Now Offering 12 Hour Shifts

posted on Tuesday, December 13, 2022

Direct Support Professionals (DSPs) are the backbone of the workforce behind community living and services supporting individuals in achieving greater independence. For more than thirty years, the DSP workforce has been one of the most unstable workforces nationwide. Recently, national statistics showed that annual turnover rates for DSPs were at 50%, in comparison to the average 3% turnover rate across all jobs. The economic crisis of COVID-19 has further challenged the industry.

After much study and creative thinking, we set out to try something new by approaching our schedules differently. Scheduling staff in 12-hour shifts and offering reduced number of days worked per week.

Our goals are simple: 

• Consistency for Persons Served. Our first goal is to reduce the number of staff coming and going from a person’s home allowing staff to become an expert in the services for each person they support, improve communication among the person’s team, and greater ability for each person to direct their service.
   
• Real Downtime for DSPs. Burnout is one of the biggest reasons our workforce turns over. Now, for the most part, many of our staff will be scheduled to work three or four days a week, leaving three or four days scheduled off a week. We’re also finding these schedules are more attractive to job seekers, allowing working parents to trade days on/off and even making more of a commute advantageous. 
   
• A Place for Everyone. At the same time, we know 12-hour shifts won’t fit the needs of everyone, and that’s ok. We have a place for everyone, whether it’s filling in when time off is used or aiding a site at a busy time when more than one staff is needed.  

We began offering 12-hour shifts in July, starting slowly, working with small groups at a time and adjusting as we went. We have been pleased with the outcomes we’re seeing and feedback we’re hearing from persons served and our DSPs.

Click here to view our current 12 hour shift career opportunities.