In the ever-evolving landscape of workforce development, the need for effective, accessible, and data-driven training solutions has become increasingly crucial. Compass, a leading provider of Supported Living Services (SLS) and Independent Living Services (ILS), has been at the forefront of this transformation, leveraging its Quantitative Service Platform (QSP) to revolutionize the way they approach employee training and development.
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Recruiting direct service professionals (DSPs) requires a keen eye for integrity and reliability, as these individuals play a critical role in providing care and support to those in need. Ensuring that you select candidates who are honest, dedicated, and suitable for the role is essential. Here are six tips to help you identify potential red flags and make confident hiring decisions for DSP positions.
In the realm of human services, trust is the cornerstone of effective relationships and organizational success. Whether you’re providing direct support to individuals or managing a team of dedicated professionals, establishing trust is essential. The four cores of credibility, as defined in The Speed of Trust, offer a universal framework for building trust in any organization. These cores—integrity, intent, capabilities, and results—make you believable to yourself and others. The first two cores deal with character, while the second two focus on competence.
If you have read The Four Dysfunctions of a Team or The Ideal Team Player by Patrick Lencioni, you will recognize familiar language and concepts, especially “Humble, Hungry, and Smart.” In The Speed of Trust, the visual metaphor of a tree illustrates how all four cores of credibility are interconnected and vital. You can have the best systems and technology in place, but without a foundation of trust with your team, those tools will not get you very far. Additionally, delegating is a principle practice for any manager and delegation can be challenging when trust is not established. Let’s break down these principles of trust further.
By Melanie Bazile (Anderson), Lead Consultant at Compass SLS and ILS
In the field of Supported and Independent Living Services, retaining skilled Direct Service Professionals (DSPs) is crucial. At Quick Solve Plus, we understand that showing genuine appreciation can significantly impact employee retention. One powerful approach we’ve found effective is understanding and implementing the Five Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace, based on the work of Dr. Gary Chapman and Dr. Paul White.
Understanding the Five Languages of Appreciation
The Five Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace, derived from the concept of Love Languages, highlight how individuals prefer to give and receive appreciation. These languages are:
- Words of Affirmation
- Quality Time
- Acts of Service
- Tangible Gifts
- Physical Touch
By recognizing and applying these languages, organizations can foster a more appreciative and engaging work environment, leading to higher DSP retention rates.
The Importance of Appreciation in the Workplace
Several years ago, our sister organization, Compass SLS & ILS, committed to enhancing employee engagement. We discovered a gap: employees often felt underappreciated despite supervisors’ efforts to value them. This led us to consult and train on the Five Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace.
Understanding these languages has transformed our organizational culture. Employees now identify their primary appreciation language through surveys and training, starting from their orientation. This knowledge helps supervisors tailor their appreciation efforts, making them more effective and meaningful.
Highlighting Acts of Service: A Key Appreciation Language
This quarter, we focus on Acts of Service, a language where actions speak louder than words. For many, appreciation is best expressed through supportive actions that lighten their load. Mahatma Gandhi aptly said, “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” This quote encapsulates the essence of Acts of Service in the workplace.
Practical Ways to Show Appreciation through Acts of Service
Showing appreciation through Acts of Service involves proactive, thoughtful assistance. Here are some practical ways to express this appreciation language, particularly to DSPs:
- Offer Specific Assistance: Instead of a general offer, specify what you can help with, like finishing a report or setting up a meeting.
- Ask for Preferences: Understand how the recipient prefers tasks to be done and follow through accordingly.
- Provide Support During Busy Times: Bring coffee or lunch during hectic periods, showing you understand and care.
- Help with Unfamiliar Tasks: Assist with tasks they are less confident about, such as creating a spreadsheet or troubleshooting tech issues.
- Proactive Support: Offer to run errands, set up for presentations, or complete less desirable tasks to allow them to focus on high-priority responsibilities.
- Celebrate Achievements: Make a custom coupon booklet for birthdays or promotions, or create a playlist to keep them motivated during long days.
- Genuine, Unconditional Help: Offer assistance without expecting anything in return, ensuring your support is sincere and appreciated.
Moving Forward with Appreciation
Incorporating Acts of Service into our appreciation efforts has deepened connections and improved morale among our DSPs. As we continue to explore and highlight different appreciation languages each quarter, we encourage you to reflect on how you can honor and support your colleagues through Acts of Service.
Understanding and practicing these appreciation languages will not only enhance your relationships with colleagues but also contribute to a more supportive and engaging workplace, ultimately improving DSP retention.
Discover your primary appreciation language by taking our brief survey here.
By embracing the Five Languages of Appreciation, we can create a work environment where everyone feels valued and motivated, leading to a more committed and satisfied team.
If you’re in this industry, you know audits are as certain as death and taxes. But guess what? After 25 years of audit adventures, we’ve discovered that mastering a few key strategies can turn audit dread into a walk in the park. Ready to make your next audit a breeze? Here are 5 keys areas to focus on. For a deeper dive, don’t forget to download our extensive guide here.
One of the myriad ways we support our clients here at Compass is by giving them the freedom to choose how they spend their day. That freedom is afforded to them because their staff all have a vehicle to transport them to wherever it is they want and need to go. I know I wouldn’t want to be cooped in my house all day every day.
To make this service sustainable, we pay our staff a mileage reimbursement. It’d be nice if it were as simple as them telling us, “Yeah I drove 100 miles with my client, Frank, last month,” and we could simply key the reimbursement amount onto their paycheck. Unfortunately, not only do we need way more accountability and detail than that, but we also need that detail and accountability for the 500 staff supporting and driving our 200 clients. And furthermore, for a number of those clients, we need to be able to bill the Regional Center, sometimes in daily increments.
Just like setting a weekly OT cap for a client or worker, the same type of limit can be set up to manage how much IHSS a worker or client can be scheduled. The difference is that there are no security override options available. If a user attempts to schedule over the weekly IHSS cap, they are forced to modify the shift. No exceptions here. Each worker and client can have a custom cap that can be set up in their profile, after being initially set up in the SLS OT settings. The worker even has a special weekly IHSS dashboard that is enabled by selecting them as an IHSS worker in their HR profile. Check out how all this is done.
This tutorial reviews the QSP SLS OT setting called Worker Overtime Weekly Caps which allows an agency to set up the amount of overtime they are allowing their users to schedule per worker. This weekly worker overtime cap can be customized per worker as well by going into the Worker’s profile and adjusting the overtime settings per worker. QSP will then look first to see if there is an override value that is different that the default Application settings for a worker’s weekly overtime cap for SLS. Scheduling restrictions will warn or restrict certain security levels that try and schedule service hours over the set overtime limit. Watch this video to learn more.
If your company has other offices, you can use QSP to separate your operations, depending on what “office” means to you. Maybe you want to categorize clients and workers by Regional Center, or Payee type. With other “offices” available, you will assign clients and workers to their appropriate office-type, which QSP will use to help organize your system and allow you to manage it more efficiently. Watch on to learn about the other outcomes of adding offices to your QSP.
A huge reason agency’s are successful is by pairing up the right worker with the right client. This is an art! Typically, this may involve training the worker to server that client. There are several advantages to documenting this training/connection/link. If you want to give workers access to QSP, but on a limited scale, then based on those clients whom they are trained with, they will only be able to view those clients. Another advantage is when searching for an available staff who is specifically trained to work with a client. QSP uses the Client Specific Trainings to provide you with a filtered list of options! Cheers to perfect matches!