At Circle of Care, we are committed to empowering our staff and ensuring the highest quality of care for our clients, solidifying Circle of Care’s reputation as a leader in home and community support services. Our new Preceptorship Program, which pairs new Personal Support Worker (PSW) hires with experienced PSWs for two one-hour client visits, is a great example of our continuous effort to benefit both our staff and clients.
Launched in early Fall 2023, the hands-on program allows new hires to ask questions in real-time as they come up, and learn from practical experience. The program provides new PSWs with the coaching they need to increase their confidence to working independently in the community and foster a sense of belonging within our PSW team.
“I found the program very helpful, especially as a newcomer to Canada,” says new PSW hire, Kreisha. “I was grateful for the experience. My preceptor Hazel provided me with useful guidance on approaching tasks and working with my clients.”
In the program’s inaugural year, we graduated four groups of certified Preceptors, who took part in a training program to arm them with the skills they needed to coach their peers. The program has allowed these high-performing PSWs at Circle of Care to cultivate new professional skills and advance their careers, while also providing support to their colleagues.
“Sometimes new hires can be nervous to ask questions in a group setting or of a supervisor or manager, but with me, they can ask me questions one-on-one, and I’ll answer them,” says Natoya, one of the preceptors that works with new hires. She notes that some of her preceptees continue to seek her advice for weeks after their visits together.
This type of ongoing connection that gets built between more experienced staff and new hires helps to grow community and support amongst our PSWs. For employees whose very job it is to support those in need, helping their peers is a natural extension of their carer role.
“It feels good to help our new hires not feel as nervous when they’re starting,” says Natoya. “When I can show them what the expectations are for their role, how to handle difficult situations that can come up, and where to go to for support, they feel like ‘okay, I got this, I can do this.’”
The program’s pilot phase led to a remarkable 93% retention rate for new hires after 12 weeks, compared to 59% for those who did not participate. This 35% increase in retention underscores the program’s effectiveness in creating a stable and satisfied team. After the pilot was completed, the program was rolled out across the organization to all new hires, and has become a vital asset to Circle of Care’s onboarding process.
