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Supervision
What is it?
Supervision is a complex mix of skills that will help you improve the
quality of your organization. At its most basic level, supervision is a moment during
which you observe the quality of a process. Supervisors see how activities are being
executed, and what needs correction. Supervision allows you to observe
activities, detect problems, and then solve problems or prevent future
problems. Supervision is also a lot more than this, and many people spend years refining their supervisory
skills.
Who uses it?
The manager, or members of the management team.
Why use it?
Supervision helps to: motivate personnel to do a good job; ensure that
there is good quality of care; train personnel to improve their capacity to perform their
work activities; give immediate feedback and gather suggestions to improve the
process.
When to use it?
Supervision is an indispensable tool at all stages of quality projects, but
particularly in the implementation phase.
How to use it:
- Create a supervisory schedule: Prepare a simple schedule so the
person or people being supervised know what to expect and can prepare for the supervisory
visit.
- Develop a supervisor's visit plan: Determine what activities
will be conducted before, during, and after the actual visit. All supervisory
visits require good planning. Obtain and review job descriptions for each staff member or,
if those don't exist, a list of the tasks that each staff member performs. Get a copy of
objectives for each person you supervise. Your visit plan should include:
objectives of the visit; activities and tasks to be supervised and carried out; the
supervision tools to be used; the type of supervision to be conducted; the resources
needed; and a visit schedule.
- Meet with the staff: A supervisory visit includes collecting
information, identifying problems, assessing work conditions, finding possible solutions to identified
problems, and providing encouragement and on-the-job training to clinic
staff. As a supervisor, it is your job to help the manager and personnel to
improve their performance and their working environment. Make an effort to
respond to the needs of the individuals and to the needs of the team, and to
share with them any technical information that can help them to improve the
quality of services.
- Supervise activities: Observe the day-to-day activities you have
decided to observe in each of the activity areas (for example, clinical,
management, and personnel). Be aware of how these activities interact with
other parts of the larger service delivery system. As you conduct the visit,
consider what improvements can be made to strengthen both individual and
organization performance. Whenever possible and appropriate, provide on-the-job
training to improve individual skills. Be sure to make a record of any issues
to refer to for the next visit.
- Conduct a problem-solving meeting: After supervising the
selected activities, hold a meeting with all the staff to discuss the strengths and weaknesses
of the program, and the short- and long-term solutions that can be implemented. It is
important to give feedback to staff in a way that enables them to accurately
perceive the problems and to improve performance. Team meetings are ideal for
helping staff formulate objectives, identify and discuss problems and possible
solutions, and receive informal training in specific areas that affect
everyone's jobs.
- Debrief: After meeting with the entire team, you can meet with
the manager alone. The debriefing meeting with the manager should include a
discussion of ways to improve performance, the proposed implementation of
solutions, and any individual performance issues that arose during the visit
that the manager should monitor. Include in the discussion what kind of
follow-up the manager should make to ensure that the desired results are
achieved.
- Report and provide follow-up: Supervision does not end when you
leave the site at the end of a visit. You should take with you your own plan
for how you can help to improve services, such as sending needed information
and supplies to the site or referring issues to a higher level. Write a report
of the visit and include the recommendations of the team for improving service
delivery. Send the report to the site and to the regional director. Between
visits, you and the manager and staff can use the report as a guide for
implementing the recommendations. Provide follow-up to ensure that any changes
suggested during the supervisory visit are reinforced with training or support.
Example:
Here is an example of supervision being used to implement the solution.
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Case Study
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