Working with support workers can be a wonderful and amazing experience when you get a great match with someone with similar interests who really understands your goals. In a perfect world everyone, participants and workers, would find their best match first time every time and there would never be any issues. As we all know, we don’t quite live in a perfect world. When we have issues with a support worker the normal process is to speak to the provider and they will either speak to the support worker on your behalf or they will place you with a different worker.
But what happens when you hire an independent or small operator. Essentially you become the boss. If things aren’t working, or they aren’t registering constructive criticism in real time, a resolution relies on your ability to communicate the issues clearly and effectively so that they have the opportunity to improve. Sometimes it is a personality thing, sometimes they don’t actually realise that they are doing something wrong and sometimes they may be a little complacent. You wont be able to determine which it is without communicating in the first place.
Before we start, be mindful that there are some behaviours that are completely unacceptable.
Things that warrant instant dismissal without any attempt at resolution:
- any kind of physical, emotional, verbal or financial abuse
- theft
- intentional damage to property
- engaging in risky behaviour
- arriving to work under the influence
- unnecessary restrictive practices
These are non negotiables. You as a participant deserve better. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. There are over 250,000 providers in the market looking to work with people like you so you definitely have options.
What are some of the things that can go wrong? (skip to the next bold heading if you want to jump straight into performance reviews)
When working with human beings and all of their complexities, there are a lot of things that can pop up. Everyone knows the saying “you learn something new every day” and this can be very true when working with a support worker. We all have very different life experiences and something completely normal to them might be weird or wonderful to you and vice versa. I am going to list some of the most common complaints that I see in the industry that are completely acceptable to bring up as issues.
Damage to property
Accidental damage to property is probably the most common complaint. Yes, accidents happen, especially if bulky objects like wheelchairs are in play. But an issue arises when accidents start becoming a common, if not a daily occurrence. Some people are naturally clumsy but they tend to be more mindful around things that aren’t there own. Someone being careless really needs to be spoken to and, in some cases, they should cover the costs of repairs or replacement. They have insurance, that is what it is there for. Letting a one off slide can build good relationships but repeated breakages can become costly. The biggest example of this I have seen is a support worker who cleaned a refrigerator for a client but left the freezer door slightly open and left for the evening. By morning the fridge motor had burned out and all the food for the week was ruined. Initially the worker tried to claim their service agreement meant they weren’t responsible, but that is not correct. They did end up having to pay the cost of a refrigerator and reimburse the cost of the grocery shop. As a provider it is advisable to not let something like this ruin an otherwise good working relationship with a participant. Especially when ongoing shifts are involved. Most are happy to be cooperative. It may also help them be a little more mindful.
Support worker trying to bring children to work
I do have a lot of sympathy for working parents, I also know there are some participants who see no issue with this. But I have to say it creates unnecessary risk. Some examples as to why (these examples have happened in the real world):
- Participant was in an electric wheelchair. The child went to hold onto the wheel chair while their parent, the support worker, was distracted. The childs arm somehow became entangled in the moving wheels and was crushed obviously causing serious injury. The support worker ended up attempting to sue the participant. It was unsuccessful as the court was sensible and the child should not have been there and remained the parents responsibility.
- During an outing, the child that was brought along suffered a medical emergency due to allergies. The support worker then had to choose between continuing supports for a very vulnerable participant or leaving with their very ill child.
- Child was brought to a clients house and broke an expensive decorative item that was in a room the child should not have been in. The support worker found out their insurance did not cover the child and that they were now fully responsible for the cost of the item. If the child had accidentally caused injury to the participant, without insurance this could have had serious consequences for both support worker and participant.
These are the most extreme examples that come to mind. But you have to consider risks with every engagement of supports.
Refusing to assist with certain activities
There has been a bit of a trend of some support workers saying they only do community access or only do companionship. This is fine, if they said it to you during the interview process when you said you needed personal care, cooking, cleaning or any of the other wonderful supports that fall outside of community and social. But sometimes they start saying it after being hired or after having already performed those services a few times. Sometimes they need reminding of what they were hired to do or to consider whether this is the right role for them.
Playing on their phone the whole time, taking long personal phone calls
While there are times when being on a phone is appropriate, (participant with severe social anxiety prefers to have a worker just sit with them and not engage, looking something up for a participant, communicating on a participants behalf, helping a participant with social media or account set up etc) non emergency personal phone use is frowned upon. And when it distracts them from their tasks or from engaging with you as a participant it is not acceptable.
Rough handling
I don’t know how to describe this other than reminding your support worker they are washing a human being, not scrubbing pots and pans. I don’t know why I hear about it from showering and dressing the most but if you have experienced it in any setting you know what I am talking about.
Rushing you
Whether it’s grooming, transporting, shopping or even talking, there are very few reasons why your support worker should be rushing you. I can understand if you have a time sensitive appointment or if the session is coming to an end and you are on a tight NDIS budget or they have another client after you (I always let clients know at the start if there is something that I, as a provider, have on after their session as a courtesy). But outside of that it’s the participants time that they are paying for. And there is never a reason for it to be every single session.
Talking over you
Some support workers are just talkers, they can get wrapped up giving you their narrative or comparing everything you say to a personal event. Some don’t realise they are doing it. Some are neurodiverse. It is ok to tell them to reign it in. I know for a fact that I can get a little excitable when you bring up something that I am passionate about.
Running late all the time, trying to leave early all the time
Always remember that this is a business transaction, you are paying for your time. Occasionally needing to go early, once in a while running late because of circumstances are ok, things happen and communication is key (I had a day where I ran into a boat on the highway, things definitely happen). Having it be an every time thing is not ok. It shows a lack of respect for your time. I usually set the bar at 10%, (10 times out of 100 visits is still pretty high but sometimes there is just a string of bad luck) but if you have more than that it is a problem that needs to be addressed.
Over charging
Accidents happen once in a while, but regular over charging is not only frustrating, it is a waste of your time communicating back and forth.
Constant complaining
Sometimes they need reminding that they are being paid to be there. If they are “bored” or having other ongoing issues it drags you down emotionally as well. They may need to reconsider whether this is the job for them.
Becoming too familiar and crossing boundaries
One very obvious example of this was a support worker who started answering the participants phone and deciding on their behalf what social activities they wanted to attend or not attend without discussing it with them. Another is a support worker that starts trying to tell you when they should come, not following the plan you set out. This is another one of those “if it happened to you, you know” issues.
How to engage a support worker in a performance review
Now to start with you don’t necessarily need to call it a performance review as that is very formal. It can be a chat, a discussion, a meeting, a review. I usually reserve “performance review” for when an obvious serious breach has occurred so that the staff member knows I mean business. With minor issues, you really are just trying to communicate so everyone is on the same page.
Before the review
Always prepare for the review. It is very easy for these kinds of talks to get derailed, become murky and unclear, to miss points and also if you are dealing with a natural negotiator you might even be convinced there isn’t a problem even though you wouldn’t be there if there wasn’t.
When reviewing, I always stick to the acronym, ROAD. Reward, Objective, Appraisal and Development.
Reward - start by making a short list of the thing/s that your support worker does really well and that you appreciate. This is important if the issue is minor or manageable because you want the worker to know you do appreciate them and the working relationship you have. I skip this if the breach is a serious one though because a serious breach needs a stern approach.
Objective - Write down the purpose of the review, the issue/s that have led you to call the meeting. Make sure you cover all of the points in a clear and concise dot point list. You don’t want confusion about exactly why they are here having this discussion.
Appraisal - Discuss how they are impacting you as a participant and why they are problematic behaviours in your view. Provide examples where they have exhibited the behaviour.
Development - Write down ways that you think the worker can improve.
I take a photo of that list or keep a copy in my computer in case the support worker wants the copy that I bring to the review for them to think about after. Some people need that time to absorb.
Organise the review time
Always tell the support worker in advance that the review is taking place. Give them time to prepare. Some participants will let the worker know the day before that it will happen on their next visit. It is standard that this be paid time for the worker. They are at work, performance reviews are part of workplace activities. It also sets a tone of mutual respect of each others time. If the worker is asking what it is about, you can just say it is a talk about your plan and goals. It doesn’t have to be anything more in depth.
If you feel you would like an informal support to be with you, you can book them in as well. While I feel it is important for participants to build the skills to have these conversations for self advocacy, I do know that it can be daunting so sometimes there is a need to have someone do it on your behalf while you are present or just be there to back you up.
During the discussion
At the start let the worker know they will have the opportunity to respond to points brought up at the end, this will help mitigate interruptions for most. Then start the discussion following your ROAD map. Once you have gone through each part and explained how you would like to see things improve, give them the opportunity to talk about their point of view on the matter. You will often find they were unaware. Other times they may have reasons for the behaviour and sometimes those reasons are valid and may change your perspective which may make you reassess. Most of the time the worker will take the information on board and make efforts to improve. Some issues may have a deadline to improve by, others may need immediate change from the very next shift.
If all goes well, things will improve and you and your support worker will be able to continue practicing good communication.
What if things don’t go well?
Sometimes people don’t take criticism well, or sometimes they refuse to accept that there is an issue. What steps do you take?
Constantly interrupting
Pause, remind them that they will have the opportunity to respond at the end, then resume your travels on your ROAD map. This is one of the reasons it is important to have it written down in front of you.
Crying during the discussion
There are several reasons a worker might start crying when having their performance reviewed. Stress, anxiety, manipulative tactics, financial concerns etc. Regardless of the reason, and I dont want to sound cruel, it is important to stop and give them the opportunity to calm themselves while also letting them know that the discussion needs to continue once they have settled. It can be hard to watch someone cry, especially if you have a good relationship with them otherwise but it is important that the discussion not be derailed. You can’t move forward if you are going to keep having to let sub par or inappropriate things slide because of tears. If they can’t stop crying there may be bigger questions raised about how they will be resilient enough to support you in an emergency situation.
Getting angry during the discussion
This falls into my “absolutely not” category. I wouldn’t entertain them for a second longer. It is not an appropriate response to constructive criticism. Avoid escalating the anger, tell them maybe finish for today and go cool off to talk again at the next visit. Have them leave your safe space and then once they are gone let them know in no uncertain terms that their services are no longer required.
If the discussion fails or worker fails to improve
When this happens you have 3 choices:
- Attempt a follow up review
- Live with the issue because they have other qualities that make them worth keeping
- End services and find a worker more in line with your needs
You will need to make the choice as to how you want to go about it but always keep in mind that it is a flooded market and there are always options.
Let me know if you have any questions.
