Helping Hands Orillia has come out of the pandemic stronger, better, and leaner than ever before.
With a new focus, in these human resource starved times, of doing more with less, the team at Helping Hands has already achieved many of the targets set out in its 2022-2025 strategic plan.
“It doesn’t matter what field you are in, if it’s retail, teaching, firefighting, healthcare ... everyone is looking for staff," said Doug Rawson, executive director of Helping Hands.
"Our impact is, we can’t see more people without more staff. So, we refocused that question. We said, How can we do things differently? How are we able to overcome staffing challenges and achieve what we need and want?” explained Rawson.
‘So, we leveraged what we had, we used more technology, more support, and we leaned on our collaboration with the community, and leveraged our support there. And, it’s paying off. Using technology, we cut down our new client intake time from 47 minutes to 20 minutes," said Rawson.
Helping Hands Orillia has just been awarded Operator of the Year from Alayacare, the company which provides Helping Hands with the healthcare software it uses for many day-to-day tasks, including client intake.
Helping Hands is also paying attention to staff work/life balance and quality of life, Rawson stressed.
“This year, for the first time, we offered all of our staff a two-day mental health first aid workshop. We have had 35 per cent less staff turnover than in 2021/22. As well, we had a 7.4 per cent improvement in overall staff satisfaction,” reported Rawson.
“We have higher levels of both employee and client satisfaction. We are helping more people," he explained.
And there is more on the horizon.
“In September, we are going through our first federal accreditation program. The same accreditation that the hospital goes through. We are very proud of that," he said.
Community and peer-to-peer outreach has increased as well, officials say.
This week, Helping Hands staff are presenting at the Ontario Community Support Association in Toronto, on how they have succeeded despite HR challenges.
“The staff person presenting down there is so excited. She was remembering how, at previous conferences, Helping Hands staff were the ones going from presentation to presentation, trying to learn," explained Rawson. "And this year, we are the ones who are presenting on our goals, how we have overcome challenges, our success. We are the ones teaching, this time.”
And the community is taking notice.
Earlier this week, residents from Shamrock Bay Resort in Severn Township were at the Helping Hands office in Orillia to donate more $2,000 in monies raised from bake sales, a donation box, a line dancing class, bingo a chili lunch, and other events organized to benefit the local non-profit.
A group of about 30 ladies, known as the Shamrock Bay Rockettes, raised much of the donation with their events.
“We wanted to create a community atmosphere for the women, and do events by women, for women," said Rockette member Marisa Rogucki. "So, we did our bake sale, our chili lunch, our line dancing class, and people came out and donated.
"Many donated more than we asked for, or told us to keep the change. They wanted to help Helping Hands,” said Rogucki.
Shamrock Bay Resort management and community members also contributed, with proceeds from a donation jar, weekly bingo, and more, being adding to the total donation.
“One little boy came up to give me money for bingo and said, ‘I want to contribute’," said Rockette Alison Wellington. “It brought tears to my eyes.”
Ripple of Kindness Orillia has also chosen Helping Hands Orillia as the recipient of its fall donation. So far, $8,400 has been donated through ROK members.
Much of the community monies being donated nowadays are going towards furnishing the new Helping Hands' 15-bed respite centre at the new Simcoe County Hub at Borland and West Streets.
“We had a six-bed respite centre in Brechin, and we have increased that to 10 beds,” said Rawson. “This new 15-bed centre is so urgently needed. It means, for instance, if someone broke their hip, they have somewhere to stay, to rehab, until they can get home again. They can stay there for up to 90 days. This helps to free up beds in long-term care.”
The goal, as always, is to help people, he stressed.
“We are the business of helping people. To achieve that, we have to make sure our staff is supported as well," said Rawson. "We are proud of what we have achieved so far, and of the momentum that will carry us forward even more. Thank you to the community of Orillia for believing in us, and supporting us.”
