Picture of: Sergeant Ron Snodgrass ASSIST EMPLOYEES WITH SUCCESS THE BENEFITS Presented by Sergeant Ron Snodgrass ASSIST EMPLOYEES WITH SUCCESS • What is the easiest thing for a supervisor to do when they have an employee in need of special assistance to be successful? (Nothing) ASSIST EMPLOYEES WITH SUCCESS • We need to make employees believe that we want to use non-disciplinary options to help them be successful. • We need to make supervisors understand that helping the employee today “may” avoid hundreds of hours spent conducting an administrative disciplinary process in the future. ASSIST EMPLOYEES WITH SUCCESS • Discuss issue/s with employee and determine if any intervention is needed. • If intervention is needed get an understanding with employee about expectations and document these meetings and discussions in employee’s notes. • Identify any risk exposure and future liability. SECURE EMPLOYEE BUY-IN THE BENEFITS EMPLOYEE BUY-IN • Union involvement from the beginning • It helps identify problematic behaviors that could lead to employee failure. • It will insure supervisory accountability. • It should reduce liability and future risk to the employer. • The program uses non-disciplinary intervention options for employee success. PPD Intervention Options • Recommend policy revisions & additions • Mandatory individual training • Coaching documented in employee's supervisory notes (nondisciplinary) • Recommend departmental training needs • Referral to counseling with a mental health care professional (voluntary or mandatory) • Referral to City Mediation Program (voluntary) • Peer Support Program referral (voluntary) • CISM intervention referral (voluntary) • Police Chaplain referral (voluntary) • Referral to human resources • 90 day monitoring program with employee’s first level supervisor • Work Fitness Evaluation (Mandatory) • Temporary reassignment • Transfer EMPLOYEE BUY-IN • System access • The focus group determined we would give all rank and file, civilian and sworn employees access to their own information. The unions and employees loved this. “NO SECRETS” • This was a huge home run for our program. The employees loved it to the tune of a 90% positive response to a survey we conducted. • Seeing the thresholds • All employees also have access to their own threshold data screen and can see exactly where they stand. • Remember, “NO SECRETS” EMPLOYEE BUY-IN • We created an electronic notification “data fix” system to help correct bad data and document the corrections. • We normally fix data errors within 24 hours which employees love. EMPLOYEE BUY-IN Non-electronic referrals This was a recommendation from members of our police family who hadn't been helped in the past and struggled with success. EMPLOYEE BUY-IN Who is the first to know when an employee is struggling and in need of assistance for continued success? Supervisors Fellow employees Family and friends Employees themselves TRAINING THE BENEFITS Training is critical to the success of any early intervention program. TRAINING • By reviewing historical information about police early intervention in America we knew employee buy-in was imperative. • We began planning a massive training and education program. • We started with the smallest group, executive staff. They liked it. • We followed with all first & second level supervisors. Surprisingly, these supervisors were very reluctant because it’s more work. TRAINING • If you want true employee buy-in you better educate. • Lack of knowledge by the employees you are trying to help will be the death of your program. • Rumors, suspicion and a common distrust of management are age old problems. Especially if you house the project in Internal Affairs. • You must educate. • Executive staff – About the project • First and second level supervision – Access – Expectations • Rank and file – Access – Expectations • The bad news is all of this training takes a lot of time when you have 4100 employee department. This applies to everyone. TRAINING FOR WHO? SUPERVISORY ACCOUNTABILITY • We created an extensive CASE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM to make sure that all employees get the help they need in a timely manner. • We make sure that three levels of supervision know about each employee review. • We hold supervisors to a time line (21 days) for supervisory review and response. SUPERVISORY ACCOUNTABILITY • So what else did we find out? • We needed to do more supervisory training on what expectations we had of supervisors when conducting an employee review then making them responsible. • Also how to better deal with employees in need. (Moretraining on communications and coaching skills & information about generational issues) • We are looking for employee success using a non- disciplinary process. This concept is new to policing since we have depended on discipline for change for so many years. • You must educate and make the students believe in the project for success. COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT Community involvement? • If you haven’t figured it out the community you serve is critical to the success of your police organization. • When it comes to problem solving you need to invite them to the table and let them participate in your project and hear the success stories. • The sooner they realize that we are human, have problems and need help for success like them, the better the relationship will become. • Allow them to suggest changes to system. In summary The benefits of Early Intervention • Early Identification and Intervention is a lot more than an electronic data base with fixed thresholds. • It’s more than an electronic case management system. • Don’t forget the “HUMAN ELEMENT” and the ability to do referrals. • And don’t forget you’re a Police Family! • A successful early identification and intervention program will help your police family and get your agency one step closer to your other family. (The Community) THE END