July 8, 2021

In April, more than 1,100 employees of Christian Horizons completed the WorkWell Survey which was conducted by the YMCA. Some of the things we heard are:

  • Employees feel they have had good access to PPE;
  • Organizationally, we have been communicating well during the pandemic;
  • Employees would like more communication from supervisors and other leaders;
  • Overall, there is a lower feeling of well-being during the pandemic;
  • We need more employees;
  • People care about diversity;
  • People want access to more mental health supports.

There were many other ideas shared of things we can do. Some varied a little from one community to the next, but the list above generally captures the overall themes. In some ways, we’re doing well, and in some ways, we need to do better.

In the past few weeks, Laura Watson, Director of Recruitment and Retention, has launched a Diversity & Inclusion Working Group. This expands the work of the Anti-Racism Task Force that took place last year (and we continue to address the recommendations from that work). This new group will help us to better understand the diversity within Christian Horizons and how we can engage and work together so that people experience communities of belonging.

One major theme is the need for more staff. Recruitment Specialists have implemented several changes to the external recruitment processes that reduce the time it takes from application to conditional offer. We are currently investigating video interviews and electronic signing options to continue to improve our recruiting efforts. We know we must be more effective and efficient, so we need to continue to change things to recruit new employees. In addition, as a part of our Employee Referral Program, a short-term incentive boost was introduced in December 2020 to address staffing challenges. Instead of receiving $125 for referrals, employees will be paid $300 effective December 7, 2020.

Another theme we heard from you was that that you need time with your supervisor. You told us that this is important to you, and we agree. You’ve said that your Program Manager or Team Lead has too many things to do to be present with you at your workplace. Patty Vlaar, Executive Director in West District, has been leading “Positive and Effective Leadership”, our Onward goal to help equip Program Managers and Team Leads in their roles. Because of the survey responses, we are revisiting the workplan to incorporate lessons from the survey results.

Please stay tuned to On the Horizon. We’ll share updates here regularly. In the meantime, thank you for continuing to work to help people who experience disabilities belong to communities, even though it looks very different these days, in which their God-given gifts are valued and respected.

Sincerely,

Dwayne

Vice President of Operations