If you’re interested in starting a peer program in your organization, then the first thing you need to do is build buy-in with your leadership. When we say “leaders”, we mean the money-holders and the decision-makers. Nothing gets off the ground and takes flight without their buy-in and support.
The biggest mistake we see “champions” make is not having sufficient information before they start their pitch. If you’re asking leaders to “buy”, then you must know what you’re “selling”.
Leaders are inundated with requests to approve and fund programs, overtime, supplies, resources, etc. Let’s face it – money is tight. And even where it’s not, leaders still want to be good stewards of their resources. So, it makes perfect sense that they would have a ton of questions and be skeptical of another program (when so many others are in place).
Take a minute to review the questions below. Which ones are you completely comfortable answering?
* What is a peer support program?
* What is the difference between peer support and wellness?
* What is the difference between peer support and CISM?
* What is the difference between peer support and EAP (employee assistance)?
* Why do we need another program?
* How does it work?
* How will you know it’s working?
* What safeguards are in place to keep peers from doing further harm?
* How will this program improve our agency?
Leaders will have plenty of questions. Fortunately, we have plenty of answers.
Check out our FREE course on Teachable: From Buy-In to Believe-In. Click this link to get started: https://crisis-support-solutions.teachable.com/p/building-buy-in
Also, check out this handout: Top FAQs Leaders Often Ask
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