Melanie Tran has been booking Hireup support workers for 7 years. Here are her tips to build a team of trusted workers all year round.
Among all the joy and anticipation, holidays can also be stressful. If you’re a person living with disability or a carer, supported holidays can be hard to organise when your workers change routine or are on leave.
However, that need not be the case. Melanie (Mel) Tran has been a Hireup client since 2016 and has handled issues of finding holiday support workers through communication, organisation, thinking ahead, and budgeting for NDIS supported holiday periods.
What is Mel’s number one tip for securing year-round support?
Building a whole team of support workers so you can have the confidence to enjoy holiday periods along with the rest of your family and friends.
Mel is an organisational dynamo with 11 support workers in her team, spanning both full-time and part-time workers. Here are her top tips to help build a support worker team.
Plan ahead
“I have found if you don’t get organised and plan ahead, then everything can go out the window, especially at holiday time,” Mel says.
If organisation isn’t your core skill, Mel suggests getting help to map out your needs in advance, recognising that they may change depending on the time of year. That includes taking into account NDIS support worker public holiday rates and changes in your activities.
“Forward planning is about balancing what support I need and when, especially because in holidays there is a difference depending on who I’m spending time with and what I’m doing,” she explains. “With family I don’t need as much formal support, but I need more if I am spending time with friends to get out and about. So that can change the kinds of support I will plan for, whether it’s personal or social, for example.”
Mel looks at her team’s availability in advance and her team always gives a minimum of three days’ notice if they can’t make a shift. When holidays approach, Mel always asks about leave plans so she and her team can fill any gaps early, with minimal stress and fuss.
And having a team works well for support workers too, giving them flexibility to have time off without scrambling for replacements.
Make time for induction
Expanding your familiar and trusted support workers to build a larger team can be a challenge, and getting to know a worker often takes time and patience. Mel has some suggestions – and again, it starts with thinking ahead and making the time for a proper induction and training.
“Look at your needs and the best way to take a new support worker through them, whether it’s you or someone on your behalf,” says Mel. “Think about what they need to know to best support you, whether it’s communicating or training.”
When getting to know new support workers, Mel also prefers to have someone more experienced on hand so the new worker can learn the routines on the job.
Budgeting pays off
We all know that support comes at a cost, which is why having the information you need to budget effectively is an important part of Mel’s routine, and one she says gives her the security and ability to plan effectively.
At the beginning of each year, she meets with her NDIS support coordinator to do a budget forecast. Regular budget reviews help her stay on track all year round.
“We factor in the support hours I will need, including NDIS weekend and public holiday rates. That gives me a rough idea of how much we have to work with so I have a sense of what plans I can make. Knowing I take into account public holiday rates helps me avoid surprises.”
Communication is key
Last but far from least, is communication. Whether managing your own support like Mel, or doing it on behalf of someone else, it is the key to keeping everything running smoothly.
“If support workers have changed shifts or we have a different routine I use gentle nudges and reminders to make sure they don’t forget. It’s a good way to give certainty that it’s all covered so you won’t be left in the lurch. And I reach out well ahead to let everyone know if there are going to be any changes for me, as well as asking in advance for notice of their leave.”
Hireup can help
If you’re not as organised as Mel and the idea of coordinating a whole team is daunting, nominating one of your support workers to be your “team leader” and help out with coordinating shifts can be a helpful option.
Mel also highly recommends using the Hireup Local Services – Hireup's relationship management and team builder services who can do a lot of the groundwork for you and set you up for year-round support, security and success in 2023.
Need to get your holiday support sorted?
Get started with Hireup today and and find support workers near you every day of the year.
