Hello all,

Over the last week or so, we conducted some Zoom sessions regarding the new shift assignment policy. Please see below a written description of the policy as well as a video recording of it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kMRNo6wB5w&feature=youtu.be

We are very excited to unveil a new shift assignment policy that will become effective on September 1, 2020.

Context
We are blessed to have the amazing opportunity every day to make a huge difference in the lives of our clients and families by providing personalized care in the home and brightening the day for so many people. In the course of our daily work, many changes happen, often due to reasons outside of our control: client falls, client is taken to the hospital, client returns from hospital/rehab and now needs 24/7 care, new prospective client is discharged tomorrow and needs care right away etc.
In order for us to fulfill our mission to serve and honor our clients, families and caregivers by providing extraordinary care with compassion, dignity and respect, we need to be responsive to the needs of both our clients and our staff. Our clients need us to be nimble and move fast to address their ever-changing needs. You, our staff, need us to provide you with meaningful work and provide the hours you told us you want to work.
Currently, we call you and we offer you a shift (i.e. we ask if you are interested in a particular shift), even though that shift is in your chosen availability and driving circle. The problem is that this ties our hands from being able to be nimble and quickly address the changing needs of our clients/prospective clients or other staff because we have to wait for confirmation. This often results in our inability to start a new client because we did not confirm quickly enough and they moved on. It also results in an existing client having to stay in rehab longer until we receive all confirmations.

Shift assignment
Over the coming weeks we will transition to a model of assigning shifts rather than just offering them. What do we mean by “assigning” rather than “offering”? If the shift is more than 2 days into the future and office staff determines you are compatible for the shift based on your availability and other preferences, you will be sent a shift assignment email and be contacted via phone and/or text to confirm you received the information. It is expected that you accept the shift as it falls within your freely chosen availability. Failure to accept a shift assignment is considered a last minute change in availability per our Attendance Policy.
As a practical matter, most of you already have a full permanent schedule so this new policy does not really impact you in any way. We just wanted to make you aware as this is the way we intend to operate in our scheduling department going forward.
Our goal is to improve our scheduling process so that you have much more notice of your shifts and schedules than we are currently able to offer, but this goal cannot be reached without your support and commitment to the availability you’ve chosen as a home care professional.

Next steps
Over the coming days, we will send each of you a confirmation email indicating the current availability we have in our system for each of you so that you can sign off on it. Starting September 1, this policy will be fully in operation.

Thank you for the work you do every day and for helping us enhance the care we provide to many Rhode Island families with your dedication and professionalism. Please feel free to reach out to our Engagement Team or Scheduling Team if you have any questions.

Regards,
Cris