What would it take to make preventing staff burnout something you can actually measure?
Because the cost of burnout doesn’t stay just with staff. Programs stall, quality slips, and waitlists grow for the people who need help most.
That question ran through this month’s Agency Capacity Builder - Workforce Cohort, where leaders from agencies funded by the Milton Township Community Mental Health Board (https://miltontownship.net/services/708_mental_health_board/index.php) work through how they recruit, develop and keep good people.
Here is what agencies in the cohort are trying: cross-training teams so programs stay covered when someone is out. Checking in on mindset and expectations, not only tasks. Asking, “As a human, how are you doing?” It’s risky, and worth it. And carrying a culture through growth, as one crisis team went from 40 to 200 staff in a year and a half.
Thank you to Outreach (https://www.weareoutreach.org) for hosting us in Carol Stream. Everyone was amazed by how much work happens inside this building. The spaces are warm and intentional, and through partnership the programs reach from early childhood all the way to older adults. It was inspiring to hear how many students they have helped explore their future, including going away to college, and how focused the center is on the neighbors within walking distance.
Peer forums like this one are how Good Works Results LLC helps leaders turn shared challenges into shared solutions. www.goodworksresults.com/nonprofitforum
Grateful to work alongside DuPagePads (https://www.dupagepads.org), DuPage County Health Department (https://www.dupagehealth.org), DuPage Federation on Human Services Reform (https://www.dupagefederation.org), The Association for Individual Development (https://www.aidcares.org), Teen Parent Connection (https://www.teenparentconnection.org), SamaraCare (https://www.samaracarecounseling.org), ICNA Relief (https://www.icnarelief.org), and Outreach (https://www.weareoutreach.org).