Kansas Relating Supervision to Workforce Outcomes Justin Thaw, MSW

1. Kansas Relating Supervision to Workforce Outcomes Justin Thaw, MSW Excellence in Supervision Conference September 22, 2011

2. Child Welfare Workforce Challenges in Kansas • Continuous social work vacancies • High turnover due to demanding and stressful nature of work • Impact of vacancies/turnover on families and workers who stay • Social work graduates often unprepared for child welfare work • Privatization introduces unique challenges: • Competition for staff • Stringent staffing/licensing requirements • Contract changes • Resource implications • Insufficient and fragmented workforce data

3. Kansas Workforce Initiative A 5-year cooperative agreement between U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Children’s Bureau and The KU School of Social Welfare “To improve safety, permanency and well-being outcomes for children by building the capacity of child welfare professionals and improving the systems that recruit, train, supervise, manage and retain them.”

4. Kansas Workforce Initiative Partners: • Five Child Welfare Community Based Service Providers • Tribal Child Welfare Service Providers Key Stakeholders: • Children’s Alliance of Kansas • Kansas Family Advisory Network • Kansas Council on Social Work Education • Administration for Children and Families Children’s Bureau

5. Kansas Workforce Initiative • Major components include: • Kansas Child Welfare Scholars Program • (BSW/MSW traineeships) • Agency-driven Workforce Initiatives • -Informed by Agency-specific Comprehensive Workforce • Profiles and Comprehensive Workforce Plans • Statewide Workforce Initiatives • -Informed by a Statewide Comprehensive Workforce Profile • and Comprehensive Workforce Plan • Collaboration with NCWWI Activities

6. Overview of Agency-driven Workforce Initiatives • Part 1: Complete Agency-specific Comprehensive Workforce Profile (October 2009-February 2010) • Part 2: Develop Agency-specific Comprehensive Workforce Plan (spring 2010) • Part 3: Carry-out Agency-driven Workforce Initiatives (summer 2010-2012) • Part 4: Evaluate and measure impact on workforce and • client outcomes (2012-2013)

7. “Supervisors who interact with subordinates as professionals and encourage child welfare staff to share responsibilities for organizational vision and leadership and to continue personal and professional development increase the likelihood that a worker will remain employed in child welfare.”

8. Workers who Remain in Child Welfare: • Have high quality supervision/leadership • Have high supervisor and coworker support • Have supervisors who facilitate their learning • Have supervisors who support worker’s practice • Report more guidance from their supervisor • Have a strong sense of security and emotional closeness with their supervisor • Feel assured that they can rely on their supervisor for tangible support

9. Workers who Remain in Child Welfare: • Feel more positive about the role of their supervisor and have a more favorable view of their supervisor • Have supervisors who are more competent in doing their job, are more concerned with the worker’s welfare, acknowledge the worker when they have done a good job, help the worker complete difficult tasks, and are warm and friendly when the worker is having problems

10. Child Welfare Outcomes Retention Turnover Supervision Burnout Interpersonal Interaction Task Assistance Social & Emotional Support

11. What Supervisor Dimensions Influence Retention? Task Assistance Social and Emotional Support Interpersonal Interaction

12. Viewing Tips • Focus on what the supervisor is saying and doing • Reflect on the powerful influence of these simple behaviors • Think about other ways these skills can be used

13. Task Assistance Add video clip web address • Provide assistance with tasks • Offer work-related advice and instruction • Coach workers • Support training and learning

14. Social and Emotional Support Add video clip web address • Listen as workers discuss job difficulties • Recognize emotional needs • Acknowledge and reward good work • Make supportive statements • Clarify role and responsibilities • Encourage help seeking • Encourage positive thinking • Be warm, friendly and respectful with workers

15. Interpersonal Interaction Add web address to clip • Project a sense of emotional closeness • Encourage staff to share the organizational vision • Encourage a sense of competence • Interact as professionals • Encourage co-workers to support each other

16. Supervision and Staff Retention Dimension 1: Task Assistance – supervisor provides tangible, work-related advice and instruction to workers • Leads to: Empowerment, Organizational citizenship, Behavior, Job Satisfaction, Retention Dimension 2: Social and Emotional Support • Leads to: improved Well-being, Organizational Commitment, Job Satisfaction Dimension 3: Interpersonal Interactions – worker’s perception of the quality of the supervisory relationship • Leads to: Sense of competence and personal accomplishment, Organizational Citizenship, Behavior, Job Satisfaction Mor Barak, Travis, Pyun, and Xie, 2009 Synthesis prepared by Munson, 2010

17. Effective Supervision Task Assistance Social & Emotional Support Interpersonal Interaction Empowerment Organizational Citizenship Behavior Job Satisfaction Retention Well-being Organizational Commitment Job Satisfaction Sense of Competence & Personal Accomplishment Organizational Citizenship Behavior Job Satisfaction

18. Impact of Supervision on Staff Retention Overall Findings • Dimension 1: Task Assistance, had greatest impact on positive worker outcomes. • Dimensions 2 & 3: Social and Emotional Support and Interpersonal interaction were associated with: • Reduced worker anxiety, stress, depression, somatic complaints, burnout, intention to leave, and turnover Mor Barak, Travis, Pyun, and Xie, 2009 Synthesis prepared by Munson, 2010

19. Implications for Workforce Improvement • Stress the importance of effective supervision • Support positive supervisor-supervisee relationships • Allow for frequent, mandatory supervisory sessions • Provide supervisory trainings on providing effective task assistance, building strong supervisory relationships and increasing supervisory support for workers

20. Ready to Act? Here are some ideas to get you started… • Start small. • Create a routine. • Get someone else involved.   • Track your actions.   • Ask for feedback.   • Involve your team. • Other ideas??

21. Kansas Workforce Initiativewww.kwi.ku.edu