Description: This resource from Rose Brooks Center (the largest domestic violence agency in Missouri, USA) is a sample of key practices in 10 areas used to "engage staff, build strength, collective resilience, and at the same time improve services for survivors" (pg. 1).
The headings for the key practices are as follows:
1- Hiring process
Organised and thoughtful hiring process
Staff onboarding and new hire training
2- Staff/employee performance evaluation
3- Support to address trauma exposure (secondary trauma)
Staff wellness
Organisational response to vicarious trauma
Flexibility/work-life balance
4- Compensation
Salary
Leave time
Benefits
5- Staff development
Meaningful and challenging development plans
Training
6- Leadership strategies
Integrate staff retention into agency policy, formal practices, and resource development
Staff involvement and feedback to inform staff retention strategies
Leadership conducts annual evaluation of factors impacting staff retention, quality of services, and sustained agency operations
7- Workplace environment and culture
Space
Employee feedback/input
8- Communication
Management transparency
9- Organisation staff meetings
10- Clear mission and values
Sense of purpose in the workplace
What's the evidence base for this resource: This resource is a sample of Rose Brooks Center's policies and procedures, and does not provide any evidence itself. However, the agency is recognised by accrediting bodies as adhering to best practice standards and has won awards for its services.
Potential uses and limitations: This resource is a useful high-level map of organisational strategies to enhance employee support/engagement and address vicarious trauma. It does not provide detailed guidance for any particular issue, but may serve as inspiration or generate ideas on organisational and workplace strategies.
Where it comes from: This resource was presented as a handout within the webinar 'Strategies to Enhance Employee Resilience and Engagement within Survivor-Serving Organizations' hosted by Futures Without Violence in May 2020. Rose Brooks Center's Chief Operating Officer was one of three presenters in the webinar.
Rose Brooks Center is the largest domestic violence agency in the American state of Missouri. The agency has 100 employees and reaches approximately 15,000 individuals annually.
Description: Self-assessment tool for work health and safety risk management during organisational change
What's the evidence base for this resource: The evidence base is not explained. The resource is designed to assist employers and managers fulfill their obligations under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (WHS Act) to ensure the health and safety of their workers.
Potential uses and limitation: This tool is a guided self-assessment to identify key risks and corrective actions to minimise the risks of change. The focus is on Consultation, Prevention, Early intervention, Recovery and Return to Work, and Leadership. It is intended for use by managers and leaders- those with responsibility for managing and monitoring organisational change processes.
It includes a short survey to test employer/manager perceptions vs worker perceptions about organisational change management.
Not directed specifically at Vicarious Trauma, however clear communication from leadership around organisational change is a factor explored in the VT-ORG.
Where it comes from: Comcare Australia
Description: This self-assessment tool has been designed to provide you with a checklist to assess your performance and plan of systems and processes required to ensure the health and safety of workers undergoing Machinery of Government (MoG) changes.
What's the evidence base for this resource: The self-assessment tool is deisgned to assist employers act in accordance with the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (WHS Act) (Commonwealth legistlation). There is no other explanation of the evidence informing the tool.
Potential uses and limitation: This tool should be used by managers and people responsbile for organisational change, to review your current planning and implementation of organisational change in the areas of Consultation, Prevention, Early Intervention, Rehabilitation and Return to Work (RTW), and Management and Leadership
It is not specific to Vicarious Trauma. However, clear communication regarding organisational change relates to some of the items in the VT-ORG, so this may be useful where the VT-ORG indicates this area needs attention.
Where it comes from: Comcare Australia.
Description: The (US based) Resiliency Project engaged researchers, educators, and
practitioners from the child abuse field in a collaborative effort to
develop, implement, and evaluate an organisationally based program to
build resiliency in staff and volunteers. Twelve service organisations participated in the project.
Key to the project were the pilot "resiliency coaches" who evaluated all training and technical assistance products related to the organisational program model.
The model identified 5 key themes- self-knowledge and insight, sense of hope, healthy coping, strong relationships, and personal perspective and meaning- that can be promoted in the culture of organisations.
What's the evidence base for this resource: Evaluation conducted by the Institute on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault (IDVSA) at the University of Texas School of Social Work.
Potential uses and limitation: It includes
examples of specific interventions implemented under the categories of
Policy, Supervisory Technique, and Competency-based Training. There are a range of training and reflection exercises that could be useful in supervision contexts. Suggested practice examples range from personal reflections, through to policies that promote staff well being.
Where it comes from: Institute on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault (IDVSA) in the Center for Social Work Research, School of Social Work
Description: A clearly described set of communication principles aimed at promoting transparency and shared power in decision making.
What's the evidence base for this resource: Based on practice experience/wisdom the organisation. The guidelines are explicitly based on an
ethical commitment to respectful communication, rather than a positivist
evidence based or clinical approach.
Potential uses and limitations: A simple, useful guide where communication from leadership, or within teams, is identified as a problem.
Where it comes from: Developed by the Vermont Network Against Domestic and Sexual Violence .
The guidelines have been made available by the US VTT site