Training Report: Mission Training for New Employees
Shannon Hill, Ph.D.

Being a new employee in a place like The Baddour Center can be a tough gig, especially if the person has never done this kind of work before. The early months are spent trying to get the hang of lots of things. New Hire Orientation introduces the standard concepts you'll get anywhere you work, such as personal leave, timekeeping, insurance, etc. You're also introduced to some concepts unique to healthcare, such as resident rights and handling confidential information.

Once the Human Resources component of New Hire Orientation is over, employees are sent to their relative divisions where they are given department-specific training. They must learn about things like record keeping, the computer system, documentation procedures, and schedules. Staff members who work directly with residents are then presented with lots of information about what it means to work here. They must learn about intellectual disabilities, teaching functional skills, and behavior intervention, just to name a few. Finally, once all of this general information is covered, they begin to receive job-specific training. Vocational staff must learn about such things as labor laws, equipment safety, and task analysis. Direct Support Professionals must learn how to run the household, assist with the residents' daily living needs, and a myriad of safety procedures. Community Life staff must learn about vehicle safety, procedures for monitoring large groups of residents on outings, and after-hours emergency processes.

Along the way, all of our frontline workers must also learn about the residents, as groups and as individuals. To be successful, they will have to learn about each person's likes and dislikes, dreams and goals, hot buttons and soft spots.

As I said, it is a lot to take in. By necessity, new employees are thrown a ton of information in a very short time, and this can be a lot to process. Sometimes the messages seem mixed, too, and only experience can help make sense of that (for example, we teach our staff that they must keep everyone safe and that the residents are adults who should not be over-controlled. In the trenches, this can make for some pretty tough judgement calls).

In order to help our new employees process all of this, last year we implemented something we've been calling "90-Day Training." That name has become quite confusing, though, as we have other trainings going by the same title. So, in 2009 I have renamed it "Mission Training." Mission Training provides new frontline workers the opportunity to sit down, take a breath, and remember the basics about why we are all here. It is an opportunity for them to think about all of the training they've received, integrate it with the direct experiences they've had in their first 90 days of employment, and ask questions.

The training follows a format that guides the employee through The Baddour Center's Mission Statement:

The Baddour Center is dedicated to providing a model residential community for adults with mild and moderate intellectual disabilities in an environment that promotes maximum growth intellectually, spiritually, physically, socially, emotionally, and vocationally.

The bolded phrases indicate talking points for the discussion. Staff are reminded of information they learned in previous training, and scenarios are given of how to apply the mission to tricky situations. The scenarios are key; the employees feel more comfortable talking about the things that have concerned them when they hear something that rings true to their own experiences.

We frequently ask our staff members to evaluate our training programs, but since people are generally so positive in formal evaluation, I really rely on one question for judging my classes. Did I have to hold them in the room or did I have to kick them out when it was over? So far, I haven't had to lock anyone in -- so I think Mission Training is a valuable addition to our training program.