Professional Skills

Communication methods

You learned about communication techniques earlier in the course. You may want to go back and revise that earlier content. This topic will emphasise the importance of good communication in support work and remind you of some key communication techniques.

As a support worker, it is important to remember that each person you support has a unique and preferred means of communication. Specific communication requirements should be addressed in the personal plan so that all members of the multidisciplinary team are made aware of their preferences.

Methods of communication could include:

• preferred spoken language
• signs
• symbols
• pictures
• writing
• object of reference (this could be objects that initiate the beginning of a task)
• repetitive behaviours, including schedules
• other non-verbal forms of communication
• human and technological communication aids

As the support worker, you need to be aware of communication cues, which are actions or behaviours that indicate the communicator’s thoughts and feelings. You will also need to ensure the person receives and understands the communication.

Some individuals will use or require advocates or interpreters to enable them to express their views, wishes and feelings, and to speak on their behalf. These professional supporters will be identified in the personal plan and will be part of the person’s health professional team. If you have difficulty understanding or communicating clearly, it may be time for a more formal intervention. Seek the assistance of your supervisor or other member of the multidisciplinary team.

Communication techniques

The techniques described in the presentation below can be useful when communicating with tangata and their whānau.

Use the arrow buttons to move through the presentation and complete the activities on the last two slides.

Techniques list

• active listening
• using plain language
• rephrasing
• summarising
• adapting communication techniques
• empathetic communication
• professionalism
• using open-ended questions
• demonstrating cultural sensitivity
• respecting autonomy

Giving effective instructions

Having the ability to provide clear and comprehensive instructions is a crucial skill. You may be required to provide instructions both to your client and to members of the interdisciplinary team. You need to ensure that the instructions you provide deliver the information required clearly while providing the level of detail appropriate to the situation. Too much information can be as confusing as too little. Try to include only the important details.

To give instructions effectively, try these useful factors:

An essential part of your role as a community support worker is to be able to collaborate effectively with other people and organisations to support tangata and their whānau. Working collaboratively means working with others to accomplish a goal or task.

Working well as a team requires building and maintaining relationships and being an active team member. Good team members demonstrate the following behaviours.

• Communicate constructively: when you collaborate with others, your communication needs to be clear, direct, honest, positive and respectful.
• Listen actively: by absorbing, understanding, and thoughtfully considering the ideas and beliefs of others. Part of listening is receiving the information and taking an appropriate time to respond without getting defensive or reacting negatively.
• Be reliable: fulfil your commitments and always do your job to the best of your ability.
• Share information, knowledge, and experience: the willingness to share and pass on important information helps ensure success and prevent surprises.
• Be an active participant: engage in discussions and meetings and take the initiative to support the person, their whānau and your multidisciplinary team.
• Cooperate: look beyond individual differences to focus on what is best for the person being supported and solve problems or issues in positive ways.
• Respect others: be courteous and considerate towards all members of your multidisciplinary team, the person you support, and their whānau.
• Give and receive feedback gracefully.
• Share credit for good ideas with others.
• Acknowledge others' skills, experience, creativity, and contributions.
• Listen to and acknowledge the feelings, concerns, opinions, and ideas of others.

Working collaboratively in a multi-disciplinary team that is made up of people with different roles, professions or areas of expertise will help the tangata you support to meet their goals. When working collaboratively, members of a multi-disciplinary team contribute and share their views and perspectives about a person or situation to achieve a common goal and deliver high-quality support.

Following is a list of the important benefits to the tangata you support when working collaboratively to achieve a common goal.

• The care provided addresses the needs of the whole person, not just particular aspects.
• Whānau are kept up-to-date with changes in the person’s condition and can talk openly with care providers.
• Care can be customised to meet the person’s individual needs.
• Whānau can support goals in the care and rehabilitation of the person.
• There is a better understanding between all the people involved in the tangata’s care.

Activity

The following activity highlights ways you can use collaboration in your mahi (work).

Personal leadership

Personal leadership is the leadership of ourselves – our ability to take responsibility for our own development and contribute to the team's development. Growing strong personal leadership skills is essential and will also help you inspire others.

Peer leadership

A peer is a person at the same level as you, e.g. a colleague who does a similar job to you and has an equivalent ability level.

Peer leaders are individuals who already possess the natural characteristics of leading others.

Leadership techniques

Leadership is not necessarily something that happens at the management level of an organisation. Leadership takes place at all levels. The reason for individual leadership at all levels is that in a health and wellbeing workplace, miscommunication, misdirection, or confusing instructions can have potentially disastrous effects on the health and wellbeing of all involved.

For this reason, every person working in a health or wellbeing environment has a leadership role. You need to take a personal leadership role by taking personal responsibility for doing what you need to do effectively.

You need to also take a peer leadership role by taking personal responsibility for ensuring that the other people you work with do what they need to do effectively. Peer leadership is when you provide trusted and relevant information, guidance, and support to your peers and co-workers as necessary without being formally given the responsibility to do so.

Watch: Simon Sinek: Leader versus manager (3.39)

True leadership starts with distinguishing between being 'in charge' versus taking care of those 'in our charge'. Before watching this video, think about what this phrase might mean.

Role modelling

A role model leads by setting examples and inspires others by demonstrating their ideals, attitudes, or actions. Being a role model is ‘leadership in action’. Leaders who are good role models pay attention to how they act and encourage teamwork and cooperation among those with whom they work. They support others in their growth and development and recognise their positive behaviours and attitudes.

Problem-solving

Problems are an everyday occurrence in life, and the workplace is no different. On any given day, you probably deal with many problems without really thinking about them. However, a problem can sometimes be more difficult to solve; at that point you need to apply a process to determine the best choices and decisions.

Problem-solving is both a process and a skill you can learn. It takes you through a series of steps to help you reach the right decision:

Delegating

One of the marks of a good leader is that they don’t try and do everything themselves. They recognise that people have different skills and abilities, and it makes sense to give a task to the person best fitted for it.

Delegation is working out who is the best person for a task and giving that person the responsibility to carry it out. Delegating a task not only creates trust but also makes people feel that their contribution is valued and that they are an important part of the team.

Providing guidance

Guidance can be formal or informal; it is giving someone practical advice, help or support to do their job effectively and overcome any problems or difficulties they might have. Guidance can be part of the induction process when a new staff member starts the job.

However it is given, guidance is part of leadership and being a good role model.

Motivating people

If guidance is the ‘how’ of doing something, motivation is the ‘why’. Motivation is an individual’s enthusiasm and personal drive to complete work-related activities to the best of their ability. If someone is motivated, they want to do their job, to do it well and to enjoy it. If they are not motivated, they may do the job poorly or avoid doing it altogether.

Motivating people to do well is a combination of meeting a person’s needs and meeting the workplace's expectations of the person’s duties. Like guidance, motivation is part of leadership and being a good role model.

What is conflict?

Conflict, or difference of opinion, is expected in the workplace. Conflict can happen for a variety of reasons. It could be due to stress or a clash of personalities, or be brought on by changes at work or being put under pressure to complete a task. An important aspect of leadership is knowing how to manage and resolve conflict.

There are a few important things to remember about conflict.

• It is more than just a disagreement; conflict arises when one or more people feel threatened (which may or may not be accurate).
• Ignoring conflict does not make it go away. This is because conflict involves perceived threats, and these threats stay with people unless they are resolved.
• Conflicts bring about strong emotions. If people cannot manage their emotions, they are unlikely to be able to resolve a conflict.
• Conflict is not always bad. Although it can be destructive, well-managed conflict can release emotion and stress and even strengthen relationships.

There are several ways of dealing with conflict, but the important thing is to deal with it quickly before:

• people become more fixed in their views
• others become involved and take sides
• negative emotions make solving the conflict more difficult

Strategies for managing conflict

Activity

Click on the arrows below the activity to work through this five-question quiz.

You have already learned about some of the legislation that applies to community support work. The following provides a reminder of some of the key legislation and introduces two more legislative Acts.

Privacy Act 2020

The Privacy Act is the legislation designed to protect an individual's privacy. It defines such things as:

• what is personal information
• when personal information can lawfully be collected, and from whom
• how personal information should be stored
• who has access to personal information
• how personal information can be used or disclosed

There will be a legitimate need to collect and store personal information in a healthcare setting. This will include contact details and medical data. Because of the intensely private nature of this information, the Privacy Act must be adhered to rigorously. It is important to note that the Act defines personal information very broadly: anything that identifies someone is personal.

As a support worker, you will frequently be called upon to share information about your client with team members or external health suppliers. Therefore, you must understand who you are authorised to share information with. The Privacy Act dictates that, as a rule, personal information must not be shared. However, there are circumstances under which it can be shared with certain people or institutions. For example, a subject may authorise their information to be shared with medical staff. Or if the sharing of information will lessen a serious threat, it can be disclosed. For example, you could share medical details with ambulance or hospital staff in an emergency.

Your organisation should have policies related to minor breaches of privacy, and what rectification will be made. The Act defines a notifiable privacy breach as one that causes significant harm. If a significant privacy breach is identified, the Act dictates that the Privacy Commissioner is notified.

Standard NZS 8134:2021 Ngā paerewa Health and disability

The Ministry of Health administers this standard. A range of institutions, including aged-care residences and mental health and disability services, must comply with this standard.

The standard:

• sets out what providers need to do to provide safe services for clients
• defines the rights of people receiving care, such as being treated with respect and being able to make informed choices
• describes the responsibilities of providers, e.g., staff must have appropriate levels of knowledge and skills and must provide personalised treatment in consultation with the client
• indicates the provision of medications in a safe and timely manner 
• requires that preferences and nutritional needs are accommodated when providing food

Organisational policies and procedures are developed in accordance with legal and industry requirements. Therefore, organisational policies and procedures will instruct employees on work practices that comply with these Acts and the NZS 8134:2021 standard.

Code of Rights (1996)

The Health and Disability Commissioner created the Code of Rights which outlines the rights of people using a health or disability service. The purpose of the Code is to promote and protect the rights of service users and to promote a fair, simple, and efficient resolution to any complaints that these rights are not being met. 

The Code outlines ten rights that all consumers have when receiving a health and disability service in New Zealand.

1. The right to be treated with respect.
2. The right to freedom from discrimination, coercion, harassment, and exploitation.
3. The right to dignity and independence.
4. The right to services of an appropriate standard.
5. The right to effective communication.
6. The right to be fully informed.
7. The right to make an informed choice and give informed consent.
8. The right to support.
9. Rights in respect of teaching or research.
10. The right to complain.

Click on this link to view the Code in full.

Health and Safety at Work Act 2015

The Health and Safety at Work Act is designed to provide ‘a balanced framework to secure the health and safety of workers and workplaces’. (Ref: Health and Safety at Work Act 2015.) It describes the duties and rights of employers and employees. The Act requires all significant hazards to be identified, eliminated, or controlled by substituting, isolating or minimising them.

The Act established WorkSafe/Mahi Haumaru Aotearoa as the primary workplace health and safety regulator. This organisation is designed to prevent harm in the workplace and promote safe work practices.

Click on this link to display WorkSafe’s webpage on the Health and Safety at Work Act. Read the overview of the HSWA.

Click on this link to access the Health and Safety at Work Act.

Health and Disability Services (Safety) Act

The Health and Disability Services (Safety) Act was created to ensure that health care providers offer safe, consistent, reasonable and responsible health and disability services to the public, and to encourage health care service providers to continuously improve the services that they offer.

The Act underpins the certification (legal approval to operate) of health care providers. This means that any person or organisation that offers healthcare services must meet the service standards as determined by the Act. If they meet the standards, they can then be certified (legally approved) by the Director-General of Health to offer the services.

Click on this link to access the Health and Disability Services (Safety) Act.

Activity

Complete the following five-question quiz testing your knowledge of the legislation discussed.

Professional development

Professional development allows you to improve your knowledge, competence, skills and effectiveness in your work. This can be done through education and training opportunities within your workplace or by an outside organisation.

Professional development can be both formal and informal and can take place in a variety of ways. These include gaining a formal qualification, mentoring, peer collaboration and coaching in the workplace, or simply watching others perform their jobs.

For example, the study you are completing now (this course) is professional development.

When you participate in a professional development programme, you:

• improve your skills and knowledge
• can recognise opportunities for advancement
• are more aware of changes in the way your work is done
• can be more effective in the workplace
• can help, influence and lead others by example
• are more confident in what you do and in your employment
• can have a fulfilling and rewarding career

However, professional development isn’t just a one-time thing – it is something you should do continually throughout your career.

Searching for community support jobs

It is never too soon to start looking for employment opportunities. Doing this research may give you some ideas about which organisations and roles interest you. 

Job search websites are a great source of employment information. In the following exercise, you will use the Seek website.

Activity

This exercise will help you understand the current job market and set realistic expectations and goals as you prepare to enter the workforce as a community support worker.

• Navigate to the Seek website: https://www.seek.co.nz/
• Enter keywords such as community support worker.
• Click on the Seek button. Job opportunities will be displayed.
• Look at some of the jobs listed and complete the documentation below.