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High Turnover Turnaround
November 30, 2009
By Sarah Boehle
From the Training Top 125 e-newsletter
Faced with an annual turnover rate of more than 50 percent among direct support professionals (DSPs) at Florida's Miami Cerebral Palsy Residential Services Inc. (MCPRS), it didn't take Staff Development Director Elizabeth Das long to recognize it would require more than an isolated training module or two to adequately address the problem. "While turnover rates among front-line personnel providing care to individuals with developmental disabilities typically run high in the U.S., we felt strongly we could do better," says Das.
The solution? Das teamed with the College of Direct Support (www.collegeofdirectsupport.com) to implement a Web-based learning management system (LMS) for MCPRS that included custom content developed in partnership with the University of Minnesota to support the training and professional development needs of the direct support staff, which includes approximately 150 hands-on care providers.
The program consists of nearly 100 lessons relating to the care of those with developmental disabilities, according to Das. "It addresses safety and health, maltreatment of vulnerable adults, community inclusion, and other essential [subject matter] key to the success of direct support professionals at MCPRS."
Most modules in the program can be completed in about an hour, she says. "To be certified as a registered direct support professional by the National Alliance of Direct Support Professionals (NADSP) (www.nadsp.org/main), employees must complete the entire curriculum—the equivalent of 200 college credit hours—within 12 months," Das notes.
As for the impact of the program on turnover among direct support professionals employed by MCPRS, the results speak for themselves. "We've cut annual attrition from 50 percent to 6.6 percent," according to Das.
To implement a workforce development program to reduce employee turnover, Das points to the following tips:
• Prep. "Our staff development coordinator and IT specialist instituted computer classes for all DSP staff at MCPRS," says Das. "These were provided during normal working hours with flexible scheduling and staff rotation to build the necessary confidence and skills to navigate the LMS." Job aids also were developed so DSPs would have a ready reference on how to operate the system. "And we acquired additional computers to accommodate greater access to the LMS."
• Pilot. "We piloted the program to our front-line supervisors and other managers before introducing it to its intended audience," says Das. This provided ample opportunity to iron out any kinks and to refine the program prior to rollout, she says. "It also created a lot of buy-in among supervisors whose responsibility it is to monitor and evaluate the progress of DSPs enrolled in the curriculum."
• Certify. "By offering the certification track through the NADSP for our direct support staff, we created an identifiable career path," says Das. "With NADSP registration comes the recognition afforded by a national professional association." Das says career advancement opportunities for DSPs—including pay raises—are contingent upon successful completion of the College of Direct Support-anchored program developed for MCPRS and employee certification by NADSP.
Miami Cerebral Palsy Residential Services Inc. (MCPRS) is a division of United Cerebral Palsy of South Florida, which serves more than 1,400 infants, children, and adults with developmental disabilities at more than 60 locations in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties. In 2009, MCPRS placed 95th on Training magazine's Top 125 list, an annual ranking of organizations that excel at human capital development.
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