Homebased Care Provider Achieves Top Results

PRESS RELEASE
Homebased Care Provider Achieves Top Results
with Staff through Unique Learning Programme

October 11, 2012

Homebased health care provider Pacific Homecare has had great success with the introduction of a Literacy and Numeracy (LN) based skills development programme designed to help staff improve service delivery quality to clients while working on their personal growth.

In 2011, knowing that they needed to develop their staff, Pacific Homecare enlisted the help of learning and development company The Learning Wave to design and deliver bespoke learning programmes to help equip staff with the skills and knowledge needed to deliver optimal service and achieve their full potential as individuals.

The initiative was part of a move towards the organisation's vision of 'healthier communities through love, care and professionalism by raising the quality of care we give our elderly and disabled clients.'

One of Pacific Homecare's key points of difference in its sector is that it matches staff with the cultural backgrounds of their clients who come from a wide range of ethnicities, which means that for 90 per cent of Pacific Homecare staff English is a second language.

The Learning Wave created a number of learning initiatives for staff including the Pacific Pathways programme which uses an embedded literacy approach, to address ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) needs and LN skills gaps within Pacific Homecare.

The results in the last 18 months have been hugely successful with 60 staff going through the Pacific Pathways programme and a number of these going on to undertake their NZQA Level Two qualifications, which is now a requirement for professional home-based care providers in order for them to maintain their contracts with Government.

Results showed not only a base level increase in learners' LN scores, but staff also reported strong increases in their ability to understand and complete key paperwork such as care plans, and confidence around speaking and listening.

Corporate Manager at Pacific Homecare Glenys Tremain said that what Pacific Homecare had achieved in the last 18 months would have a lasting impact. "Not only on our business, but on our staff, their families and our communities that we serve in," Ms Tremain said. "For example, one Cook Island trainee commented 'I now understand my son's school curriculum'. This powerful statement acknowledges a closer affinity and understanding between mother and son and also the improved ability to express herself using a word like curriculum that she would have found 'tricky' before."

Director of The Learning Wave Martyn McKessar, said the embedded literacy approach has been a major factor in the success of the Pacific Pathways programme. "Rather than use a one-size-fits all approach, we design our programmes specifically for the organisation and integrate literacy skill development and teaching into practical learning solutions, that are relevant to the day to day work environment of the learners," Mr McKessar said. Mr Mckessar says another vital element to successful learning outcomes within organisations is to take a top down approach, and ensure leaders take ownership of learning programmes and go on the journey with their staff.

"We helped Pacific Homecare to show their people the "why" of what they were doing, and we had the people at the top come into the courses and personally meet with staff to show that they valued the programme and appreciated what their people were doing to improve their skills," Mr McKessar said. "And we handpick our learning facilitators to ensure that they deliver learning in a way that captures the hearts and minds of the learners, as well as produces measurable results.
For more information on The Learning Wave, visit thelearningwave.co.nz
Backgrounder

The Learning Wave is a learning and development company with experience in delivering organisation performance improvements. Their focus is on delivering measurable shifts in performance that produce effective organisational improvements and increase productivity.

The learning and development programmes are bespoke for each client and are linked to the organisation's strategic outcomes. The Learning Wave work in partnership with clients to embed learning into organisational change and help develop their people. Their learning solutions range from executive leadership to learning design to workplace literacy.

Recognising that everyone learns at a different pace and in different ways, The Learning Wave pride themselves on staying away from off-the-shelf programmes and ready-made solutions. Instead, they look to create a partnership with clients that deliver results and helps drive positive change in their people.

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