Contributed by Monica Alves, Communications & Event Planning Intern

Identify your Strengths & Values • Explore your Options • Plan your Actions • Design your Future

Taking the time to think about your personal growth and career development is important to you, your future and your employer. At posAbilities, we value and recognize our team members’ talents, skills and zest for building more inclusive communities. We also aspire to provide support and a rich learning environment, so that our team members can develop their careers within our organization. For some, that may look like moving up the ladder into various leadership roles. For others, it could appear more like sliding across the stage to explore a new service stream.

Over the past two years, a committee that sprung up from our strategic planning process has been working on setting up a clear path for employees and their leaders to follow. We are excited to announce that we have now formalized the ‘how to’ guide to career development at posAbilities!

The Association just recently adopted a new career development policy, procedure and method to track progress in ShareVision (check out the details under the “My Employee Records” tab, Career Development Tracking).

Our Policy on Engaging in Career Development
The purpose of this policy is to define an equitable process for employees to engage in if they would like to take the next step in their career path with the Association. It sets out the criteria employees need to meet in order to be considered for a new career opportunity and identifies the support employees have access to in working towards their career goals.

So how do you get started?
If you’re interested in learning about opportunities to further develop your career, set up a meeting with your manager to discuss things like…

• the current stage of your career and development
• your career ambitions
• career development options
• areas where the Association may provide support

Next, you will create your Career Development Action Plan, complete with the career opportunity you’re interested in, goals and desired outcomes, and the training required to reach these goals. posAbilities will provide opportunities for employees to participate in growth activities and managers will provide coaching and feedback as per the agreed upon plan. Upon completion of your Action Plan, you’ll be encouraged to apply for the relevant position.

We will have more info to come in the New Year, until then – meet Darren, a Team Leader and Registered Behaviour Technician at posAbilities. Everyone has a story, and Darren describes how he’s been blending his passion with purpose with his exploration through various positions.

“My name is Darren Frisk and I have worked with posAbilities since January 2009. In my 9 years with the agency I have experienced different mentoring opportunities. I have worked in several different positions, such as: Residential Care Worker, Day Support Worker, Behavioural Interventionist, Senior Support Worker, Acting Supervisor, Team Leader and Acting Team Manager. In moving in these positions throughout the agency I have learned valuable leadership skills.

After being a Senior Support Worker I realized that my career goal would be in leadership. I connected with my Team Leader at the time to provide different mentoring opportunities. I was provided with feedback, tasks and opportunities to advance my career path with posAbilities. One of the most beneficial learning tools I was offered was completing Acting Supervisor roles. These temporary roles allowed me to see what a Team Leader position was like, as well learning additional knowledge to use in interviews for the Team Leader role.

I would encourage anyone who is interested in a Senior Support Worker or Team Leader position to connect with their Team Leader. Your Team Leader can connect with you to create mentorship goals to provide you with knowledge and experience to move forward advancing your career goals.”

Fernando Coelho, CEO presenting Darren Frisk (right) with his award at the Believe, Engage & Inspire Awards

It’s really all about you – our employees! posAbilities offers a variety of career opportunities through our various service streams: community and residential support, behaviour intervention and consultation, supervision and leadership, management and administration. Learn more about our current opportunities by visiting our career page here.

P.S. Let’s not forget personal growth!

posAbilities’ full-time, part-time, and casual employees can qualify to receive the iGrow reimbursement, a financial incentive for personal development activities outside of work to encourage well-being. This may include: painting classes, dance lessons, swimming lessons, learning how to meditate, ASL or a new language, computer classes, and more. It’s an opportunity to try something new!

***

Do you want to stay in the loop on the latest industry news, workshops and events? Sign up HERE to receive our free monthly e-newsletter!