Being Person Driven: Increasing Quality of Life and Creating Staff Satisfaction and Retention

As human service professionals, we make frequent withdrawals from our emotional and energy “bank.” Staff who work with people who use problematic strategies to meet their needs are at particular risk of frustration, exhaustion and burnout. Partnering and being Person Driven not only increases quality of services and the likelihood of those who choose our services enjoying everyday lives, but also increases staff satisfaction and skill. To be the most effective at what we do, we must restore our own reserves, meet system/organizational demands and consider the basic human needs of those we serve in a delicate balance.

Outcome

During this half-day training we will address how to care for ourselves, support staff and connect in a Person Driven way, so that we can increase quality of life and create a culture where staff feel valued and enjoy the benefits of a partnering relationship with individuals who have chosen ID services. Through lecture, discussion and practice participants will be able to:

• Evaluate the many demands on human service professionals,
• Consider the impact of imbalance on emotional and physical well-being,
• Develop tools and approaches to restore and protect our own resources,
• Understand the gift of partnering between staff and those who choose our services,
• Practice partnering and being Person Driven