A participant from last week's session COVID-19 office Hour session focused on Staff Wellness and Retention shared a staff survey that she uses in her organization in New York state. Great way to assess staff needs:
Questions for staff check in survey:
CN Guidance Check In Survey: (Google Docs Survey- can download responses in CSV/excel)
- Name
- Program
- Email
- Please let us know how you are doing, health-wise. Check boxes
- Our family is doing just fine, all are healthy
- We are struggling a bit with being stir-crazy, but we are holding it together
- We are sick, but we are doing okay at this time
- We are sick and need help. Please check on us.
- Other- [fill in]
- Is there anything we have not tried already as an agency to better connect you with staff or clients?- [fill in]
- Is there anything else you'd like to see from CNG at this time? [fill in]
The list of initiatives CN Guidance has implemented for staff wellness and retention:
- Check-in Survey: how are the employees doing on a scale that goes from they are okay to they need help – concrete or emotional. CEO/COO respond directly with employees who were struggling
- Weekly Virtual Town Hall meeting for all staff– start with a motivational, inspirational or funny video; sharing state of agency – reinforcing our culture of transparency to decrease anxiety about job security and the viability of the agency
- 2xs daily group transcendental meditation with the David Lynch Foundation
- Virtual Awesome Board – weekly email goes out to all staff: staff giving shout outs to colleagues during the week
- Creating an agency wide playlist: weekly email goes out to all staff: Share inspirational songs recommended by staff
- Share funny and inspirational memes provided by staff: weekly email goes out to all staff
- Virtual lunches – Different themes: to just chat/ musical performances/ trivia
- Virtual coffee breaks
- Grief debrief support groups for staff who lost clients to COVID-19
- EAP resources
- Partner with local restaurants and sponsors to provide meals to front line staff in community residents daily
- Ensuring that staff have sufficient PPE to do their jobs
- Increased disinfecting of residents and clinic. Residents are disinfected at the beginning of each shift. Isolation rooms identified for COVID cases.
- Supplied board games, streaming movie channels, DVDs and mask making workshops to residents
- Intranet – we have an "All you need to know about COVID-19" page that has links to all regulatory information that impacts their jobs; links to concrete and emotional support resources; links for diagnostic and serology testing sites; keeps them updated on what is happening Statewide and locally with pandemic.
- Telephone tree – managers are assigned staff members to touch base with to ensure that every staff member is covered
- We have a COVID tracking list of staff impacted – staff or family members are followed up with regularly – ensure that their needs are being met.
- Daily virtual team huddles in programs
- Regular virtual clinical team meetings in programs
- Hazard pay for front line workers in the community residences
- A week of vacation time for front line workers in the community residences
- Senior management has a weekly CVOVID-19 check in meeting
- Re-deployed staff to CRs whose workloads were lighter - matched their strengths and skills with the needs in the community residences.
Who else is doing something similar to assess staff needs during COVID-19? Please feel free to share here!------------------------------
Sarah Neil
Project Manager, Integrated Health
National Council for Behavioral Health
Washington, DC DC
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Original Message:
Sent: 05-14-2020 15:08
From: Maura Gaswirth
Subject: Self-Care During COVID-19
What self-care strategies most resonate with you that you'd like to share with others? If you were able to attend Thursday's Self-Care COVID-19 Office Hours call on promoting staff wellness and retention, what were your biggest takeaways?
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Maura Gaswirth
Director, Practice Improvement
National Council for Behavioral Health
Washington DC
(202)684-7457
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