Got “Empty desks” on a grant start-up?

Congratulations! You got the grant and your organization’s future looks bright! How come you already feel like you’re three months behind?

One of the great things about federal grants is that you develop your project plan and timeline while you’re writing the application, but getting things up and running is another thing entirely. Your people already have full time jobs. Their roles need to be adjusted and backfilled, and you need to hire, but that doesn’t happen overnight! Your project plan needs to turn into a true work plan, and who’s going to project manage all of this?!

You’re not alone. Nearly every organization in the healthcare landscape is struggling with workforce shortages right now. But, at INCITE we have helped many organizations navigate exactly this type of difficulty. You don’t have to go it alone, and you don’t have to start from scratch. Let’s get down to brass tacks and explore how to navigate these hurdles.

Clarify first and panic later

The awarding organization (SAMHSA for your CCBHC grants) does NOT expect you to work miracles. What they do expect is for you to have a plan to meet your goals and deliverables, despite staff turnover, which sometimes (gasp!) is even your grants project director. Let’s start at the beginning:

Get clarity on your staffing obligations and your year 1/upcoming goals. When writing your grant you likely identified positions that would be paid for under the grant. Some of these roles you selected, some of the roles were required, and a few roles may have been designated as “key personnel” by the granting agency. Make a list of your open roles, rank them in terms of priority (key personnel for instance, should be filled first OR have an interim lead) and take your deliverables into account.

Here is what a list might look like:

Open roles

–                 Project director (key personnel)

–                 Communication manager (selected role)

–                 PTSD informed physical therapist (selected role)

Y1 Deliverables:

–                 Train current staff on evidence-based screening tool

–                 Meet monthly with grant program officer

–                 Develop partnership agreements with local food pantry

–                 Begin referring clients and providing free transportation to local food pantry

In the list, all the year 1 deliverables can be accomplished by a project director. That is good news and means your focus should be hiring for the PD role OR identifying someone to be interim PD (and make sure to let your grants project officer know). Is that ideal for the long term? Of course not but having a project director will keep you stable and moving forward throughout Y1 as you work to fill the other open roles. Plus, now that you’ve taken inventory of your task list, you know that some work can be spread out amongst current team members (starting a relationship with the food pantry).

Invest within

Identifying the needs that your open grant roles require (such as experience with data entry or ability to speak Mandarin) and the types of abilities a person needs to have in order to thrive in a given role can be a fast track to filling an opening on the grant from your internal team. 

Never underestimate the interest current team members may have to make a lateral move and to utilize untapped skills and passion, which fulfilling a role on the grant could offer (which oh, by the way, might encourage them to stay employed with you longer as opposed to going to look for new responsibilities with a new organization! Yeah, bonus win!). Conducting a skills assessment or skills matrix can also be a fast track for that alignment.  At INCITE we utilize Predictive Index and Working Genius, proven tools to help our clients align the skills of an individual with the needs of a position. Often, organizations think about deploying these for leadership development, but they can be used more broadly for hiring new staff or encouraging growth from within as well. We’re happy to show you around if you’re interested in learning more.

Build forward

Hiring externally is a normal (yet often stressful) part of standing up your new grant. Here are four hiring practices that work to consider implementing at your organization: 

-Poach (I mean Network): Tap into personal/professional networks, local and national, attend industry conferences, and collaborate with other organizations in your field to expand your reach.

-Partner: Identify local organizations with grants ending or at risk of ending soon. Initiate conversations with their leadership to explore potential transitions for individuals once they complete their current roles and assess how your new grant could benefit from this opportunity.

-Pipeline: these can be for many types of team members not just for clinical staff/clinicians in need of supervision and hours towards their licenses. Most Masters programs (MSW or even non-clinical programs like an MPH) require practicums as do many associate degree programs to encourage job placement rates. If you haven’t already, connect with your local educational institutions and create your own workforce – they do take a little more training and supervision up front, but set you up for long-term success across your organization and create development ladders for professional growth.

-Prevent: Staff that enjoy work and find meaning in their work, are more productive, and stay longer. Organizational health and wellness directly impact your staff’s quality of life. Think hard about what you do to ensure your team is thriving. Turnover and burnout rates are higher than ever, as are the numbers of clinicians leaving for the virtual or private sector. Doing things how we’ve been doing them is unsustainable. You can’t fix/change culture overnight and there’s no magic fairy dust, do something.

At INCITE we’ve got proven results with clients who have changed how they hire, improved retention, and had turnover dropped 30%+ along with dramatic increases in the amount of joy people are experiencing in their workplace.

Our team has decades of first-hand experience; we know the system because we’ve worked at and led organizations just like yours. That’s why we are so committed to doing something different, something extraordinary. Whether you need help with grants management or organizational health, we’ve got some new ideas we’d love to share. Give us a call when you want to talk about staffing challenges or transform your organization into a place of joy for clients AND staff.

Do you have a wellness program? How can you support employees’ physical and mental health? Can you encourage your teams to rest and disconnect? INCITE can help you make it happen. Contact us for a conversation!