CASE WORKER: Employer

CASE WORKER ROLE PLAYING SCRIPT FOR EMPLOYER,
Ms. Boster, The University of Tennessee at Martin - SPRING 2010

It is Spring 2010. You are the Director of The Family Center for the Prevention of Child Abuse in Jackson, Tennessee. The mission of the Center is to provide support to families in preventing and dealing with child abuse in West Tennessee and to help both parents and children meet the practical needs of preserving and improving the quality of family life.

Because of the recent economic downturn in the Jackson area, and the loss of jobs, there has been an increased need for crisis intervention and parent training. You are in the process of hiring an additional professional to work with children and families. This person’s responsibilities will be to conduct interviews, develop personal plans and coordinate activities to meet the social and emotional needs of the client and her family.

She or he will be called upon to provide crisis intervention and assist families in understanding the implications and complexities of their present situations. He or she will provide organizational support and record keeping for the department and be proficient is the organization’s software. The applicant must also be comfortable with both clients and volunteers, and represent the organization professionally.

You must fill this position quickly as the need is growing daily, and have interviewed many candidates. Yesterday, you interviewed Ms. Simpson, who was recommended by a board member. She did her internship at Family Center in Martin, is graduating in May from the University of Tennessee at Martin, and would like to work for The Family Center professionally. You got to know Ms. Simpson when she was here doing her internship. She is an excellent worker, understands the organization and is passionate about those she serves. Her experience with The Family Center will be very valuable to the organization especially with this growing need.

Ms. Simpson is exactly what you have been looking for, and yesterday you offered her the job as a Case Worker, and asked her to return today to set her salary, benefits and start date.

You knew immediately that Ms. Simpson would be of great value to The Family Center for many years, and you may soften on driving a hard financial bargain because of her exceptional potential. However, you are the consummate professional and department head, are budget conscious and offer competitive salaries. Www.wageproject.org tells you that the salary range for a newly minted Case Worker for the Jackson area is $35,000 to $42,000 with a medium salary of .

CASE WORKER EMPLOYER (2)

$38,000. The benefits for this position add another $17,000 to the compensation package.

Typically new hires are paid at the low end of the salary range, $35,000, and because of budget constraints you will start there, especially since Ms. Simpson is just graduating and understands how tight non-profit budgets can be. The benefits package you are offering for this position is $14,000.

Ms. Simpson’s job offer is the last piece of your work for the day. You have to leave in 15 minutes to attend a corporate fund raising event.

When you and Ms. Simpson sit down to talk, your opening lines to her are:

“We’re so pleased that you want to work for The Family Center. You’ll be a wonderful addition to our team.

We have just a couple details to settle, then you can sign our contract, and we’ll see you after graduation.

I am authorized to offer you a starting salary of $35,000. You will be entitled to the standard benefits package all new employees get of $14,000, and we’d like you to start here on June 1st.

If that’s okay with you, please read over this contract, sign it and you’ll be our new Development Coordinator.

You gained even more retail experience by volunteering at Goodwill Industries, helping to price, merchandise and wait on customers. You learned how to deal with diverse workers and cliental while there.

See how she reacts. Listen to her. Write down what points might persuade you to raise this offer. Write down what language she might use that would make you hold the line and not raise her starting salary and why. Write down what objections you would have if she wants more money. Discuss all this thoughtfully with her, because you want her to accept your job offer.

In this discussion, see what is the lowest starting salary and benefits package that you can get her to accept and get her to accept a specific salary in the 15 minutes before you have to leave.

Remember, you made her a job offer because you really want her. Now it’s time to get her to work for The Family Center. Good Luck!