Workplace Communication - Case Studies
Contents
"People forget to record how
much medication is left in the bottle from time to time. It usually
happens in the morning rush".
Residential
Support Worker
Description of service
This service is a Non-government organisation funded
by the Department of Human Services providing accommodation and support
for 21 people in three houses in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne. Most
residents have severe physical disabilities complicated by intellectual
and/or communication, sensory and other neurological disabilities. Some
also have complex health care needs.
The research
10 staff including the Executive Officer, House Supervisors
and Support Workers were involved in this project to determine the workplace
communication and literacy issues which exist within their organisation.
A range of workplace documentation was collected and used for assessment
within a guided self-assessment process. Participants provided a sample
of their own workplace writing for assessment.
Findings of the project
Staff profile
Of the 10 staff interviewed, which made up ¼
of the total direct support staff for this organisation:
- Average employment is 4.6 years with a range of four months to 10
years
- All staff are able to perform their workplace communication requirements
- All but one have English as their first language
- Seven have completed tertiary study. Of these, five have completed
TAFE studies, two have attended university and one has completed a university
degree
- Seven have qualifications in Community Services
- Two staff are upgrading their qualifications
- Although House Staff do not have computer access, four regularly use
computers at home.
Readability analysis of workplace documentation
Workplace documentation such as policies and procedures,
guidelines and forms were analysed using predictive readability formulas.
Of the workplace documentation analysed, all but the job descriptions
fell within acceptable reading levels. The agency was advised to rewrite
their job descriptions in plain English.
Workplace Communication issues
The following issues were raised by those interviewed:
- Administration of medication. Occasionally, staff forgot to record
the amount of remaining medication
- Decision making about resident care. One staff member felt disempowered
because parents of residents had more influence over decisions made
- Lack of regular staffing. As recruitment attempts did not attract
people who could meet the specified selection criteria, agency staff
were being hired. This organisation would rather hire agency staff than
recruit unsuitable applicants
- Shift handover. One staff member was concerned about time constraints
at handover resulting in minimal information being exchanged verbally
- Workplace relations. Concerns here were about achieving gender balanced
staffing, implementation of the new award which rewarded qualifications
over experience and longer-term staff resisting the increased level
of paperwork
- Communication Book. Too much or too little about the right things?
The issue here was about the quantity and quality of documentation
- Other workplace documentation. Policies and procedures needed updating
and two staff asked for report writing guidelines and training
- Further training. One staff member had received management encouragement
to gain a qualification but was concerned about their ability to balance
work and family commitments
- Administrative support. More of it needed as well as computer access
for House Supervisors.
Action Plan
After consideration of workplace communication issues,
the Executive Officer undertook to implement the following:
- Policies and Procedures - Download DHS policies
and procedures and adapt to suit requirements
- Administration of Medication - Ensure that
staff complete an incident report when there are discrepancies in remaining
medication
- Lack of regular staffing - Establish partnerships
with training providers to recruit graduates
- Communication Book - Develop guidelines together
with examples of record keeping to assist staff
- Further training - Explore traineeships for
existing staff.
Conclusion
This service in the eastern suburbs has a largely
Australian born workforce that is able to meet workplace communication
requirements. The Executive Officer considered the 9 workplace communication
issues raised and undertook to act on 5. The remaining 4 issues were acknowledged
but action either could not or would not be taken. The Executive Officer
believed that decision making about resident care should remain primarily
in the hands of parents and residents, the Communication Book existed
to support communication across shifts, gender balance was impossible
to achieve as vacancies could not be filled and administrative support
relied on additional funding.
"There is too much information in the Communication
Book,
it needs to be more focused".
Residential
Support Worker
"Communication between staff members is not
always clear. At the start of a shift, we need a process of deciding
who will do what, so there is no confusion and it's not left to one
person".
Residential Support
Worker
Description of service
This Non-government service provides a range of
flexible community based residential support programs in the Barwon
South West region. There are four accommodation service locations:
- House 1 which provides 24 hour specialist support for people with
an acquired brain injury
- House 2 provides 24 hour support for people with an intellectual
disability focussing on independent living skills
- House 3 provides respite for people with intellectual, physical
and sensory disabilities and acquired brain injury
- House 4 provides outreach support with a focus on independent living
skills training.
The research
10 staff at this agency including the Executive
Officer, Program Manager, House Supervisors and Support Workers were
involved in this project to determine the workplace communication and
literacy issues which exist within their organisation. A range of workplace
documentation was collected and used for assessment within a guided
self-assessment process. A sample of each participant's workplace writing
was provided for assessment.
Findings of the project
Staff profile
Of the 10 staff interviewed which made up just
under half of the total direct support staff at this service:
- Their average employment is 3.4 years with a range of four months
to 11 years
- All staff are able to perform their workplace communication requirements
- All are Australian born and have English as their first language
- Nine have completed tertiary study. Of these, eight have completed
TAFE studies and one has attended university
- Seven have qualifications in Community Services
- Five staff are upgrading their qualifications
- One staff member is undertaking university studies in teaching and
anthropology
- Although House Staff do not have computer access, three regularly
use computers at home and another one has access in their other part-time
job.
Readability analysis of workplace documentation
Workplace documentation such as policies and procedures,
guidelines and forms were analysed using predictive readability formulas.
Of the workplace documentation analysed, all but the job descriptions
fell within acceptable reading levels. The agency was advised to rewrite
its job descriptions in plain English.
Workplace Communication issues
The following issues were raised by those interviewed:
- Department of Human Services (DHS) communication. Issues here were
about the volume and the amount of time taken up with administration
rather than "hands on"
- DSAS needs to be written in plain English and simplified to reduce
repetition
- Completion of Incident Reports. Confusion about when an Incident
Report should be completed and concern about varying quality
- Completion of Service Needs Register (SNR). The Executive Officer
is a member of the Priority Panel and is deeply concerned about the
uneven quality of applications
- Case Note completion. There is uncertainty about wording, protocols
and terminology
- Computers. In order to respond to on-line data collection, Housing
Supervisors need access to computers. Some staff are fearful about
using information technology
- Staff meetings. There are not enough staff meetings, according
to one staff member. There is also a call for a monthly house staff
meeting
- Allocation of work tasks. "What needs to be done and who's
doing it" needs to be established in one of the houses, according
to one staff member
- Challenging behaviours is kept to a minimum as management take
prompt action.
- Public speaking is a difficulty for one House Supervisor who uses
meetings with individuals as a strategy to manage this
- Performance Review System. Issues raised here were the need for
feedback between staff, from office staff to House Supervisors, a
problem with the Performance Review System focussing on the individual
and not the system, access to supervisors and ageist colleagues.
Action Plan
After consideration of workplace communication
issues, the Executive Officer undertook to implement the following:
- Incident Reports and Case notes -
- Continue to provide ongoing guidance to staff in the completion
of this documentation
- Follow up their request that the training provider include workplace
specific content in the delivery of Certificate IV, Disability
Work
- Direct staff to guidelines and examples of reports to assist
staff and House Supervisors complete these tasks
- Staff meetings - Circulate an agenda prior
to meetings so that staff will be more likely to attend
- Allocation of work tasks - The Executive
Officer was already aware of this issue and a plan to resolve the
situation has been implemented
- Performance Review System - Continue to
explore a Performance Review System.
Conclusion
This service in the Barwon south west region has
a workforce that is Australian born, has English as its first language
and is able to meet workplace communication requirements. The Executive
Officer considered the 11 workplace communication issues raised and
undertook to act on 5. The project officer will pass on concerns raised
in 4 issues to the Department: DHS Communication, DSAS, SNR and Computers.
No action needs to be taken about the remaining issues: Challenging
Behaviour and Public Speaking.
"I'm not sure what wording to use for case
notes. I'm not sure of the protocols - listing visitor names and the
use of terminology".
Residential Support Worker
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