each. You can request copies by phone at 612-624-4512 or E-mail at icipub@umn.edu, or you can fax or mail us an order form. See our listing of other issues of Impact for more information. The print design version (PDF, 448K, 28 pp.) of this issue of Impact is also available for free, complete with the color layout and photographs. This version looks the most like the newsletter as it was printed. The University of Minnesota is an equal opportunity employer and educator.
