How can effective business planning reduce our stress and anxiety through unexpected times of change?

We are currently living through an unprecedented time – one filled with change that requires personal and professional pivoting and adaptation of the likes we haven’t seen before.

The fear of job loss, loss in revenue, and maintaining a regular income while keeping clients, staff and the community safe and healthy are just a few areas that keep most community sector organisations up at night.

So, how are businesses to stay afloat and compete in such instability?

The importance of Business Planning

The simple answer is planning – business planning, strategic planning, operational planning and revisiting your core ethos as a business. As the community changes, how are you adapting to meet the current climate?

When facing any challenge as a business, leaders need to take action before problems reach crisis point. Strategic planning provides a structure to make those day-to-day decisions that follow a larger vision, creates a direction for your business, and boosts your options for influencing your community.

The most successful businesses are able to identify the current need in the market and reflect on how they can meet it. Whether there is a need for a product, support or a service, identifying the intersect of what clients, the community and workforce actually need will help you to realign your strategic goals.

Organisations need to adjust their business model and product or service as they learn more about themselves and their clients. This knowledge comes from education about the industry and listening to all stakeholders, concentrating on how you can solve their problems and offer solutions.

Planning needs to be collaborative and systematic. Businesses who fail to prepare goals through times of change lose their way easily. With preparation, one does not lose focus of goals and objectives even when the going gets tough.

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Your palms are sweaty, knees are weak, arms are heavy…feelings of trepidation and uncertainty take over. No, you aren’t unwell (or in the middle of an American rap song) – it’s the all too familiar feeling of an impending review against the Aged Care Quality Standards!

Aged Care providers across the country whether newly approved or well-established within the sector, know the above feelings all too well. Even the most confident and prepared provider still feels a sense of nervousness given the weight and consequence of the outcomes from contact with the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission (the Commission).

However, repeatedly (and understandably) providers fix their focus on COMPLIANCE. They ensure their T’s are crossed and I’s are dotted, and every piece of evidence/documentation is ready to demonstrate exactly how they comply with each of the aged care quality standards. And while compliance remains the key focus, providers need to remember however, it is not enough to simply just comply with your requirements, it is equally as important to expectations of the consumers receiving your care and services.

For many this seems like a daunting task, how do you ensure you are complaint with all of your provider requirements while also going above-and-beyond for consumers? The answer is simple, it is likely you are already doing it.

Contrary to what the media reports, most aged care providers across Australia are providing exceptional care and really thinking outside the box when it comes to making sure consumers are living their best lives thanks to their support.

There are providers who implement day programs that allow and engage consumers to educate staff about cultures, customs, and anything in between. There are providers who manage dignity of risk and choice in ways that not only support a consumer to pursue activities that bring them joy, but also alleviates stress and confusion at the same time. There are also providers who value their team so highly that they implement innovative flexible working arrangements that create efficiencies internally and increase consumer satisfaction in return.

Where providers often fail themselves however is in the detail – how is this all recorded? As we all know, if you didn’t document it, it didn’t happen. This rings true for all of the positive work your organisation is doing also as this demonstrates how you are exceeding expectations and going beyond compliance.

Is your Feedback and Complaints Register full to the brim with detailed complaints management activities and continuous improvement actions based on these? Providers need to think about the positive feedback and compliments as well. How are these being not only documented but shared and celebrated across your organisation and the sector?

How heavily are you guided by consumers and their representatives when it comes to implementing new programs or changes across the organisation? Do you involve consumers within your board or executive leadership meetings, recruitment processes or other business/operational processes and decision making? If consumer engagement is at the forefront of your strategic planning, how is this recorded and how often does this occur?

When recruiting for new staff, what strategies do you use to identify and ensure new recruits are kind, caring and respectful (thinking beyond just their qualifications)? How are these strategies documented as opposed to simply ticking boxes within a recruitment form and going by your ‘gut feeling’?

Are you integrating technology and online platforms or applications to ensure consumers remain connected with their community, loved one’s and your services? How is your organisation being innovative utilising technology to prevent social isolation and increase/improve independence?

Don’t get me wrong, all of the above leads to meeting your compliance requirements against the aged care quality standards however, if you have embedded an organisational culture of exceeding consumer expectations then you no longer have to work so hard at it.

By setting examples from your Governance level and ensuring your workplace culture is built on the foundations that striving beyond compliance is key; your team don’t focus on going above and beyond as a one-off event, it is simply ‘the way things are done here’. You will find your team constantly search for ways they can enhance the way a consumer receives your care and services and in turn, you increase the value of your service and are able to identify new opportunities with every interaction.

Consider, as adults we are interacting with the world and receiving services or products of some kind every day. Of course, we are satisfied when we receive what we asked for, however when someone goes beyond what we expected it guarantees to leave a much bigger impact. The same applies as we age. As we age and change from service provider to service receiver, we would want the same too. We want our provider to ensure they are compliant and meeting their required responsibilities BUT, also to value us so highly that they strive to exceed our expectations any way they can. In return, as a consumer we are more likely to do the same. Afterall, a person who feels appreciated will always do more than what is expected.

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As our team continues to work hard to drive real reform across the community sector, we’re proud to announce another milestone that drives us closer towards this goal – Amergin is now a member or the Department of Health’s Aged Care Policy Development Panel.

Our team will be directly responsible for assisting the Department of Health with:

• Technical advice on strategic policy directions – implications for program of changes and best practice arrangements, including the preparation of key documents to support deregulation of policy changes, analysis and reporting on policy outcomes, and related research
• Change management – preparation and provision of information for the use of the panel to facility policy change consultation and/or discussion with the aged care sectors
• Strategic risk assessment and analysis – managing changes in context of program outcomes.

This opportunity will allow Amergin to directly contribute towards making aged care services more equitable and effective for approved providers and consumers across Australia.

The panel activities and Amergin’s aged care services are led by Aynsley Johnson, Aged Care Manager. Aynsley has extensive experience in program leadership and operational oversight of community Aged Care programs and projects (HCP, CHSP, PHN Consortium) in addition to organisation-wide policy design and development (in line with the Aged Care Act and Aged Care Quality Standards). Aynsley will lead a team of subject matter experts/clinicians within Amergin and work alongside Projects for Purpose who are also part of this exciting opportunity with Amergin.

Amergin supports businesses operating in the Aged Care and Disability sectors with a range of business support services. Amergin also currently operates an online platform that contains compliance information and support for Approved Aged Care (Home Care) and NDIS providers – see amerginhub.

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What is wellbeing in the workplace? According to the dictionary, Wellbeing is defined as ‘the state of being comfortable, healthy and happy’. In other words, Wellbeing is a term used to describe Wellness across all areas of health, including both mental and physical wellbeing.

The research into the connection between health and wellbeing and workplace performance has identified employee wellbeing has a critical impact on a workplace’s long-term effectiveness and productivity levels. Put simply, progressive workplaces are doing so because they appreciate and value their most important human resources – their people. Evidence is demonstrating, that workplace investment in Wellbeing is achieving great results.

In today’s hectic world, the workplace can feel like an emotional roller coaster. Long hours, tight deadlines and ever-increasing demands can leave you feeling worried, drained, and overwhelmed. A moderate level of stress can be both healthy and productive but if faced with high stress levels over a sustained period of time, you fatigue more easily and your performance can suffer. Even worse – chronic stress affects your physical and mental health leading to increased risk and intensity of depression, anxiety, headaches and other symptoms.

Every business has a legal and moral responsibility to provide a safe and fair workplace to support individual mental health and lead to reduced absenteeism, increased employee engagement and improved productivity, however employees also have a responsibility to take ownership for their own health and wellbeing. So what actions can be adopted on a personal level to manage and reduce your stress levels, as well as finding a positive work-life balance?

Learning a few simple ‘relaxation techniques’ is paramount to managing stress. When you relax, the flow of blood increases throughout your body giving you more energy. It helps you to have a calmer and clearer mind which aids positive thinking, concentration, memory and decision making. Relaxation slows your heart rate, reduces your blood pressure and relieves tension. It also aids digestion as you absorb essential nutrients more efficiently when relaxed, which helps to fight off disease and infection. Here are a few relaxation techniques which can have a profound effect both in your personal life and in the workplace.

Practice Deep Breathing – When in Doubt, Breathe Out

The very simple act of deep breathing is a pretty miraculous healing exercise. It is involuntary for the most part and occurs naturally without you being aware. However, it is also an action you can control and regulate. Your ability to manipulate the breath makes it a valuable tool that can influence your mind and body and guide you towards a state of greater clarity and relaxation.

The breath is connected to the nervous system and by simply taking deep breaths in and out, you deactivate the ‘fight and flight’ or ‘stress’ response and activate the ‘rest and digest’ response of the nervous system. This immediately slows down your heart rate, brings more oxygen into your bloodstream and releases those ‘feel good’ endorphins throughout your entire body, allowing it to calm and settle, reducing anxiety and bringing you into the present moment.

Set Intentions – What do you Want?

What’s the difference between setting goals and setting intentions?

Setting a goal helps you to see the future, understand what you want, create a plan, and stay on track to get it done.

Setting intentions differ because they are not something you have to do. An intention is intangible, something that is felt. Intentions give you purpose, as well as inspiration and motivation to achieve your purpose. Setting and living your intentions allows you to –

• focus on who you are in the moment;
• reflect on how you wish to contribute to the world;
• recognise and live your values;
• choose to touch the lives of others and;
• raise your emotional energy, which in turn raises your physical energy.

Practice Gratitude – The Attitude of Gratitude

If you could do just one thing to increase your health, happiness and wellbeing, expressing gratitude might just be the answer.

Did you know every time a person expresses or receives gratitude, dopamine releases in the brain? Dopamine is a chemical and plays a role in how you feel pleasure. It’s a big part of your unique human ability to think and plan, so the more you practice gratitude, the more often dopamine releases.

Your brain can’t focus on positive and negative things at the same time. This is a key reason why practicing gratitude can help you shift your focus from being sad about the things you don’t have in your life to being glad for the things you do have.

When you’re going through difficult times it can be hard to remember to be grateful for the good things, but many benefits can be gained from working gratitude into your everyday life.

Self Care – Make Time for You

Self-Care refers to the activities and practices that support your physical, emotional and mental health. Contrary to what some people believe, self-care doesn’t have to be lavish or expensive. It’s often the simplest things that make the biggest difference. Far from indulgent, try to view self-care as a necessity for the pace and pressure that life can place on you.

It can be a difficult lesson for many to learn, but to be truly at your best, both for yourself as well as the people around you, you need to make self-care a priority.

Here are some easy ways to help you care for yourself.

Mindful Moments

Self-care can be as simple as slowing down and pausing multiple times during the day whether at home or in the workplace. You might do this by simply taking three long, slow deep breaths or by consciously engaging your senses for a few moments. Look out the window and focus on something away from the task at hand. Daydream! Doing this can be surprisingly powerful as it can help you to ‘reset’ during even the busiest of days.

Move Your Body

Exercise can help with anxiety by reducing the activity of the ‘fight or flight’ response in the body. People who experience anxiety can fear or resist the physiological changes associated with anxiety such as a rapid heartbeat and shortness of breath. Regular movement can help to develop a tolerance for these sensations and it’s also a great way to boost your mood.

Make Time For Rest

We live in a culture that overvalues busyness and often views rest as unproductive or lazy. However, rest gives you the opportunity to slow down, calm your overactive nervous system and reconnect to the things and people that are most important to you. When you’re well rested you’re better able to access your intuition and creativity. Dedicate time in your lunchbreak to ‘rest and digest’.

Communicate Your Needs

Reach out and tell others what you need or ask for help. It can be tempting to think that people who care about you and work with you should already know what you need, however unless you clearly communicate what it is you’re needing in that moment, you can’t assume people will know.

Prioritise Your Priorities

Good time management is essential to success. And it’s not limited to success in the workplace. Success as a friend, parent, spouse, fitness, anything… requires good time management skills. Success in any endeavour requires giving it the proper amount of time at the right time.

Wellbeing doesn’t have to be out of reach when you have the right tools and it doesn’t have to be expensive. Relaxation is one of the most effective self-help activities for good mental and physical health and wellbeing, as well as being an effective measure to prevent the development of stress and anxiety.

In reality, relaxation can be one of the healthiest things to incorporate into your everyday personal and work life.

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Amergin’s focus has always been about helping community-centered organisations become more strategic, effective, resilient and forward-thinking. It’s the level we operate on. More importantly, these are a must if you want to survive long-term.

With a string of government agencies set to introduce a range or free services, resources and additional supports to assist both providers (and recipients) – particularly in the NDIS – there are only so many webinars and quick-fix solutions that will help you overcome the real challenges of operating in an increasingly competitive sector.

To get a business from small to medium; medium to large; and large to becoming a market leader requires you to adopt different thinking. Each jump is challenging, can be costly and requires a considered approach. It’s important to have the right team by your side to partner with you in the way you need it.

If you’re a medium-to-large organisation operating in mental health, drugs and alcohol, indigenous services, NDIS, Aged Care (or other community-focused organisation) and want to do community differently, our team is here to help you get to the next level.

The post Amergin Wraps Arms Around Australian Community Sector appeared first on Amergin.

Why is this happening?

Generally, most businesses can handle one problem. However, it becomes much harder to manage when there’s multiple large issues while trying to get through ‘business as usual’.

Here’s some things that you’re likely facing at the moment:

• In uncertain times, trying to balance staff numbers with projected cash flow and demand for services;
• Preparing your internal quality systems for the mass migration of state and territory regulatory systems to the new NDIS Quality and Safeguards Framework happening July 2019;
• Finding time to apply for grants (or waiting on the outcome of ones that were supposed to be announced months ago);
• If you also deliver Aged Care services, surviving an Aged Care Royal Commission (currently preparing for Hearing 3) that continues to open more wounds and revealing gross systemic failures;
• Preparing for the inevitable Royal Commission into violence, neglect and abuse of people in the disability sector; and
• Retaining (good) staff. While this isn’t isolated to the community sector, more and more staff are disillusioned with their roles, salary and the growing entrepreneurial movement driving them to start their own businesses.

As a Social Impact CEO or General Manager, what do you do?

For many of these things, you just have to keep across where you are up to/your strategies, and try to keep moving forward. Worrying won’t change it and making reactive decisions will most likely backfire and not consider the long-term direction for your organisation.

1. As business leaders, sometimes all we need to do is listen before we speak. Go back to your Business Plan. Speak to your team. Speak with you customers. What do they say? You’ll often find the answers (or reassurance) from those who have a role to play in your success.Taking a more considered approach means your decisions will reflect a broader perspective and thus help you survive the above challenges (and any other ones) thrown at you.
2. Prioritise. You can’t do everything, so do the 20% to get you the 80%. Delegate where appropriate to your staff and make sure accountability is central to your communication and processes.
3. Manage change calmly. Change is an unavoidable fact of the community sector and chances are, if you’re experiencing these issues, so is your biggest competitor.

For more information on how we can help your organisation with the above challenges, get in contact with our team at Amergin.

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Did you know that there are over 8,000 vulnerable people who sleep rough every night across Australia? That’s over 8,000 people that have to sleep on the street, on benches or under bridges with little to no protection from the elements.

Beddown looks to tackle this issue in an innovative and collaborative way, looking at the way our cities utilise spaces often left empty at night, as a safe and secure shelter for those in need.

Beddown is proposing to utilise ‘Pop-Up’ accommodation in carparks where bedding can be set up quickly and packed away just as fast. In addition, partnerships with other community services offering showers and laundry, food and beverages, clothing, health and wellbeing and outreach services will ensure longer term solutions.

Founder of Beddown, Norman McGillvray has a personal motivation for starting the company and it stems from his father’s story. In the early 70’s his father suffered a stroke including paralysis down the right side of his body. Several other personal issues including divorce from his wife then left Norm’s father homeless in the streets of London.

At the young age of 42 Norm’s father passed away from a heart attack, alone and with no support out on the street. Experiencing this so very close-to-home has meant that Norm has a personal passion for wanting “do some good” in his community and through Beddown impact as many people as possible.

Norm’s initial goal is to raise start-up funds to support the business and gather much needed resources. Whilst Beddown have already secured the support of Secure Parking, Australia and New Zealand’s largest car park operator, they are still in need of inflatable beds and other supports.

Beddown’s GoFundMe page allows members of the community to donate towards a worthy cause and make a difference to the lives of our vulnerable.

For more information about Beddown click here.

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Workplace Culture is your ‘9 to 5’, it is what surrounds you each day. It is your physical environment, the relationships with your co-workers and management team as well as your work processes.

Positivity is so important in all aspects of your culture including the way you communicate with staff. No one likes a grumpy colleague, ‘don’t look back in anger’ during your office “good mornings”.

Positive Culture all begins with the personalities, skills and values that lay within your prospective employees. When your company is looking at recruiting, reflect upon not only the type of professional experience you wish your new employee to have, but also their own personal values. Do these values align with the company values? Will they fit in with your team or will they kill your vibe?

Culture goes beyond employee perks. While everybody loves free coffee and cake at team meetings – long term support, consistency and appreciation are often more highly valued. Some companies determine their team values through team buildings days. These can be as simple as a round table discussion or as elaborate as a trip on a ‘big jet plane’. Either way, employees will appreciate that you want and value their input into the company, including what may make their day that little bit easier or strategies to deal with a tricky client.

Your squad wants to know that you have got their back and that there won’t be any ‘bad blood’ if they make a mistake or have questions. I asked a fellow colleague what they valued most in the workplace, the answer was “to be able to go to anyone when I have a question and to not feel like I am silly for asking it”. Essentially, an open door policy. Nobody wants to feel like they can’t ask a question or that they are working within a ‘mad world’ where everyone is too busy to help.

Consistency is key, as is communication. We all know that feeling when there is a ‘careless whisper’ going around the office. It creates negativity and staff are at risk of being taken over by fear, which then impacts their work productivity. Regular updates about changes within the company allow all staff to be in the loop.

Employees value ‘R.E.S.P.E.C.T’ and appreciation. This reinforces that you trust your staff and believe in them. Employers often remind staff of tasks they may need further knowledge on or critique their work but forget to reinforce the small wins and hard work from their employees.

Workplace Culture is about all staff (from the Management Team to the Administration Staff) creating a ‘we are the champions’ attitude, upholding those values and keeping each other accountable to continue to be positive – even on those days when you are feeling like 2007 Britney Spears.

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Since 1908 women have taken to the streets, fundraised in their workplaces and had open conversations about how best we can join voices and spread the message of equal rights for all.

Whilst we have come a long way since that first march in the streets of New York, it still remains pertinent to celebrate the achievements of women whether social, political, economic or cultural – while also marking a call to action for accelerating gender balance.

This month Amergin are shining a spotlight on and celebrating the exceptional work our Director Christine Dempsey has contributed to our sector, and the positive impact she has had as a mentor and support for other women in the corporate sector to strive for balance in business.

This year’s International Women’s Day theme is about #BalanceforBetter! Whilst we celebrate all women in all their diversities, the race is on for the gender-balanced boardroom and Christine is the passionate force within Amergin to keep this at the forefront.

Whilst statistics show that 26.6% of CEOs/Directors/Board Members are now females, nearly 50% of major companies still have no women in executive management roles at all.

The value of female leadership can increase overall business performance and create stable revenue, increase returns on investments and enable less unpredictable profit margins.

Whilst Amergin have been successful in business for approx. 8 years, with the inclusion of Director Christine in 2014, Amergin have been able to further excel and transform Amergin’s support to the community and disability sector as an innovative and visionary business that genuinely cares.

Fellow Directors Anthony and Tony describe Christine as “fiercely dedicated and determined” and explain that she is “an extremely passionate leader with an unrivaled drive to motivate, educate and inspire both staff and clientele alike”.

Whilst Christine displays her knowledge and experience daily, she is always looking to grow and even reach beyond her potential through daily professional and personal development activities. Christine believes in “taking everyone along the journey together” in business – creating that balance amongst not only the sexes but also the hierarchy. She wants the business to experience success but also those she mentors to also share in that success. Christine explains that being an impactful and balanced leader means, “supporting and encouraging all team members to feel passionate about what they do and to love what they do. I want to help them find ways to grow themselves and not simply lead from the top of an Ivory Tower; I want to pursue our dreams together”.

Christine is also encouraging for other females around her to never doubt their worth in working environments, and to “back themselves” as formidable and strong females that should be recognised for their worth, regardless of their position in the corporate food chain.

Christine has played a pivotal role in the success of many NDIS and Aged Care businesses, the expansion of Amergin as a business and its team, and the improvement of care offered to those most vulnerable in our community.

Amergin would like to extend a sincere THANK YOU to our strong female lead Christine for all that she contributes to the business and the sector; creating awareness and educating fellow women in the workplace to step-up to their leading role. Amergin would also like to acknowledge the additional Amergin team of female staff and the passionate work they do each day.

For more information about International Women’s Day events in your area or about the #BalanceforBetter movement, please visit https://iwda.org.au/

**share your ‘balance’ image and use the hashtag #BalanceforBetter to spread awareness of this year’s International Women’s Day campaign.

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A guide to competition and consumer law: for businesses selling to and supplying consumers with disability

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