Disability Support Workers and Team Leaders
Provide and oversee the delivery of disability support and services that help develop individual living skills and enhance community access and social inclusion for people with disability in their own homes.
A team leader's Monday
You are a team leader at a disability support provider, managing a roster of workers who visit participants at home across the day. It is 6:10am on Monday. Your phone has already buzzed twice. One worker is sick, and the participant she was due to visit at seven needs help to get ready for work.
Choose what you would do. Then see what happens. There are often good reasons for each choice.
I'm so sorry, I have been up all night with a stomach bug and I can't come in. I know Mr Lim relies on me this morning. I feel terrible. Is there anything I can do from home? I don't want to leave him stranded.
Tell Sam to rest and not worry, then spend ten minutes finding a replacement worker for seven
Sam rests, and you find a worker who arrives at 7:20. Mr Lim is a little late to work but fine. You solved it, but you did not tell Mr Lim yourself, so he heard from the new worker first.
Ask Sam to come in anyway, because it is only a short visit and she knows Mr Lim best
Sam comes in feeling terrible and Mr Lim catches the bug. Two more visits are lost that week. Asking a sick worker to push on is a risk to everyone she meets.
Tell Sam to rest, call Mr Lim yourself, and find cover while explaining who is coming
Mr Lim answers on the second ring and appreciates the call. The cover worker knows his routine from his notes. A direct call turned a missed visit into a managed one.
My daughter's new support worker is always late and I do not think she is the right match. I want her changed today. I have been polite for weeks, and nothing has happened. I will go to the funding body if I have to.
Agree to change the worker today to keep Mrs Park happy and avoid a complaint
The worker is moved without being asked, and her daughter, who actually likes her, is upset. You acted on one side of the story and missed what the participant wanted.
Listen, talk to the participant on her own about what she wants, then look at the rosters and the worker's record
The daughter says she likes the worker but the lateness bothers her too. You find a transport problem and fix the timing. Mrs Park is heard, and her daughter keeps her worker.
Explain that matching takes time and she will have to wait a few weeks before any change
It is a fair rule, but Mrs Park feels brushed off after weeks of waiting. She contacts the funding body. A fairer answer would have shown her that you were taking it seriously.
I think I wrote the wrong time in Mr Okafor's notes yesterday. I recorded his afternoon medication as given at two but it was actually closer to four. Nobody has noticed. Should I just leave it?
Tell her to quietly change the time in the notes so the record looks right
The notes look tidy, but altering a record without a trace is its own breach. When it is noticed later, it looks worse. A correction should show what was changed and why.
Thank Gina for telling you, report it properly, and ensure it is corrected with a note
The record is corrected with an honest note, and the family and doctor are informed as required. Gina is nervous, but she sees it handled calmly. She is more likely to speak up next time.
Tell Gina to leave it, since nothing went wrong and the paperwork is only a small mistake
A few days later someone else relies on the wrong time and a decision is made on it. An error you knew about became a bigger problem. Silence from a leader teaches silence.
How it went
By evening Mr Lim had been seen, Mrs Park had a meeting booked, and Gina's note had been corrected openly. Leading a support team means handling people, rules and surprises without losing sight of the participant at the centre. Would you enjoy coordinating all that?
This is a simplified, fictional situation to help you explore. It is not professional instruction or a test of your ability.
Case study: The new worker on Thursday
A fictional case set in a disability support provider coordinating workers who visit people in their own homes.
The situation
Beth was a team leader at a disability support provider. A participant named Jamie, a young man with autism who lived with his parents, had worked with the same support worker for two years. When that worker moved to another city, Jamie became anxious and refused to leave the house. His parents asked Beth to keep things the same, which was impossible, and a new worker was due to start on Thursday.
What they did
Beth asked Jamie and his parents what mattered most about the old routine. She found out that he liked a set order for the morning and a particular route to the park. She briefed the new worker, Hamid, on these details and arranged for the old worker to leave a short note for Jamie. She introduced Hamid with a short visit on Wednesday where they only sat and talked, and she explained to the parents what to expect over the first few weeks.
How it turned out
The first week was hard and Jamie stayed home twice. By week three he was walking to the park with Hamid again. Beth noted that it was slow and not perfect, and she kept checking in with the family for a few months.
What would you do?
- Why did the little details of the old routine matter so much?
- How would you prepare a new worker for a participant who is nervous about change?
- What would you tell the parents when you could not promise it would go smoothly?