Why Hire a Consultant?

Individuals reach out to relatives, friends and other trusted advisors for relationship, financial or career help all the time. So why are many businesses reluctant to hire a consultant?

Some reasons for this resistance include institutional inertia, fear of seeming weak or ineffective and a lack of awareness that a different perspective can provide big dividends.

Companies that consider – or are required – to seek accreditation may think that the process is just a rubber stamp and underestimate the task ahead.

Though many boards and executives only contemplate hiring a consultant when things go south, there are many good reasons to get advice from an experienced consultant when the situation warrants.

Growing Pains

Here’s a familiar scenario in the non-profit world: the board is raising money, staff is hired and the vision is being executed. However, growing demand for services outstrips the capacity of the organization to scale up.

In other cases, the mission expands into new, related opportunities that pull non-profits into unforeseen directions.

These seem like good problems to have, but when you’re faced with an unexpected crisis or an overload of decisions to be made, having a consultant who can see through the fog and help vet options is invaluable.

Few non-profits possess the capacity to undertake their own competitive and/or market research to support decision-making, help your team develop an action plan and set goals and priorities.

Conflict Resolution

It happens all the time: two powerful individuals or factions within an organization clash over direction or policy. Is providing human services to the vulnerable enough or should the non-profit lobby for new laws to deal with the underlying issues causing the problems?

There is a reason why arbitrators, mediators and the court system exist: to serve as neutral, unbiased third-party judges to either make a decision or help develop an agreement for moving forward.

When different opinions hinder the ability of board and staff leaders to settle on priorities, paid consultants can help organizations move beyond the debate, try to develop a consensus and get back on track to fulfill the organization’s original mission. And they cost a lot less than lawyers.

Navigating the Unknown

Leadership transitions or succession issues can tear non-profits apart. This is one reason why sports teams have coaches: when the top players move on or retire, the deck has to be reshuffled. Professional facilitators can help develop a strategic plan and prepare your board and staff leadership for seamless change and determine the best path to ensure future stability.

Through the Viewfinder

When competing priorities or sudden crises emerge, consultants can help focus on the most important ways to deal with adversity. They can be tasked with developing a ranked, detailed action plan throughout the collaboration so that there’s buy-in from every level of your organization.

For help getting everyone to share goals, implement effective tactics, develop timelines and achieve measurable outcomes, consultants are in a unique position to rally the forces and foster lasting growth and sustainability.

Time Savings

When it comes to navigating the accreditation process, hiring the right consultant can save time (and money).

At Accreditation Guru, our team experts have gained valuable and actionable experience in the field. They know exactly what the accrediting bodies are looking for and how best to compile organization data and information.

But achieving accreditation is an involved process that will require your employees to spend less time on their day-to-day responsibilities. To ensure efficient time management, our consultants go beyond providing training functions and serve as sounding boards to answer questions from staff so no one is spinning their wheels or getting lost in a rabbit hole trying to figure out what the accreditation standards mean.

Rather than serve as a sign of weakness, hiring consultants marks a bold, brave move that can provide lasting benefits far beyond the immediate cost. And achieving accreditation will help increase credibility and stability. Don’t leave your destiny to chance!

To schedule a call with Jennifer Flowers for your accreditation needs, contact us at Info@AccreditationGuru.com or 212.209.0240.

Jennifer Flowers Recently Interviewed by NonProfit Pro on Effective Annual Plans

Our very own Jennifer Flowers, CEO, sat down for an interview with NonProfit PRO. In this interview, she discussed ways to best create an effective annual plan after an organization has developed its strategic plan.

Jennifer provides tips and tactics about various issues to consider, including the kind of information an agency should include in an annual plan, tips on fundraising goals, the amount of time an agency should dedicate to its annual plan and how to best incorporate unexpected grants or restricted gifts that an agency might receive midyear.

For these tips and tactics, plus more, read the article here.

Using a consultant to help with the accreditation process

 

When beginning on the road to national accreditation, many organizations struggle with the extra workload involved and a general unfamiliarity with the accreditation process. As a result, they may decide to work with an accreditation consultant to help with the heavy lifting involved. Our video outlines what to look for when considering hiring a consultant, including success rates, reputation and the amount of customization available for your organization.

If you have questions about how Accreditation Guru can help your agency proactively prepare for accreditation, please contact us at 212.209.0240 or Info@AccreditationGuru.com.

Team Member Highlight – Bobbie Lison

Bobbie has been a peer surveyor and team leader at the Council on Accreditation for more than ten years. She has reviewed a variety of agencies, including nonprofit, religious and military organizations.

Her areas of concentration include, but are not limited to, Performance and Quality Improvement (PQI) programs and Financial Education and Counseling Services (FEC).

Since 2000, she has served as operations manager, program manager and PQI chair for Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Green Bay, Wisconsin, where she led the agency through two successful re-accreditations. She also sits on several local boards and committees.

Bobbie believes that earning and maintaining accreditation allows agencies to affirm what they are doing well and offers organizations the opportunity to strengthen their services through nationally accepted best practices.

Outside of her work, Bobbie enjoys being with family, running marathons and embarking on new adventures. Her family consists of her daughter, Tina, two sons, Colin and McKenzie. She has an amazing son-in-law, Kevin, and a granddaughter, Annika, who has stolen her heart.

Bobbie is fortunate to enjoy travel through work and when doing so, she makes it a point to challenge herself by trying things outside of her comfort zone. She has surfed, paddle boarded, climbed mountains, zip-lined, flown in an gyro-copter and participated in disaster responses.

Bobbie shares this quote: “To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.” – Oscar Wilde

We are fortunate to have Bobbie as an AG team member.

EAGLE Recognized now as an Approved Accreditor for QRTPs Under the Family First Prevention Services Act

On May 15, it was announced that EAGLE Accreditation Program is recognized by the Department of Health and Human Services as an approved accreditor for Qualified Residential Treatment Programs (QRTPs) under the Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA). As we have discussed here, FFPSA, which passed in February 2018, allows federal funds to be spent on preventative services to help keep families together and also restricts funding on congregate care or group homes for children and youth who require removal from their families. In part, FFPSA mandates that all residential treatment providers convert to QRTPs, a new licensing category, in order to be eligible for reimbursement through Title IV-E foster care funds after the first two weeks of child placement.

One of the requirements to become a QRTP is to be accredited by CARF, COA, The Joint Commission and now, for the first time, EAGLE Accreditation.

EAGLE, which stands for Educational Assessment Guidelines Leading toward Excellence, is the only faith-based accrediting body in the country. It focuses on ministries serving older adults, children, youth and families, and those with developmental disabilities with emphasis on excellence, quality and how applicant organizations incorporate their Christian mission, religious heritage and values throughout the organization and its daily operations. EAGLE accreditation has provided an option for faith-based organizations since 1984.

The EAGLE Accreditation Program is operated by the United Methodist Association of Health and Welfare Ministries (UMA).

“We are proud of this recognition for EAGLE,” said Mary Kemper, president and CEO of UMA. “As an accreditor of faith-based organizations for more than 40 years, EAGLE has a solid history of promoting excellence with the added focus on organizations’ faith-based mission, vision and values.”

For questions about EAGLE or other accrediting bodies and for assistance preparing your organization to become a Qualified Residential Treatment Program, please contact Accreditation Guru at Info@AccreditationGuru.com.

For more information about FFPSA, visit our FFPSA Resource Page and blog.

For full press release click here.

Ideas to motivate staff beyond money.

 

In this video we discuss the importance of finding out what personally motivates your employees as part of the mix of how you might encourage them beyond solely monetary benefits.

Meet Our Newest Team Member!

Please help us give a warm welcome to our newest team member, Dave Branding, PhD!

With more than 40 years of administrative, executive leadership and board governance experience in a variety of health and human service organizations, integrated delivery systems and health plans, Dave has served as a provider, purchaser and funder. He specializes in achieving and maintaining accreditation, improving risk management practices and creating supportive accountability systems.

Working at CARF International for more than 12 years, Dave has led more than 120 accreditation surveys across 40 states and provinces as an administrative and program surveyor, team leader and report-writer for the Behavioral Health, Opioid Treatment Program, Employment and Community Support and Business and Services Management Network standard manuals. He also serves on CARF’s appeal and review boards.

In addition to administering several million dollars in grant funding, he has delivered dozens of conference program presentations and participated in more than 20 statewide and national policy and practice improvement initiatives.

Dave earned a Doctorate in Education and Master of Arts degree, along with a certificate in transition planning, from Southern Illinois University. He received a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Central Michigan University.

We are thrilled to have Dave on our team!

Is Your Organization Staying Competitive in Today’s Environment?

In today’s increasingly competitive environment, health and human service organizations often struggle to distinguish themselves. Providing high quality services is a given, but to establish your brand, you must demonstrate that you make a difference in the lives of those you serve.

Some critical factors that can help maintain your organization’s competitive edge include earning national accreditation, reporting on service outcomes (not just outputs) and recruiting and maintaining a qualified, well-trained workforce.

Accreditation

Achieving accreditation affirms that child welfare, behavioral health, employment and community service organizations meet or exceed professional-grade quality standards in service delivery. It also gives clients and other key stakeholders an appropriate tool for effectively evaluating service providers.

Organizations that earn accreditation reach beyond minimum licensing standards and make a long-term commitment to strong governance, program consistency, outcome measurements and continuous improvement throughout their agencies.

Accreditation requires organizations to undergo an objective review by an independent accrediting body. The designation signifies that agencies effectively manage their resources and enhance the quality of life of the population served.

Individuals and families increasingly regard the accredited status of an agency as an important factor when considering where to seek services.*

Performance Improvement and Reporting on Outcomes

With detailed digital data available just a few clicks away, health and human service organizations are being held accountable for measuring service outcomes – not just outputs. This new development requires the collection and analysis of relevant data to discover trends and patterns. The key is to make improvements (or expand upon achievements) where necessary.

Outputs are quantifiable data points related to the numbers of people served, frequency of home visits made, time in care and other common variables. However, outputs measure the impact that services have on the lives of those in care or treatment, including knowledge transferred, behaviors changed, improved homelife stability and other revealing and quantifiable data points.

In fact, all organizations seeking to gain and maintain accreditation are required to record and report outcome statistics as part of their performance improvement programs. Compiling performance indicators in a transparent, easy to understand manner will help service providers connect with clients, families and donors in a meaningful way and, in turn, allow them to be more competitive.

In the nonprofit arena, the relationship with donors has been forever transformed by technology and the unyielding desire for increased information that supports educated giving decisions. Providing reports on outcomes can also help non-profits tell their story and compete for hard-won donor dollars.

Qualified Workforce

Recruiting and retaining a well-trained, qualified workforce is the key to providing high quality services, reducing operational and programmatic risk, maintaining an organization’s reputation and contributing to institutional stability.

To attract talented employees, agencies should institute standardized recruiting procedures, conduct primary-source verification of education and licensure, perform background checks and review criminal history records for those individuals who work directly with vulnerable or at-risk people and develop effective onboarding processes.

In the health and human service field, top-quality employees aim to work for nationally accredited entities, an achievement that demonstrates your organization’s commitment to quality and to investing in its workforce.

It is easier to retain a qualified workforce by focusing on training, staff satisfaction, professional development and transparency. Investing in your people will foster a more stable workforce and enhance the quality of provided services – all of which helps make your organization more competitive.

Summary

Implementing steps to retain your organization’s competitive edge takes time and effort, but think about the alternatives: If you neglect the opportunity to continually improve, your reputation will ultimately suffer.

Earning national accreditation provides a framework for improving operations, measuring and reporting on outcomes, recruiting and supporting employees and providing quality services – which help maintain your organization’s competitiveness in an ever-changing environment.

For assistance preparing for national accreditation, or with any of the items mentioned in this article, please contact us at Info@AccreditationGuru.com.

* See our article on using accreditation as a marketing tool for more information.

Team Member Highlight – Carol Smith

Carol started her accreditation career in 1980 when she implemented a substance abuse outpatient and prevention program for the State of Michigan Office of Substance Abuse Services. For more than a year,
Carol prepared the agency for its first national accreditation survey and began implementing policies and procedures during a time when the behavioral health field lacked clearly defined standards. After
achieving accreditation, she became a consultant and specialized in helping agencies navigate the CARF and The Joint Commission accreditation processes.

Carol has an extensive career in the field of accreditation, specifically with CARF. She has been a CARF surveyor for 28 years and has served on several ISAC’s (International Standards Advisory Committee) to help revise and develop new standards. She has provided training on accreditation topics both to an international audience and to new CARF surveyors and is a content editor of survey reports, and serves on the CARF accreditation appeal board.

Carol spends free time with her husband, her pug, and two cats in northern Michigan. She enjoys walking on the beach, traveling, gardening, reading and spending time at her winter home in southeastern Florida.

We are happy to have Carol on the Accreditation Guru team!

Team Member Highlight – Tracy Collander

Tracy Collander

Tracy first became familiar with the accreditation world when she began working for Gateway Foundation in 2007.  Gateway Foundation is accredited by The Joint Commission, and she became familiar with TJC behavioral health accreditation during her 6 years as executive director for Gateway Aurora.

Her knowledge of accreditation became much stronger as she became Executive Director of The Joint Commissions Behavioral Health accreditation program, as she had the opportunity to work closely with the accreditation team, behavioral healthcare leaders, and advisory members.  Now that she is back in the field, she continues to value accreditation as a road map to leading a safe, high quality organization.  She believes this is critical for engaging a team that is invested in providing the best care possible to people in need.  Her Joint Commission experience has been so valuable to her as a leader – it reinforces her resolve to provide the best possible leadership to her team in support of the care that people deserve to receive.

She enjoys spending time with her two teenage boys, husband, and dog.  Her boys are both involved in sports, so much of their free time is spent cheering on their baseball/basketball teams locally or on the road.  When at home, they love watching movies together or hanging out with friends.

She also enjoys outdoor activities – gardening, walking her dog, running, golfing…boating when they have a chance to get to a lake… hiking when she visits her brother in Oregon or sister in Arizona…and skiing when it snows in the Midwest or when they travel to visit her siblings.  Both her husband and Tracy are from big families, so there is often a birthday, holiday, or other event to celebrate as well!

When she has downtime, she loves to read (or listen to books on Audible when driving), particularly suspense books, historical fiction novels, and leadership books.

We are happy to have Tracy on the Accreditation Guru team!