Support not given where it is needed. There are 2 sides at every branch: DD (Developmental Disabilities--24 hr. care of clients in their homes) & IHS (In-Home Services--part-time care a few hours each week per client). Each branch is started by the IHS side first & then the DD side is developed. Each side has a main director at each branch & those directors have separate supervisors (over all the branches). Issue at every branch (known issue discussed openly by upper management) is that IHS directors try to dictate/manipulate/undermine DD directors. Even if DD director confronts, reports, or ignores these attacks, it remains an issue & upper management refuses to address it. IHS directors at different branches talk on the phone to each other on a regular basis about how the DD directors do not do their job & have unfair advantages over IHS. The two sides are very different & have different responsibilities. While the DD directors are aware of this & stay civil & focused on their own jobs, the IHS directors refuse to recognize these differences. This dynamic can make an already stressful job even more stressful.
Also, there is a structure set up for evaluations & other regular things, but these things are rarely done or enforced. Information across all branches is scattered & constantly changing. Procedures are put in place & then later you find out that the procedure was changed without you knowing it or being informed of it 2 months ago. Therefore, all branches do things differently, but they're supposed to be doing them the same--there are even different versions of the same forms. All company-wide in-services for support staff are geared toward IHS & use IHS-specific terms that are not recognized by DD side--BUT they are required for the DD side anyway. Often not told of important conference calls or office closings (usually for a holiday weekend) until the day or morning of through e-mail. This means that if you are out in the field that morning, you miss out on this important info--or you could have already scheduled something during the afternoon that the office is scheduled to close (meaning that you're working when you don't have to be).
Also, chain-of-command is not recognized here. A known disgruntled staff can make a complaint against you to the Vice President (3 supervisors above you) & you will not get a chance to see this complaint or have your side heard--even if you are known as a great, hard-working employee with no previous write-ups/reprimands. Instead of that staff being redirected to their immediate supervisor or next supervisor up, their complaint is thought of as valid with no questions asked. You are seen as the bad guy from the moment the complaint is made & steps are taken to "remove" you from the situation. There is no job security here whatsoever--even if you do everything that is asked of you without complaint & work around-the-clock to make sure that your clients are being well cared for.
