Supportive supervision

Supportive supervision is helping to make things work, rather than checking to see, what is wrong.

Definitions

• Active Listening—A communication technique that requires the listener to focus on understanding, interpreting and reflecting upon what the other person is saying.

• Social Intelligence—The capacity to understand social and interpersonal relationships and situations. Having high social intelligence helps you work with groups of people to develop and pursue a common goal, such as building a workforce committed to activities that support an organizational mission.

• Supervision—The process of fostering and reviewing staff performance according to the defined standards of the organization.

• Supportive Supervision—A process that uses dialogue and constructive feedback to help staff, volunteers or entire organizations improve their performance in pursuit of the organization’s mission, while also setting goals for growth and development.

* Set clear expectations from the beginning: Supportive supervision can begin as soon as a person is recruited to work for your organization. The first step is providing your new employee with a clear job description. This ensures that both the manager and the employee have a common understanding of the expectations and responsibilities of the position.

SMARTER Goals are:• Specific and clear about what needs to happen and who needs to be

involved• Measurable, with clear targets against which progress can be measured• Aligned with the organization’s mission and vision• Realistic and can be accomplished• Timed so that there is an appropriate sense of urgency• Evaluated periodically and, if necessary, adjusted• Rewarded when accomplished

Active Listening Skills• Eliminate distractions (such as phone calls) and avoid having Physical barriers

(sit in comfortable chairs rather than having a desk between the two of you).• Listen carefully to the main ideas, and let the speaker finish his or her

thoughts without interruption.• Ask open-ended questions that show that you are interested in the speaker’s

ideas and interpretations (for example, “What are your suggestions about how we should address this problem?”

• Do not judge, critique or get defensive while the speaker is talking; instead, focus on understanding his or her experience and perspective. Verify your understanding by repeating key points back (for example, “If I understand you correctly, you are saying…”).

• Remember: You have two ears and two eyes… but only one mouth. So let your ears and eyes do twice as much work!

Supportive supervision

• Supportive supervision is a process of helping staff to improve their own work performance continuously. It is carried out in a respectful and non-authoritarian way with a focus on using supervisory visits as an opportunity to improve knowledge and skills of health staff.

……… WHO

• Managers can play a key role in making their employees feel supported and motivated and, as a result, more productive.

• It has more importance in challenging environments where resources are scarce and the needs of the community are vast and different, making employees feel valued and supported is essential.

Supportive supervision is a key way to achieve these results. By employing supportive supervision, managers can create:1). A healthy work environment2). Improve and sustain the performance and satisfaction of their most valuable asset: the people in their organization.It can be done by: Using a few key skills and tools, with a little practice• It encourages: Open, two-way communication, creating a dynamicrelationship with staff and building team approaches that facilitate problem-solving with their growth.

• It focuses on: Monitoring performance towards goals Using data for decision-making Regular follow-up with staff

Types Of Supervision:

•Controlling supervision • Supportive supervision

Controlling supervision supportive supervision

• Focus on finding faults with individuals.• Supervisor is like a policeman.• Episodic problem-solving.• Little or no follow-up.• Punitive actions intended.

• Focus on improving performance and building relationships.• More like a teacher, coach, mentor.• Use local data to monitor performance and solve problems.• Follow up regularly.• Only support provided.

Activities : • Setting up a supportive supervision system• Planning regular supportive supervision visits• Conducting a supervisory visit• Follow-up activities

Setting up a supportive supervisionsystem

• The three main ’ Rs’ for an effective supportive supervision system are :

1) Right supervisors — A core set of supervisors, well trained on supportive supervision techniques and with updated information and skills on immunization issues.2) Right tools — Availability of training materials and job aids to update skills of health workers during supervision visits, and checklists for recording recommendations and following up.3) Right resources — Sufficient vehicles, time allocated for supervision and follow-up.

Planning regular supportive supervision visits

• Planning for supportive supervision visits should be an integral part of the annual/quarterly work-planning exercise. It is important to look at the data when we plan for supervision visits.

• The plan should indicate :• where to conduct visits• when to conduct visits• what are the objectives to cover during the visit.

Conducting a supervisory visit

• During a supervisory visit to the health facility, the supervisor should conduct the following main steps:

1) Collecting information.2) Problem-solving and feedback.3) On-the-job training.4) Recording the results of supervision.

Problem-solving and feedback.

• Describe the problem and its impact• Discuss the causes of the problem with health staff• Implement solutions and monitor regularly

Job aid

• A job aid is a learning product available for on-the-job training which is designed to facilitate correct performance of the task by extending the worker’s capability to retain and utilize information. It is also called quick or easy reference.

• Often these are paper-based and posted on the wall in plain sight or in a small reference notebook.

• They can also take the form of posters, cards, manuals, etc.

Follow-up activities: Supportive supervision does not end with the conducted visit. Back in the office the supervisor should plan for follow-up, which may include the following :• Acting on issues you agreed to work on • Involving health workers in the planning process and working

with them to develop checklists, job aids, monitoring tools, etc. ;• Discussing equipment supply and delivery problems with higher

levels ;• Reviewing monthly reports and establishing regular

communication with supervised staff to see if recommendations are being implemented ;

• Identifying career growth or leadership opportunities for the personal development of supervised health staff.