Providing support services under the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is a complex and demanding environment, and the role of Human Resources (HR) has become more critical than ever to providers.
Being a provider involves balancing the requirements of running your businesses and meeting compliance obligations, while ensuring you have the right mix of skilled, dedicated professionals who can help design and provide high-quality support and services to individuals with disabilities.
With so many moving parts, you need to be on top of your people management and HR processes to ensure you can attract and retain talented staff, mitigate employee burnout and turnover, while complying with all the relevant Australian laws and regulations.
In this article, we look at the benefits of solid people management and HR systems, and shed light on the potential pitfalls that service providers may face without it.
The human element in the NDIS sector
Talent acquisition and retention
The NDIS model is based on individuals with disabilities being able to select the services they need to improve and empower their lives.
To meet their clients’ needs, providers require a diverse, stable workforce with the necessary expertise and passion to provide quality support.
It’s also a fast-growing sector, so the ability to recruit and retain skilled professionals is paramount. Once they are a part of the team, your employees need to quickly get up to speed in their role.
Effective people systems that are tailored to your business will mean you can hire with certainty when you need to, ensure you have all the right employment documentation, and onboard your new employees in the shortest possible time.
From there, you can work on tracking and improving performance to ensure your workers are meeting their goals and are happy in their work.
Learn more about managing employee performance and development.
Cultural alignment
Empathy and understanding are key in the NDIS industry, so your organisational values need to be aligned with those of your workforce.
Providing assistance to people with disabilities can often be challenging and your people need to feel valued and that their health and wellbeing is important.
Workplace culture exists whether you actively nurture it or not, so it’s far better to foster an environment that is supportive and inclusive than to hope it happens on its own.
The added payoff is that a happy, healthy team is more productive and will stick with you longer. You’ll also bolster your reputation as an employer of choice.
Find out more about building a strong company culture.
Training and development
The NDIS industry is constantly evolving and workers in the sector need to be adapting and evolving, too.
Professional development works best as a broad mix of activities, from targeted on-the-job learning to more formal education and training. Ensuring your team members have the latest knowledge and skills means they can effectively meet the demands of the job, provide quality support to customers, and successfully build their careers.
All this takes planning and oversight, which is where the skills of a experienced HR and people management team can really pay dividends.
Risks and pitfalls without HR
Compliance risks
Compliance with guidelines and standards is a core aspect of the NDIS system. Providers must adhere to specific rules and regulations to ensure high standards of care and safeguard participants' rights.
Employing staff in the field also requires compliance with current employment law and employers must meet their obligations under the Fair Work system, whether that relates to employee pay, minimum entitlements and conditions, health and safety, tax or superannuation.
The most common modern award that applies to employers working in the NDIS sector - the Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Industry (SCAHDS) Award - is commonly known as one of the most complex and confusing awards, with different work streams and corresponding minimum rates and entitlements.
Without good HR oversight, organisations can get weighed down by the administrative workload, and may inadvertently fail to meet all of their obligations. This could put you at risk of legal repercussions and jeopardise your ability to provide services.
Employee burnout
No one in the disability sector needs reminding of the challenging nature of the work.
Research by the Behavioural Economics Team of the Australian Government (BETA) found that 43% of staff in the NDIS workforce felt burnt out at least half the time in their jobs, and that employee turnover falls between 14% and 25% a year - roughly 3 times higher than the overall Australian workforce.
Without HR strategies for managing workload and promoting employee well-being, stress and burnout can become significant risks, affecting not only your ability to retain staff, but to provide quality care to clients.
Ineffective communication
Open communication between management and employees is essential if an organisation is going to run efficiently and effectively. If communication is poor, operations can get mired in confusion or mistrust, leading to misunderstandings, decreased morale, and compromised teamwork.
HR serves as the bridge between management and employees, ensuring clear and effective communication of procedures, tasks, values, and goals.
Read more about the importance of good communication.
Lack of employee engagement
Employee engagement is crucial for retaining top talent, and without engagement initiatives, organisations risk losing skilled professionals to burnout or competitors, hampering the consistency and quality of services.
In the Disability Sector Report 2023, 78% of service providers said they found it extremely or moderately difficult to recruit disability support workers. In such a tough environment, you need to be doing all you can to foster your talented team members.
