This month's guest blogger is Capacity Builders' trainer, Stacey Alderwick.

Organizations are investing in developing competencies for equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) in the workplace. As employee demographics become increasingly diverse, EDI competencies are more important now than ever before.

Many employers make statements about ‘embracing diversity’ but how can they go beyond these sentiments to create an authentic culture of inclusion? What actions can employers take that reflect a commitment to attract, engage and retain members of diverse communities?

Let’s use a metaphor of a house to illustrate the importance of going beyond merely valuing diversity and moving toward greater degrees of equity and inclusion. Imagine that this house – just like a place of employment – is a space where everybody is welcome to enter. Employers who ‘value diversity’ are essentially throwing open the doors of the house and saying that all are welcome.

Imagine the inside of this house is built like a maze, with walls and corridors leading off in all directions. Only those familiar with the house will be able to find their way through the maze (or organizational culture). Creating equity is comparable to renovating the house to remove barriers for those who wish to enter. With barriers removed, inclusion is like setting a place at the table for everyone to be served what they need – just as in the workplace it’s essential to ensure that each person’s unique identity is made welcome and validated.

Building the foundations of inclusion requires forethought and consideration, deep inner reflection, honest conversations and commitments to create change. Contact Capacity Builders if you're interested in building skills:

• for communicating across cultures
• for learning how to create racial equity and interrupt oppression
• for assessing your EDI strengths and areas for improvement
• for shifting unconscious biases
  

Visit our site for new workshops on equity, diversity and inclusion for PSWs and Supervisors/Managers.

On behalf of the Capacity Builders’ team, I want to send our support and gratitude for the critical role you’re playing in these extremely difficult times. Events are changing rapidly, and the pandemic has deeply impacted all our personal and professional lives. I have no doubt that your role supporting PSWs, clients, caregivers and co-workers has become far more challenging over the past few weeks.
 
We wanted to share some tips and resources that we hope will help you lead and adapt during these very stressful times:

• You’re likely being bombarded with questions by staff, clients and caregivers. It’s important that you’re giving out reliable information from trusted sources. Here are a few sites that will give you the most up-to-date information on COVID-19:  

          The Ministry of Health COVID-19 Website
          Public Health Ontario COVID-19 Resources
          Health Canada COVID-19 Updates

• Provide clear messaging to staff. Talk with your peers and managers to ensure you’re all saying the same thing in the same way. Nothing encourages anxiety more than mixed messages.
  
  
• Be aware that you can’t have all the answers. This situation is evolving rapidly and new directives from the government are coming out almost daily. It’s perfectly fine to say that you don’t have an answer to a question – and it’s the responsible thing to do.
  
  
• The Ontario Caregiver Organization has great resources for family caregivers, and has recently added tip sheets related to COVID-19, such as Tips for Caregiver Mental Health During COVID-19. They also have a help line at 1-833-416-2273.
  
  
• It’s really important to take care of yourself. Listen to an online concert, get some exercise, find a new recipe, or just make a cup of tea and savour it!

 
Our top priority is the health and safety of our clients, trainers and staff. We have suspended all in-person training for the time being, but if you have new training needs that arise as the situation evolves, for yourself or for your PSWs, please let us know. We have webinar technology and can adapt most of our existing sessions, or create new webinars quickly for you.
 
Stay safe and stay healthy!
 
And again, thank you for your leadership in this unprecedented situation.

Sue Davidson
Director, Capacity Builders

The Situation:
It’s come to your attention that one of your PSWs occasionally buys tuna for a client who’s on a fixed income. When you ask her about it, she says it’s no big deal. She knows the client has a tight budget so she sometimes buys a couple of tins for her when it’s on sale.
 
Tips to Help Your Support Workers:
It can be difficult for PSWs to know where to draw the line between professional and personal relationships - especially when those relationships span years. Most organizations have policies related to boundaries, so you certainly want to remind staff about them and explain that they were created to protect clients, workers and the organization.

A mini-coaching session can also help avoid boundary issues in the future. Here are a few questions to share with your PSWs so they can better recognize when they may be about to cross the line:

• Am I treating this client differently than other clients I support?
  
  
• Are my actions truly beneficial to the client or am I acting in a manner to meet my own personal needs?
  
  
• Would I be comfortable if this gift/action was known to the the client's family, my supervisor, other clients, or my colleagues?
  
  

Capacity Builders can help your staff recognize the importance of professional boundaries, and help them with their own boundary challenges. We'll give your staff tools so they can recognize when the line between professional and personal relationships are being blurred, and how to set boundaries while maintaining a positive relationship with clients. Click here for information about our session Building Successful Boundaries with Clients, or give us a call!

Supervising PSWs in the community can be a really tough job.Your team supports clients with diverse and complex issues, and when they need help - you’re the one they call.  Over the next year, we’ll highlight client-related challenges that PSWs often want to discuss in our workshops, and share tips and advice we hope you can also use to support your staff.

The Situation: Disrobing
One of your PSWs is having issues with a client who has Alzheimer-type dementia. Although she’s a lovely lady, some days the client just wants to keep taking her clothes off. The PSW is getting frustrated, doesn’t know what to do and calls you for help. 

Tips to Help Your Support Worker

• Remind your PSW that clients with dementia who exhibit inappropriate behaviour are usually trying to communicate their needs and feelings. 
  
• Let your staff know that when working with clients with dementia, it’s often best to start with the most straightforward reasons for the behaviour. In this case, the client may be disrobing because:
  • she’s too warm
  • her clothes are too tight or uncomfortable
  • she feels she’s not dressed appropriately (perhaps she’s wearing clothes she would only wear when she goes out)

Investigating these areas is a good first step and may give your PSW clues about how to better respond to the disrobing.

We're here to help! If your PSWs work with clients with dementia, Capacity Builders’ workshops can help build their skills and confidence to deal with challenging situations. Our session Responding to Socially Inappropriate Behaviours in Dementia addresses disrobing and other behaviours your staff members find difficult. Call us for more information!

Albert Einstein once said:

While this approach might seem a bit extreme, we agree with the point he’s making: the key to solving a problem is to really understand it.

When you’re thinking about learning opportunities for your support staff, it’s very tempting to jump to a training solution as soon as you’ve identified performance issues. But many factors contribute to staff performance and if you’re only considering the actions you’re seeing, you may end up responding to the symptoms instead of addressing the underlying root cause. Without getting to the primary source of an issue or behaviour, it’s likely you’ll find it cropping up again and again.

So, how do you uncover root cause?  By asking questions! Here are a few questions that start to dig below the surface:

• What’s the scope of the problem?  Does it relate to just a few workers or many?  If it relates to a group of workers, are there factors they all have in common?
• Are workers unwilling, or unable, to perform a task in a certain way?
• Are there organizational barriers that need to be addressed before workers can apply their learning?

When you think you’re onto the root cause of an issue, try talking to your support workers about it. Coming to a shared perspective and understanding of the root cause of an issue is the common ground that can impact performance. 

If you’re seeking a training solution to a tricky problem, call us and we’ll work with you to tease out what’s really at the heart of an issue and address it head on. 

Summer has finally arrived, and even though support worker training may not be top of mind right now, this is the best time to start assessing staff needs and planning for the fall and winter.  Here are a few reflective questions to help you start thinking about your potential training needs:

• What do you, and other supervisors/team leaders, spend the greatest amount of time coaching support workers to do?
  
  
• What do your support workers tell you are their greatest challenges?
  
  
• What feedback are you getting from clients related to performance?
  
  
• What are the three most challenging characteristics of your client base?
  
  
• What areas make you worry about risk?

 

• What are the things you spend a lot of time training one-on-one that might better be covered in a group session?

If you can, it’s a good idea to consult with other supervisors or managers in your organization to get a few different perspectives. You might also consider starting a training needs log so you can jot down notes on the questions above throughout the year. That way, you’ll be on top of potential training needs and be able to quickly identify trends – which is key to developing a training plan that is relevant and impactful!

Capacity Builders will work with you to design training that meets the unique needs of your support staff and supervisors.  Just drop us a line at info@capacitybuilders.ca.

Next Month: The Reality Check – Finding Common Ground Between Your Needs and Your PSWs’ Needs For Training

Do you book training for PSWs, but rarely attend the sessions yourself?  You’re not alone! It may seem like a waste of time going to a workshop that isn’t related to your day-to-day responsibilities, but what if attending even a few training sessions with your support staff could snag you lots of benefits?

Being there with your PSWs gives you the opportunity to:

• experience the workshop content first-hand, making it easier for you to identify specific techniques, skills or approaches you’ll want to reinforce with your staff after the session.   
  
  
• clarify agency policy and procedures. Capacity Builders’ trainers will often discuss agency policy with you in advance of the session, but your deep organizational knowledge is invaluable for ‘in the moment’ learning and to identify potential barriers to implementing new learning.
  
  
• connect face-to-face with your support staff and communicate your organization’s commitment to ongoing development and, most important of all, to express to PSWs their value to the agency.

And finally if you do attend a workshop with your staff:

• talk to your trainer ahead of time and discuss your role in the workshop.
  
  
• be present and fully engaged -  if you pop in and out of the room, or if your attention is focused on your laptop, you’ll likely be a distraction and risk sending the message that the session is not that important. If you’re engaged it’s much more likely your people will be engaged as well, and that means better quality learning for everyone!
  

Motivating PSWs to attend agency training events can be really challenging these days - but don't despair! Here are a few things you can do to create some buzz and make your next workshop a must-attend event.

1. Spice It Up!
   Take a close look at how you communicate the workshop to staff. A boring email or notice with little information about the session is a sure way to drive people away. Instead, think about ways to market the workshop to your staff. Generate interest with phrases like, "learn new skills you can use tomorrow" or "join us and share your ideas."  Most importantly, clearly describe what the workshop is about and how it will help them in their job.
   
   
2. Advance Notice
   Announce the workshop early - send out a fun ‘save the date,’ even if all of the details aren’t confirmed yet.
   
   
3. 3rd Time's the Charm
   Send multiple notices using various communication methods. Since all of us are getting so many emails, texts and voice mails these days, it's easy for your message to get lost. Marketing gurus recommend sending at least three reminders.
   
   
4. Who’s Your Team Hero?
   Recruit a few PSW ambassadors who understand and value training and ask them to help create some buzz and excitement among staff about upcoming events.
   
   
5. Roadmap Anyone?
   Make sure you’ve covered the basics: be sure to include the date, time, location and the process to follow if they want to join the workshop.
   
   
6. Nibblies! 
   Mention that you’re offering refreshments. You don’t have to break the bank – coffee and cookies are fine.

Be creative! Small efforts into marketing your workshop and promoting its value can make all the difference when it comes to getting PSWs onside with continuous learning.

Capacity Builders’ friendly, experienced staff can help you choose the right training for your PSWs and make it a must-attend event.