National Pretrial, Probation, and Parole Supervision Week is July 16-27, 2023, and is an excellent opportunity to show appreciation for the dedicated professionals with whom you work by leveraging opportunities to make their work lives just a bit easier – even when time and money are in scarce supply. Here are 7 free ways to acknowledge the hard work of your staff to help celebrate this week:
- Officer of the Day Amnesty: If your organization utilizes a coverage system that requires an officer or other staff member to cover the unexpected work that arises on certain assigned days, why not give everyone a “Free Pass” on a coverage day? Have a supervisor or another management team member cover the day for them! They will appreciate the reprieve and it demonstrates management’s willingness to roll up their sleeves and help.
- Free Parking: Is there a way to designate a premium parking spot for your staff? If so, each person can collect a day of using this spot during National Pretrial, Probation, and Parole Supervision Week. Or, you can even offer this as a week-long benefit for each staff member in the coming year!
- Community Engagement Campaigns: The work our teams do is incredibly challenging. Furthermore, public perception of what you do and how you do it can complicate and increase the challenges of doing your work safely. Engage your communities and build external support by creating community advisory boards and inviting the public to learn about the role of pretrial, probation, and parole professionals. Through various media outlets, share success stories and the positive impact your staff has on communities every single day to spread recognition and appreciation where you are able.
- No Meeting Mondays: Institute one day per week where no internal meetings will be scheduled to allow staff time to complete paperwork or catch up on other duties.
- Family Open House: Often, families greatly support the unique aspects of the jobs we have chosen. They endure our long hours, worry about our safety, and sometimes hear the sad and tragic stories of those with whom we work. Their support plays a critical role, and allows us to carry out our duties effectively. However, many family members do not entirely understand WHAT exactly we do. Invite families to attend an Open House to see staff workspaces, meet colleagues, and learn more about your agency’s work. This is an excellent opportunity to show appreciation for their support and you can also provide additional information regarding staff and family wellness, such as EAP resources.
- Resource Scavenger Hunt: One of the more challenging aspects of the work you do is to know where to refer defendants or clients for services and/or programming. Sponsor a Resource Scavenger Hunt for staff to personally visit (or find new) organizations that provide free or reduced-cost services as an opportunity to learn more about the referral process and how to best partner with community providers.
- Software and Resource Feedback Box: Create a box where staff members can anonymously put in notes and thoughts about the resources they have to do their jobs. This is also a great way to learn more about what is and isn’t working for them, and potentially budget for software or other upgrades to make processes more seamless – and staff happier.
From our experience as former practitioners, we can recall how deeply appreciative we were of any efforts to acknowledge and support the tremendous work of Pretrial, Probation, and Parole staff.. It truly is the small, thoughtful things that matter most. (Remember to include your support staff, too!) Try some of these out and let us know how they go!
At equivant Supervision and Pretrial, we recognize the work our dedicated community supervision professionals do to keep our communities safe. Thank you! Looking for other ideas or to discuss other needs? Start a conversation with our staff. #PPPSWeek
