Keeping Competent and Qualified Staff: Promising Strategies

1. Keeping Competent and Qualified Staff: Promising Strategies By Freda Bernotavicz and Nancy Dickinson Spring 2008, Pennsylvania Leadership Academy Keeping Competent and Committed Staff

2. Recruitment: Finding the Best • Realistic Understanding of the Job • Inside source recruiting • Goodness of Fit: Applicant and Work • Applicant Characteristics: • Human caring, motivation to make a difference, persistence, ability to multi-task, enjoying fast paced work, likes a challenge, etc.

3. North Carolina: Jordan Institute, University of North Carolina • Develop a Recruiting Message and a Plan • Professional Materials (posters, fliers, public service announcements (PSA), paid advertisements) • Use diverse methods to reach potential employees (job fairs, community events, regional cable, print media, internet job sites, agency website, press releases, etc.) • Involve supervisors!

4. Sample Advertisement • CW Agency is a fast paced, supportive and stimulating place to work. We are looking for child welfare workers who desire challenging, meaningful work and welcome the opportunity to make a difference for families and children. If this describes you, consider applying for a public child welfare position at…. • You’ll never be bored!

6. Selection • Job analyses leading to • Structured interviews and Work Sample Tests • Consistent, well trained selection teams • Strong selection processes! HR is our friend… • Realistic Job Previews • Video introduction to the job • Balanced view of opportunities and challenges • Client and worker perspectives

7. Impact of a Realistic Job Preview: University of Michigan • Workers who saw the RJP were significantly more likely to: • Indicate a commitment to remain in child welfare for five years • Say that the application and selection process helped them cope with job pressures • Say that the agency’s honesty made them feel more loyal, and • Less likely to say they would “never have taken the job if they had known what it was like.”

8. Arizona Realistic Job Preview: Butler Institute, University of Denver • Developed by team of agency workers and supervisors in Phoenix • Supported by a trained group of current workers who are on call to answer questions from applicants.

9. Keeping the Best • Supervisors are the key to success! • Almost every aspect of the worker’s experience with clients and the agency is mediated by the supervisor. • Supervision quality and quantity count

10. Iowa Supervisor Training: University of Iowa • Supervisor curriculum focuses on • human resources functions • case practice supervision • clinical supervision, and • supervisor’s role in leading positive change and promoting worker resilience.

11. Training Strategies • Support a culture of development • Ensure that all training is linked to the practice model and agency mission • Provide competency-based training • Promote transfer to on-the-job behavior

12. Connecticut’s Mentoring Program: Fordham University • Formal mentoring program connects new workers with experienced workers, supervisors and managers.

13. Professional Development • Strategies • Accessible and affordable opportunities for professional development • Incentives for MSW achievement; link promotional opportunities to professional development • Resources for professional development • membership dues, professional conferences, journal subscriptions & continuing education

14. Agency/University Partnerships • Infusing child welfare content into courses/ agency staff as adjuncts • Providing pre and in-service training • Providing educational benefits: tuition support, educational leave • Internship programs

15. Keeping the Best • Organizational interventions are also critical to success! • Leadership for recruitment and retention begins at home. • Organizational interventions can be facilitated by outside partners, who can provide time, support and focus.

16. Role of Leadership • Inspiring vision • Congruence of agency/individual values, mission and practice • Provide resources to do job • Learning and high performance organizations • Communication channels • Celebrate performance

17. Leadership Development Strategies • Model of leadership • Leadership academy • Mentor programs • Job shadowing • Succession planning

18. Wage and Benefits • Adequate Salary • Wide pay bands • Pay for performance • Retention/length of stay incentives

19. Performance Management • Strategies • Clear goals • Aligned with practice standards and core competencies • 360 degree evaluations • Promotions based on equity • Career ladders • Flexible career/classification systems

20. Performance Management Process ProfessionalDevelopment Coaching Support Performance Execution Feedback Performance Planning Performance Assessment Activities Agency Goals / Performance Culture Assessment Performance Evaluation Documentation Communication

21. Quality of Work Life • Wellness, EAP, addressing trauma • Flexible HRM approaches • Recognition/appreciation for contributions • Support for work/life balance • Structures for worker input • Team approaches

22. Design Teams: State University of New York, Albany • Local agency design teams focusing on organizational culture and work issues. • Workers, supervisors, and managers served on design teams. • New York District Commissioner

23. Conclusion • There are serious workforce challenges facing child welfare. • Solutions involve both recruiting and selecting the best candidates and managing organizations such that we can keep them. • This is not an easy journey, but it is an essential one. • There are effective strategies and useful partners than can help.