2. Getting Staff “Buy-In” Bobbi Douglas, MSSA, LICDC, LPC Executive Director STEPS at Liberty Center Wooster Ohio

3. Where We Were Before NIATX

4. Dirty Little Secrets of the Addiction Treatment Field Long Wait Times High “No-Show” Rate Low Continuation in Treatment Waiting Lists Considered Badge of Honor

5. The Answer:

6. Reasons that Staff Do Not Have Buy-In Staff feelings – something is being done to them Workloads increase Resources run low to keep it going Feedback on progress not routinely offered to stakeholders Lack of understanding about the purpose/aim of change

7. More Reasons… True benefits haven’t been clearly assessed & communicated Staff unsure about their role in the change Staff do not feel like they were included in the change Staff do not feel they have the knowledge/skills to make it work Senior Leaders do not invest any time/energy into the change

8. Leadership Buy-In Critical This is a process not a project Method for making change in our organization.

9. Strategies Make it fun! Do things that make jobs easier first. It is all an experiment. Provide research that shows it works. Feed data back to staff. Use “natural" communicators.

10. Strategies Send staff to NIATx Change Leader Academy. Involve people at all levels of organization (support staff, Board, referral sources) Work on issues that the staff cares about. Make those who participate “special.” Share data at staff and Board meetings.

11. Strategies Let staff know that they a part of national movement and on the cutting edge. Make trained staff “teachers.” Encourage learning opportunities. Integrate into culture and environment. Include NIATx in performance evaluations and job descriptions.

12. Be Persistent!

13. Communication Continuum Sharing InformationShaping Behavior General Publications Personal Touch Interactive ActivitiesPublic EventsFace-to-Face NewsletterLetterE-mailFairsOne-to-one WebsitePostcardPhoneConferencesMentoring StoryboardsCardSite VisitsPresentationsShadowing Case StudiesStoriesTrainingsStory-telling Annual Report Articles

14. Staff buy in is critical for sustaining change

15. Most Important Have belief that staff want to provide excellent services and have positive outcomes for their clients. This is why they are in the field.