College of Frontline Supervision, Management, and Leadership (CFSM)

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College of Frontline Supervision, Management, and Leadership (CFSM)

The College of Frontline Supervision, Management, and Leadership (CFSM) is for supervisors, managers, and leaders who want to apply best practices in support across disability, aging, mental health, and other long-term services and supports. Content in this curriculum is developed and maintained by the Institute on Community Integration at the University of Minnesota. This curriculum uses practice levels that may be used to organize training plans. The practice levels include:

Entry (CFSM-E)
Intermediate (CFSM-I)
Management (CFSM-M)
Leadership (CFSM-L)
Specialty (S)

Business Practices and Organization Development

People We Support

Supervision and Leadership

Workforce Development

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Business Practices and Organization Development

Total Lessons: 5

CFSM-E-Business Practices and Organization Development: Writing SMART Goals (Contact Hours 0.6)

Lesson Description: Writing goals is a central part of long-term services and support (LTSS). Goals are set on a regular basis in every management role, from the frontline supervisor (FLS) to the executive director. Make sure goals are well-written or “SMART.” In this lesson, SMART stands for: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-limited. This lesson shows you how to write a SMART goal.

Lesson Objective: Write goals that are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-limited

CFSM-M-Business Practices and Organization Development: Choosing Training Methods(Contact Hours 1.0)

Lesson Description: This lesson helps learners identify common problems with training practices. It describes the needs of adult learners and ways to accommodate various learning styles. Finally, the lesson addresses a variety of effective training methods and important factors to consider when choosing from them.

Lesson Objectives:

Identify common problems with training practices

Describe the needs of adult learners
Describe how to accommodate different learning styles
Identify at least two effective training methods
Describe important considerations for choosing training methods

CFSM-E-Business Practices and Organization Development: Using Competencies in Core Business Practices (Contact Hours 0.5)

Lesson Description: Competencies are the knowledge, skills, and attitudes (KSAs) needed to do a job well. They are reflected in employee actions. Competencies help define success at work. They clarify expectations. They can reduce biases in employment processes. This lesson describes competencies. It shares how they are

developed. It explains the value of using them in various business practices. It introduces competency sets that may be useful in long-term services and supports (LTSS). Learners can consider how to use competencies in their roles.

Lesson Objective: Explain how competencies can be used in your role

CFSM-M-Business Practices and Organization Development: Understanding Training(Contact Hours 1.0)

Lesson Description: This lesson provides an overview of training and its purpose. There is a review of training challenges common to community support services and an explanation of why good training is important to the overall success of the organization and quality of services.

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Lesson Objective:

Define training and its purpose
Describe training challenges common to community support services
Describe why training is important to the overall success of an organization and the quality of services
Describe the correlation between training and performance
Identify key components to effective training
Identify supervisory and management roles in supporting employee training opportunities

CFSM-E: Business Practices and Organization Development: Discriminating Importance from Urgency When Setting Priorities (Contact Hours 0.5)

Lesson Description: This lesson teaches how to set priorities. It describes the value of identifying what is uniquely important to you. It encourages you to be cautious about focusing on only what others expect of you. It introduces a tool to help

you think about how to approach tasks based on their importance and urgency. This can support you to focus more of your daily efforts on what matters and meet both short- and long-term goals.

Lesson Objective: After completing this lesson, you will be able to prioritize tasks based on their importance and urgency.

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People We Support

Total Lessons: 1

CFSM-L-S-People We Support: The ASD Climate (Contact Hours 0.6)

Lesson Description: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) was once considered rare. However, prevalence is growing. As a result, there is more effort to support people with ASD in our communities. Making common spaces more welcoming is needed. This can include places of employment. It can include other places such as community centers, gyms, theaters, colleges or libraries. It can include formal disability support programs. This lesson is for community or organizational leaders and others who want to make environments work for people with ASD. This lesson reviews some common needs and strengths of this population. It includes information about the current ASD climate. It is meant to help learners understand current controversies and evidence related to ASD as they make programmatic decisions.

Lesson Objective: Describe important aspects of the public conversation about autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and how they may impact development of services, supports, and programming

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Supervision and Leadership

Total Lessons: 8

CFSM-E-Supervision and Leadership: Understanding the FLS Roles (Contact Hours 0.6)

Lesson Description: Community-based long-term services and supports (LTSS) help older adults and people with disabilities to live well in their communities. Committed frontline supervisors (FLSs) are always needed in LTSS. FLSs supervise direct support professionals (DSPs). They may also supervise certified peer specialists (CPSs) or others who work directly with people receiving services. You may be interested in becoming an FLS. Or you may be an FLS wanting to understand your role better. This lesson can help you understand the responsibilities of an FLS. Understanding these responsibilities can help you in a number of

ways. It can help you decide if you want to consider a promotion. It can help you plan a career path. It can help clarify the sources of stress in your current role. It can also help you manage the typical challenges of an FLS. This lesson should help you become a confident and competent FLS.

Lesson Objective: Describe key roles and responsibilities of supervisors in long-term services and supports (LTSS), as compared to other industries

CFSM-E- Supervision and Leadership: Attributes of Successful FLS (Contact Hours 0.6)

Lesson Description: Becoming a frontline

supervisor (FLS) is a big step. People often make this decision without considering all aspects of it. In another lesson, you can learn the competencies necessary for FLSs. In order to meaningfully apply these competencies, you must also have certain attitudes and attributes. In this lesson, you will learn more about attributes that can help you succeed. This can help you think more clearly about supervision. You will be more likely to have a smooth transition into a supervisory role. You may develop yourself in areas that will improve your performance.

Lesson Objective: Know if you have the attributes of a successful supervisor

CFSM-I- Supervision and Leadership: Exploring Leadership in the FLS Role (Contact Hours 0.5)

Lesson Description: A frontline supervisor (FLS) position is an entry into management. It is also a role that requires some ability to lead. Leadership is different than management. Some managers are excellent leaders. Some are not. It is also true that some leaders are effective managers and others are not. Healthy organizations expect managers to manage. They also encourage the growth of leadership traits among all employees. This lesson describes leadership and identifies core attributes of leaders in the FLS role.

Lesson Objective: Describe and demonstrate leadership attributes in your role as an FLS

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CFSM-L- Supervision and Leadership: Applying the NADSP Code of Ethics in Supervision, Management, and Leadership (Contact Hours 0.8)

Lesson Description: The National Alliance for Direct Support Professionals Code of Ethics (NADSP COE) is a helpful tool in supports. It was developed for direct support professionals (DSPs) and is a key component to person-centered practices. Applying the COE in supervision and management roles is different than applying it in the DSP role. This lesson helps learners consider how to apply the COE in supervision, management, and leadership. It is ideal when all managers, employees, and organizational leaders are familiar with the COE. The lesson provides an overview of the COE. It is designed to help the frontline supervisors (FLS) and others understand how it applies within the frame of organizational or systemic processes.

Lesson Objective: List two examples of how you could use the National Alliance for Direct Support Professionals Code of Ethics in your role

CFSM-I- Supervision and Leadership: Starting Out with Employee Coaching (Contact Hours 0.6)

Lesson Description: A primary role for supervisors is to ensure employees are competent and invested in their roles. Coaching is a strategy that supports both of these. Employees need to be able to solve problems and make good decisions on their own. They also need to know when to reach out to the supervisor for support. Coaching can be useful in this type of performance management. It can also help employees consider where they would like to develop more skills. Coaching helps employees find their own path to doing their best. This lesson provides an overview of the value of coaching and how to use it to support people you supervise.

Lesson Objective: Describe coaching as a strategy and provide examples of when you might use it in supervision

CFSM-I- Supervision and Leadership: Employee Development (Contact Hours 0.5)

Lesson Description: Most organizations train their employees. Fewer invest in them. Employee development is the practice of supporting employee growth. While different than training, it also has many benefits. When effort is placed into development, employees tend to be more satisfied. They are also more skilled. Supervisors are a critical part of these practices. They need to support development that aligns with employee goals. This lesson provides a grounding in development. It is a starting point for supervisory skills and strategies in this area.

Lesson Objective: Support development for the employees you supervise

CFSM-I- Supervision and Leadership: Teamwork (Contact Hours 1.0)

Lesson Description: This lesson helps you to understand why teamwork is critical. It provides

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a seven-step process for team growth and renewal. You will also review basic communication skills to enhance the ability of team members to work together.

Lesson Objectives:

Describe teams and their importance
Use a 7-step process for developing healthy teams
Use communication and conflict management skills to support team development

CFSM-I- Supervision and Leadership: Understanding Employee Assessment(Contact Hours 1.0)

Lesson Description: This lesson will help the learner understand employee assessment and its importance. The lesson presents several ways employee assessments can be completed. It describes who should be involved in the process. Finally, this lesson describes how employee assessment can assist in guiding the training of employees.

Lesson Objective:

Define employee assessment
Describe why employee assessment is important
Use several methods to assess employees
Describe who should be involved in employee assessment
Describe the frontline supervisor's role in using employee assessment to guide training

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Workforce Development

Total Lessons: 8

CFSM-L-Workforce Development: The Workforce Development Plan (Contact Hours 0.9)

Lesson Description: High turnover and job vacancy rates in long-term services and supports (LTSS) are common. Both reduce the quality of the services. They can also put people who need these services at risk. Projections are that these challenges are going to get worse. A workforce development (WD) plan is a systematic approach to solving workforce challenges. Individual organizations can implement these plans. Organizations can also collaborate with others locally or nationally to solve these issues. These plans are useful for traditional LTSS organizations. They are also useful for managed care LTSS (MLTSS). This lesson explains

workforce development plans. It provides an eight-step framework for creating a plan. It may be useful for designated

Lesson Objective: Describe key aspects of the eight steps to implement a workforce development plan

CFSM-M-Workforce Development: Realistic Job Previews (Contact Hours 1.0)

Lesson Description: Very early turnover includes new hires that quit in the first days, weeks, or months of employment. A common reason for this is unmet expectations on the part of new hires. This can happen in human services because people do not know what these roles are like. Realistic job previews (RJPs) are a way to

reduce unmet expectations. However, they must be developed carefully and with a willingness to share more challenging parts of the job openly. This helps applicants to self-select out of the process if they are not a good match. It also ensures that those who continue to pursue employment are more prepared for the actual job. This lesson reviews key characteristics of RJPs. It supports managers and others with deciding whether or not this strategy might be helpful for them and how to implement it, if it is.

Lesson Objectives:

Describe realistic job previews (RJPs) and what type of retention challenge they can prevent

Discriminate key characteristics of an effective RJP as compared to common recruitment strategies
Describe at least three different realistic job preview delivery methods
Analyze how well sample RJPs include important characteristics
Describe important components of a plan for implementing a realistic job preview

CFSM-M-Workforce Development: Recruiting for Retention (Contact Hours 0.7)

Lesson Description: Turnover and vacancy in long-term services and supports (LTSS) are widespread. There is a lot of competition for new employees. Recruitment is focused on finding applicants. It is also the start to successful retention of employees. Attending to both finding and keeping employees is important. It helps to reduce vacancies in the future. This lesson is an overview of recruitment strategies. It describes how better recruitment can lead to retention.

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Lesson Objective: Outline a plan for enhancing recruitment in ways that support longer-term retention of employees

CFSM-I-Workforce Development: Selection Strategies for Employee Success and Retention (Contact Hours 0.7)

Lesson Description: Choosing the right person for a job is critical. At the same time, it can be hard to find people interested in open positions. Sometimes, it can feel necessary to hire any person who applies. However, if new employees do not do well, this can promote turnover of both the new and longer-term employees. Structured selection processes can support employee success and retention. This lesson outlines components of an effective selection process. It can help you prevent unnecessary turnover caused by poor selection practices. It describes why it is important to use competencies as a basis for these processes. It gives details about how to implement key practices. These approaches can help you choose people who

are more likely to succeed on the job. They can also help you select employees who are likely to stay longer

Lesson Objective: Identify selection practices that are likely to help you find employees who will do well in their roles and stay longer

CFSM-I-Workforce Development: Choosing Training Topics (Contact Hours 1.0)

Lesson Description: Employees deserve access to useful training. Areas of training for employees in long-term services and support (LTSS) are not always a good match to roles. The topics selected may be driven by things other than employee needs. Employees want a chance to grow. This growth should be supported by employers. However, it should be employee-driven. This means training options should align with the organization’s goals. At the same time, employees should have a chance to focus on areas that matter to them. This lesson helps supervisors, managers, and leaders to

understand the things that influence the training topics that can be offered. It helps them recognize the importance of offering training in a variety of areas.

Lesson Objectives:

Evaluate if influences on training topics in LTSS align with best practices in professional development
Reflect on how existing job analyses might be used to select areas of training focus
Recognize the influence of changing paradigms and demographics in regard to training topics
Support employee responsibility for development
Identify resources that support employee development

CFSM-M-Workforce Development: Orientation Practices (Contact Hours 1.0)

Lesson Description: This lesson provides an overview of staff orientation and its purpose. It

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describes ways to determine how poor orientation practices affect employee turnover and how diversity can influence orientation strategies. This lesson identifies strategies to improve orientation. The role of mentoring in orientation is reviewed. Finally, the lesson reviews how the frontline supervisor and/or manager can promote improved orientation of new employees.

Lesson Objectives:

Describe the connection between turnover and poor orientation practices
Describe the purpose of orientation
Describe potential impact on orientation when recruiting form diverse worker pools.
Use mentoring as an orientation strategy
Engage a variety of strategies that support a positive experience with orientation for employees.
Identify the direct supervisor’s roles in orientation

CFSM-M-Workforce Development: Using Retention Data in Workforce Development Plans (Contact Hours 1.1)

Lesson Description: Many long-term services and supports (LTSS) organizations struggle to find and keep good employees. A workforce development plan helps to solve challenges like these. Meaningful plans are built on consistent and reliable measures of retention. This includes retention metrics such as vacancy, turnover, and tenure. Organizations should start with a baseline measure. A plan to regularly evaluate these metrics should be part of every organization’s business practices. This helps show progress over time. It may point out the need for additional changes. This lesson describes why and how to gather these key data. It will help you understand the value of accurate data.

Lesson Objective: Use turnover, tenure, and vacancy rates as part of a workforce development plan

CFSM-M-Workforce Development: Management Approaches and Employee Retention (Contact Hours 1.0)

Lesson Description: Finding new applicants is expensive. It takes time and effort. Employers are smart to invest in their current employees. Supervision and management have a strong effect on employee retention. They also affect performance and engagement. Chronic challenges with turnover require a review of these practices. It’s easy for management and leadership to get out of touch with frontline workers. This lesson provides an overview of key considerations in this area that align with person-centered practices. It offers next steps for organizations that want to look at these issues.

Lesson Objective: Describe management approaches that support employee retention

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