The Washington County Mental Health Services is an agency that champions for the rights of people who are diagnosed with developmental disabilities, more so mental health. The agency champions for these people to be included in the communities. The agency also champions for these people to be given the liberty and right for self-determination as well as the opportunities to enable their recovery. The Washington County Mental Health Services has been in operation for over five decades, a period in which the agency has weathered many challenges included budgetary cuts and layoffs. The agency developed its strategic plan for 2004 to 2009. The emphasis in this plan was on internal issues such as improved communications, staff training, the utilization of technology, improved compensations, promptness of paperwork and improved time management. On the external front, this strategic plan clamored for increased publicity in the media, identifying new sources of funding and new revenue sources and performing a needs assessment in the communities.
The new strategic plan for 2009 to 2014 was designed to deal with issues of meeting the objectives that result from the mission of the agency and to develop new modalities to expand the revenue base of the agency in response to the difficult fiscal environment it faces. This analysis will highlight the strengths of the strategic plan in light of the goals of the strategic plan and what was achieved from the last strategic plan. The review will highlight the strengths in areas such as staffing, human resource development, compensation, safety and health and employee relations.
Staffing
The staffing strategies devised by the agency for this strategic plan show immense strength. This is because they build on the approaches that were started in the previous strategic plan. For instance, the focus of the plan for the staffing of the agency is to address concerns such as compensation, training, communication and performance. The goal of the agency is to improve the compensation of the employees. The agency employs a sustainable approach where it seeks the understanding of the modalities used in the internal placement of its employees and how the pay grades and the salaries can be improved without changing the organizational structure. On addition to the monetary benefits, the strategy of the agency is also to offer non-monetary benefits through increased expertise as well as licensing the employees so that they qualify for a wider reach, longer careers, and better compensation.
Kozami (340) finds that a mixture of both monetary and non-monetary incentives offers more motivation to the employees. This severs as a basis for the implementation of the other goals, most of which are complementary. The improvement of recruitment practices to reduce the cost and enhance efficiency, to increase the levels of motivation and wellness of the workforce at the agency, to increase the training and competency development, to increase the interactions between the management of the agency and the employees, and increasing the opportunities for development and education all work towards improving the productivity of the staff at the agency.
Human Resource Development
Human resource development is an important aspect of any organization, more so an organization that aspires to improve its performance. Human resources development entails improving the capacity, competence and the abilities of the workforce with the aim of enabling them to take on tasks that require a higher level of skill and to also improve the efficiency and productivity at their skill level (Joy-Matthews, David and Mark 8). The strategic plan features deliberate measures by the agency to improve the human resource development with the aim of capacity-building the employees to achieve the mission of the agency.
One of the goals is offering more development opportunities as well as education. The preferred strategy for the agency is to offer its employees opportunities for career development through increased opportunities for education (Pranit 288). The achievement of certain core competencies and will enable the employees to qualify for better remuneration. Additionally, the achievement of additional educational requirements, for instance, advanced degrees, places the employees on the fast track for promotions. This has a double whammy effect on the achievement of the objectives and the mission of the agency.
Firstly, it increases the motivation of the employees, not just because of the prospects at an increase pay which is a financial incentive, but also because it gives them opportunities for career advancement. Increased motivation leads to improved efficiency and productivity of the employees, a factor that influences the achievement of the mission and objectives of the agency positively. Secondly, it improves the capacity of the employees to deliver their mandate (Daft 288). The opportunities for education translate into competency development, skill enhancement, and the enlargement of the scope and reach of the employee. This enables them to take on larger roles in the agency and also to reach to more communities.
Compensation
The improvement of staff compensation is the very first goal of the strategic plan for 2009 to 2014. The increase in the remuneration of the employees is in recognition of the importance of this factor on employee dynamics such as motivation, retention, and increased productivity. The approach outlined in the strategic plan is intuitive. Rather than just a blanket addition to the salaries of the employees, the strategic plan proposes a system that differentiates between the different cadres of employees at the agency.
For instance, one of the proposals is the introduction of the apprenticeship pay rate. This is the rate at which people that are on placement or internships at the agency are going to be remunerated. Additionally, the strategic plan proposes the introduction of additional quartiles in the remuneration plan. These quartiles are a reflection of the newly developed competencies and qualifications due to the effect of the other elements of the strategic plan such as the education and training (Aswathappa 279). Under the proposal, the quartiles would outline how much people with additional education qualifications, experience, and licensure would be paid.
Safety and Health
Even though the agency requires the increased productivity of all is members, it has still made provisions in its strategic plan to ensure the safety and health of its employees. For instance, the agency has prioritized caseload management to limit the pressure that is put on the staff (Hughes and Ed 23) in recognition of the negative effect that stress has on productivity (Rossi 106).The agency has also prioritized the availability of resources for case handling so that the employee do not strain because of an aridity of resources. The agency has also installed metrics to monitor this strategy to ensure that it is feasible. The strategic plan has also highlighted the need for continued investment in wellness opportunities for its staff. Among other approaches, the agency has provided educational resources through a partnership with the Wellness Committee. The agency also promotes actively the understanding among the employees that they have a responsibility to their mental, physical and spiritual health. All these measures are influenced by the understanding that the health and safety of the employees are important for the achievement of the agency goals and mission.
Employee Relations
The manner in which employees relate with one another and with the management is influential to their productivity. The presence of a healthy interpersonal relationship between the employees enhances the opportunities for collaboration and horizontal and vertical communication (Banerjee 5). This means that employees from different units within the same level of the organizational chart can bring together resources for the achievement of various organizational goals. Additionally, the vertical communication in the agency also enables the first transmission of information from the lower tiers in the organizational structure to the higher tiers for action taking (Daft, Jonathan and Hugh 99). The strategic plan also highlights the priorities of the agency in training the employees on team building, conflict resolution, and communication. The development of competencies in these areas aids in improving employee relations, thereby contributing to the goals and mission of the agency (Porter and Tanner 39).
Conclusion
The five-year plan features a host of strategies that the agency hopes will help it navigate the difficult financial times in which it finds itself. However, it is noteworthy that the plan also focuses on other elements within the agency that are important in maintaining focus on the achievement of its mission. In this respect, the agency has outlined various measures aimed at revamping its human resources in recognition of its importance to the mandate of the agency. The strength of these measures is that they embed sustainability in their application.
Works Cited
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