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CHILD CARE WORKERS
Visitors to the Hannah More
School often comment on the high energy, morale and dedication to
children that staff demonstrate. Creating this positive climate
has been the goal of a staff recognition program providing
on-going care and support for caregivers who work with challenging
children. Michael Kerins writes.
Caring for the Caregivers
Background
The Hannah More School is a private,
non-profit psycho-educational day school serving more than 100 seriously
emotionally disabled adolescents from the Baltimore metropolitan area.
The school serves middle school and high school students with severe
behavior and learning problems, psychiatric disorders, and a sense of
defeat and hopelessness. In addition to intensive academic intervention,
the school offers individual, group, and family therapy; speech therapy,
art and music therapy; a behavior management system; and a
pre-vocational program.
The academic and clinical staff work as
a team to help the students overcome their learning and social-emotional
difficulties. This emotionally disabled population can be very draining
on the professional staff. To be effective, staff draw on all their
knowledge, skills, and talents. Playing this "parenting" role challenges
their emotional resources and can leave them feeling emotionally
exhausted.
Pervasive philosophy
Since we subscribe to a philosophy
of nurturing, we also believe in a supportive program for staff.
To support and nurture the staff, to show our appreciation, and to
communicate that their work is valued, our administrative team has
developed a program of staff recognition. The program is
designed to meet the needs of the staff so that they can meet the
challenge of educating and treating troubled, dependent adolescents.
To do this, we identified three factors.
First, staff must feel supported in their positions. Numerous forms
of support should address staff well-being, instructional guidance,
and implementation of new ideas.
Second, staff should feel appreciated in various ways. Therefore, we
developed an appropriate mixture of verbal, written, and tangible
feedback methods.
And third, the staff needs regular outlets for personal concerns,
feelings, and frustrations, whether verbal or physical.
The Program
Opportunities for staff recognition
fall into three basic categories: group, individual, and special
recognition.
Group Recognition and Appreciation
Group recognition and appreciation includes additional benefits
offered to staff. One benefit is the Employee Wellness Program.
Personal problems outside of the work environment occasionally interfere
with an employee’s ability to maintain his or her perspective on the
job. Through an Employee Assistance Program, confidential counselling
services are made available to staff members outside of school. This
service has proven invaluable to those who have used it. Another aspect
of the well-ness program involves providing a monthly activity in
which the daily work issues are set aside. The activity is generated
with staff input and has included sports activities, music relaxation
exercises, crafts, mall walking, trips to book stores, and artistic
expression. It also incorporates an occasional "pot luck" lunch, which
enables the staff to converse about interests other than their jobs.
Staff members have even challenged each other to weight-loss contests
and fitness activities.
Involving staff in both short-and long-range planning committees has
resulted in a huge boost in morale. Staff realize the tremendous
confidence that the administrators have in their professionalism, and
this promotes staff/administration cohesion. Another benefit that helps
support the staff is a policy that allows members to take a leave of
absence to take care of a family illness or other family need.
It is remarkable how much perceptions of managers and administrators can
change when staff see that there is an understanding of the needs of
their families.
Individual Recognition and Appreciation
An annual staff-recognition award allows staff to vote for the
employee they feel most deserves recognition. Criteria for the award are
established by the staff personnel policy committee, and the recognition
is presented at the annual graduation ceremony. In order to reward staff
for their input toward these recognition and program changes, an
employee suggestion program was created that provides monetary
compensation for ideas that are implemented. One of these ideas was
directly related to staff appreciation: The simple suggestion of setting
aside one time each month to recognize staff birthdays not only earned
someone a cash reward, it also established another organized way of
showing the staff’s importance to the school. Finally, there needs to be
a spontaneous show of appreciation for the staff by the administrators,
and for the administrators to serve the staff. For example, at a
community breakfast, administrators, dressed in chef’s hats, prepared a
large breakfast for the staff. The smiles, memories, and laughter made
the effort more than worthwhile.
Special Recognition and Appreciation
There is a need for staff to return from a vacation with the feeling
that they were missed, that they are important to the school. This
recognition can be as simple as ‘Welcome Back" balloons tied to each of
their chairs. Other symbols of recognition used at the Hannah More
School have included personal coffee mugs and sports bags with the
school logo as a further sign of the importance of each and every one of
them. This year each staff member who went on leave returned to find
their own ‘Hannah More School’ umbrella. This gesture is a very popular
reward and one about which staff brag to other schools’ employees. All
of these special recognitions are co-ordinated with regular staff
development, professional opportunities for advancement, and
encouragement of ideas to generate a supportive atmosphere.
Overall Reaction to the Program
The benefits created by these
efforts have been many. Staff generally feel more cared for,
appreciated, and supported. In surveying the response from staff,
these gestures have had a very positive effect on the school
climate. Because administrators are seen in this more "human" light,
communication appears to be more open and supportive. For example,
the image of administrators in chef’s hats has repeatedly been
brought up as a highlight of the appreciation efforts. It appears
that it has been much easier for the staff to respond to an
open-door policy when remembering situations like this.
The feeling of appreciation has a
reciprocal effect on the administrators. They become more motivated to
send birthday cards, to provide little gifts, and to give small treats
when the reaction is favorable. The cost of such a project is
insignificant given the positive return — for example, in minimal
turnover in staffing and the pleasant employee climate.
The time, effort, and money that is
contributed by administrators also are worth the investment to keep the
employees feeling positive about their jobs.
Few staff feel that they are
entitled to these things; instead, most recognize that there is
extra effort put into each of these activities. The sick-leave bank,
expanded child care opportunities, and tuition reimbursement are seen by
staff as signs that administrators not only are reacting to staff needs
but also anticipating them. Staff have expressed a feeling of
involvement and importance in being asked to participate in the future
planning and expansion of the school. There is a feeling of exhilaration
when they see a plan on which they have worked come to fruition. This
excitement becomes contagious. Mr. Gary Rostkowski, an employee of
Hannah More for 15 years, explained:
"What has evolved here is an
extended family of sorts. This is not your typical colleague to
colleague exchange; there is a real depth to the level of caring at
this school that extends well beyond the regular working hours. It’s
sort of like a barn-raising activity. We all get together to build
this structure, support each other, create and maintain the
program and the community. It helps me to get to work each day and
motivates me to put forth my best efforts even beyond the time when
I’m no longer being officially compensated. If my employer can
extend his or her hand to me and offer these options to make my job
and my family more comfortable, then I’m going to extend right back
and do all that can to improve the facility and maintain a high
level of performance. This is what administration has fostered and
developed."
Conclusion
Individuals have basic needs for
approval and recognition. When an organization makes legitimate efforts
to address these concerns, other daily gestures of support are seen in a
more positive light. Perhaps there will always be times when our
profession leaves us feeling under-appreciated. However, this program
has proven that a creative program of staff support can help nurture
care givers who daily face the challenges of serving troubled children
and youth.
