Community health workers are the cornerstone of access to healthcare for at-risk and isolated populations. Whether your team works with LGBTQ+ youth, immigrants, or remote communities, they’re responsible for bridging the gaps in care by educating citizens, connecting them to the resources they require, and advocating for their individual needs based on cultural context and the resources available to them. Your entire process, from recruiting to cross-training, will shape the success of your program.
A community health worker may help coordinate care, translate medical terms, or educate the population so they’re able to make informed decisions and prevent disease — or practice ongoing care for existing conditions. All of this with the goal of improving health outcomes for the less privileged.
This year, CHWTraining focused on providing agencies like yours with the tools to find, train, and retain the best talent to achieve your program goals. These are the top 15 pieces our readers liked most.
Core skills
With employees (and directors) still adapting to remote or hybrid work and training, these are our favorite tools to level up from home — or anywhere your new office is. The list includes a mix of soft, hard, and life skills anyone can benefit from.
As we continue to face COVID, these are the top skills your staff needs to safely navigate the pandemic and help communities do the same.
Specialized skills
This year, we covered the topic of maternal and child health (often referred to as MCH), including an overview of how to start an MCH program with your community health workers.
Later, we dove into the skills and areas in which your CHWs will need to receive specialized training to improve health outcomes for new mothers and children.
Recruiting and hiring community health workers
The Top 11 Places To Recruit Community Health Workers
Any successful CHW program starts with your staff. And at CHWTraining, we’ve identified the top places where you’ll find the best talent to serve your community.
How To Write a Job Description for the Best CHW Applicants
Your job post is the first interaction most candidates will have with your organization. As such, you want to present your program in the best light. Your job post is also the perfect place to attract the people who share your values and missions — and warn those who may have opposite views. This template includes everything you’ll need to attract the best applicants for your CHW program.
How To Hire a Community Health Worker – Interview Guide
Once you have a pool of potential CHWs, it’s time to prepare for interviewing them. To help you identify the best candidates, these are the top tips for preparing an interview that’ll help you find the right fit.
FREE WEBINAR: How to Find The Right Qualified Community Health Workers
Everything you’ll need for a successful CHW program, from whether CHWs are the right choice for your organization to job descriptions and must-ask questions for the interview process.
Training Your CHWs
A common question we face is whether CHW training can apply for the myriad titles that perform similar roles, like peer educator, health aid, health navigator, public health associates and many more. This blog covers the main differences between these titles and how your CHW cross-training can work in different cases.
How To Train Your Team to Be CHWs and Steps for Success
So you know it’s worth investing in your team’s training for long-term program success. But many directors and managers struggle to implement effective company-wide training and often leave it as part of new hires’ onboarding. These are the steps you’ll need for a successful year-round training plan for any CHW team.
Cross-training your chws
They, “engage in direct service activities, such as after-school tutoring or homebuilding, and capacity-building activities, such as volunteer recruitment, for the organizations they serve.”
Did you think we were describing the role of CHWs? Think again. The role of Americorps volunteers overlaps in many areas with that of a community health worker. So we explored how Americorps volunteers benefit your agency and how to train them to succeed on the job. Hint: You can start by cross-training them with these skills.
Cross-Train Your Team: 5 Reasons for Everybody to be a Community Health Worker
How can you expand the impact of your health program without injecting more funding? By cross-training your existing staff instead of relying exclusively on new hires. Here’s how to work with your existing admin team to grow your health program and improve community outcomes without added costs.
Why You Should Retrain Your Community Health Worker Team Regularly
Compliance, up-to-date certifications, and industry changes are the top concerns for directors asking about retraining or cross-training their CHWs. With this in mind, we’ve covered the most common reasons to plan for regular refreshes and how to go about it.
Career development
Many community health workers see this role as a stepping stone toward their next career goal. As an employer, you can help create opportunities for them and benefit from their growth within your organization. Here’s how.
How to Hire Great Community Health Workers
If you’re ready to get started with your CHW program or are needing to fill some gaps in care, sign up for this on-demand webinar where Monique Cuvelier, CEO & founder of CHWTraining and Talance, Inc, covers the ins and outs of what CHW responsibilities are — and aren’t —, how to train and retain your community health workers, and tips to succeed on your program.
Retention Strategies
6 Retention Strategies for Keeping Your Best Community Health Workers
Did you know it costs anywhere from $3,000 to $5,000 to onboard a new employee? Different sources cite a range. But according to Toggl, you can expect to pay upwards of $4,000 and spend nearly two months filling a single position.
The right retention strategies can save you money, increase your employees’ satisfaction, and benefit your community through positive health impact.
Boosting CHW Retention with Professional Development
Professional development plans are proven to increase job satisfaction, engagement, and retention rates. With these, your services improve, you’re able to provide a reliable income to your workforce, and your communities stay healthier for longer.
Here’s how you can implement a retention plan to keep your workers fulfilled and ready to conquer the next challenge.
How to evaluate your community health worker training program
Regularly measuring progress against your goals is the best way to catch any issues and correct courses before your program goes south. So we’ve compiled the top areas you’ll need to monitor and tips for an effective evaluation.
FREE WEBINAR: How to Find The Right Qualified Community Health Workers
Everything you’ll need for a successful CHW program, from whether CHWs are the right choice for your organization to job descriptions and must-ask questions for the interview process.
Photo by Charlotte May from Pexels