HeartShare Human Services of New York Idea Writing + Rapid Cycle 2 Techniques to Empower Direct Line Staff to Foster Change in a Non-Profit Social Services Organization Presented at: American Evaluation Association 2017 (Nov.10th,2017) Stanley Capela, VP for Quality Improvement, Corporate Compliance Officer, HeartShare Human Services of New York

World of HeartShare Affiliates with HeartShare St. Vincent’s The HeartShare School HeartShare Wellness World of HeartShare Serves over 34,000 individuals annually Employs 2100 full and part time staff Provides services through 122 program sites in NYC Has a $150 million budget

Organizational Dilemma How do you get the pulse of the agency from staff? How do you help workers understand the important role they play in meeting the agency mission? How to communicate to each employee our agency’s appreciation of and desire for their contribution of ideas? How do you create an environment where workers educate senior management on how to answer the previous three questions?

Background Executive Committee meets on a monthly basis. Discussion focuses on staff. Vice President talks about empowering line staff. Question is how?

Creation of Mini Forum Seek candidates who would participate on mini-forum. Select workers who have no supervisory responsibility. Have them answer two questions: 1. How do we help staff understand the important role they play in helping the agency meet its mission and vision to all we serve? 2. How do we communicate to each employee our agency’s appreciation of and desire for their contribution of ideas?

First Step: Identify Candidates Send out notices to all workers with no supervisory responsibility. Explain the purpose and process of the mini-forum. Review nominations and select candidates

Mini Forum: First Meeting Convene candidates. Review purpose and process. Break them up into small groups. Use idea writing process. Have them take a sheet of paper and answer two questions. After they write down their ideas, pass the sheet to the next person in the group who would comment or add to the suggestion. After everyone respond, have group reach consensus on significant points. Share with the whole group. Identify areas of consensus.

Outcome of First Meeting Came up with approximately sixty five suggestions. The focus was on communication throughout the organization and site coordinators acknowledging staff performance at program site. If outstanding, receive agency- wide recognition. Shared results with senior management.

Second Meeting Need to prioritize suggestions. Use Rapid Cycle Technique. Break up into small groups. Ask group to identify three primary areas. Reconvene larger group. Reach consensus on three primary goals.

Third Meeting Identify three primary areas for work. Focus on top two areas. Give group task to develop implementation strategies.

Outcome to Date Reached consensus that communication top down and bottom up were the primary areas of work. Reached consensus that managers need to develop a consistent and “HeartShare Management System.” Utilized “HeartShare University” to develop a Management Training Program that would be open to all managers. Incorporated a number of suggestions on how to acknowledge worker performance.

Management Training Program 2017 Cohort 6 is graduating soon! 91 participants have successfully graduated 2012 Winner of COA Innovative Practices Award Designed For Emerging Leaders in the Field 18-Month Comprehensive, Competency-Based Management Training Program 2011 Start of the Program Long-Term Goal: Improve Staff Satisfaction and Retention Rates

MTP includes … 1 Final Group Project Multi-facet Evaluations and Feedback 1 Final Group Project 1 Mentor for Each Participant 3 Tracks of Interactive Workshops

Evaluation Data from MTP These 2 charts capture the Pre and Post LPI results for Cohort V participants. On a scale of 1-10, all participants’ LPI scores improved over the 18-month track. *LPI (Leadership Practices Inventory): 360-degree assessments and facilitator materials illuminates both the effectiveness of your leaders and the level of commitment, engagement, and satisfaction of those that follow.

Lessons Learned An organization can learn a great deal from direct line staff with no supervisory responsibility. An internal evaluator can use a variety of evaluation techniques such as Idea Writing and Rapid Cycle to facilitate a process for sharing information that helps strengthen the organization. If you create a process that encourages creativity and empowers staff you can enhance and strengthen the culture of learning within an organization

THANK YOU! ANY QUESTIONS? Please feel free to contact me if you have questions, comments or concerns after today’s presentation: Stan Capela @heartshare.org 718-422-4248