2019 HUMAN RESOURCES ADVOCACY TOOLKIT
SARC is an association of close to 100 Member Agencies; 75 of them provide core, daily services to thousands of people experiencing disability in Saskatchewan. Employees working in the Disability Service sector support individuals to live at home, thrive at work, and be engaged citizens in their community. SARC supports this important work by providing Members with training, consulting, and other services including government relations.
WHAT ARE THE COSTS OF INACTION BY GOVERNMENT? The lack of action and follow-through on a human resource strategy continues to have detrimental effects in the Disability Service sector. Understaffing and high turnover have become a harsh reality for the majority of SARC Members. All to often, people hired into the Disability Service sector move on to higher paying jobs in comparable sectors where the level of compensation reflects the complexity of the job and the skills required to support clients. Unwanted turnover is not just disappointing, it is expensive! It is estimated that the cost of filling one vacant position is approximately $3300. And executive level positions can cost upwards of tens of thousands of dollars. Improving retention (and reducing turnover) redirects valuable resources to what is really important – essential direct services and supports for clients. There is a direct relationship between high turnover and increased accidents and incident reports, reduced organization supports, services, and scrapped programs. This results in negative impact on the client related to person-centred services, the achievement of outcomes, and health and safety. 2
A DIRECT SUPPORT PROFESSIONAL IS A SKILLED POSITION, CRITICAL TO THE PROVINCE Providing holistic support to a person experiencing disability demands a workforce that has a combination of both technical and interpersonal skills.
Employees often work alone, which poses additional risks and requires sound judgment.
Employees are responsible to ensure that people experiencing disability are healthy, safe, and leading fulfilling lives in their community.
Direct Support Professionals’ work is physically strenuous. It often involves lifting and moving people in the performance of daily activities, such as bathing and assisting with mobility.
Direct Support Professionals are the first response of physical and mental health services in both routine and crisis situations. This requires them to administer and document medications; perform specialized procedures (ex. insulin, tube feeds, catheters); navigate the health care system; advocate for and connect their clients to basic medical, specialist, and therapeutic appointments; and be the first responder in emergency situations.
Employees must be proficient in communication and documentation skills, as they are required to understand and convey complex medical information, skill development, goals progress, and behavioural analysis; they deal with an enormous burden of paperwork essential to regulatory compliance.
Employees require skills to be able to identify triggers and solutions for challenging and potentially harmful or dangerous behaviours.
It is an awesome responsibility to play a supporting role for people as they make very personal and sometimes complex decisions about their own lives.
Direct Support Professionals are supporting people’s lives. The Government of Saskatchewan needs to support the professionalism of this sector in order to fulfill the principles and recommendations contained within the Saskatchewan Disability Strategy. 3
THE ISSUE Employee turnover in the Disability Service sector continues to increase, causing staff to feel burnt out and under-supported, resulting in a decline in supports for clients. In 2019, turnover was reported at 26%. Although turnover is expected in all sectors, healthy turnover is around 10%, making this much too high! A leading cause of employee turnover is dissatisfaction with wages. Without proper mechanisms in place to keep pace with equivalent jobs in other sectors, the costs are great: • Employees leaving to take similar jobs that pay better, primarily Continuing Care Assistant positions in the health sector, which pay more. • Employers bearing the financial costs related to continual recruitment, orientation, and high overtime required by remaining staff to fill shifts. • Staff shortages leading to burnout and personal stress that spreads into staff family life, and creates overall low morale. • Clients subjected to a revolving door of support staff and the indignity that entails.
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If these issues are not addressed from a systemic perspective, the sector will continue to be plagued with recruitment and retention challenges, with people experiencing disability paying the highest price.
Did you know that a 26% turnover rate means that people experiencing disability will have approximately 1000 Direct Support Professionals providing intimate and personal care over the course of their lifetime?
WHAT WE ARE ASKING THE GOVERNMENT TO DO: 1. Stop losing ground! Stay on track with the multi-year plan by providing a mid-year investment in 2019/20. 2. Follow through with the rest of the multi-year plan by committing required investments in 2020/21 and subsequent years. These planned investments over three years will raise Direct Support Professionals’ wages to the level of a Continuing Care Assistant in order to respect the complexity and responsibility of the role and stop the migration of staff to the “better paying sector”. The multiyear plan will also ensure that SARC Member Agencies have the resources to establish sustainable compensation grids that foster employee retention at all levels and career progression. 3. Increase employee benefits funding to 19% in order to recognize true costs, eliminate wage dilution, and remain competitive. 5
PROGRESS For the last fifteen years, SARC Members, SARC, and the Government of Saskatchewan have been working towards the achievement of a fair and equitable human resource system- a system that reflects the complexity and skills required to do the work and acknowledges the necessity and value of this essential sector. The goal is in sight! Great strides have been made in improving the Disability Service sector, but the work is not done. Follow-through on the multi-year plan will further demonstrate: • the value that the Government of Saskatchewan places on people experiencing disability • the establishment of predictable and responsible investments into the sector, rather than reacting to crisis • the achievement of Recommendation #10 in the Disability Strategy SARC Members have been appreciative and patient. The Government is very close to accomplishing what we set out to do over 10 years ago. DSP = Direct Support Professional (Disability Service sector)
CCA - Continuing Care Assistant (Healthcare sector)
Fair and equitable wages are within reach.
Year
% Difference
2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16
15.38 14.81 15.28 12.34 7.88 9.34 10.83 12.34
2016/17 2017/18
14.27 14.27
2018/19
9.41
2019/20 2019 Mid Year 2020/21 2021/22
9.41 Current 5.5 2.59 0.3
*Historical differences between hourly wages of DSP and CCA.
Continuing with planned investments between 2019-2022 will further establish a healthy human resource system. Stable & healthy workforce = consistent, quality supports
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WHAT THE SARC MEMBERSHIP CAN DO: SARC continues to engage with various levels of Government on this very important issue, but SARC Members must take on a critical role in the strategy in order for it to achieve the most impact. We ask that all Regular and Associate Members engage their MLAs on this issue, as suggested in the following pages, using the information provided in this toolkit. As a large
membership, we have strength in numbers, and in order to clearly demonstrate the importance of this issue, our sector needs to send a strong message that the Government must take action now! We are getting close to achieving our goals and every Member needs to help keep the momentum moving forward. 7
MEET YOUR MLA
Phase one of SARC’s 2019 advocacy efforts focussed on furthering awareness of the work done by SARC Members throughout the Province. A variety of “Supports Made for You; Supports You Can Trust” promotional materials and a video link were forwarded to all MLAs. SARC Members were also asked to invite their MLA to a fun summer event. Phase two of the strategy is to further educate and gain support of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs). An effective way to engage with your respective MLA is to book a face-toface meeting; this ensures that the message is not lost to a voicemail or in the mailbox. Here are some suggestions that you may find effective in organizing the meeting:
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PREPARE FOR THE MEETING
1. NEW for 2019: Contact SARC Members that examples of client impact related to an have the same MLA about hosting a joint unskilled workforce, high turnover, etc. meeting. A joint meeting is a great way for 5. Your local numbers (rates of pay, turnover) MLAs to hear from many Members at one time. may look different from the funding standard It also demonstrates solidarity, eases pressure and provincial averages shown in the materials on inidvidual organizations, and has a greater to give to the MLA. Be prepared for the MLA impact. If your organization does not share an to ask you about your local numbers and to MLA with another SARC Member, you should explain the reasons why they may be different. host a meeting on your own. 6. You may want to consider asking a Board 2. Designate one person to request a meeting Member to join you. Not only can the Board with your MLA(s). Be sure to tell the MLA’s reinforce the message about HR risk impacting administrative professional who will be in the organization’s liability, but many Board attendance and that the topic for the meeting Members are also family members of clients is to dicusss the SARC HR Plan. and can share a personal perspective as well. 3. Consider inviting your MLA to join you at one 7. If you feel it would be appropriate and the of your organizations. This will provide them individuals would want to be involved, you the opportunity to meet clients and better could also ask clients or families to join you and understand the needs of organizations. to share their own personal stories about how 4. Meet with your colleagues and plan out your meeting. Read through the background information and MLA handouts to become familiar with the issue. Think about stories where this issue has specifically impacted the clients your organization supports. Share
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staff turnover and skill affects their experience.
8. Just be cautious of the group size. Be sure to designate speakers - not everyone needs to speak. 9. Let SARC know about your meeting.
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ATTEND THE MEETING
1. Do introductions. Be sure to indicate the names of the organizations in attendance, locations, and number of people served. 2. Ask your MLA if they are aware of the Disability Strategy, specifically Recommendation #10 Building Capacity of Service Providers. 3. Tell them that for fifteen years, the Disability Service sector has been working with Government to achieve equitable and fair compensation and benefits, and access to training and education. We have also been working towards establishing a more predicatable and responsible Human Resource structure that will end reactive and crisis-driven injections of money. 4. Indicate that Minister Merriman is very well aware of and supportive of SARC’s HR Plan. Minister Merriman is also in regular contact with SARC, the Provincial Association. 5. Talk about the current issues your organization
has been facing related to staff retention. Focus on the impact on clients and their supports after employees leave and your organization is faced with shortages. 6. Tell the MLA that the goals laid out in the SARC HR Plan are finally within reach. Thank them for past support and tell them you (the group) are seeking their support to reach the goals. 7. If your MLA asks a question that you don’t know the answer to, let them know that you will get back to them (feel free to call SARC to find the information). 8. If they are supportive, ask for a photo on your smartphone to Tweet/share on Facebook later. 9. Provide your MLA with the attached “Takeaway” sheets; this information provides the key takeaway points from this strategy and includes information on who to contact for further information.
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AFTER THE MEETING
1. Be sure to have each SARC Member that attended the meeting follow up with an email or letter to thank your MLA for the meeting, restating some of the key areas you discussed. Ask if they will let the Minister of Social Services know that they are in support of SARC’s HR Plan for the Disability Service sector. 2. Share photos from the meeting on social media thanking them for their engagement and support on this issue. You could use this caption: “Great meeting with <MLA NAME> today about ensuring quality services for people experiencing disability! #skpoli” 3. Each SARC Member that attended the meeting should also send a letter to the Minister of Social Services and cc: your MLA. A sample letter is included on the next page (there is a section to share more of your organization’s own stories that you discussed with your MLA). 4. Let SARC know about your meeting and how it went so we can track activity across the province.
OTHER WAYS TO ENGAGE SOCIAL MEDIA Throughout this strategy, SARC will be sharing posts on this issue on our SARC Saskatchewan Facebook page and SARC_sk Twitter page. Be sure to follow along as we share information from other Members who’ve met with their MLA.
KEEP SARC IN THE LOOP Be sure to let SARC know if you attended a meeting with your MLA, how it went and any follow-up information that was sent out. This information can be sent to ajanzen@sarcan.sk.ca
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SAMPLE LETTER TO THE MINISTER OF SOCIAL SERVICES
Minister Paul Merriman Room 303, Legislative Building, 2405 Legislative Drive Regina, SK S4S 0B3 DATE
RE: Fulfilling Government’s Commitment to SARC’s Multi-Year Human Resource Plan, A Sustainable Human Resource System for Disability Services Sector Dear Minister Merriman, I am writing to you today to let you know of a meeting that <name of your organization OR names of multiple organizations if you met as a group> had on <date> with <MLA NAME>, MLA for our constituency. As <a SARC Member OR SARC Members>, we felt that it was vitally important to express our urgent need for a sustainable human resource strategy for our sector in order to support people experiencing disability to the highest degree of safety and quality. <Insert a couple of details from the meeting’s discussion to personalize this letter.> We and our fellow SARC Members across Saskatchewan have been affected by the lack of a sustainable HR system for far too long. The provincial average for staff turnover in the Disability Service sector is 26%, which is absolutely alarming when considering the impact this revolving door has on the people we support. The responsibilities of a Direct Support Professional in our sector are virtually the same as that of a Continuing Care Assistant in the health sector, yet our sector’s pay continues to lag behind, and we continually lose employees as a result. <Insert information/stories about how turnover has impacted your organization(s) and the people you support – examples could include reducing or eliminating (even temporarily) programs/services, stress experienced by clients when having to get to know new employees, etc.> This needs to stop. Of course, we need to acknowledge the progress that has been made in the disability services sector over the last several years, the establishment of the Saskatchewan Disability Strategy, and the funding announcements that have occurred in various years related to staff compensation and training. These have all been important steps to get us where we are now, but we are not finished. The plan presented by SARC to your government last year charts a course to HR sustainability and predictability. The achievement of this three-year plan will stabilize staffing and improve service delivery. We are so close, but the 2019-2020 budget fell short from the path we were on. We need to get back on track with a mid-year investment this year and a renewed commitment to the remaining required investments. We strongly encourage you to talk with your colleagues and move this solution through Cabinet and the Treasury Board. We need your support, and we need your government to act. Only through action can we clear the path to focusing on what is most important – providing the best possible service for people experiencing disability in Saskatchewan. Sincerely, [NAME] [Organization name] Board President CC: [Your MLA] [Your Board of Directors AND other Members’ Boards of Directors if joint letter]
[Your Organization’s Executive Director AND other Members’ Executive Directors if joint letter]
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THANK YOU! ENSURING THAT YOUR VOICE IS HEARD BY THE RIGHT PEOPLE WILL HAVE THE GREATEST EFFECT FOR YOU, YOUR ORGANIZATION, AND THOSE YOU SUPPORT.
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