What do you think makes a really competent and successful Employment Specialist? What are the skills and strategies that must be used to successfully support someone in the workplace?
The first things are knowing the job and getting to know your person. Knowing what their goals and desires are for the workplace. You have to patient with the client and understanding for them to be successful.
I agree with Opal. I believe its important that a employment specialist should get to know your client's interest, desires, and goals. Figuring out how they best learn and if they need and visual aids or accomadations. Finding natural supports and helping establish a good relationship with coworkers. It is important thats a ES find the best way for the client to be corrected, if needed. Keeping the employer in the loop with all the information they may need for the employee including but not limited to those listed above. Its important that the ES to have the clients best interest at heart but top also not take discipline into their own hands and let the employer do those things.
I feel getting to know your client's interest, desires, and goals is important. Learning their strengths and drawing from them helps. Figuring out what type of visual aids, if any, or accomodations to assist your client with tools to help them do their job independently or with natural supports. Also figuring out the client's learning style and how to approach corrections, if needed, and sharing that knowledge with the Employer and the client's coworkers. are ways to helping the client be successful as well. Helping the Employer and other employees learn to read your client's communication, whether it's verbal or body language, especially if the client is non verbal. I feel these are good skills and strategies to make me a successful Employment Specialist and for the client to be successful.
I think you need to understand the business needs from the employer in the position of the supported employee and incorporate into your on-the-job training for your supported employee. You need to be a good observer in seeking for supportive co-worker(s) and build rapport and natural supports. Allow designated co-worker to train supported employee and the Employment Specialist would fill in on the spot as needed. This would enhance relationship between workers and supported employee. When the supported employee is ready for Phase 2, Employment Specialist should be consistent in follow-along services and be in contact with the employer.
I think using person centered plans works well with understanding what the person wants. You need to learn about the individuals interest, skills , hobbies and goals in life. By learning and understanding the person helps you be successful in finding them right fit. Then after finding the job helping them through the task that is expected of them and setting up cues and walking them through their job areas for the individual to become familar with the staff/co-workers and duties they will be responsible for at their place of employment. Then working out a plan with the new employer for proper training and orientations for the indivividual.
Understanding the person you're supporting is very important . If you know what this person's likes, dislikes, strengths, weaknesses, etc are then you're able to set them up in an environment they can grow and learn in. Creating a plan that is custom to them and the work place can also be very helpful.
Making sure the individual understands that job and it is the job they want. So many times jobs become available and it is tempting to place the person in the job. This does not always make a successful job match. Getting to know what type of job the individual is interested in is the key. Once that is determined you have to look at the skill level of the individual vs the job at hand. Does the person have experience doing the job? Or is this something that they have seen someone else do and think it looks cool? If the latter, then perhaps an employer would agree to a job shadow. This allows the individual to get hands on experience and the employer to get to know them, before committing to hire. A successful employment specialist must be willing to take the time neccesary to make a solid job match.
There are so many skills, abilities and talents that are need by a SEC. Communication skills so as to be able to build relationships with Employers and the supported emplou=yment Client. Flexibility to adjust in the changes as needed. Observation skills to see both potential and possibilities. Also to see what changes need to be made so that the Client will be successful. Skills in documentation and organizing. The abillity to see and understand where the client struggles and how to find what works for them. But most of all humility to step back and be the encourager and help others to shinel
There are a lot of things that go into making a comptent Emplpyment Specialist such as having patience, a working knowledge of various businesses within local communities, the ability to communicate and network with others as well as on behalf of others. Teaching people on how to deal with people with different personailities from theirs is key. People need to know that when learning a new job there is nothing wrong with asking questions when you do not know what to do as well as find someone that can help mentor a person in the workplace who is trustworthy.
A successful Employment Specialist is sincere in their efforts to support the individual they are working with. They must be eager to help the individual achieve their goals. They must also be good communicators with the ability to speak with managers and business owners to achieve a succesful work environment. A successful Employment Specialist is patient and resilient, when things don't go as planned they are able to bounce back and try something new. Employment Specialists must continue to learn themselves in order to properly assist others. Success in being an Employment Specialists takes time and comes with experience in different situations.
Understanding the personalities of the person (client) and the corporate culture of the company are all vital, and a strong desire to be a "people person" are all vital for success.
An ES must be person-centered. Their primary concern is knowing the job seeker. But they must also be approachable so they can build professional relationships on behalf of the job seeker(s) and their organization. They must care about others' needs, like employers' desires, so that people want to work with them and are compelled to hire people with disabilities. They must be patient and creative as well.
In order to be a successful ES, I feel you should have knowledge of the job that you are performing. You also must have patience and willing to help to encourage the person served to be successful. You also need to be willing to be flexible when changes arrive.
Building relationships and interpreting the needs of your client. Once you build a relationship with your client and make a plan to develop what they want in their employment. Building the relationship so that they trust you and open up to you, I believe is key. Then once they are employed, building relationships with management and follow employees and helping the client build relationships within the work place. If you can work as a liaison, building a team, it will bring about unity so that when issues or needs arise in the typical daily work of an employment specialist the issues can be dealt with smoothly. This leads to continually moving the client forward.
One great skill to have is adaptability. Every supported employment situation is different, even if you have a great deal of experience. Every job has different expectations and every individual has different needs, strengths, and ways of working. It's important to be able to adapt to new or different situations. It's also important to be supportive and assistive without being overbearing. You should encourage the supported individual in gaining independence and skill without pushing them beyond what is attainable at that moment. Being compassionate and patient is also, of course, a given when working as an employment specialist.
Based on material learned thus far in this course, for someone to become competent and successful as an Employment Specialist, they have to take time to know the supported person well enough to know their gifts and talents. These are contributions that will guide the Employment specialist to develop person-centered job planning and job search. The Employment Specialist could utilize person-centered planning by creating a list of likes and dislikes, talents and desires that guide the Employment Specialist in developing an overall vocational profile of the job seeker. When the supported person is successfully assisted to find a job that they like, the employment specialist's role becomes that of a facilitator of learning, not a direct instructor. Thus allowing the supported employee to develop natural support from co-workers, and direct supervisors. Also, a competent Employment specialist masters the use of natural prompts to support self-management and sequential cues to assist supported employees in learning new skills. The competent specialist collaborated with the manager or supervisor to ensure that the supported employee received their routine employment orientation and training by their co-worker, not the specialist to avoid the stigma of the person with a disability being isolated.
What do you think makes a really competent and successful Employment Specialist? Being able to know and understand the needs, wants, strengths and weaknesses. Having the ability to build and foster relationships with businesses to better serve our individuals should also be a quality to acquire. What are the skills and strategies that must be used to successfully support someone in the workplace? Knowing the person's needs as well as goals in regards to employment as essential. Helping the individual to become an independent contributing person. Provide opportunities for direct training so that the individual wassupported and successful in the workplace. Those supports may come in the training, fading and natural support methods.
Firstly, employment specialist infers to the title for an individual whose profession lies in matching people to a particular job they hold skills and competency in. For one to be a successful employment specialist, there needs one to possess the capabilities of listening to the needs of the client and match those stated and or observed needs to the best appropriate job placement. An understanding should be here, it is not only the client's strength, but also the challenges faced, and being able to offer solutions to problems in an effective manner. The employers need us to troubleshoot the issues efficiently and quickly. It is true to say that while acting as employment specialists, in many instances, we find our clients in need of our support hence engaging actively while pursuing employment .What are the skills and strategies that must be used to support someone in the workplace successfully?To support someone at the workplace, one needs to be a team player whereby for instance, if it is a manager, he or she should engage the employees in teamwork whereby they help each other in areas or fields they have nil or little clue . In such an instance, the employee sublimes into open discussion in case of trouble hence sharpening their skills after learning from other pioneer members the Company.Another skill is being open for anything whereby a manager should pinpoint the issue directly without hiding anything. There calls for exploration of both behavior and feelings by all the employees among themselves. This is because professional and social relationships are entirely interactive and at the same time, symbiotic, and most of the communication occurring is both reactive and also subconscious.Identification of weak or strong points of an individual by a manager or any supervising body at the workplace is a good source of support to the employee . This can be done by observing the employee’s body language and then noting the tasks or things which peaks their interest. Equally crucial is taking down of detailed notes for careful placement of the employee hence ensuring the job placed is in line with their competency.
Understanding the job and the person supported. Knowing the person supported interest and likes and dislikes. Doing a proper job analyis. Being involed in the work culture and traing with the less amount of cues possile. Participating in acceptable reinforcers and making sure the person supported isnt depended on the consultant. Also creating a appropriate job training plan with the supervisor andbco-workers.
