Debriefing

If your facility is going through culture change chances are you are doing a lot of training and trying new things. By taking a few extra minutes to debrief after using a new system you can better assure changes will stick.

Say you are implementing a new meeting model, or have a learning circle with residents to plan a special activity, or do conflict resolution training or have your first week of letting residents wake up when they want instead of having a wake-up schedule. Afterwards you’ll want to talk with those involved to get feedback. This will help tweak the new process or training. You’ll find out if more resources are needed, what went well and what was shaky, what was really helpful and maybe even some ideas of how to make things better.

Also, feedback lets everybody have a voice in the process and see others’ points of view. Traditionally, formal leaders dictate change. Front line staff implement the changes and elders live with the consequences. Of course, it is the front line staff that will know if the change works and the elders that know if the change makes their lives better. So, instead of just dictating, it is important to get staff and elder input from the beginning and then check in to see how things have worked out.

The easiest way to do this is with a learning circle (read a how-to here). Here are some examples of questions that will solicit feedback and give folks a chance to really absorb the outcomes, growth and awareness of change and learning.

How did it feel to deal with “x” in this way?
What worked well about “x” and what can we do better next time?
What did you learn from “x”?
How do you plan to use this new knowledge/system in the future?
How does this work better for the elders?

Doing this in a group is great because it is an opportunity to share different insights and points of view, but debriefing can and should be used in smaller situations such as conflict mediation and behavior coaching. When folks are working through a challenge, it is important to underline and process preferred behaviors to hopefully prevent falling back into the “old way” of doing things. Bottom line in debriefing is follow through.