Lead Counselor Training Manual

Lead Counselor Training Manual

Table of Contents

Employees

·  Schedule – how it should look, staying within standard amount of hours, when it should be completed and available to staff, on-call staff, consistency, overtime, etc

o  Changes in staff hours – who to contact and when (increase or decrease in scheduled hours)

o  Scheduling and Auditing of Employee Timecards

·  Performance

o  Coaching; Giving Feedback

o  Performance Monitoring

o  Documentation of Performance

o  Verbal Counsel/Written Warnings

o  Overnight Checks

·  Training

o  New Employee Training – checklist, med skills assessment, how to cover each item, how to fill out the form, etc.

o  Ongoing Training

o  Training Requirements

o  Staff Meetings

·  What Do if a Staff is Injured at Work

·  Leave of Absence

o  Family Medical Leave (FMLA)

o  Military Leave

o  Personal leave

o  Other

Clients

·  Specific Guardian/Case Manager Expectations

o  Communication with guardians, case managers, day placements, etc. – every other week contact requirement

o  Communicating with difficult team members

·  Client Meetings

·  Documentation Guidelines

o  Client files

o  Where to file documents

o  What/When/How to send things to the office for filing

·  Medical Documentation

o  Medical Referral Forms

o  Medication Administration Sheets

o  Med Changes

o  Med Errors

·  Client Finances – review ledgers weekly

o  Checking accounts

o  Limited access to checkbooks, extra checks, where are they secured?

o  Petty cash

o  Asset limits

o  Rent responsibilities

o  Completion of financial paperwork – CAF’s, shelter forms, other financial documents

o  General billing/funding information

o  Do not throw anything away

·  Activities/Schedule

·  Psychotropic Medications

·  Primary Counselor Responsibilities

·  Licensing Requirements

·  Client Appearance – for meetings, for every day

House

·  Home Safety Checklist

·  Credit Card –Purchasing and Recordkeeping

·  Fire Drills; Severe Weather Drills

·  Menu – Nutrition Guidelines

·  House Appearance, Safety, and Maintenance

Other

·  Cell Phone Use and Availability

·  Required Postings for the Site (employment posters)

·  Van Maintenance

·  Lead Counselor Checklists

Schedule

Writing, maintaining, and filling the staff schedule is the responsibility of the Lead. Although the Program Counselor will be as helpful as possible with the schedule if needed, it does remain a Lead responsibility to make sure there is adequate staff coverage at the house. If you are proactive about the schedule and manage it effectively, you will have fewer emergencies and less stress.

Please try to stay within the shifts that have been assigned to the house based on the client needs, scheduling as many appointments and other miscellaneous tasks during those scheduled hours as possible. Also be aware of staff who may be arriving early or staying late for their shifts when it is not necessary. These extra hours – schedule creep – can add up over the week, and is unacceptable. Staff should be working their assigned shifts and getting any variation from that approved by the Lead or by the Program Counselor. Staff hours are scheduled according to the needs of the clients and the house – not the financial needs of the staff. The fewest staff hours should be scheduled that still meet the needs of the clients and the site. This would include scheduling doctor appointments and other appointments during regularly staffed hours, rather than having staff come in early for a client appointment. This should be done, even if it means that the appointment is scheduled a few days later.

There is an example of a house schedule in this manual and a schedule template is available on the Management Only page of the website. The schedule should be typed – all changes must be clear and easy to read. Resident Counselors should only make changes on the schedule when they have been directed to do so by the Lead Counselor or Program Coordinator.

The schedule should be completed and available to staff at least one week before it begins. Open shifts should be filled as far in advance as possible. It is the Lead Counselor’s responsibility to look at every shift to be sure the staffing is adequate – meaning having confidence that the quality and abilities of the staff are adequate to offer the needed support to the clients on every shift. Every effort should be made to avoid “weak” shifts, as those often result in issues with clients and incident reports. Consistency in staff is critical to the success of our clients, so scheduling as few staff for as many of the hours is ideal, rather than having a number of fill-in staff covering shifts. At a typical Zumbro House site, there are 3 primary afternoon positions, one part-time position, and two overnight positions. Just less than 200 staff hours per week should be used, as a general rule. Additional staff hours for clients who stay home during the day, will increase this number.

Overtime should be diligently avoided. Only in emergency situations and when all other options have been exhausted should overtime be approved. Lead Counselors as well as Program Coordinators are expected to explain overtime when necessary, so be prepared to do so if you are approving any overtime. Also, expect to specify what measures failed in order to avoid overtime.

On call staff are in a separate section on the staff phone list, and staff that may have additional hours available are labeled as “PT”. Be sure to always refer to the staff phone list that is posted on the website, as that is where you should find the most updated information. Please avoid the temptation to print out copies of the staff phone list, as it changes frequently. This will help avoid calling former employees to pick up shifts. If you find that there is an incorrect phone number, please ask the staff to complete an Employee Communication Form, which is located on the employees only page of the website. When you are calling staff to fill in, you should be asking if they will be in overtime if they pick up the shift. Although the employee is also supposed to be informing the Lead when they are asked to pick up shifts, we cannot always count on the employee to pass along that information. Also make sure to inform any on-call staff, who are working in your house for the first time, that they must read and sign the signature page for all of the clients’ Risk Management Plans, Protocols, and ISPs.

If a staff is requesting a permanent change in hours, please make sure that they complete an Employee Communication Form on the website informing Human Resources of the change. Staff who are working an average of 39 hours per week are eligible for PTO benefits 90 days after they begin working those full time hours. Remember, all permanent changes to the schedule should be approved by the Program Coordinator. This includes the Lead’s schedule. Creating “custom” schedules for employees can create chaos when positions need to be filled.

Payroll forms, both blank copies and those being used for the current payroll, should be kept in the Payroll Book. These forms are available on the Employees only page of the website. Having these forms in the same location at all sites makes it easy for staff who are working at multiple sites and also for the supervisors who are gathering forms for payroll.

The Lead must inform the Program Coordinator whenever they wish to change their own work schedule – temporarily or permanently. Otherwise the PC will expect the Lead to be on-site when the schedule specifies they are to be on site.

Lead Payroll Responsibilities

As a Lead Counselor, you are responsible for performing timecard audits for all of the employees that work at your sites during a given pay period. Here is a step to step guide on how to perform your auditing responsibilities using the EZLaborManager electronic time-keeping program.

1.  You must assign recurring schedules to all of your regularly scheduled part-time and primary Resident Counselors. Recurring schedules must be reassigned with position turnover, as new employees are hired. NOTE: Recurring schedules have already been created by HR based on the set positions at your site, you just need to assign them to your employees. To do this, click on the schedules tab on the left side of your home screen.

1. If you are unable to see any employees, you need to create a filter of employees you would like to view. To create a permanent filter, Click the yellow filter button . On the My Filters page, Click New. Under Filter Item, select employee ID and click the arrow to move it into the right box. Then click next. Name your filter (i.e. My Staff, Fremont/Chicago staff). Click the button. Add employees to your filter by checking the box on the left. Add all of your primary and part-time RCs, as well as on-call employees that you commonly use. You should add all of the employees that work at your sites. Then click save. On the My Filters page, click on the blue filter link you just made to begin. At any point in the future, If you’d like to add more employees or delete employees, you may edit your filter, by pressing the button and following the same steps above.

Once you are back on the schedules tab and can view the employees that work at your sites, you can begin adding recurring schedules to your regularly scheduled staff. First, press the Recurring Schedules tab, so that it is highlighted green. Select Assign Multiple. Click on the employee’s name you wish to add to a recurring schedule, so that it is highlighted blue. Then, click the button next to the box under Recurring Schedule and choose the corresponding recurring schedule you wish to add to that employee (i.e. Bloomington Primary ON). See that under Description, it states the days associated with that schedule. Under Start Date, choose any past Sunday that begins a pay period (see 2013 Pay Calendar worksheet). The Start Week should be 1 and you do not need to enter in an end date, unless applicable (i.e. they have put in a two week notice). Click Submit. You should now be able to see their recurring schedule to the right of their name. Follow the same steps to add recurring schedules to each employee that is regularly scheduled at your site.

1. Only HR can edit and create recurring schedule assignments. If you notice that one is inaccurate, contact HR to request that it be changed.

2.  You must keep all employees scheduled up –to-date by adding daily schedules as needed. For example, if an employee who is assigned a recurring schedule requests a day off and finds coverage with an on-call staff, you will need to edit each employee’s schedule to reflect this change. Anytime you have preapproved a regularly scheduled employee to work hours that vary from their recurring schedule, or schedule employees that do not work regularly at your site (i.e. on-calls), you must update their schedule using the Daily Schedules tab.

Under Schedules, select Daily Schedules so that it is highlighted green. Employees in your filter should be listed; however, if you need to adjust a schedule of an employee that you cannot see, you must edit your filter (see instructions above under 1.a). Select Edit Single. In the corresponding row of the employee you wish to edit, highlight the day you wish to edit, create, or delete a schedule. If you need to see a broader view of days, click the button next to the employee’s name. Select the day you wish to edit. If you are deleting a shift, press Delete Selected, then Submit. You will see that the shift disappears. If you are editing a time in/out or adding a shift, add the in time in the corresponding In box and out time in the corresponding Out box. Under Department, press the button and choose the site they will be working. Click Apply, then Submit. The updated schedule should appear below, next to the employee’s name. If the edited schedule was outside of the current week, you can click the button by their name to view it on their monthly schedule.

1. Remember, editing Daily Schedules is a one-time schedule adjustment. The schedule will default to the employee’s recurring schedule (if applicable) for all other days, unless you individually adjust shifts using the Daily Schedules tab.

3.  Once you have set up schedules, employee’s timecards will show a next to shifts that match their assigned schedule (this is good!). There will be a exception next to any shifts that do not match the schedule you have assigned them. A exception will appear next to any shifts where an employee has forgotten to punch out or punch in. If a exception appears next to ANY shifts where an employee has worked at your site, you need to write a note on their timecard to explain the deviation. This is the primary role in your auditing process. Employees should be updating an ongoing Timecard Notation Form and Time Edit Request Form for any shifts flagged with or exceptions. These forms should be kept in a designated place at your site (timecard binder).

You will be expected to audit timecards once weekly on Sundays. To perform your audit, you will first need to pull up a list of all the employees that worked at your sites during the current pay period. To do this, click the Reports link on the top right of your home screen. Click the Supervisor Reports link. Then, click the corresponding button next to Timecard Report. Name this timecard report “My staff” or enter in your site names. Time frame should be current pay period. Scroll to the bottom of the page to add a current filter for this report. Under Create New Filter, use the scroll down menu to chose “worked department”. This will create a timecard report for all employees that worked only at your sites. Press the button and in the corresponding box, check the sites you manage. They should now appear in the Selected Values table. Click Add Filter. You new filter and filter description show now appear. Click Save and Preview. This will save this report for future use and it will pull up a report of all the employees that have worked at your sites during the current pay period. Either print this report out or write down all the employees that show up in the report.