Dedicated
and Passionate People
"PLAN
is a wonderful organization and
I am lucky to be a part of it"
PLAN
Staff
What
This Element Means
Dedicated and
passionate people bring PLAN's vision of a good life for people with
disabilities and their families into being. Our passion is what gives
families the courage to embark upon the challenging journey of securing
the future. It ignites hope and vision. It is also what motivates
funders to support us. Our dedication is what keeps us focussed on
the future and willing to work through the inevitable complications
and setbacks that arise.
It is important
that PLAN's lifetime members, staff and facilitators exemplify passion
and dedication if PLAN is to deliver on the promise of securing the
future. In order to measure how well PLAN is meeting this commitment,
the social audit focussed on satisfaction with PLAN as an employer
and perceptions of the levels of engagement, involvement and commitment
by PLAN stakeholders.
The
Findings
1. Satisfaction
with PLAN as an Employer
Facilitators:
89% satisfied with work as a contract employee
90% satisfied
with hourly rate
89% satisfied with their training
97% satisfied with degree of support received from PLAN
35% turnover.
Staff:
(Note: Since PLAN has a small number of employees,
staff data have
been expressed as actual numbers along with percentages.)
78% (7 of 9)
believe the way they are treated is consistent
with PLAN's values
90% (9
of 10) rate PLAN as a safe and healthy workplace
80% (8 of 10) find their annual performance review useful
70% (7 of 10) satisfied with opportunities for input into decisions
that affect them
67% (6 of 9) satisfied with their rate of pay
60% (6 of 10) satisfied with opportunities for learning and growth
63% (5 of 8) satisfied with opportunities for advancement
0% turnover.
2. Passion
and dedication
94% of lifetime members agree that PLAN's employees and volunteers
demonstrate passion and dedication
100% of facilitators agree that PLAN's employees and volunteers demonstrate
passion and dedication.
Analysis
While passion
and dedication flow through PLAN as evidenced by survey comments,
a key challenge for PLAN is recognising that passion is not enough
to sustain employees and facilitators.
Facilitator turnover
is an area of significance for all of PLAN's operations. Clearly there
is a cost factor in facilitator turnover but there are even more important
effects on individuals and families when facilitators leave. While
facilitator turnover is 35%, there appears to be a correlation with
family satisfaction and peace of mind. For example, 30% of families
are not satisfied with their networks, 32% of families do not yet
have peace of mind about the future, and 30% lack confidence in PLAN's
ability to maintain networks.
As a point of
comparison, two local associations in the Lower Mainland and the YWCA
have turnover rates around 30% for their casual employees. Facilitators
are contract employees, often working very few hours. Finding ways
to sustain their involvement will require creativity given that facilitators
are generally very satisfied with their pay and working conditions.
Billing for their time can be a challenge for facilitators. Sorting
out what is billable and what is personal time is rarely cut and dried.
Finding ways to ease this process might be of some assistance in retaining
our facilitators.
Four out of ten
staff members clearly indicate a desire for more opportunities for
learning, growth and advancement. Our employees find their current
annual performance review useful. It may be helpful to develop individual
learning plans when the reviews are done. A challenge is that PLAN
is an organization with a high degree of volunteer involvement. It
is to be expected that staff might not feel the same opportunities
for development as often these opportunities are taken up by family
volunteers themselves. In addition, many of PLAN's staff are part-time
and this may further limit opportunities.
Targets
for 2004
- facilitator
retention will be 80%
- employee satisfaction
with opportunities for learning and growth will be 70%
- 80% of staff
will be satisfied with their opportunities for input in decisions
that affect them.
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